In Quest for Democracy and Identity
Bangladesh, a nation born from the costly struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, has faced numerous political and social upheavals in the subsequent decades. The 80s and 90s bore witness to their own share of struggles – struggles for the democracy, freedom of speech, and basic rights. Despite bidding farewell to military government, democracy in Bangladesh remains tenuous, with increasing threats to democratic principles and human rights. Questions of identity have emerged as a significant aspect of socio-political debates – encompassing political ideology, religious belief, culture, ethnicity, even gender and sexuality; often through divisive labels such as “anti-nationalist,” “fundamentalist,” “radical,” “fascist” and many more.
Delving into the complex socio-political landscape of Bangladesh, this long-term project meticulously weaves a larger canvas, narrating the nation’s evolving journey through its ongoing struggle for democracy and the quest to define its people’s identity. The project also illustrates how socio-political polarization has gradually infiltrated people’s psyches. Throughout this decade-long journey, the photographer stood witness to unendurable political violence, the rise of religious extremism, recurring assaults on minorities, the tragic loss of activists and civilians, and the unfolding of a full-fledged refugee crisis, deepening the complexity of the context. In recent years, there has been a severe crackdown on freedom of expression, with abductions and enforced disappearances creating an atmosphere of fear and self-censorship. Despite this, there has been significant resistance and resilience, culminating in a full-scale uprising that ultimately toppled the longest-serving government. These photographs surpass mere documentation of incidents; they encapsulate the photographer’s lived reality as a native Bangladeshi.
Is Bangladesh a secular nation in the same vein as it was during independence? Does the nation have space for ideological opposites to coexist? Where is Bangladesh headed as a democracy? These are the very questions the project seeks to explore, as the country confronts them today.
April 6, 2017.
Shohagi Jahan Tonu (19), a student of Comilla Victoria Government College and a theater activist, met a tragic fate as she was brutally raped and murdered. Her body was discovered approximately 400 yards away from her residence, within the highly restricted Comilla Cantonment area on the night of March 20, 2016.
This incident sparked nationwide protests in Bangladesh and ignited a social media movement demanding justice. Demonstrators also questioned, how, despite being a practicing Muslim usually seen wearing the Islamic hijab, she could’ve been raped and killed.
August 2, 2024.
Students chant slogans demanding the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and justice for the victims arrested and killed during the nationwide quota reform protest.
July 25, 2016.
A graffiti of blogger Avijit Roy on the walls of the University of Dhaka. Avijit, a Bangladeshi- American engineer, online activist, writer, and blogger, gained recognition for establishing and managing Mukto-Mona (Free-minded), an Internet blogging community for Bangladeshi freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists, and humanists. Tragically, he was murdered by machete-wielding assailants on February 26, 2015, due to his books and online writings. In February 2021, five leaders and members of a banned militant outfit were sentenced to death, and another received a life sentence for their involvement in Avijit’s brutal murder.
Between 2013 and 2016, a series of targeted attacks resulted in the killings and injuries of several secularists and bloggers. Multiple Islamic militant groups claimed responsibility for these murders through social media.
May 9, 2013.
Charred remains of a bus vandalized and torched by Hefajat-e-Islam supporters during clashes with police in Dhaka.
On April 6, 2013, Hefajat-e-Islam organized a long march from Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, and other districts of Bangladesh to the Motijheel area in Dhaka. On May 5, 2013, the group held a rally in Dhaka to demand the enactment of their 13-point agenda, which included the execution of “atheist bloggers.” Police intervened, and clashes broke out.
February 7, 2015.
Rakib, a 12 years old boy receives treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for burns suffered from petrol bomb attack.
Petrol bomb attacks on public transport increased in Bangladesh following the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s imposition of a month-long transport blockade on January 5, 2015, in protest of the current government, the Awami League (AL). According to Amnesty International, the attacks resulted in the deaths of over 50 people and serious injuries to hundreds more. More than 1,300 buses and other vehicles had been attacked. The attacks followed the same pattern as the election-related violence of 2014, when more than 500 people were killed.
