Danger and inspiration: Bangladeshi artists divided about country's future after historic election

"After three weeks of bloodshed in the summer of 2024, in which more than 1,000 people were killed, the 15-year dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown and the parliament complex overrun by a sea of protesters. Less than two years later, around 70 million Bangladeshis voted last month in the country's first free elections in 17 years. They handed power to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has long dominated the country's politics."

"The BNP represents the old guard of Bangladeshi politics, which the uprising promised to sweep away. In recent months, mob violence has targeted minorities, media outlets and symbols of secular culture. For many, it felt like a practical demonstration of how popular revolutions fail."

"In a post-revolutionary climate marked by insecurity and trepidation, the arts have become a crucial forum for critical discourse. The Chobi Mela photography festival was posing a troubling question: after a popular revolution, what happens to the people?"

Bangladesh experienced a popular uprising in summer 2024 that killed over 1,000 people and toppled Sheikh Hasina's 15-year dictatorship. However, elections held less than two years later returned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power, representing the old political establishment the revolution aimed to displace. Post-revolutionary Bangladesh has witnessed mob violence targeting minorities, media outlets, and secular symbols, suggesting the uprising failed to achieve meaningful systemic transformation. The Chobi Mela photography festival in Dhaka highlighted this disconnect through an exhibition questioning what happened to the revolution's participants. For Bangladesh's artistic community, this transitional period has created both danger and inspiration, with the arts emerging as a vital space for critical discourse and reflection on revolutionary failure.

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