Asia | The need for speed

Bangladesh’s new ruler is in a race against time

The country’s police have gone missing

A man walks past graffiti that reads "our new secular Bangladesh" at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh.
A bright new world?Photograph: Reuters
|Dhaka

OVER THE past ten days Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, has been transformed. Images of Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister who fled the country on August 5th, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, her father and Bangladesh’s founding father, have vanished from billboards. Walls covered in posters and slogans advertising the Awami League (AL), their party, have been painted over with colourful graffiti displaying slogans and scenes from the protests that brought down Sheikh Hasina. “Gen Z cleans the mess”, reads one, “Courage is contagious”, another. The mood has changed along with the appearance of the city. “It’s very freeing to be able to talk openly about things after all these years,” says a young NGO worker.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Move fast and fix things”

From the August 17th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Indonesian protesters demonstrate against President Praboao's government

Prabowo Subianto is drastically cutting Indonesia’s budget

The cash saved is going into a new fund he controls

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon

The election in Tajikistan is unlikely to be democratic

Instead it will be a way for Emomali Rahmon, the president, to cement his rule


Illustration of a person with long black hair and a peaceful expression splashes water on themselves. They wear gold jewelry, including bangles, rings, and necklaces, with pink-painted nails.

How overt religiosity became cool in India

The Maha Kumbh Mela shows how tradition has become trendy


The trouble with ancient Indians

India is rapidly ageing. It’s in for some surprises

Singapore’s leader of the opposition is convicted of lying

The city-state’s usually dull politics have taken a turn