Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus salutes to the attendees upon arrival at the Bangabhaban to take oath as the head of the interim government, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A notification issued by the Bangladesh President’s office last week has triggered concerns about “racial profiling” of the minority Hindu community in the neighbouring country.

The notification from the President’s Personnel department, issued on August 29, had sought the personal details of senior Hindu officials in the government, ostensibly to make an invitation list for an event at Bangabhaban, the office and residence of the President of Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin. Vijaya Dashami and Sri Krishna Janmashtami are both in Bangladesh’s list of national holidays.

However, the claim that the list of Hindu officers is being compiled for festival purposes only is “a bit hard to buy”, according to Suhas Chakma, director of the Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), given the backdrop of reported incidents of violence against minority groups in Bangladesh in the wake of last month’s ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.

‘Racial profiling’

“Seeking the list of only Hindu officers by the President of Bangladesh is nothing but an act of racial profiling of the Hindus by the Government of Bangladesh for the purpose of specific targeting of minorities based on their religious belief,” said Mr. Chakma, indicating that the notice has to be seen within the context of several Hindu officials and academics being forced to resign by agitating students and protesters over the last few weeks.

Mr. Chakma, who has been vocal about the condition of religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh, Myanmar and India’s northeastern States, added that there is “genuine fear” that senior officers will be targeted and “silenced”. He pointed out that, subsequent to the notification from the President’s office, other Bangladeshi Ministries have also issued similar notices, citing the festival season. He shared a similar notification issued by the Bangladesh Ministry of Textiles and Jute with The Hindu.

“This violates the UN human rights laws relating to racial discrimination and the rights of the minorities and is a fit case for the UN Rapporteurs to intervene,” Mr. Chakma said.

Expressing concern that Bangladesh might go the Afghanistan way, writer-activist Taslima Nasrin has said that Islamic radicals are brainwashing and indoctrinating youths to make them “anti-India, anti-Hindu, and pro-Pakistan”.

Ms. Nasrin said she and others had initially supported the students’ movement in Bangladesh against an “autocratic government”.

However, the recent actions like violence against Hindus, targeting of journalists and the release of “terrorists” from jails showed it was not a students’ movement but was “planned and funded by Islamic jihadis”, she said.

“When students protested against the quota system in July, we supported them… people who believe in women’s rights, human rights and freedom of expression.”

“Sheikh Hasina was an autocrat who always encouraged fundamentalists and curbed freedom of expression. People were angry with her,” she told PTI in an exclusive interview.

She said they had hoped that a fair election would be conducted to democratically form a new government.

“But afterwards we realised that it was not a students’ movement. It was planned and funded by Islamist jihadis and banned terrorist organisation,” said the author, who had to flee Bangladesh in 1994 following death threats from Islamic fundamentalists and faced a ban on her books.

“We realised that after they started demolishing everything, all the statues, sculptures, museums. The way Hindus were attacked and killed, it was a nightmare.

“Now these people are filing cases against journalists and people who were close to Hasina. They are gradually showing their real faces and motives. All the terrorists, who were in jail, are released. It was not at all a students’ movement,” said the author.

The ‘Lajja’ author has not returned to Bangladesh since her exile and has been living in India since 2005 (except from 2008 to 2010).

She also expressed apprehensions that Bangladesh could become another Afghanistan or Iran, going by the way the current interim government was operating under the guidance of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

“Yunus says that they are celebrating their victory. People are burning houses of Hindus. What kind of celebration is this? They are destroying everything. All the statues of freedom fighters have been demolished including that of the father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“But the Pakistan Army’s statues are intact – (the army) which killed 30 million people during the war and raped millions of women,” said the 62-year-old writer, who is known for being an outspoken critic of radical Islamic elements.

She said that Mr. Yunus knew “very well that the country would be ruled by jihadis and he has no problem with it”.

“While we thought that he would conduct an election. It didn’t happen. They are not talking about secularism and they want to make Bangladesh like Afghanistan or Iran which is very scary,” she said.

Mr. Yunus had called for halting attacks on Hindus after he was named the head of the interim government, but Nasreen alleged that he didn’t take any action against the violence.