February 6, 2015.
An activist of the Shahbagh Movement addresses a gathering at Shahbagh Square in Dhaka, protesting against political violence.
On 5th February 2013, thousands of Bangladeshi youth took to the streets demanding capital punishment for the war crime collaborators involved in the 1971 killings, rape, and arson during the liberation war – some of whom were still at large, holding prominent positions within Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest islamic political party and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the major opposition.
April 21, 2016.
Xulhaz Mannan, a leading LGBTQ rights activist and editor of Bangladesh’s first LGBTQ magazine, Roopban, was murdered along with his friend Tonoy in his apartment on April 25, 2016. Xulhaz had received death threats for his activism. This photo, taken three days before his murder, shows him in the same room with his friend, with part of his face kept out of the frame to protect his anonymity.
November 7, 2017.
A Christian cultural activist and journalist shows the death threat that he received via text message in 2015. Several other activists, secular writers, and bloggers have also received similar death threats from various extremist groups.
July 4, 2016.
Pallbearers carry the body of Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, one of the victims of the deadly terrorist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 1, 2016. The attack, which was carried out by five militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), killed 22 civilians, most of whom were foreigners.
The Bangladesh government denied the existence of IS in the country, and blamed the attack on home-grown militants.
May 3, 2014.
Sumiti Bala Goswami, a Hindu devotee, breaks down in tears during the evening prayer as her temple is vandalized by a Muslim mob in Comilla, Bangladesh.
The mob, representing a local madrasa, attacked the Hindu community in Backhsitarampur village, Comilla on April 27, 2014. The attack was triggered by a rumor that two Hindu youths from the village had posted defamatory comments about Prophet Muhammad on Facebook. The mob vandalized houses and temples, and ransacked everything the villagers had.
April 14, 2015.
Revelers participate in the traditional procession “Mongol Shobhajatra” to mark the Bengali New Year, known as Pohela Boishakh in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
“Pohela Boishakh” holds profound cultural significance for the Bengali identity, and it is celebrated across the country with fairs, processions, and cultural programs. However, in recent years, there has been debate about whether the procession is compatible with the Islamic identity of the majority of Bangladeshis. On April 9, 2023, a Supreme Court lawyer issued a legal notice to halt the procession, citing the term “Mongol” as having Hindu religious connotations and the showcasing of sculptures of birds, fish, and other creatures as being offensive to the religious sentiments of the Muslim community.
April 27, 2013.
Vandalized statue of a Hindu Deity in a temple in Banshkhali, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
During the period from February 28 to March 6, 2013, a series of disturbing events unfolded, resulting in the desecration of over 40 temples, looting of Hindu properties, and the destruction of houses and shops belonging to the Hindu community. The violence was witnessed in various districts, including Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Gaibanda, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Barisal, Faridpur, Brahminbaria, Sirajgonj, Jaipurhat, Netrakona, and Feni.
The government attributed responsibility for these heinous activities to Jamaat-e-Islam, following the conviction of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, (Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islam). Sayeedi had been sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty on eight out of the twenty charges, including mass killings, rape, arson, looting, and forcing Hindus to convert to Islam during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
August 30, 2023.
Family members, and relatives of victims of enforced disappearance or secret abduction hold portraits of the missing members during a press conference held to mark the ‘International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances’ in Dhaka.
August 2, 2024.
Dhaka University under curfew. This historic institution has been the birthplace of numerous significant protests and student movements throughout Bangladesh’s history.
December 29, 2013.
Police disperse pro-BNP lawyers with water cannon at Supreme Court premises in Dhaka, as they tried to bring out a procession in support of BNP’s “March for Democracy” program ahead of 2014 general elections.
August 4, 2024.
Anti-government protesters set fire and block the road demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and protesting against the longest-serving ruling party, Awami League.
