Taslima Nasrin compares India’s student protest to Bangladesh’s 2024 movement

New Delhi: After Bangladesh and Nepal witnessed major student-led protests that contributed to political upheaval, India has also seen a student movement. However, unlike its neighboring countries, the Indian government has responded by engaging with protesters and addressing their demands rather than facing a change in government.

Commenting on the protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin said she was reminded of Bangladesh’s 2024 student movement after watching brief video clips, though she acknowledged she was not well informed about the Indian demonstrations.

“I don’t know much about this movement,” Nasrin said. “From the short video clips I have seen, it looked similar to the student movement that took place in Bangladesh in 2024.”

Reflecting on the events in Bangladesh, Nasrin said many people initially believed the movement was solely about students opposing the quota system. She noted that then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had revised her position on the issue, but the protests ultimately culminated in the fall of her government.

“We thought the students had come out because they did not want the quota system. Sheikh Hasina had corrected what she had said. But in the end, the government fell,” Nasrin said.

She further claimed that evidence later showed that “jihadist groups” were behind the Bangladesh movement, adding that, in her view, the outcome had not been positive.

“That is why I say that just because students gather or launch a movement does not mean the outcome will always be good,” she said.

Nasrin’s remarks come amid ongoing discussions over student protests in India and comparisons being drawn with similar movements in neighboring countries. Her comments reflect her personal assessment of the Bangladesh protests and the lessons she believes should be drawn from them.