People who had been protests in Dhaka before told me that they have not seen anything this big since the pro-democracy protests against General Ershad. Some say this even dwarfs that. Soon enough, the demands on the protesters went beyond asking for death penalty for Kader Mollah. This finally coalesced in to the six-point demand from the 'Projonmo Chottor', which is the informal name for the Shahbag demonstration - which roughly translates as the Generation Campus/Square.

The 6-points:

Maximum penalty for all war criminals including Kader Mollah.
Ensuring equal legal rights of both defendant and prosecution, ensuring 3-month time limit on all trials, abolishing clemency power of the state for these trials.
Banning Pakistani aggressor force's allies Jamat-Shibir and all communal parties for resisting Bangladesh liberation and committing war crimes. Immediate arrest and justice for activists of Jamat-Shibir for threatening a civil war by identifying through television and print media pictures.
Bring all the political parties, forces, individuals and organizations who are trying to safeguard these war criminals, resisting the trials and conspiring with them to justice.
Arrest and bring under ICT Trials all the war criminals who were either convicted or undergoing trial till their release on December 31, 1975
Ban all the business, social and cultural organisations like Islami Bank, Ibn SIna, Focus, Retina Coaching, etc. Block all the local and foreign sources of income of Jamat-Shibir. Shut down war criminal owned media organisations like Diganta TV, Daily Naya Diganta, Daily Amar Desh, Daily Sangram, blogsite SonarBangladesh.com, etc.

The last point is significant because Jamaat and its cohorts run one of the largest business networks in Bangladesh.

Also, solidarity protests have been held beyond Dhaka in almost all parts of Bangladesh. I myself saw protests in Barisal being held in front of the Ashwini Dutta Town Hall. Certain progressive-left cultural troupes like Udichi are taking a very active role in organising these- through singing songs of Liberation war and also Bangla songs of Rabindranath Thakur, Dwinjendra Lal Ray and other stalwarts. There are extempore paintings being done by local artists. In Shahbag, at any point, 2-3 film screenings, 4-5 street theatres and numerous small gatherings (jotlas) were happening side by side with the central assembly. The atmosphere was electric - nothing like what I have ever seen before, and being from Calcutta, I have been to many protests, including the much talked about Delhi rape protests.

People in Shahbag are indeed asserting the importance of secular politics. This is evident in their slogans and in the absence of informal obeisances to this religion or the other, which take place in many other 'secular' scenarios. Apart from brief Namaj breaks, I noticed nothing that had any particular stamp. What was interesting that most of the assembly were not talking of 'true Islam' or 'true Hinduism' but of a politics bereft of the use of religion. I am not sure whether Shahbag's strand of hard secularism is representative of Bangladesh as a whole, but Shahbag is a political act and in that, in aims for a change, rather than simply reflect what is. So Shahbag's secularism is derived partly from the present polity but also is trying to project a political programme. Interestingly, this separation of religion from politics is something that is enshrined in the 1972 constitution, which the military rulers removed. Sadly, the Awami League has not fully restored the 1972 constitution - the present constitution is a strange chimera - it has Islam as state religion and also says that that the republic is secular, at the same time!

The question of war crimes is central to this movement. The 1971 Liberation war is the central defining event that resulted in the nation-state of the people's republic of Bangladesh. That central fissure, of those for and those against the idea of Bangladesh, remains unresolved - as those against the idea have retained considerable clout in politics. They have tried to systematically distort history. The War crimes are important because in spite of all the distortion, except a few religious cranks, no one really disputes that they really happened. The war criminals represent a festering wound - of the kind few nation-states have. Imagine having the butcher of Jallianwalabagh being a minister in post-British Punjab! Then you start getting an idea of what we are talking about. The war crimes trials are a short-hand for historical justice, but also for many, something that needs to be resolved so that those who opposed independence violently can be delegitimized in politics.

The link between secular identity and war crimes is important. The war crimes happened in the name of preserving the unity of the islamic state, pakistan. The Hindus of East Bengal were victims of war crimes in disproportionately high numbers. Even in 1971, the pro Liberation forces were touted to be anti-Islam for being pro-Bengali. In this nation-state, Muslims form a progressively stupendous majority. So, the demand for war crimes trial, also is part of the demand the calls for a return to the 'ideals of 71' - which, in theory, is not communal.

Many said, if Shahbag has done one thing, it is this - earlier, in many places, the 'commoner' would criticize Jamaat in a low voice. Now they swear openly at it. The Jamaat and its associates are a marginal but significant political force in Bangladesh. The silence was due to their terror techniques. Especially notorious is their student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir. The similarity with the IJT's terrorizing of campuses in Pakistan is striking.

If the 6 demands of Shahbag are fulfilled, then Jamaat will be politically extinguished - their strand of politics will find other outlets. So for JI, this is a battle for political survival. They are fighting back on all fronts. In any case JI cadres are brain-washed to believe that they are perennially besieged. They are doing online propaganda, trying to misguide international human rights organizations, and on the streets, they are doing looting, killing and arson. Very recently, they have been targetting Hindu and Buddhist temples, homes and businesses to create a riot-like situation.

Shahbag has destroyed the myth that the youth of this generation are political. However, it has also destroyed the myth that one can wish away or solve the burning issues of our times using Facebook or holding candles. (IPA Service)