“We are not hopeful but at the same time we are wishing that Bangladesh does not become the next Afghanistan,” she said.

She also blamed Hasina for the current situation and said that the rise of Islamic radicals was not sudden.

“I blame Hasina for that because she chose religion to stay in power forever. She built 560 model mosques and madrasas instead of secular schools to appease the Islamists.

“She also destroyed the education system by making madrasa degrees equivalent to university degrees so the people who only studied Quran and Hadis went to universities and even became teachers,” she alleged.

“They made it compulsory for women to wear hijabs and burkas. It was all created by Hasina,” she said.

Ms. Nasrin said that anti-India sentiment “is high” in Bangladesh at present.

“I was thrown out of Bangladesh in 1994 by Khalida Zia and when Hasina came in power she did not allow me to enter the country.

“In 1998 I entered Bangladesh to meet my mother who was in the last stage of cancer. My mother died and in the next few days Hasina threw me out of the country and never allowed me to enter,” the author said, recalling her ordeal.

“I am not against Hasina because she harassed me, but because she was an autocrat who did not believe in freedom of speech.

“Many free thinkers were killed during her regime by jihadis. The rise of Islamic radicals is not sudden. Hindus were attacked more in her regime than any other regime,” Nasreen alleged.

She said that youths are brainwashed against India and Hindus in Bangladesh.

“Hindus are leaving now and they are left with less than seven percent. Islamic radicals attack Hindus during elections, puja or to grab their properties. Hasina allowed them to give religious sermons everywhere that were always anti-women and anti-Hindus.

“When you brainwash youths like this, they would become a generation who are against Hindus, against India, against women and are pro-Pakistan, pro-jihad, pro fanatics,” she said.

Ms. Nasrin said she cannot hope to go back to Bangladesh under the current regime and her resident permit in India has also not been renewed.

“I cannot go back to my country. Khalida and Hasina never allowed me and now it is impossible to imagine in this jihadi rule,” she said.

“I feel India is like home and I have been living here since 2005. Very surprisingly my resident permit has not been renewed and there is no information. It expired on July 27. I don’t know anyone in the government and feel clueless. Normally it gets renewed before the expiry date,” said the veteran author.

“Some of my relatives are still in Bangladesh but most of them died whom I loved very much. My grandmother, my father, my uncles, my aunts. I have the right to enter my country. I ask this question to everyone but sadly there is no answer,” she said.

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, has said that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an “unfriendly gesture”, asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.

“If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” he said.

In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Mr. Yunus, who was appointed the country’s Chief Advisor after Hasina’s ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move “beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina.”

“No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she been quiet, we would have forgotten it; people would have also forgotten it as she would have been in her own world. But sitting in India, she is speaking and giving instructions. No one likes it,” he said.

Mr. Yunus was referring to Hasina’s statement on August 13 in which she demanded “justice”, saying those involved in recent “terror acts”, killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified, and punished.

“It is not good for us or for India. There is discomfort regarding it,” he said.

Following unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled to India. Her presence in India for nearly four weeks has fuelled speculation in Bangladesh.

When asked whether Bangladesh has communicated its stance to India, Mr. Yunus said it has been conveyed verbally and quite firmly that she should keep quiet.

“Everyone understands it. We have said quite firmly that she should keep quiet. This is an unfriendly gesture towards us; she has been given shelter there and she is campaigning from there. It is not that she has gone there on a normal course. She has fled following a people’s uprising and public anger,” he said.

Mr. Yunus stated that the interim government is committed to ensuring justice for the people of Bangladesh against the atrocities, and justice requires that she be brought back to the country.

“Yes, she has to be brought back or else the people of Bangladesh won’t be at peace. The kind of atrocities she has committed, she has to be tried in front of everyone here,” he emphasised.

Discussing the future of the India-Bangladesh relationship, Mr. Yunus expressed a desire for good ties with India but insisted that New Delhi must abandon the narrative that only Ms. Hasina’s leadership ensures the country’s stability.

