by Dr. Jaipal Singh
Over a month-long turmoil in Bangladesh allegedly led by the students on the issue of reservation in jobs for certain categories reached to an anticlimax when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was made to resign and leave country on a short notice. While television visuals showed large crowds on the roads in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and other places with unruly and angry mobs indulging in arson, loot and violence, the Army and Police took little or no action to control mobs and deteriorating law and order situation. According to reports, the army top brass gave Sheikh Hasina just forty-five minutes to make decision to resign and leave the country. Contrary to the initial reports of the Bangla prime minister going to Finland or United Kingdom, she apparently settled for a safer option and sought permission from the friendly Indian regime, which as it appears was promptly granted by the Government of India. Consequently, the Bangladesh aircraft carrying the ousted prime minister, her entourage and belongings landed at the Hindon Air Base near Delhi, received with dignity and she was promptly shifted to an undisclosed safe-house.
Coup D'etat: Anarchy versus Revolution
Ever since the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, it has a long history of political and socio-religious upheaval loaded with tension, conflicts and violence on account of the rivalry among the political parties as also hardcore Islamist organizations/outfits like the Jamaat-e-Islami. In the current phase, the country has many serial protests against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led government of the Awami League between 2022 to 2024. In December 2022, protests were made by the Bangladesh opposition parties proclaiming Sheikh Hasina government as an autocratic regime seeking its resignation. However, such protest remained at low scale with some events of vandalism and violence at occasions, particularly in November-December 2023. Recently, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh reinstated the pre-2018 quota system in a verdict which triggered massive protests from students declaring it a quota reform movement in favour of the merit-based selection / appointment.
At occasions, the protests turned to be violent, forcing administration and security establishments to strictly deal with it which allegedly resulted in considerably large number of injuries and deaths leading to further escalation of public anger and protests. As it seems, the protests were initially made by the university students affiliated to certain organizations; however, as it escalated, it was joined by many others including radical Islamists and even anti-social elements as will be evident in the following paragraphs with revelation of more facts. Although anti-government sentiments were on rise followed by protests and, consequent reprisal by the pro-government forces. However, all these developments remained at low key all along June-July 2024 so far as their national and international publicity and attention is concerned. At the same time, as it appears, the protests that were initially aimed at curbing the quota system gradually spread over the entire country creating anarchy with key and dominating role being played by students and other youth in reality or ideologically affiliated with opposition parties like BNP and hardcore Islamic organizations like Bangla Jamaat-e-Islami.
While the nation was passing through this conundrum, according to reports, Sheikh Hasina made a proposal for the peaceful talks with protesters on 3 August indicating that the government was willing to hold negotiations with them to hear their grievances for needful settlement in an amicable manner. However, the leaders and coordinators of the protesters announced that they have no plan to negotiate with the government after enduring hunger strike and torture under the police custody. Apparently, some other leaders too echoed somewhat similar opinion and, reportedly, one leader Asif Mahmud reacted by saying that there was no question of dialogue with bullets and terrorism. Subsequently, thousands of protesters gathered at the national capital Dhaka's Shahbag intersection arguably in the form of civil disobedience demanding resignation of the government. On the following day, the protesters announced the long march to Dhaka in defiance of curfew to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In the ensuing violence leading to clashes between the rival groups as also police action several deaths and injuries, including students and many others, were reported.
Reportedly on 5 March, hundreds of thousand people came out on streets and a large crowd of protesters marched towards the capital Dhaka to press for Sheikh Hasina's resignation. According to Western media sources, as many as about five million people participated in this march towards the national capital. Only they will know how they estimated this magic number as also in such various reports they squarely have blamed Sheikh Hasina government for shutting down educational institutions, and deploying Awami League's student wings to act against the protesters using force and violent means in suppression of the uprisings. The same Western reports also suggest that the government deployed the police and armed forces to stop protests with a nationwide shoot-at-sight curfew. On the ground, however, what people saw in the neighbouring countries like India that neither the police nor the armed forces out on roads made any attempt to stop or obstruct the people involved in conundrum occurring everywhere on the day.
Day long reports from media suggested that a large crowd of protesters made its way through the national capital Dhaka. The Bangladesh army and police did not take action to stop the protesters storming and taking control of crucial government building including the prime minister's residence. Apparently, the Bangladesh army personally led by the Chief of Army Staff Waker-Uz-Zaman was in control of the situation. What transpired between the top army brass and Sheikh Hasina closed doors through the conundrum on roads and government installations ultimately led to the resignation of Sheikh Hasina around 3:00 PM and, in return, she was allowed by military a safe passage to quietly leave the country. According to reports, she was keen to address the nation through a brief message which was declined by the army. As against the initial conjectures of the deposed prime minister going to Finland or United Kingdom, as it appears she sought India's permission which was granted. Bangladesh army only offered a courtesy of their helicopter and a transport aircraft to carry her entourage to the Indian Air Force Hindon Airbase at the outskirts of Delhi.
