Another new party rises from July’s ashes

A fresh political force is stirring in Bangladesh, led by Ali Ahsan Zonaed, a key architect of the July uprising. 

On Sunday evening, March 16, the former Dhaka University Islami Chhatra Shibir president took to Facebook to unveil his plan: a new party set to launch in April, born from the unmet dreams of last year’s mass movement.  

In his post, Zonaed painted a restless picture. “August 5, 2024, sparked a new era in Bangladeshi politics,” he wrote, referencing the ouster of the Awami League regime. 

“But the changes so many fought for in July—justice for the BDR, Shapla, and July massacres, banning the fascist Awami League, dismantling the state’s oppressive skeleton, confronting aggression—have faded from focus,” said lamenting the sidelined recognition for the uprising’s martyrs and wounded, a wound still raw for its foot soldiers.  

Zonaed finds remedy in a “strong platform” uniting the political and social currents of July’s upheaval. “We want to breathe life into the demands of that mass movement,” he declared. 

Once a student leader with Islami Chhatra Shibir, Zonaed now steps onto a broader stage. 

His pivot from organizer to party founder signals a shift—less about ideology’s old banners, more about a coalition forged in protest’s crucible. April’s launch looms as both promise and test: can he rally a fractured movement into a unified voice?  

Bangladesh stands at a crossroads, its July scars still tender. Zonaed’s party isn’t just a new name on the ballot—it’s a bid to reclaim a revolution’s unfinished business. As the calendar ticks toward April, the question lingers: will this be the spark that reignites the fight, or just another echo in the wind?