“The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will make this country into Afghanistan. And Bangladesh is in safe hands with Sheikh Hasina at the helm only. India is captivated by this narrative. India has to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is another neighbour,” he said.

Referring to the recent incidents of alleged attacks on Hindu minorities in the country and India raising concerns about it, Mr. Yunus said this is just an excuse.

“The issue of trying to portray the conditions of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse,” he said.

The minority Hindu population has faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted following the ouster of Ms. Hasina.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, expressed hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would return to normal soon and stated that 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.

The 84-year-old Nobel laureate emphasised the need for India and Bangladesh to work together to improve their currently strained relationship.

When asked about ways to improve the Indo-Bangla relations, Yunus said both the countries need to work together and it is on a downhill presently.

“We need to work together to improve this relationship, which is now at a low,” he said.

Speaking about the future of bilateral treaties with India, Mr. Yunus said there are demands for a relook at certain treaties such as transit and the Adani electricity deal.

“Everybody is saying that it is needed. We will see what is on paper and, second, what is actually happening on the ground. I can’t answer it specifically. If there is any need to review, we will then raise questions about it,” he said.

The BNP has said if voted to power, it will review and re-evaluate the “questionable” Adani electricity deal signed during the Awami League regime, as it is putting “tremendous pressure” on the people of Bangladesh.

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities.
| Photo Credit: PTI

GUWAHATI

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities on Saturday (August 31, 2024).

Panna was found dead at an inclined betel nut plantation in the Dona Bhoi area of the State’s East Jaintia Hills district on August 26. The spot is about 1.5 km from the India-Bangladesh border.

Officials in Meghalaya said the Bangladesh government had deputed an official to collect the body from the district’s Khliehriat Civil Hospital. The body was handed over to the representative of Dhaka after identification and necessary paperwork.

The Awami League leader’s body was then taken to a friendship gate of the Border Security Force and the Border Guard Bangladesh at Dawki, from where it was taken to Bangladesh’s Pirojpur district via Tamabil across the border.

Police officials in Meghalaya said Panna was identified from a passport found on his body. The State Government did not share the post-mortem report but the local media cited unnamed police officials to claim he died due to asphyxia after being throttled.

Earlier, the Meghalaya Government informed New Delhi and Dhaka about the recovery of the body. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, also the Home Minister, said on Friday (August 30, 2024) that the relatives of the deceased identified the body and they were on their way to Meghalaya.

“The exact cause of death will be known after the forensic test report is received and the case will be probed further,” he said.

Haider Ali discussed the media scene, sources, young students, and professionals walked in with stories that they were afraid to reveal to the media earlier this year when Sheikh Hasina had won the controversial election. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

On August 19, a group of men arrived at the East West Media Group’s office in the heart of Dhaka and indulged in vandalism. They also hurt a female journalist and threatened those present. The media house in the Bashundhara neighbourhood is home to several leading newspaper and TV brands in Bangladesh which had navigated Sheikh Hasina’s iron-fisted media and social media policies and had managed to thrive during the past one-and-a-half decades. The expectation from the student-led uprising was that it would strengthen the civil liberty and the attack came as a shocker which drew protest from all sections of the post-Hasina interim administration. The last fortnight has not been easy for the Bangladesh media.

Revolution was being telecast throughout August 5 when viewers worldwide noticed that Ekattor TV had gone missing from YouTube. That afternoon of freedom also had a dark side and several TV channels were raided by trouble makers who accused these channels of being pro-Hasina. Ekattor TV’s office in the Baridhara neighbourhood was vandalised and burnt down and mob took over Samay TV and broke furniture forcing the channel to abandon telecasting. ATN Bangla in the heart of the busy Karwan Bazar was also attacked though it continued to function throughout the chaotic hours. Within a day, eight channels were attacked and dozens were intimidated. Fortunately, the journalists bounced back.

