In many societies, young people, particularly students are
viewed as powerless, entitled, or even lazy. They’re expected to obey authority
without question. However, students have led many of history’s greatest
protests. They recognize oppression and injustice and organize in mass, often
putting their lives and futures at risk. Many students’ protests resulted in seismic
changes in the politics of their own countries, which in the changed the world.
They may or may not have succeeded in a regime change but they have undoubtedly
forced major policy course corrections. Their profound impact on world view and
lasting impression of their country’s image have, from time to time, showed how
important it is to keep them satisfied not just for votes but for country’s
wellbeing. I will start with the most
recent one that is ongoing in Bangladesh and then trace back the history.
#1. The Bangladesh Student Protest 2024
Students from government and private universities across
Bangladesh are demanding reform in the conventional job quota system, under
which more than half (56%)of much sought-after government jobs are reserved. The
protesters said they are not aligned with any political group and they want a
merit-based system that is fair to all. In the name of Freedom Fighters quota,
the Awami League government was reserving jobs for its own cadre, and that was
the bone of contention. Students of Dhaka
and Chittagong University got mobilized by social media and initiated the
peaceful protest, but anti-Awami League political parties, BNP and Jamaite
Islami joined in and the protest turned violent resulting in more than 400
deaths, killing and torching of properties and businesses of Hindu and
Christian minorities and finally resignation of Sheikh Hasina and destruction
of all memorabilia related to their Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur
Rehman. As the world waits with baited breath an effort is being made to form
an interim government under the stewardship of a Nobel Laureate, Mohd. Yunus,
again as demanded by the student protesters.
#2. The Aragalaya Protests in Sri Lanka 2022
After Covid pandemic, facing severe shortage of basic
necessities—including food, fuel, and medicine—ordinary citizens of Sri Lanka
were infuriated by the continued extravagances of politicians and their
families. Frustrations against the President Gotabaya Rajapakse government peaked
in March, as pockets of people across the island took to the streets to voice
dissent. On April 9, these scattered protests coalesced at the precinct of the
Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face Green, swelling and transforming into
the largest unified protest movement in Sri Lanka, now known as the Aragalaya—the
Struggle of the People. Many
protesters pitched tents, defiantly camping at the site day and night until
their demands were met. The site quickly became the primary hub of the
Aragalaya and was named GotaGoGama, which translates to “Gota Go
Village,” expressing the protesters’ chief demand, the resignation of President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Eventually he had to submit his resignation on July 14 and
escape from Sri Lanka. His palace was vandalized and his opulent lifestyle was recorded
for the first time by television crew. Later Ranil Wickremesinghe became the
President and stabilized the economy.
#3. Youth protests in Thailand 2020
Every student protest does not succeed and this, though
ling drawn, just fizzled out. In 2019
Thailand moved from a military dictatorship to a semi-elected government,
though it remains dominated by the military. Authoritarian tactics remain,
leading to mass demonstrations in 2020. Students began organizing protests and
rallies, drawing thousands of participants. They adopted a three-fingered
salute that originates from The Hunger Games franchise. The movement didn’t
have a clear leader, so many groups used social media to organize and call for
democracy. Protests became violent as police escalated with tear gas and rubber
bullets.
#4. The Umbrella Movement 2019
The protests started in reaction to a decision made by
China that it would allow elections in Hong Kong in 2017, but only from a list
of candidates pre-approved by the Chinese government. Tens of thousands of
people, of whom many were students, camped in the streets and demanded the
right to fully free leadership elections. It was called "the Umbrella
Movement" because protesters used umbrellas to protect themselves from the
tear gas used by police. In 2019 a series of protests broke outover a proposed
extradition bill that would cover extradition to mainland China. Students
ultimately forced the Hong Kong administration to suspend the bill thus
preventing the Chinese Communist Party to gradually erode the sovereignty of
Hong Kong.
#5. The Global Climate Strikes 2018
In 2018, Greta Thunberg began protesting outside the Swedish
parliament with a sign reading, “School strike for climate.” Her protest earned
international attention and by 2019, global strikes were being organized. Known
as the Global Climate Strikes, events were scheduled in over 163 countries on
seven continents. It’s hard to pin down exact numbers, but millions
participated in what was at the time the largest climate change protest.
Youth-led climate protests continue to proliferate across the world.
#6. March for Our Lives 2018
On Valentine’s Day in 2018, a gunman killed 17 students at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Students from the
school founded Never Again MSD and began organizing a rally called “March For
Our Lives.” The march occurred on March 24 with hundreds of rallies across the
US. Between 1-2 million people participated, making it one of the largest
student-led protests since the Vietnam War.
Students called for increased gun regulations, including
universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity and bump stock sales, and
raising the federal age of gun ownership/possession to 21 years old. Students
across the world organized rallies in solidarity. As America continues to reel
from frequent mass shootings, students will remain a powerful force in the
fight for change
#7. The Sunflower Movement 2014
The Sunflower Student Movement was associated with
a protest movement driven by a coalition of students and civic
groups that came to a head between March 18 and April 10, 2014, in
the Legislative Yuan and later, the Executive Yuan of Taiwan.
