Bangladesh, July 27 -- Both began as student protests against a broken system. In Bangladesh, the 2024 quota reform movement forced Sheikh Hasina from power.

In India, the 2026 Cockroach Janta Party protests against exam leaks and unemployment drew large crowds but failed to shake Narendra Modi's government.

The difference lay in how each state responded - and how much legitimacy each still possessed.

In Bangladesh, the spark was Hasina's 14 July statement: "If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don't get quotas, should the grandchildren of razakars get them?" Students immediately answered with the defiant chant "Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar."

When security forces opened fire, the movement turned deadly. Student Abu Say...