PM Hasina’s Departure
Bangladesh is on the boil as it has entered another phase of instability after its long-serving Prime Minister resigned. Violent protests by college students and political rivals forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed to resign and flee to India on Monday.
PM Hasina, responsible for economic progress and stability in her country, made a hasty departure, paving the way for Bangladesh Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to head the interim government as proposed by the protesting student leaders belonging to the Anti-Discriminatory Students Movement that claimed that they sided with no political groups.
What looked like a routine protest from college students headed by the Anti-Discriminatory Students Movement turned uncontrollable within a few weeks. Protestors, some of whom lost their lives after police used excessive force, and who had held a “Long March to Dhaka,” forced Prime Minister Hasina to leave her official residence along with her sister for India in an army helicopter. Although her son claimed that her mother, Sheikh Hasina, would not return to politics, her actions and future steps will determine her political destiny. The party she led, the Awami League, is a powerful political organisation with a considerable support base in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the protesting students demanded that Bangladesh’s Nobel Laureate, Mohammad Yunus, should take charge of the new interim government, which he accepted. The new interim government has the responsibility of addressing the issues of instability and economic mobilisation, aside from stopping the violent activities taking place after the departure of the incumbent Prime Minister.
People allege that the outgoing PM’s decision to grant reservations to the children of the 1971 Freedom Movement participants, the use of force in the January elections, and suppressing opposition voices were key factors that led to violent protests which toppled her government. The main issue with her exit was the reservations or quota system granted to the children of freedom participants in fat government posts.
The unhappy students held protests, asking the government to give up such a quota system and allow all eligible students to apply for government jobs. Initially, the government used force to quell the student protest in which the Awami League students’ wing was alleged to have involved, causing anger among non-partisan students against the PM Hasina’s party and her government.
The government’s use of excessive force to quell the protest led to the deaths of several protesting students and the arrest of others, intensifying the anger among the protestors. Though Bangladesh’s Supreme Court scrapped the quota system and asked the government to allow all capable students to contest for government jobs, the protesters did not relent. They upped their ante against the government and carried out fierce protests throughout the nation by demanding the resignation of PM Hasina, which culminated in the fall of her government and the dissolution of the parliament in which her party, the Awami League had near two-thirds majority.
The Bangladeshi army sought to stabilise the situation by reportedly asking the Hasina government to quit. If reports are accurate, the army gave the Prime Minister 45 minutes to resign and leave the country. Hasina’s hasty departure, it appears, has to do with the army’s unwillingness to tackle angry protesters marching towards the PM’s official residence. She could not even address the nation.
Reports in Indian media state that pro-Islamist groups are attacking homes and families of the minority after Hasina’s departure. As a result, Hindus, who considered Hasina a pro-minority Prime Minister, are now living in fear. Similarly, the chaotic scenes in Dhaka, where crowds looted the Prime Minister’s residence, taking everything from furniture to kitchen items, reflect a height of disorder. It also suggests that a leaderless crowd acts as a mob that can destabilise society or the government for some time.
Since 1981, Sheikh Hasina has been fighting against military regimes, achieving her first significant political victory in 1996. Khaleda Zia, wife of Ziaur Rahman of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party, later replaced her. However, since her return to power in 2009, Sheikh Hasina has remained in office, presiding over a period marked by economic growth, industrialisation, and relative stability.
Despite leading her nation towards rapid economic progress and stability, her tenure was not without controversy. Missteps, excessive actions against opposition parties, and an overreliance on and closeness to the Indian government eventually forced her to leave the country. It is surprising and painful for many Bangladeshis to see footage of a crane demolishing a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, in Dhaka.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Sheikh Hasina, created Bangladesh in 1971, making it the youngest nation in South Asia. However, since its inception, Bangladesh has struggled with instability. Less than four years after the country’s creation, Bangabandu’s Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with several family members, was assassinated, plunging the nation into turmoil. Only Sheikh Hasina and her sister survived the massacre, as they were abroad at the time.
Over the past four years, we, in South Asia, have seen the downfall and exile of Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and now Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Maldives is on the edge of instability. Indian media blames foreign powers for meddling in Bangladesh affairs, stating Bangladesh has followed a trajectory similar to the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Many say that the groups that have succeeded in heralding a new political scenario must not allow instability, and religious extremism should take the driver’s seat in Bangladesh, which has lately made rapid strides in its economic sectors and has gained stability during Hasina’s rule.
