freedom, maybe.

Hasina resigned on the 5th of August. That information leaked way before the official announcement. I found it difficult to believe the rumours, and then the announcement itself. She's been in power for as long as I can remember. The fact that students managed to topple her authoritative regime in 3 weeks - unbelievable. I haven't seen anything of this scale, ever.

It still feels like an elaborate scheme. I still refuse to believe that she would give up her seat that quickly, that easily. This woman has been in power for over 15 years. So many have come before us who have tried to oust her, but failed. So many exposés, so many protests, so many uprisings. All of that led to the deaths and disappearances of the people responsible for them, while she carried on. And then you're asking me to believe that a couple students from Dhaka University somehow managed to come together, gather the entire nation and lead them to demand her resignation? Forgive me for being cynical, but that sounds too good to be true.

In any case, the country has now been "liberated." I am incredibly worried that we've forgotten what we started fighting for and are too busy celebrating. Genuine concerns about violence are being buried under thousands of celebrations, paintings and murals. Yes, good things are happening, but there are some very real problems that we're not paying attention to, religious tensions being number 1.

Some of the reactions I've been seeing have also been quite appalling. People who didn't say a word during the movement are crawling out of their holes to criticise what has been achieved. Some people are also completely switching sides, saying that we were better off with the ex-PM than without. And of course, supporters of the previous government continue to drone on and spread propaganda as much as they can.

Sometimes I worry that we lack critical thinking skills as a people. We watched scenes unfold in Bangladesh after her resignation, and people didn’t stop to question any of it ONCE. People just cruised into her residence and the Parliament, and there was no one to stop them. How does that happen?

Right after the Chief’s address, shooting began around the country. How does that happen?

Vandalism, setting infrastructure on fire, looting - unprecedented scenes. How does that happen?

Open X/Twitter and you’re going to see Indians suggest that an army be sent to “protect” Bangladesh from being taken over by radicals. How does that happen?

People trusted the Student Coordinators all this time. External parties are now trying to incite unrest, and they are quick to shift blame and change sides.

All of this, and we're busy fighting amongst ourselves. We're busy pointing fingers at each other, engaging in a game of he said, she said. We're busy taking the moral high ground and focusing all of our energies on calling other people out, instead of focusing on the real matters at hand. Religion is being weaponised to create a divide, just like the Brits did in 1947, and people are falling for that trap. A coup was attempted only 3 days into the interim government being formed, and people are still incredibly busy talking about how we managed to oust the ex-PM from the nation.

That was just the beginning of the anti-discrimination movement. That's only step 1 of a thousand steps on our pathway to reform. How can you be so blind to that?

I have my fears and anxieties over the current political landscape of Bangladesh. Like I said, I don't think she's going to give up that easily; her party, including her and her son, are still trying to make themselves look good. One misstep and we could become the next Sri Lanka, the next Yemen, the next <insert country involved in Arab Spring>.

Of course, that's the worst-case scenario. I do worry about the safety of my people everyday, especially that of the ones I am related to by blood. Anything can happen at any time.

This is far from over. I just pray we don't forget that.