Analysis: Why Hasina fell

Right in the busy Karwan Bazar which is the scene for daily protests by workers, students and political workers, is the Rainy Roof restaurant on the 12th floor of a building that overlooks the busy junction below. It is here that professional journalists from the leading channels and publications met every night of the last fortnight after work and plotted a course of recovery in the backdrop of the change of government. They were determined to tell the story of the fall of a government in their country but were not willing to perish in the process. As a result of the mobilisation of professional journalists from the leading channels of Dhaka, the media is slowly getting back. The mics of Ekattor TV and Samay TV have staged a comeback as the editorial lines are being reinvented and as the studios are being redecorated with new monitors and cameras.

“We have been told that we should consider that the previous studio was lost in a natural disaster and that we are now re-emerging from that traumatic event,” a journalist with the Ekattor TV which was targeted by the mob for its perceived reputation of being pro-Hasina at one time said.

“I tried to do a professional work as a journalist and exposed corruption in the Hasina government and as a result had legal cases launched against me. We survived those tough times and are hoping that the media scene will see through the current era of transition,” Haider Ali, Head of Investigative Cell of Kaler Kantha, a prominent newspaper of the Bashundhara Group which was targeted by miscreants earlier, said.

As Mr. Ali discussed the media scene, sources, young students, and professionals walked in with stories that they were afraid to reveal to the media earlier this year when Ms. Hasina had won the controversial election. One of the main reasons that prevented corruption stories from being broken was the 2018 Digital Security Act of the Hasina-led government that threatened media freedom as exposing corruption was equated with criminal defamation. In the last phase of Sheikh Hasina government, Bangladesh was pushed into an internet blackout. Despite the blackout, newspapers like Prothom Alo, Daily Star, Kaler Kantha, New Age, and channels like Jamuna TV and News 24 kept Bangladesh and the world informed about the crackdown against students and other enraged protesters. Having reported the revolution, the media in Bangladesh like the rest of the country are coming to terms with the new political reality and getting ready for a new chapter.

The latest decision implies that the diplomatic passport that the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina used while fleeing to India has now been revoked. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

The interim government of Bangladesh has decided to revoke all diplomatic passports issued to the Members of Parliament who served during the Awami League government, the security branch of the Home Ministry of Bangladesh said on Wednesday evening. The decision implies that the diplomatic passport that the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina used while fleeing to India has now been revoked. 

“The security service of the Home Ministry has taken this decision after consulting all stakeholders and has already alerted all emigration counters of the country,” the Home Ministry said in a statement shared with the media here.

A formal order will be issued “at the earliest”, the notification said. Ms. Hasina had won from the Gopalganj-3 constituency to enter the Jatiyo Sansad in the January election as a re-elected MP.

Also read | Bangladesh’s student movement and Hasina’s exit: the hard truth and India’s hour of reckoning

The decision taken two weeks after the formation of the interim government has highlighted the antipathy that the interim administration and the student leaders have been expressing over the presence of Ms. Hasina in India. Ms. Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana left Bangladesh on August 5 as protesters flooded Dhaka.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi has been tight-lipped about the diplomatic status that Ms. Hasina used to seek refuge in India though it is understood that as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh she had a diplomatic passport that she used while leaving for India.

At least nine more complaints were filed on Tuesday against Bangladesh’s deposed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her aides, taking the number of cases against her to 31, including 26 on charges of murder, four on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide and one for abduction.

Supreme Court lawyer Gazi MH Tamim filed a complaint with Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on behalf of Mufti Harun Ijahar Chowdhury, joint secretary general (education and law) of Hefajat-e-Islam, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The complaint accused Hasina and 23 others of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during a Hefajat-e-Islam rally at Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar on May 5, 2013.

“We registered the complaint, and thus the investigation has started from today,” Deputy Director (admin) of the investigation agency Ataur Rahman was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

This is the fourth complaint filed with the International Crimes Tribunal against the former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following massive protests against her regime.

Of the four, three cases are connected to the recent violence centring on the quota reform movement.

Separately, eight more cases were filed against the Awami League chairperson on Tuesday across the country, accusing her of killings committed during the recent protests, the newspaper said.

With these cases, Hasina is now facing 31 cases, including 26 on charges of murder, four on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide and one for abduction, it added.

Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul and sister Sheikh Rehana were made co-accused in a killing case for the first time, the paper said.

