In recent weeks, Bangladesh has seen the development of a major protest movement against the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina. The protests began in opposition to a quota system that restricts access to civil service jobs. The authorities responded with a crackdown that has claimed more than two hundred lives, with thousands more still being held in custody.

For Jacobin, Promise Li spoke to Lydia Silva, a Bangladeshi activist with the Bangladesh Krishok Federation and Bangladesh Chhatra Shava, about the origins of the protest movement, its likely impact on politics in Bangladesh, and the state of the left-wing forces in the country.