Resistance, Unrest, Protest and Demonstration Provoked by COVID-19: A Case Study of Bangladesh

Abstract

Covid-19, the pandemic, has been wreaking havoc all around the globe including Bangladesh since its inception in China. Not only has the virus been a great threat to human life, but it has also affected the economic, political, and social aspects of life-generating resistance issues, a number of unrests, protests, and demonstrations. This study, following a mixed methodology, tries to identify the incidence and nature of these social issues brought about by Covid-19. The study finds that both the expatriates and the residents of the country continuously defied the lockdown and social distancing rules as the government had tried to contain the covid-19 through those measures. While the motive for the expatriates was to get away from the authorities and get back home, apathy to follow the new rules, food and work opportunities, job security, and even marriage was the stimulus for the general people to bypass the laws. Unrests like the spreading of rumors, price hikes, a rise of crime, etc. shook all 64 districts of the country. Covid-19, directly or indirectly, provoked more than 250 protests and demonstrations. While the existence of demand for relief or complaints regarding relief distribution was the main incentive for the people of all ages and occupations, reasons such as demand for remuneration and incentives, safety equipment and facilities, closure of educational institutions as well as hospitals, halting specialized hospitals were evident.