After the assault on Gono Odhikar Parishad activists, particularly its president Nurul Haque Nur, a slogan has begun to echo from the streets of Dhaka to towns across the country: “No more military, back to the barracks quickly.”
This call is not confined to rallies. It is also resonating within civil society. Teachers, lawyers, and cultural figures widely believe the army’s role should be restricted to ensuring national security, not interfering in the everyday politics of citizens’ lives.
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has repeatedly stated that his soldiers’ permanent home is the barracks, not the streets. He has stressed time and again: “Once the country returns to democracy, the army will gladly go back to the barracks.” Yet, under the weight of current realities, this aspiration appears increasingly delayed.
Across Bangladesh, the law enforcement machinery remains largely paralysed. The government has failed to take bold steps to restore full control to the police. In this vacuum, “mobocracy” has taken root—where crowds, rather than courts, determine justice. Protesters mete out punishments in some places, while partisan muscle decides penalties in others. The state’s authority has become fragmented and fragile.
This void is pushing the army back into public spaces. Soldiers are setting up checkpoints, dispersing crowds, even positioning themselves near political events. But everyone recognises that the longer the military stays entangled with civilians, the more its image of neutrality and respect erodes. History has shown that prolonged military presence in Bangladesh’s politics has only ever produced unwanted consequences.
Both inside and outside the defence establishment, many acknowledge this reality. Prolonged street duty, with direct confrontations against citizens, creates a stigma that leaves lasting damage on the institution. Soldiers themselves are aware that their true professional calling lies in defending borders, aiding during national disasters, and contributing to peacekeeping abroad—not in managing political unrest on city streets.
This is why the army chief’s words carry such weight. He is calling for a swift transfer of power through political means, so that soldiers can return responsibilities to the police and withdraw to their bases.
Citizens, meanwhile, are observing that the interim government’s pledge to restore political stability remains largely unfulfilled. Administrative paralysis persists on one side, while political confrontation heats up on the other. Marches, counter-marches, and slogans have injected fear into everyday life.
The government is failing to demonstrate effective leadership. The police still lean on the presence of the military. This has sparked public doubts: on what, or on whom, does this government’s survival truly rest?
The only resolution to the crisis is a swift election. Elections are not only about casting ballots—they mean returning state power to political parties and legitimising governance through the people’s mandate.
The military itself knows that without popular consent, its presence cannot be sustainable. That is why it, too, wants political parties to assume responsibility. The sooner a democratic transition occurs, the sooner soldiers can return to their rightful home—the barracks.
“No more military, back to the barracks quickly” has become more than a slogan of protest. It is now a symbol of civic aspiration, an echo of history in which Bangladeshis have repeatedly shed blood to prove that governance must return to the people.
This cry is not only a reaction to the attack on Nurul Haque Nur—it is part of a long-standing demand: that politics be led by the people, not the military.
Bangladesh today stands at a precarious crossroads—between the menace of mob rule and the unease of military overreach. The limitations of the interim government are becoming ever clearer.
In this reality, there is only one path to freedom: democracy. That means holding elections without delay, transferring responsibility back to political forces, and allowing the military to return to the barracks with dignity. This is now the country’s most urgent task.