The Western media reports suggest that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, her government's biggest ally. In this author's opinion, a more accurate version would be that she was made to resign and forced to leave country of her choice. Immediately after her exit, the frenzied and violent mobs of protesters started a widespread jubilation and large-scale vandalism and violence in various parts of the country. In most cases, the members of the minority Hindu community were targeted by the violent mobs. Their houses and commercial establishments were looted and put on fire, many men were thrashed and killed, and women victims were raped. Reports and visuals circulating in media suggest that the armed forces did only little or none to stop these excesses by the frenzied protesters. On their part, the military top brass and Bangla President Mohammad Shahabuddin announced the formation of an interim government led by the entrepreneurs, banker, economist, and civil society leader Mohammad Yunus, aged 84 years, who was then located in the United Kingdom.
Well, some of the Western governments, particularly the US, and their media have touted these developments as a revolution in the Bangladesh to overthrow an autocratic and corrupt regime. Some of the same sources have suggested that the neighbouring Indian media has been engaged in a widespread misinformation campaign aimed at destabilizing Bangladesh, following Sheikh Hasina's resignation and taking (temporary) shelter in India. The way an unprecedented change in the democratically elected government has taken place in Bangladesh, apparently the aforesaid narrative best suits to the vital interests of some countries of the Western Europe and the US. However, the way a large number of unabated reports of arson, loot, violence and rape against women targeting the minority communities, mainly Hindus, are pouring in from across the Indo-Bangladesh border and a large number of visuals (images and videos), though many unverified, are circulating in the electronic, print and social media, the reports of the Western media itself look like a purported propaganda to suit their political and other strategic interests. The Bangladesh military and police have shown dismal performance and nearly total failure with their inept handling of the so-called revolutionary mobs of students, so much so that the newly chosen Bangla head of the interim government, Mohammad Yunus, had to in person apologize for harm done to the minorities.
Immediately after Sheikh Hasina was made to resign and leave Bangladesh, a large number of protesters stormed the Ganabhaban, the official residence of the Prime Minister. It was a complete free run right under the nose of the Bangladesh army. People, supposedly the mob comprising of the revolutionary students, ransacked the entire Ganabhaban damaging the property, looting the articles and artefacts left behind by the deposed prime minister and made merry-making with sloganeering and eating stuff in the premises for hours. Some of them even took to an ugly and abhorrible act of brandishing with vulgar display of the looted private clothes, like undergarments, of the prime minister who would be of their grandmother's age. While this brazen display occurred at the prime minister's residence without any resistance from military men deployed there, the frenzied mobs in Dhaka and other places indulged in targeting the people and properties of the minority, mainly comprising of Hindus. In facts, certain visuals (unverified) taking rounds on the social media even suggest that some members of the armed forces in uniform too encouraged or indulged in such crude and abhorrible activities. The Western countries and media, particularly in the Western Europe and US, often tend to see developments in other countries from the coloured lenses that best suit their vested interests. The Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh has been widely depicted by the Western media as an autocratic, undemocratic, oppressive and violent government, simultaneously failing to manage a prolonged economic downturn, rampant corruption and human rights violations. Paradoxically the very Western organizations have placed Bangladesh much above the more stable India on the overall happiness index, a fast-growing economy with a high per capita and GDP vis-à-vis other South Asian countries. The fact is that during the last fifteen years of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the overall economy of Bangladesh has considerably improved with a rapid progress and high GDP growth, Bangla currency is strengthened and communal tension minimized with relatively less harassment of Hindu and other minorities compared to previous regimes. If the Western countries and media are unable to see these positive indicators, and instead justify the widespread unabated genocidal attacks on Hindus; and vandalism, arson and loot, including vulgar display of personal belongings and undergarments of the deposed prime minister, by the protesters as revolution then it is, of course, a student revolution. As for the worst affected neighbouring country India following such development in Bangladesh, we look at it as an outright anarchy and overthrow of a lawfully elected government.
Continued…
(This Article is reproduced in three episodes from www.boloji.com for fair information of our readers)
The Author is a retired civil servant of GoI; His core areas of specialization have been public administration, finance, information technology, human resource development, budget and planning, and legal matters. Currently, he is engaged in an Advisor capacity with one illustrious Central Autonomous Body; He has own literary website and his works are also availableon https://www.myhummingword.com/)