The activists protested the passage of the Cross-Strait Service Trade
Agreement (CSSTA) by the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT) at the
legislature without a clause-by-clause review. The protesters perceived the
trade pact with the People's Republic of China would hurt Taiwan's
economy and leave it vulnerable to political pressure from Beijing, while
advocates of the treaty argued that increased Chinese investment would provide
a "necessary boost" to Taiwan's economy. The student protesters occupied Taiwanese
legislative Yuan till the trade pact was shelved. This also laid the foundation
of a change in government in 2016 elections.
#8. The Euromaidan 2013
Euromaidan was the largest democratic mass movement in Europe since 1989 and led
to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. During
the uprising, Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv was a huge protest camp
occupied by thousands of protesters and protected by makeshift barricades. They
protested against their President Viktor Yanukovych who decided not to sign the
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, opting for closer ties with Russia instead.
Students were the core of the protesters and this protest led to the ouster of
the pro-Russian Victor Yanukovych and ushering in of a new political
dispensation.
#9. The Jasmine Revolution or Arab Spring 2010
This wave of pro-democracy
protests and uprisings that took place in the Middle East and North
Africa beginning in 2010 and 2011, challenging some of the region’s
entrenched authoritarian regimes. It all started in Tunisia, where it
was called the Jasmine Revolution and it led to the ouster of strongman Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali. Student protests broke out after the self immolation of Md.
Bouazizi. Similar wave of protests were seen in Egypt, where again it toppled
the existing regime, inspiring similar attempts in other Arab countries.
Not every country saw success in the protest movement, however, and
demonstrators expressing their political and economic grievances were often met
with violent crackdowns by their countries’ security forces.
#10. Tiananmen Square 1989
In spring 1989, Chinese students were growing eager for
political and economic reform. Despite relative prosperity, high inflation and
corruption sullied the government’s reputation. Students began protesting for
more individual freedoms and human rights. When one official supportive of
democratic reform – who had been forced to resign – died, huge numbers of
student protesters gathered. In Tiananmen Square, a demonstration grew to
one million.
To disperse the crowds, the People’s Liberation Army
arrived with tanks and tear gas. It’s unknown how many were killed or wounded,
but thousands were arrested and some executed. The protesters were eventually
cleared, though not before a photographer snapped a picture of a lone man
squaring up to a row of tanks. The photo quickly became legendary and was
censored within China. The man has never been identified, but his image lives
on as a symbol of resistance.
#11. The Velvet Revolution
Since the end of World War II, the Czechoslovak government
had been controlled by a Communist party that suppressed criticism. In 1989,
nine days after the Berlin Wall fell, students gathered in Prague to
recognize the 50th anniversary of a protestor’s death during a demonstration
against Nazi occupation. The protest transformed into an anti-government event
with students chanting anti-Communist slogans. The police responded with
violence, but protests grew and spread to other cities. On November 20, 500,000
protesters gathered in Wenceslas Square.
Eight days later, the Communist Party leadership resigned,
making way for a new anti-communist government. Václav Havel, a poet,
playwright, and major leader of the democratic movement, was elected president.
The Czech and Slovak regions separated, and in 1993, Havel was elected as the
first president of the Czech Republic. Because the students peacefully
overthrew the government, those critical weeks of protests became known as the
Velvet Revolution.
#12. The Soweto Uprising
In South Africa, the apartheid system fueled violence and
discrimination against Black South Africans from 1948-1991. Unequal
education was a major part of apartheid. In 1953, the Bantu Education Act
brought Black South African education under the national government’s control.
The schools were not maintained well, and in 1961, only 10% of Black teachers
had graduated high school. In June of 1976, between about 10,000 students marched
in protest against the unequal educational policy of black and white
students. Armed police attacked the march, killing between 176-700 people and
injuring about 1,000. Students continued to organize and anti-apartheid
protests spread across the country, drawing international attention and
condemnation of the apartheid regime. Groups around the world began pushing
universities to drop their investments in corporations supportive of the South
African government, setting the stage for the end of apartheid.
#13. The Vietnam War Protests
In the U.S, throughout the 60s and early 70s anti war sentiments were especially profound among students. American campuses saw teach-ins, sit ins, and shut downs to protest against the U.S involvement in the ongoing Vietnam war. Both Johnson and Nixon administration were targeted by the students as were companies like Dow Chemicals which had a lot to do with the war. These student actions gradually changed the American public opinion against war and finally troops had to be withdrawn in 1973.
The only problem with student protests is that they are
often gullible and their just movement is hijacked by cunning and illegal
elements with vested interests, disgruntled political parties, religious zealots or even the
international Deep State. The students perhaps never plan to harm their motherland, but
the vicious and untrustworthy political support group and the invisible foreign
hands do, but students are often not mature enough to understand this. The events in Bangladesh, as they are playing out now, with destruction of infrastructure and targeted killings of minorities and political opponents are ample evidence of this agenda of the vested interest groups. The students are now helpless. Despite
this shortcoming students have, from time to time, forced policy changes and
ensured regime changes and acted responsibly beyond their age.
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