Rap, memes, graffiti: Bangladesh’s new political tools, a year after Hasina

Dhaka, Bangladesh — On July 16, 2024, arsenic information forces launched a brutal crackdown connected pupil protesters campaigning against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s progressively authoritarian government, Bangladeshi rapper Muhammad Shezan released a song.

Titled Kotha Ko (speak up successful Bangla), the opus asked: “The state says it’s free, past where’s your roar?”

It was the time that Abu Sayed, a protester, was killed, becoming the look of the run to depose Hasina aft 15 years successful power. Sayed’s decease fuelled the nationalist choler that led to intensified protests. And Shezan’s Kotha Ko, on with a opus by different rapper, Hannan Hossain Shimul, became anthems for that movement, culminating successful Hasina fleeing Bangladesh for India successful August.

Fast guardant a year, and Shezan precocious released different deed rap track. In Huddai Hutashe, helium raps astir however “thieves” are being garlanded with flowers – a reference, helium said, to unqualified individuals seizing important positions successful post-Hasina Bangladesh.

As the state marks the day of the uprising against Hasina, protestation tools that played a cardinal relation successful galvanising enactment against the erstwhile person person go portion of mainstream Bangladeshi politics.

Rap, societal media memes and graffiti are present besides a portion of the arsenal of young Bangladeshis looking to clasp their caller rulers accountable, conscionable arsenic they erstwhile helped uproot Hasina.

A societal media meme mocking the Bangladesh authorities logo, by showing a mob beating a person, highlighting the instrumentality and bid chaos that followed Hasina’s ouster [Masum Billah/Al Jazeera]

‘Do little drama, dear’

As mob unit surged successful Bangladesh past autumn successful the aftermath of Hasina’s ouster, a Facebook meme went viral.

It showed the acquainted reddish and greenish seal of the Bangladesh government. But alternatively of the aureate representation of the federation wrong the reddish circle, it depicted stick-wielding men beating a fallen victim.

The substance astir the emblem had been tweaked – successful Bangla, it nary longer work “People’s Republic of Bangladesh Government,” but “Mob’s Republic of Bangladesh Government”.

The satire was biting and pointed, revealing an uncomfortable broadside of post-Hasina Bangladesh. “It was retired of this vexation that I created the illustration, arsenic a critique connected the ‘rule of mobs’ and the government’s evident inaction,” said Imran Hossain, a writer and activistic who created the meme. “Many radical shared it connected societal media, and immoderate adjacent utilized it arsenic their illustration representation arsenic a quiescent signifier of protest.”

After the student-led revolution, the recently appointed interim authorities nether Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus embarked connected a sweeping betterment docket – covering the constitution, elections, judiciary and police.

But mob unit emerged arsenic a situation that the authorities struggled to contain. This play saw mobs attacking Sufi shrines and Hindu minorities, storming women’s shot pitches, and adjacent sidesplitting alleged cause dealers – galore of these incidents filmed, shared and fiercely debated online.

“After the July uprising, immoderate groups successful Bangladesh – galore of whom had been oppressed nether the erstwhile authorities – abruptly recovered themselves with a batch of power. But alternatively of utilizing that newfound powerfulness responsibly, immoderate began taking the instrumentality into their ain hands,” Hossain said.

As with rap songs, specified memes had besides played a captious relation successful capturing the nationalist temper during the anti-Hasina protests.

After information officials killed hundreds of protesters connected July 18 and 19, Sheikh Hasina was seen crying implicit harm to a metro presumption allegedly caused by demonstrators. That infinitesimal fuelled a question of memes.

One viral meme said “Natok Kom Koro Prio” (Do little drama, dear), and was viral passim the second fractional of July. It mocked Hasina’s sentimental show – whether implicit the damaged metro presumption oregon her assertion to “understand the symptom of losing loved ones” aft instrumentality enforcement agencies had killed hundreds.

Until then, ridiculing Sheikh Hasina had been a “difficult” act, said Punny Kabir, a salient societal media activistic known for her witty governmental memes implicit the years, and a PhD pupil astatine the University of Cologne.

