Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee her residence and take refuge in a modest guest house after massive student-led protests erupted across the country. The situation quickly spiraled as the military, led by her niece’s husband, refused to suppress the protestors, leading to her sudden and dramatic exit. With whispers of US involvement and a strategic coup, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has now taken the reins as interim leader, leaving the world questioning whether this is the start of a new chapter in Bangladesh’s history or the beginning of deeper turmoil.
Indian intelligence agencies, known more for caution than bold success, were caught completely off guard recently when Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina abruptly left her luxurious home in Dhaka and moved to a modest government guest house on the outskirts of Delhi. This sudden shift happened after her position, and possibly her safety, became threatened when the military, led by her niece’s husband, refused to act against the growing student protests sweeping the country.
Hasina, once known as the “Iron Lady” of Dhaka, found herself in a precarious situation when protests over a new job quota system erupted into widespread unrest. People were angry about the high inflation and unemployment, particularly among educated young people. The protests quickly spread across Bangladesh, with many targeting the country’s minority Hindus, who were seen as supporters of Hasina’s party. The police and army struggled to control the large, determined crowds, and despite tear gas and shoot-at-sight orders, the protesters grew bolder, threatening to march on the capital. This led to Hasina’s hasty retreat.
Adding to Hasina’s woes, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom either refused or revoked her visa after Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize winner and former head of Grameen Bank – the Golden Boy was installed as interim prime minister following these dramatic events. Surprisingly, these significant developments in a country of nearly 175 million people received little attention in the Western media. However, as our regular readers would know GreatGameInternational has been closely following this situation and informed our readers months in advance about the secret coup and its backers. The situation in Bangladesh could escalate into a full-blown civil war if the violence continues.
The rapid unraveling of Hasina’s government appears to have been influenced by external forces, particularly the United States. The U.S. has shown interest in Bangladesh due to its strategic location near China and its access to the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, which form one of the world’s most fertile deltas. This area is crucial for naval powers, and the U.S. hopes to establish a service port in Bangladesh for its naval vessels to counter China’s influence in nearby Myanmar.
The U.S. also sees a long-term strategic advantage in managing Bangladesh’s economy and potentially using the northern parts of the country for military operations against China. The U.S. involvement in Bangladesh became more evident after student protests began in June, with some suggesting that the protests were part of a broader strategy similar to the “Spring Revolutions” seen in other countries. These movements often involve mass protests triggered by a specific issue, with significant use of technology and funding from foreign sources.
Bangladesh has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, with its GDP per capita surpassing that of its South Asian peers, including India. However, the country has also faced political turmoil, with Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian rule and her crackdown on opposition parties like the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and extremist groups linked to the Jamaat-e-Islami.
The relationship between Bangladesh and India improved significantly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, and the two countries cooperated on anti-terrorism efforts and other security issues. However, Indian intelligence agencies failed to anticipate the scale of the protests in Bangladesh, partly due to their focus on dealing with unrest in the Indian state of Manipur, which borders Bangladesh and has been the site of violent tribal conflicts.
In the aftermath of these events, India finds itself reacting to the crisis rather than taking proactive steps. With Hasina’s future uncertain and a new government in place in Bangladesh, India faces a challenging situation with little influence over what comes next.