The prominent accused in the Hefajat-e-Islam case include Awami League general secretary and former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former minister Rashed Khan Menon, former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, ex-advisor to prime minister Salman F Rahman, former security advisor to the prime minister Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque, editor of ABnews24.com Subhash Singha Roy and former army chief Aziz Ahmed.

Besides them, some unnamed ministers, state ministers and lawmakers, unnamed individuals from law enforcement agencies and the then policymakers of some electronic and print media were accused in the case.

According to the complaint, the accused, by giving directives and plan, committed crimes against humanity and genocide by killing Hefajat activists in Dhaka and surrounding areas and in different districts, including Chattogram, Narayanganj and Cumilla, between May 5 and 6, 2013, the paper said.

The Hasina-led government set up the International Crimes Tribunal in March 2010 to try those who committed war crimes in 1971. A second ICT was formed later. Five Jamaat-e-Islami and a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader were executed following the verdicts of the two tribunals.

BNP’s Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday asked India to extradite Hasina to face trial as he accused her of plotting to thwart the country’s revolution.

Hasina, her son Sajeeb, daughter Saima and sister Rehana and 17 others were sued in a case filed over the killing of a fruit seller in the capital’s Jatrabari on August 5.

The victim’s father, Sultan Miah, filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shakil Ahmed.

Another case was filed against Hasina and 49 others over the death of Md Omar Faruque, a student of Kabi Nazrul Government College, at Laxmibazar of Sutrapur on July 19.

Hasina and 24 others were sued for the death of 18-year-old garment worker Sohel Rana in the city’s Adabor area on August 5.

In Savar, Hasina and 75 Awami League men were sued over the murder of a barber shop worker on August 5.

In Narayanganj, a case was filed against Hasina, seven former ministers and lawmakers and 179 others for killing a bus helper in the Kanchpur area of Sonargaon upazila.

In Rangpur, Hasina, her sister and 49 were sued over the killing of a vegetable trader during the quota reform movement on July 19.

In Joypurhat, a murder case has been filed against Hasina along with 216 others in connection with the death of an auto driver in front of a police station on August 5.

In Bogura, Hasina and Obaidul Quader have been sued for the murder of a rickshaw puller on August 4.

Meanwhile, the interim government said it didn’t shut down any media outlet.

The government firmly believes in a free press and freedom of speech, according to a press release of the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

The Hasina-led government was replaced by an interim government, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was named its Chief Adviser.

In August 2024, Bangladesh witnessed one of the most significant political upheavals in its recent history.

Also Read: Bangladesh jailbreaks a worry for India: think tank

What began as a protest against a controversial quota system in government jobs evolved into a nationwide movement that ultimately led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest serving political leader (from 1996-2001 and 2009-2024). The irony is that both the government and the students were initially aligned in their desire for quota reform, with the government preparing to appeal against the court order that led to the restoration of the quota system. The inevitable question then is what could have gone so wrong that the world’s longest serving female head of government was ousted within a week?

This movement was primarily led by students not affiliated with any political party, making it a genuinely organic uprising. The spark that ignited the protests came on June 5, when the High Court re-established a job quota reserving 30% of civil service posts for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters of Bangladesh’s liberation war. This reignited a long-standing debate about the fairness of the quota system in government employment.

Also Read: Our intelligence failed to predict Bangladesh crisis, say experts

Initially, protests were peaceful and as the movement gained momentum, by July 7, students had escalated their actions, staging blockades and demanding rescinding of the quota. On July 10, a student’s blockade severely affected Dhaka’s transport system.

As the movement grew, so did the tension between the protesters and authorities. On July 14, a controversial statement by Prime Minister Hasina, referring to protesters as the “children of Razakars” (collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 war), inflamed the situation. Ms. Hasina’s aggressive stance and derogatory comments aggravated the protesters, and the government had to shut down the internet to disrupt communication among protesters.

The last nail in the coffin was unleashing the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the much despised student wing of the ruling Awami League, who attacked protesters, which rapidly escalated and galvanised the movement as protests spread nationwide, with students from schools, colleges, and private universities joining. Major highways and railway lines were blocked, bringing much of the country to a standstill.

