Dramatic events unfolding in Bangladesh over the past week or so led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power and her escape to India. The students' agitation against the repressive policies of the Awami League regime, including the job quota system, resulted in around 400 deaths amid a massive upheaval across the country. However, dust is gradually settling in with the installation of a caretaker government headed by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The Sheikh Hasina regime that came into being after the questionable January 2024 elections looked invincible due to the government's authoritarian grip on state institutions and highhanded tactics against its political rivals including the arrests of the leaders of main opposition party BNP as well as the banning of Jamaat-e-Islami. However, the regime succumbed to the nationwide students' protest and fell like a house of cards?
The question persists whether Skeikh Hasina is a dead horse or she can still return to power through political manipulation at home and overt support from the Narendra Modi regime next door? Also, one wonders how far the so-called second revolution in Bangladesh will ensure free and fair elections and establish genuine democracy. These are the questions which are being raised by those who are perturbed by the fluid situation in Bangladesh.
The installation of Dr Muhammad Yunus as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government in the wake of a successful uprising by students, which led to........