Revolutionary Events

Mar 23

Bangladesh

A pivotal moment in Bangladesh's history is the relatively recent July Revolution or Students-People's Uprising of 2024. Often referred to as the world's first Gen-Z revolution, the origins of the protest can be traced back to 2008, when the Awami League political party (founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others) came into power. After that, they won three more consecutive national elections. However, the Bangladesh people witnessed massive rigging in the 2014, 2018, and 2024 national elections, with major opposition parties boycotting the 2014 and 2024 elections entirely.

From 2009 to 2024, the government arrested thousands of opponents, subjected many to torture, and imposed strict controls on information and free speech. The government was reported to use law-enforcement agencies to suppress political and non-political movements alike. Allegations of money laundering, corruption, and bribery also existed at various levels of government. Additionally, as a precursor to the protests, Bangladesh's performance on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index was worse than in any other year in the past decade and a half, which reflected the depth of systemic corruption.

The July Uprising began as a protest against a quota system that reserved 56% of government jobs for select groups, leaving only 44% for merit-based candidates, but it quickly grew into a broader movement against years of entrenched corruption. However, when the protests began, protesters were further aggravated by a remark of the Prime Minister who referred to the protesters as "Razakar" (meaning “volunteers”, and is considered derogatory in Bangladesh as it refers to people who supported the Pakistani military’s operation to quell the Bangladesh liberation war and were accused of heinous crimes). Students responded with slogans that spread like wildfire across social media platforms and encouraged thousands to join the protests. The Students Against Discrimination movement became the primary organising force, demonstrating how young activists could mobilise and stand against both immediate policy objections and deeper social issues.

The movement ran from June 5th to August 5th, but it is referred to as the "July Uprising" because July was its peak month. The government used different methods to discourage the protesters, but to no avail. In fact, there was a planned internet outage from July 18th to July 28th, and popular social media platforms remained restricted until August 5th. Despite these barriers, students and activists turned to art as a form of resistance, expressing dissent through murals, posters, and performance art that challenged repression. Even under a hostile media climate, Bangladeshi journalists exposed alleged human rights abuses, corruption, and misconduct, ensuring the public remained informed despite government censorship. University professors formed the University Teachers Network and held rallies demanding an end to student harassment and mass arrests. In the midst of mass killings of protesters and other tribulations, the protesters stood unwavering in their cause. And finally, on August 5, 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, marking the end of her 15-year rule.

There are other important movements in Bangladesh's history, such as the Anti-Ershad Movement of 1990 and the Road Safety Movement of 2018. However, the July Revolution is the most prominent example of how sustained activism can successfully challenge corruption when citizens refuse to remain silent about injustice.

Haiti

For Haiti, a major revolution in its history is the Haitian Revolution, which was a series of conflicts between Haitian slaves, colonisers, the British and French armies, and a number of different parties. Through struggle, the Haitian people gained independence from France and became the first country to be founded by former slaves, as well as the second independent country in the Americas, after the United States of America. It is also the only instance where enslaved and free people of colour fought together and defeated the French, Spanish and British armies to end slavery and the slave trade. The revolution started on August 21, 1791 and ended on January 1, 1804.

Let’s delve into the background of this monumental event. Beginning from 1791 and ending in 1804, the French transported 773,000 Africans to Saint Domingue, and the French slave owners worked Africans of Haiti intensively and brutally due to the high demand for slave-grown coffee and sugar production. The Spanish also began to enslave the Taino and Ciboney people. The native people of the island were forced to mine gold, and they suffered from European diseases and brutal working conditions. By the end of the 16th century, many of the native people were wiped out due to these extreme conditions, and thousands of slaves who were brought from other Caribbean islands suffered the same fate. After the Spanish had used up the gold mines, French settlers arrived, and landowners brought in more people from Africa.

However, Haitian society had a mix of people of different skin colour and classes. This included the affranchis of mixed African and European descent, who were sometimes slave owners and wanted to include the European social norms in the island’s culture. However, they were greatly prejudiced by the European settlers and were fearful of the slave majority. The slave majority worked in fields; some were servants or worked in sugar mills, and some were slave drivers. They endured long workdays and suffered from different conditions such as malnutrition, injuries, infections and tropical diseases.

In May 1791, the wealthier affranchis were granted citizenship by the French revolutionary government, but this was overlooked by Haiti’s European population. This led to the Europeans and affranchis fighting after two months, and eventually, the slave population joined the affranchis to fight. The Europeans tried to appease the mulattoes to put an end to the slave revolt, and the French assembly granted citizenship to all affranchis in April 1792. In 1793, a commissioner, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, was sent from France to maintain order and offered freedom to slaves who joined his army; he soon abolished slavery altogether, a decision confirmed the following year by the French government.