While paper cartoonists antecedently utilized to lampoon governmental leaders, that stopped during Hasina’s regularisation since 2009, which was marked by arrests of critics and forced disappearances, she said.

“To look disconnected an authoritarian regime, it’s [ridiculing] an important and almighty instrumentality to flooded fearfulness and surveillance,” Kabir said. “We made it possible, and it broke the fear.”

Protesters connected Dhaka streets connected August 2, 2024 [Masum Billah/Al Jazeera]

‘If you resist, you are Bangladesh’

As fearfulness of Sheikh Hasina faded from societal media, much radical recovered their dependable – a reflection that soon dispersed onto the streets. Thousands of walls were covered with paintings, graffiti, and slogans of courageousness specified arsenic “Killer Hasina”, “Stop Genocide” and “Time’s Up Hasina”.

“These artworks played a large relation successful the protests,” said governmental expert and researcher Altaf Parvez. “Slogans similar ‘If you are scared, you’re finished; but if you resist, you are Bangladesh’ – 1 slogan tin marque each the difference, and that’s precisely what happened.

“People were searching for thing courageous. When idiosyncratic created thing that defied fearfulness – originative slogans, graffiti, cartoons – these became sources of inspiration, spreading similar wildfire. People recovered their dependable done them,” helium added.

That dependable did not spell soundless with Hasina’s departure.

Today, memes targeting assorted governmental parties, not conscionable the government, are widespread.

One of Imran’s works uses a Simpsons cartoon to exemplify however sycophants utilized to eulogise Hasina’s household for its relation successful Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation warfare erstwhile she was successful power. Now, the cartoon points out, loyalists of the absorption Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s person Khaleda Zia and her lad Tarique Rahman are trying to flatter their household for their publication to the country’s independency movement. Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the state struggle, portion Zia’s hubby Ziaur Rahman was a elder service serviceman who announced the country’s independency connected March 27, 1971.

Another meme from a fashionable Gen-Z Facebook leafage called WittiGenZ precocious highlighted allegations of intersexual misconduct by a person of the National Citizen Party (NCP) – a enactment formed by Bangladesh’s students.

Protesters gully graffiti and constitute slogans against Sheikh Hasina connected the walls of Dhaka [Masum Billah/Al Jazeera]

What comes adjacent for governmental creation successful Bangladesh?

Political analysts successful Bangladesh judge the tools that contributed to toppling Sheikh Hasina volition proceed to beryllium applicable successful the country’s future.

“Memes and photograph cards successful Bangladesh fundamentally bash what X does successful the West. They supply the astir effectual short-form governmental commentary to maximise virality,” said US-based Bangladeshi geopolitical columnist Shafquat Rabbee.

Bangladesh’s cardinal slope unveiled caller banknote designs inspired by the graffiti created by students during past July’s monsoon uprising, a motion to the creation form’s wide popularity arsenic a means of governmental communication.

And rap, Rabbee said, recovered a earthy introduction successful Bangladeshi authorities successful 2024. In Bangladesh’s context, backmost successful July 2024, governmental thoroughfare warring became a ascendant and fitting instrumentality of protestation against Hasina’s repressive forces, helium said.

The artists down the songs accidental they ne'er expected their enactment to echo crossed Bangladesh.

“I wrote these lyrics myself,” Shezan said, astir Kotha Ko. “I didn’t deliberation astir however radical would respond – we simply acted retired of a consciousness of work to what was happening.”

As with Shezan’s song, chap rapper Hannan’s Awaaz Utha besides went viral online, particularly connected Facebook, the aforesaid time – July 18 – that it was released. “You deed one, 10 much volition travel back,” a enactment said. As Hasina recovered it, they did.

The rappers themselves besides joined the protests. Hannan was arrested a week aft his song’s merchandise and was lone freed aft Hasina resigned and fled to India.

But now, said Shezan, rap was determination to enactment successful Bangladesh’s nationalist life, from advertizing jingles to lifestyle. “Many radical are consciously oregon subconsciously embracing hip-hop culture,” helium said.

“The aboriginal of rap is bright.”