The government announced indefinite closure of all educational institutes. The situation reached a critical point on July 18 when approximately 20 students were killed amid clashes between the protesters and police. Thus, negotiations between the government and protest leaders began on July 19. However, these talks were marred by allegations of government coercion and the disappearance of key coordinators.

The beginning of the end

On July 21, the Supreme Court reduced the quota percentage from 30% to 7%. This was seen as a potential breakthrough, but it failed to quell the unrest due to the arrests of student protest coordinators. The movement persisted, with protesters resuming large-scale demonstrations on July 29 after the government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders.

On August 2, the situation escalated with renewed clashes between protesters and police. The movement reached its climax on August 3 when the students movement announced their single key demand — the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. They called for a non-cooperation movement from August 4, effectively marking the end of the quota protests and the beginning of a broader anti-government movement. Violence shook the nation, with the death toll climbing to a nearly 100 people — the highest and deadliest death toll for a single-day protest in the nation’s history.

Public anger mounted, and on August 5 the “March to Dhaka” brought hundreds of thousands to the streets in Dhaka and other surrounding towns. It was at this point that law enforcers realised the situation was beyond control and advised Ms. Hasina to step down. She reportedly refused and urged for more forceful measures to subdue the crowd. In a crucial turn of events, the army refused to comply. Faced with a refusal from the military and a massive public uprising, Ms. Hasina finally fled the country. A revolution spearheaded by students succeeded in toppling an increasingly authoritarian regime that had been in power for 15 years.

The opposition and India’s position

Throughout this period, protests were marked by a complex interplay of various actors. Students formed the core of the movement, but with the loss of innocent lives, it increasingly became a mass popular movement joined by parents, teachers, lawyers, cultural activists, artists, professionals and civil society members. The international community also took notice, with organisations like UNICEF expressing concern over the deaths of at least 32 children during the crackdown. The protests highlighted deep-seated issues in Bangladesh’s political and social fabric, including concerns about authoritarian rule, lack of participative democracy, nepotism, corruption, and suppression of dissent.

In the aftermath of Ms. Hasina’s departure, there was an outpouring of pent-up anger towards anything associated with her and the Awami League. This included desecration of statues and murals of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who led Bangladesh’s war of liberation. Even if there is some element of truth in Awami League’s claim that the student movement was exploited by opposition parties, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the right wing Jamaat-e-Islami, it does not take away from the fact that anger and discontent had been fuelling below the surface for a long time due to Ms. Hasina’s repressive style of governance wherein she suppressed opposition and presided over three controversial, non-participative elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024. If the opposition took advantage, hiding behind the cloak of the student movement, and unleashed unacceptable violence resulting in the loss and damage of public property and killing of law enforcers, Awami League can’t avoid responsibility by letting a one-point quota reform movement spiral out of control because of the sheer arrogance and high handedness it displayed from the very beginning.

The Indian government’s response, articulated by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on August 6, was notable for its omission of human rights violations and killings that had occurred. It appeared to downplay the democratic nature of the movement, instead framing it in a way that aligned with the Awami League’s narrative of external instigation. This approach has been criticised for failing to recognise the genuine grievances and widespread public discontent that fuelled the protests. India’s policy of turning a blind eye to Ms. Hasina’s exercise of hard power, often justified by some of the commendable economic progress and relative stability achieved during her rule, did not go well in Bangladesh. Most Bangladeshis view India’s relations as being aligned with one particular party and one person as opposed to the people of Bangladesh. This presents a challenge for India’s diplomacy and the need for having a more nuanced understanding of Bangladesh’s socio-political landscape.

As aptly stated by Shivshankar Menon, India’s former National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, “Primarily, it was a people’s movement. It was a revolution on the streets, and we should recognise it as such rather than looking for foreign influences or purely political explanations.” Additionally, the role of a section of the Indian media did not go well in Bangladesh where exaggerations and at times outright fake news, as verified by credible sources like BBC, about the persecution of Hindu minorities generated anger and resentment in Bangladesh when policies such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the persecution of Muslims in India in the last decade are fresh in their minds. While there may have been instances of attacks on minorities, what was notable is the open public vigil by students, activists, and even opposition parties against attack on minorities, particularly Hindus, with helplines and phone numbers given out for seeking support should any such attack take place. Professor Muhammad Yunus visited the Dhakeshwari National Temple, exchanged greetings with leaders of the Hindu community, and assured them of their safety and security.