One of the most important figures of the Haitian Revolution was Toussaint Louverture, a military leader and a former slave. He gained control of many areas and, at first, had the support of the French agents. In January 1801, he had conquered Santo Domingo, and in May, he had named himself governor-general. In December 1801, Napoléon Bonaparte had attempted to restore the old regime in hopes of gaining control of the island, and had sent his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc, with other exiled mullato officers. Louverture struggled for months against the French forces before agreeing to a truce in May 1802. However, the French broke the truce agreement and imprisoned him in France. Louverture died in prison.

Some of Louveture’s lieutenants, however, continued the fight with the French in 1802. They were joined by some mulatto leaders who were furious that the French were restoring the caste system. There was a yellow fever epidemic amongst the French, and General Leclerc caught it and died. On 18 November 1803, the French were defeated by the Indigenous Army, led by Jean-Jaques Dessalines, at the Battle of Vertiéres. The French general, Rochambeau, surrendered. Under the terms of the surrender, the French had 10 days to evacuate. However, Rochambeau was not embarking his troops. Dessalines threatened that he would turn his canons on the French ships at the harbour, but the British Royal Navy was barricading the island. The French troops were then taken prisoner by the British.

On January 1 1804, the island gained independence and got the Arawak name, Haiti. However, it was only in 1825 that France finally recognised Haiti’s independence, but they also demanded a hefty fee of 150 million francs in exchange, which was meant to compensate former French colonists for their lost property during the Haitian Revolution.

This revolution shows the resilience of the Haitian people in the face of oppression. The Haitian Revolution also influenced revolutions in the USA, the Caribbean and Latin America. As the first black independent state, it cracked the illusion of white supremacy and brought hope against the shackles of slavery and oppression for many across the globe, showing that all people are equal, regardless of their race, skin colour and gender. Thus, it has not only been seen as a historical event, but also as a monumental struggle for equal human rights.

Turkey

Kurds in Turkey have dealt with deep-rooted inequalities for a long time. The state has, in times past, restricted their language, culture, and political voice. But instead of backing down or giving up, Kurdish communities built a powerful activist tradition that had significantly changed the idea of civil courage in Turkey. This didn’t just happen overnight, though; it took decades of cultural pushback, grassroots organizing, and steady human rights work.

Essential organizations, cultural centers, women’s assemblies, independent journalists, and human rights defenders stepped in, especially in places where the state was either missing or only showed up to repress. They turned basic needs like education, justice, and public services into community projects, rallying people to act together. Through all this, Kurdish activism pushed for their own rights and opened up new ways for everyone in Turkey to get involved and challenge unfairness.

Corruption in the Kurdish context isn’t just about stolen money. It has shown up in unfair resource distribution, the suppression of elected representatives, arrests without cause, and the absence of accountability for many human rights abuses. For years, these things were swept under the rug, hidden by censorship, or excused as “national security.” But groups like the Saturday Mothers—who gather in Istanbul every week, sitting on the ground and holding up photos of their missing loved ones—brought these abuses into the open. Their quiet, but determined vigils quickly turned into a symbol of moral resistance, not just for Kurds but for the entire country. International human rights groups have equally recognized their work as vital, both for documenting state violence and demanding that someone answer for it.

Local Kurdish-run administrations also set an example for good government. They put women’s rights, environmental issues, and real public participation at the center of their work. Even when the government stepped in and replaced these elected officials with state-appointed trustees, the short time those local leaders had proved that corruption isn’t something people just have to accept, and real change can happen when communities get directly involved. Meanwhile, Kurdish youth took the fight online: documenting abuses, sharing updates as they happened, and building networks that tied their local struggles to supporters around the world. Stories that used to stay hidden in remote areas broke through into global conversation spaces as a result of these acts of resistance.

What really stands out about Kurdish activism is its commitment to collective power rather than individual heroism. Teachers, lawyers, mothers, students, artists, farmers, and local leaders—everyone plays a part. Every voice matters, and together, they’re pushing for fairness, accountability, and dignity.

Looking at Turkey’s turbulent history, it’s hard to find another movement that shows the power of collective action the way Kurdish activism does. For generations, Kurds have fought not just to protect their culture but to build some of Turkey’s strongest democratic networks. In an age of global unrest and protest, their story is a powerful reminder that change starts when regular people decide they won’t stay silent. Even in the toughest times, people can come together and build real hope for their futures.