An example of how powerful the student movement is can be seen in the current situation in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who held the reins of power for 15 years and 6 months consecutively, was forced to resign and flee the country due to the anger of the student movement.
In Bangladesh, there is also a provision of reservation for women, ethnic minorities and physically challenged people in some government posts. One-third of the post was reserved for children of men classified as ‘wartime heroes’. Dissatisfaction grew as this system was discriminatory. The students started protesting that government jobs should be filled on the basis of merit.
After protests in 2018, the Hasina-led government abolished such reservation system. But last June, after the court overturned such a system, the students started protesting again. Ultimately, this movement led to Hasina’s downfall.
After long protests turned violent, she resigned from the post of Prime Minister and was forced to flee the country. Shortly after local media showed him boarding a military helicopter with his sister, military chief General Waqar-Uz-Zaman announced plans to seek presidential instructions to form an interim government.
rise to power
Since he was elected as the Prime Minister in January 2009, his tenure lasted for 15 years and 6 months. During this period, she was elected Prime Minister four times. Even before that, she held the reins of power from June 1996 to July 2001.
She was in power as Prime Minister for more than 20 years in a span of 28 years.
Born on 28 September 1947, 76-year-old Hasina was elected for a fifth consecutive term last January when all major opposition parties boycotted the election. Thousands of opposition members were jailed for election.
She is the longest serving leader in the history of Bangladesh. She was also the world’s longest-serving female head of government, winning more elections than British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi.
This Bangladeshi leader has been leading the Awami League founded by her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman since 1981.
Hasina was first elected to power in 1996 after defeating rival Khaleda Zia. Hasina is credited with brokering a water treaty with India and with insurgents in the country’s southeastern region. However, he was also accused of corruption and Indian influence in many deals.
She later lost the 2001 elections to her political ally-rival, Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The heirs of a political family, these two women dominated the politics of Bangladesh for three decades. She is also known as ‘Battling Begum’.
First successful tenure
His first term as Prime Minister was marked by economic progress and infrastructural development. She liberalized the Bangladeshi economy and attracted foreign investment. Due to the increase in the standard of living of the citizens, she became a figure of discussion. Thus, Bangladesh witnessed a boom in textile exports and became a global hub for the industry. Her focus on education and health care has made her a prominent figure in world politics. His main program was to provide free textbooks especially to school level children.
However, his relationship with the judiciary remained strained during this time. This led to accusations of politicization and erosion of freedom. His crackdown, particularly against the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, was also criticized by human rights groups. His tenure as Prime Minister was cut short when Bangladesh entered military rule during the period 2006-2008.
The country also experienced violent street protests, as seen in recent months. From 2001 to 2008, she remained active in anti-government activities as the leader of the opposition party. In 2007, with military assistance, Fakhruddin Ahamad took over as interim prime minister. Hasina returned to power with a landslide victory in 2009 and consolidated her hold. She managed to win two more terms through the elections after going through the allegations of rigging and threats.
When a family member including the father was killed…
On 15 August 1975, the then President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated along with most of his family members at his personal residence during a military coup by rebel army officers. Hasina lost her parents and three brothers. Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana were abroad at the time of the murder.
After losing a family member, they took refuge in the house of the Bangladeshi ambassador in West Germany. Later, at the call of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, they took political asylum in India. Hasina stayed in India for about 6 years after the military rulers banned her from returning to the country. After becoming the President of Awami League on 16 February 1981, she returned to Bangladesh on 17 May. At that time, he was welcomed by thousands of supporters.
She along with other political parties protested in the streets against the military rule of General Hussain Mohammad Ershad and demanded democracy. The uprising in the country established Sheikh Hasina as a ‘national icon’. However, she also survived a grenade attack at a political rally in 2004. His hearing was damaged as a result of the attack.
Fall into despotism
Hasina, who has been in power for a long time, has been accused by the opposition of increasing autocracy. And from him, the country’s democracy has been pointed out as a threat. During his tenure, in 2018, his rival Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption. Analysts say incidents of bombings, kidnappings and extrajudicial killings have become commonplace in Bangladesh due to the bitter political rivalry between Hasina and Zia.
According to analysts quoted by the AP news agency, many have portrayed the current instability and unrest as the result of Hasina’s growing authoritarian streak and hunger for control at any cost. Despite growing demands for her resignation due to authoritarianism, Hasina remained steadfast. She had been criticizing the protestors as ‘terrorists’. As a result, protests in Dhaka and other parts of the country, which began with demands for the abolition of reservation in government jobs, turned into a widespread anti-government movement. That was the reason for his downfall.
After Hasina left the country, Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahabuddin said that an interim government would be formed immediately and the parliament would be dissolved. The coordinators of the student movement, Nobel Prize winner Dr. He has announced that he will advance the blueprint of the interim government under the leadership of Mohammad Yunus.
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