M. Ali & Taqbir Huda
Negative labelling against specific groups or individuals is a well-documented feature of intergroup behaviour and has proven effective in marginalizing and discrediting opponents across different contexts and generations. Recent events in Pakistan and Bangladesh, however, demonstrate how Gen Z and social media can significantly diminish the impact of these pejoratives. In Pakistan, supporters of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) embraced and redefined terms like "intashari tola" (anarchist group) and "digital dehshat gard" (digital terrorists) to counter the military's narrative and highlight state brutality. Similarly, in Bangladesh, student protesters turned the pejorative "Razakar" (traitor) against Sheikh Hasina's government, using it to galvanize support and frame the government's actions as a betrayal of the nation. These examples show how Gen Zers have “embraced” and redefined derogatory terms, reshaping the domestic political landscape in their respective countries by spinning the state-sanctioned discourse on its head.
The Digital Dehshatgardi of Pakistan’s Intashari Tola
In April 2022, the Pakistani Parliament ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan from power through a controversial vote of no confidence. Following his removal, Khan blamed the Pakistani military for removing his government, a claim which has been echoed by Khan’s political opponent from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan’s current Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Pakistani military and its leadership have faced unprecedented criticism by supporters of Khan’s political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), primarily on various social media platforms. The online backlash spilled over to the real world when riots broke out across the country on May 9, 2023, after Khan was violently arrested by paramilitary forces on the premises of the Islamabad High Court. The Pakistani military cracked down on Khan’s supporters and party members under the pretext of security, committing gross human rights violations in the process.
A year later, many in the country have called for reconciliation between the military leadership and Imran Khan. The military leadership, however, insists on continuing to frame Khan and his supporters as an undesirable outgroup. While speaking to a group of journalists in May, the spokesperson of the Pakistani military rejected any dialogue with an intashari tola (anarchist group). A few hours later, Khan’s political party posted videos of his violent arrest on X (formerly Twitter) with a caption implying that the real anarchists were the ones trying to pin the blame on the PTI. PTI supporters quickly embraced the term, flooding social media with images and videos of state brutality, labelling members of law enforcement agencies as the true intashari tola. Hence, in a few hours, the state had lost control over the meaning of the term it created.
Over the past two years, it has become increasingly clear that the Pakistani state is unwilling to concede any ground to Khan and his supporters. A few weeks after his initial intashari tola comments, the military’s spokesperson doubled down on the narrative, claiming that criticism of the military came from digital dehshat gards (digital terrorists) who were using their smartphones to spread lies and propaganda.
Terrorism is a deeply sensitive issue for many Pakistanis, due to not only decades of militant violence but also the government's misuse of anti-terrorism laws to silence dissidents. Political dissidents, activists, and ethnic minorities have been labelled as terrorists, often without evidence, and subjected to arbitrary detention, harassment, and enforced disappearances. Many of them languish in jails, deprived of due process and tried at secretive military courts.
Therefore, it was surprising that PTI supporters vociferously embraced the term. People used, and are still using the terms #digitaldehshatgard, digital dehshat gardi and ڈیجیٹل دہشت گردی on X (formerly Twitter) to target the military and current government. The phrase has been so widely adopted that some people changed their profile display names to the term digital dehshat gard. Despite this backlash, the military’s spokesperson reiterated their stance in another press conference, where he lamented the lack of legal action to combat digital terrorism. Ironically, a previous military spokesperson once celebrated the social media activists now labelled as ‘digital terrorists’ as Pakistan’s ‘Fifth Generation Warriors’. These activists’ dramatic shift from being ‘Fifth Generation Warriors’ to ‘digital terrorists’ underscores the military’s struggle to control the narrative in the face of a digitally savvy and defiant Gen Z.
‘Razakars’ versus Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh
The Pakistani public’s reclaiming of the pejoratives against them has undermined the military leadership’s narrative against Imran Khan and his supporters. However, despite these efforts, the masses have been unable to seize power from the military and its representatives. This is in stark contrast to Bangladesh, where people power triumphed and ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving female head of government in the world. In July 2024, Bangladeshi students protested the reinstatement of a quota system reserving over half of government jobs for certain groups, with 30% allocated to the children and grandchildren of muktijoddha (veterans of the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan). They argued this share was disproportionately high, that affirmative action had already reduced muktijoddha's historical disadvantages, and that the system primarily rewarded loyalty to the ruling Awami League.
After two weeks of largely peaceful protests, on 15 July 2024, Sheikh Hasina made an offhand remark on live television that would fundamentally alter the trajectory of the protests and her tenure. In response to a question from a journalist, she exclaimed: "Why do they [the students] have so much resentment towards the freedom fighters? If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters don't get quota benefits, should the grandchildren of Razakars get the benefit?” Razakar is one of the worst insults in the Bangladeshi vocabulary. It refers to collaborators with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war who aided the killings of muktijoddhas and civilians in Bangladesh, denoting the highest form of treason. Incensed by what they saw as an extreme and unprovoked insult, the student protesters immediately retorted by chanting the following slogan:
‘Ami ke? [who am I?]
Tumi ke? [who are you?]
Razakar [traitor]
Razakar [traitor]
Ke boleche? [who called us that?]
Ke boleche?[who called us that?]
Shoyrachar [the dictator]
Shoyrachar [the dictator]
Students across the country gathered all night and chanted this slogan in unison, sardonically embracing the historically pejorative label of Razakar. The students were sending a clear message: Sheikh Hasina could no longer weaponise the trauma of 1971 and deploy its narrative to eradicate opposition, as she had increasingly done during her tenure. Soon after, Bangladeshi students studying abroad similarly organised protests in the city centres of major capitals such as New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney, and chanted the slogan in solidarity with their counterparts in Bangladesh.
Their efforts intensified on social media as student protesters in Bangladesh experienced an unprecedented total communications blackout imposed by Sheikh Hasina’s government. Due to the immense traffic generated by diasporic Bangladeshis and other supporters around the world, #SaveBangladeshiStudents became a trending hashtag on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The violent crackdown by Sheikh Hasina’s government left at least 1,000 people dead and 18,000 injuried. When Sheikh Hasina was eventually forced to flee on 5 August 2024, Bangladeshis stormed her official residence, celebrating what they saw as a second war of liberation. Throughout this process, the use of the pejorative term "Razakar" by the students, both online and offline, played a pivotal role in galvanizing support and framing the government's actions as a betrayal of the nation.
Political Implications and Conclusion
The recent events discussed in this piece highlight a significant shift in the potential landscapes of Pakistan and Bangladesh, which may also apply to other countries. The way the digitally empowered Gen Z has responded to the politics of pejoratives in these countries presents a modern challenge to traditional political elites.
While there is much to be celebrated in the political activism of the youth, the political upheaval resulting from popular uprisings can create volatility and chaos. Governments and political leaders should engage with the youth, acknowledge their concerns, and incorporate their perspectives in the political process through constructive dialogue rather than repressive force. Failure to do so can have deadly results for those in power and those challenging it.
M. Ali has chosen to publish under a pseudonym citing fears over their family’s safety in Pakistan.
Taqbir is a legal researcher currently pursuing an LLM at Harvard Law School. He previously served as a South Asia Regional Researcher at Amnesty International and holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on international human rights law and criminal justice reform.
