How Bangladesh burned in The Flames of Tyrants
Sheikh Hasina’s supposedly dictatorial 15 years long rule over Bangladesh met an end when the prime minister had to flee her country when people rose up in revolt. However, she was the daughter of the Bangladesh’s founding father and had led a pro-democratic movement against the military rule of President Hossain Mohammad Ershad in 1990.
Sheik Hasina first assumed the duties of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1996 when her party, Awami League, won the elections. However, she was voted out from power in 2001 when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party emerged victorious in the general election of that year. Sheik Hasina returned to power in 2008 wherein the Awami League gained a 2/3rd majority in parliament.
However, this time around Sheik Hasina’s focus shifted away from democratic values. Critics argue that Hasina maintained a firm grasp over the mainstream media as many media outlets were owned by businessmen who had ties with the Awami League. The Prime Minister used her control over the media to discredit the opposition and to control the narrative.
There were only a few legitimate hurdles in Hasina’s rule especially with a huge majority in parliament. One of these few hurdles was the judiciary which Hasina did attempt to overcome by introducing a legislative proposal in parliament in 2017 which would enable parliament to impeach judges.
As expected this proposal passed without any hiccup as the Awami League held an overwhelming majority in parliament. However, the supreme court struck the act down as it undermined judicial independence especially when one party tended to hold decisive numbers in the legislature. In a controversial book A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights & Democracy, former chief justice of Bangladesh who had struck the act allowing judges to be impeached down in 2017, claimed that he was approached by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) who demanded that the justice resign or a businessman in DGFI’s custody would suffer ‘severe consequences’.
Hasina’s reign though was not all gloomy. She is said to have protected minorities such as Hindus from extremist elements in society. Under Hasina’s rule Bangladesh managed to avoid overdependence on China whereas many other small Asian countries have failed to do so. She also emphasized on women empowerment and took initiatives to ensure gender equality. She also encouraged technological advancements and integrated digital availability of government and legal documents.
It all went south when Sheik Hasina apparently addressed students protesting against quotas on the basis of lineage in jobs Razakars. In Bangladesh, Razakars is a term used to refer to people who fought against the freedom of Bangladesh and for Pakistan in the 1971 war of liberation. When asked about the student protests the Prime Minister responded, “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t receive [quota] benefits, who will? The grandchildren of Razakars? ” This statement almost immediately blew up and students started protesting against the government and marching in the Dhaka University campus.
Hasina responded with an iron fist. Security forces and the student wing of the Awami League were instructed to dismantle the protests which resulted in 6 deaths, but the students held their ground. The following day protests erupted nationwide, and this time not against reservations only, but against the totalitarian reign of Hasina aswell. The students demands changed from the removal of certain cabinet ministers and the implementations of reforms to only one demand: The Resignation of Sheikh Hasina.
Armed cadre of the Awami Leagues’ youth wing and security forces unleased hell upon their own protesting citizens which resulted in the death of more than 200. This fueled hatred and angst oppressed general public and the Prime Minister was forced to resign and flee the country in a military helicopter.
The students had succeeded and freed their country from the hands of dictatorship, but they had created a state of lawlessness. Sheik Hasina had even brought her father’s name down who is the founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose golden statue in Dhaka was toppled in the name of retaliation against the Hasina regime.
After Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh, the military took over and instated an interim government headed by Nobel price winner Muhammad Yunus. He is supposed to hold elections as soon as possible and be the ‘Chief Advisor’, but one could say his sphere of influence has expanded far beyond his perceived goals.
Yunus has promised to hold elections in the late half of 2025 , but he aswell is displaying certain traits Hasina used to possess in her early days as a pro-democracy leader. The Rights and Rights Analysis Group (RRG)’s report Bangladesh: Press Freedom Throttled Under Dr Muhammad Yunus reports that 640 journalists were systematically targeted.
Furthermore, under his leadership, certain Bangladeshi officials have issued controversial statements regarding opposing India and seizing Indian north eastern states. As an Indian, I personally feel that Yunus is being an aisan faramush and is forgetting who helped put Bangladesh on the map in the first place.
These developments are all indicators of the biggening of the establishment of a dictatorial regime. There is not enough evidence or legitimate material to prove my suspicions true, but if the Chief Advisor is indeed planning a take over of power, I hope he is stopped in his own tracks.
It is a pity that Bangladesh has had to go through a testing roller-coaster of fragile democracies and dictatorships with many of its once promising leaders turning into apparent power hungry tyrants.
