New Delhi, June 11 -- The July Uprising of 2024 did not begin in the Gulf. But it was felt there. On factory floors in Riyadh and construction sites outside Kuala Lumpur, Bangladeshi workers watched their country vibrate, and many of them acted. They donated money, organized rallies outside embassies, and amplified protest footage across WhatsApp networks that span continents. Some paid a steep price for it.

That political assertiveness did not dissolve when Sheikh Hasina's government fell. If anything, it has deepened. As Bangladesh moves toward its next national election, one constituency that mainstream commentary continues to underestimate is the country's vast overseas workforce-approximately thirteen million workers spread across t...