February 24, 2013.
A fire swept through the “Amar Ekushey Book Fair” at the Bangla Academy premises, burning down at least 25 book stalls containing books of history and literature of liberation war. Named after the colloquial Bengali name for International Mother Language Day “Ekushey” the book fair commemorates those who died on 21 February 1952 during the Bengali Language Movement, which sought to establish Bengali as one of the state languages of former East Pakistan.
July 31, 2024.
Police move in as protesters gather on the streets of Dhaka.
February 22, 2023.
Ayat Ullah, a Rohingya refugee was shot dead in front of his shelter in Rohingya Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar. When their father, Kefayat Ullah, found and embraced his lifeless son, Ayat’s blood stained his t-shirt. He has kept that t-shirt unwashed as a reminder of that day and the justice that hasn’t come yet.
In the Rohingya refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh, where nearly a million Rohingya have sought refuge, a wave of violence has engulfed the community, largely overlooked by rest of the world. Six years after the genocidal campaign carried out by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya Muslim minority, the camp has become a breeding ground for brutality and terror instigated by various militant groups. Once united against the Myanmar military, the militant groups have turned against each other, fueling a vicious cycle of violence marked by abductions, armed robberies, and targeted killings, instilling fear and unrest among the refugees inside the camp’s desperate and isolated condition.
Bangladesh authorities have reported that armed groups in the camps killed over 40 Rohingya refugees in 2022, while at least 48 refugees were killed in the first half of 2023.
August 2, 2024.
A young protester writes ‘Democracy’ on the chest of a rickshaw puller during a protest against Hasina regime.
January 4, 2023.
Children ride a lion statue during a family vacation in a renovated park near the old airport in Dhaka, where the Pakistani military killed Bengalis and dumped their bodies in mass graves in 1971.
April 26, 2013.
In Chittagong Islamist protestors from Hefazot-e-Islam demanded capital punishment for the bloggers of the Shahbagh movement after allegations had surfaced that some of these bloggers had defamed Islam. Hefazot-e-Islam gained prominence in 2013 with their 13-point demands, which included advocating for anti-blasphemy laws. According to Hefazot, the Shahbag protestors who demanded capital punishment for the war crime collaborators were perceived as atheists and anti-Islamic.
January 26, 2017.
Police fire tear gas at environmental activists in Dhaka, as they staged a half-day shutdown to protest the construction of a coal-fired power plant at Rampal, 14 kilometers away from the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bangladesh and Indian governments struck a deal in 2016 to build a 1,320- megawatt power plant, which is expected to start operating in 2024. The project raised concerns about the environmental impact among environmental activists, who demanded that the government cancel the Rampal project.
March 25, 2017.
A theater group of young artists and activists performs a demonstration on the eve of March 25, 2017, to commemorate the declaration of the day as Genocide Day. The government has also appealed for international recognition of the day. On March 25, 1971, during the liberation war of Bangladesh, the Pakistani military launched a vicious campaign called “Operation Searchlight,” targeting Bengali Hindu minorities, students, academics, and intellectuals.
February 8, 2017.
A one-day-old baby, born in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh but of Rohingya origin, remains officially stateless as a refugee. At least 60 Rohingya babies are born every day in the refugee camp as stateless.
The Rohingya are Muslim ethnic minority from Rakhine State of Myanmar and considered to be world’s one of the most persecuted communities. Since the 1970s the Myanmar military started a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign against them by killing, rape, arson. The recent military crackdown in 2017 has pushed nearly a million Rohingyas to cross the border of Myanmar in search for a safe refuge in Bangladesh and it has become “world’s fastest growing refugee crisis” according to UN.
March 23, 2017.
Defaced portrait of Sheikh Hasina, the longest serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh and daughter of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; Dhaka. Unknown person(s) scratched out the eyes and ears of the premier’s image.
August 5, 2024.
People celebrate by waving flags after protests led to the ousting of Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.