What next?

As the movement transitioned from quota reform protests to a broader call for political change, Bangladesh is entering unchartered territory. Depending on how things unfold in the coming months as the interim government takes the reign of power, South Asia’s rising star is facing one of its biggest challenges on the path to achieving a pluralistic society based on democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, inclusive growth, and human rights. The events of 2024 would have far-reaching implications for the country’s political landscape, governance structures, and social dynamics.

Also Read: Nearly 650 people killed in recent spate of violence in Bangladesh: UN report

Given the open enmity Ms. Hasina displayed against the interim government leader Prof. Yunus, including the alleged corruption charges brought about by her government against the Nobel laureate, which he termed as politically motivated, the challenge for Prof. Yunus would be to rise to the occasion and hold a free, fair, and participative election in contrast to what the Awami League did for 15 years.

For India, the takeaway is the importance of engaging with the broader population rather than relying solely on relationships with one individual or party. Embracing the truth helps in the long run as opposed to either being in a state of denial or continuing the justification of misperceptions. After all, Bangladeshis know their country better than outsiders, including their friends and neighbours.

Syed Munir Khasru is chairman of the Institute for Policy, Advocacy and Governance, an international think tank.

An application was filed with a court in Bangladesh on Sunday (August 18, 2024) to register a case against deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 33 others, accusing them of carrying out a ‘mass’ murder by indiscriminately firing on a rally organised in 2013 by Hefazat-e-Islam, in Dhaka.

“Babul Sardar Chakhari, chairman of the Bangladesh People’s Party (BPP), applied to the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Zaki-Al-Farabi,” the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The application accused them of the ‘mass’ murder during the rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on May 5, 2013. The court recorded the plaintiff’s statement and said it would pass an order on the issue later.

With this, 76-year-old Hasina, who resigned from the Premiership and fled to India on August 5 following a mass uprising, now faces 11 cases, including eight for murder, one for abduction, and two for committing crimes against humanity and genocide, in Bangladesh.

More than 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs first started in mid-July.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) started an investigation against the former Premier and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during students’ mass movement against her government.

An interim government was formed after the fall of the Hasina-led regime, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as its Chief Advisor.

School girls sit in a classroom, in Dhaka, on August 7, 2024, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh on Sunday (August 18, 2024) reopened all educational institutions, including universities, secondary schools and colleges, across the country after more than a month of closure due to violence centring the student-led protests that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The educational institutions in Bangladesh were closed indefinitely on July 17 to ensure the safety of students in the wake of clashes that erupted during the recent movement demanding reform of the job quota system.

The Ministry of Education on Thursday (August 15, 2024) issued a directive to reopen the institutions under its jurisdiction. All the educational institutions reopened on Sunday, after a month of closure.

According to Somoy Television, a Bengali news channel based in Dhaka, “All concerned have been asked to take necessary steps to resume academic activities in all the educational institutions from August 18 following the instruction of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus,” a notification signed by Deputy Secretary Mosammat Rahima Akhtar, said on August 15.

In the morning, school students in uniform were seen going to their institutions, many accompanied by guardians, the Daily Star reported.

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Many points of Dhaka city are witnessing severe traffic congestion due to the reopening of educational institutions. The working week is from Sunday to Thursday in Bangladesh.

Initially, classes were scheduled to resume on August 4 in all government primary schools, except in the 12 city corporations and Narsingdi municipality, but this was also postponed.

Meanwhile, the postponed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations will be resumed from September 11. According to the revised routine, the exams will be completed on October 23.

Classes at public universities have been suspended since July 1 when teachers went on strike in protest of a new pension scheme.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, the educational institutions were declared open on August 7, but the academic activities could not be resumed fully due to the low attendance of students.