New Delhi:

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus – who last week took oath as head of Bangladesh’s interim government – has heaped praise on students who spearheaded protests against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “There is no doubt… because of the student-led revolution the whole government collapsed…” Mr Yunus told reporters after a Sunday night meet with the students.

“I said (to the students), ‘I respect you… I admire you. What you have done is absolutely unparalleled… and because you ordered me to do this (to take charge of the interim administration) I accept…’,” Mr Yunus said, recounting part of the conversation he had with the students.

Two of the student protesters – Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud – are part of a 16-member advisory council that was sworn in with Mr Yunus. The 84-year-old won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work in microfinance and setting up the Grameen Bank, which works for community development.

READ | Md Yunus Takes Oath As Head Of Bangladesh Interim Government

Mr Yunus has also stressed the wave of resignations of high-ranking public officials, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of Bangladesh’s central bank, was “conducted legally”.

They had reportedly been issued ultimatums to quit.

READ | Why Bangladesh Chief Justice, Sheikh Hasina Loyalist, Was Forced To Quit

“They want to have a new court,” he said of the students. “So they went there and asked the chief justice to resign and put their pressure to make him resign.”

“I’m sure they will find the legal way to justify all of this, because legally… all the steps were followed,” he said. His office only agreed to publish these quotes Monday evening.

“The Monster Is Gone”

“Finally, this moment, the monster is gone,” Mr Yunus also said, referring to Ms Hasina’s departure and the end of what her critics said was an autocratic rule that stifled all dissent. 

However, Mr Yunus warned the interim government that public goodwill is a limited resource and that they would face many difficult decisions ahead. “The moment you start taking decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions,” he said. “…that’s the way it works.”

Interim Bangladesh Government

The interim government was formed after Bangladesh witnessed weeks of violence and clashes – triggered by protests over a jobs quota – forced Ms Hasina, a five-time PM, to resign and flee.

READ | Explained: How Gen Z Women And Military Transformed Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina left the Prime Minister’s residence in Dhaka – hours before it was overrun – and flew to India in a Bangladeshi military aircraft. The 76-year-old, seen as a key ally of New Delhi, remains in an undisclosed location amid reports she will seek political asylum, possibly in the United Kingdom.

Following Ms Hasina’s departure Md Yunus – who faced multiple corruption charges under the previous government and was in Europe while Sheikh Hasina was in power – was picked by the protesting to oversee democratic reforms.

His first act after being administered an oath of office – and taking the title of ‘chief advisor’ – was to lead a solemn tribute to the more than 450 people who died in the protests.

READ | Muhammad Yunus Honours Heroes, First Act As Bangladesh Interim Leader

It is unclear when Bangladesh will hold an election to select a new Prime Minister. Whenever that is, Mrs Hasina is likely to return to contest, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy told The Times of India. “She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he said.

India Extends “Best Wishes”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Mr Yunus,

READ |PM Extends Best Wishes To Yunus, “Hopes For Safety Of Hindus”

“We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development,” he wrote on X. 

READ | How Sheikh Hasina’s Ouster Affects India-Bangladesh Ties

With the change of guard in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Indian government now faces a diplomatic dilemma, even as China was also swift to welcome Dhaka’s new authorities, saying it “attaches importance to the development” of relations.

With input from agencies

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Students clash with police during a protest over the allocation of government jobs, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

For the first time, the Bangladesh government on Monday officially acknowledged that 150 people were killed across the country during the students’ unrest over the quota system.

Violence gripped Bangladesh recently and the government called in the Army to quell protests against job quotas. The protests, which started in universities and colleges earlier this month, quickly turned into a more widespread agitation against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government. The unrest has left several thousand people, including policemen, wounded and major government installations damaged.

“The government has decided that a nationwide mourning will be observed tomorrow… People have been urged to wear black badges to mourn the deaths (during the violence),” Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told a media briefing after a meeting chaired by Ms. Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

He said mosques, temples, pagodas and churches across the country were also urged to offer prayers for the departed souls and the wounded people.

The top bureaucrat said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal presented a report at the meeting about the overall situation and confirmed 150 deaths in clashes across the country.

The announcement came on a day when the military and paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of the capital Dhaka while police in riot gear enforced a strict vigil as a faction of the protesting students overnight called a new round of protests.

The group called the new protest after six of their coordinators announced the withdrawal of the demonstrations, which the protestors said was obtained under duress in police custody.

The six student leaders in an appearance before the media overnight announced the withdrawal of the street demonstrations as their demand for reforms in the quota system was met by the government following a Supreme Court order.

“We have mobilised forces to prevent fresh violence,” a police official said.

Witnesses and live TV footage showed the security forces guarding major points in the capital with military and police armoured personnel carriers patrolling the streets alongside the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh.

The protests subsided after the apex Appellate Division of unitary Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on July 21 ordered a massive quota reform, keeping only seven per cent of reserve posts instead of the existing 56 per cent.

The government subsequently issued a Gazette notification in line with the order saying 93 per cent of jobs would be open to candidates on merit.

“Our main demand for logical reforms to the government job quota system has been met,” student coordinator Nahid Islam on Sunday said in a video message, calling for educational institutions to re-open.

However, other students, calling for a new protest, claimed their leaders were forced to announce while in police custody. Meanwhile, the government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologise for those killed in deadly unrest.

Groups of youths held scattered street protests but were quickly chased away by police in parts of the capital and elsewhere.

Their demand included a public apology from the prime minister for the casualties, the dismissal of several of her ministers, and the reopening of schools and universities around the country which were closed for an indefinite period as the unrest reached its peak.

A nationwide curfew gripped Bangladesh mid-July, and the government called in the army in aid to the police and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to quell protests against job quotas that, according to media reports, killed more than 200 persons across the country.

The mass circulation ‘Prothom Alo’ newspaper cited 210 deaths, 113 of them being children. Most others were juveniles and youths. The newspaper said at least 9,000 people were arrested nationwide since the beginning of the unrest.

According to observers and political commentators, the students protests were largely peaceful until the ruling Awami League student activists were asked to quell the protestors and police attacks on demonstrators, who were later presumed to be backed by the opposition political quarters.

The government leaders said the peaceful and issue-specific students’ movement was not involved in violence and attributed the anarchy to the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party and their student activists backed by the main Opposition outside parliament Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-premier Khaleda Zia. The BNP had boycotted the January 7 elections.

The government has accused JI of hijacking the protests to cause a nationwide anarchy.

The unrest significantly impacted Bangladesh’s economy with the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) estimating the economic impact to be around USD 10 billion and rising.

President of the country’s apex business chambers, Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), Mahbubul Alam, said the major export-earning garment industries alone incurred losses of Bangladeshi Taka 6,4000,000 (USD 5,45,167).

Bangladeshi authorities said they restored internet services in the country after a 10-day disconnection of both mobile internet and the key social media platform as the situation returned to normal following the disbandment of the protests.

However, the resumption of mobile internet on Sunday failed to relieve tens of thousands of F-commerce sellers, who rely on Facebook to sell their goods and services, were yet to resume.