Expectations and Outcomes: An Exploratory Study of Activist Perceptions Following the ‎‎2024 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh‎‎

Abstract

The student-led July uprising was a pivotal event in the recent political history of Bangladesh. ‎Primarily, it was a student demonstration against the government’s quota system for government ‎jobs. Later, it became a mass people’s uprising due to excessive use of lethal force by the then-‎ruling party, resulting in thousands of people sacrificing their lives to annihilate the long-‎standing political and administrative suppression of the former ruling Awami League, and being ‎a bloody uprising that ultimately led to the escape of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. ‎This study aims to explore the expectations of July uprising activists and assess the extent to ‎which the objectives that motivated their participation have been fulfilled, using a quantitative ‎approach. The study used convenience sampling and collected 257 (N) data points from ‎respondents using a structured questionnaire. The findings reflected that, though the July mass ‎uprising brought some positive changes in jobs and academics, and brought overall satisfactory ‎alterations in Bangladesh, the July mass uprising could not fulfil the expectations of the ‎activists on a large scale. In conclusion, the authority must be committed to strengthening the ‎spirit of the July mass uprising and fulfilling the expectations of the July mass uprising ‎participants.