India is now grappling with the delicate task of finding a sanctuary for the ousted Sheikh Hasina, who had long been a steadfast and trusted ally in South Asia. The decision is aimed at preventing further deterioration in its already strained relations with Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the new interim government, led by Nobel laureate Dr. Yunus, seems to be gathering momentum and is poised to reshape the regional political landscape. Once celebrated as an “Iron Lady” for bringing stability—an essential prerequisite for business, whether for democratic or authoritarian powers—Hasina’s dislodgement by a popular uprising now compels every major global player to reassess their strategies. Hasina’s fall from power has been marked by a violent and disgraceful exit, which resulted in approximately 1,500 deaths, including children. This tragic outcome underscores one of the bloodiest modern-day attempts by any dictator to cling to power. Her efforts crumbled when security chiefs refused to shoot civ...

The transition from autocracy to democracy that we are currently undergoing has been described by United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk as "a historic opportunity to ensure governance is anchored in human rights, inclusivity, and rule of law." In a statement on August 16, he added, "The transition ahead presents a historic opportunity to reform and revitalise the country’s institutions, to restore fundamental freedoms and civic space, and to give all in Bangladesh a part in building the future." As we move forward with several reform agendas that can be implemented within a short timeframe, it is essential to have a national conversation on what "governance anchored in human rights" should truly look like. Despite repeated denials by successive governments since independence, numerous UN human rights reports have documented various violations and shortcomings in political, social, and cultural rights. The past 15 years, however, have seen the most ...

In the run-up to Bangladesh’s general election in January 2014, New Delhi took the unusual step of sending a top diplomat from its external affairs ministry to Dhaka to persuade General Hussain Muhammaed Ershad, the country’s former military ruler, to participate in the polls. Big questions had been raised over the fairness of the election. The incumbent government was led by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, and the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had been placed under virtual house arrest, with police and roadblocks around her house in Dhaka. The BNP and other opposition parties were threatening to boycott the election. Ershad, the head of the Jatiya Party, was perceived as a potential kingmaker, able to bring to power whichever of Bangladesh’s two main parties he supported, but he was also threatening to withdraw from the election.  After a decade of Modi’s reign in India, people in Bangladesh are angry at their government cosying up to a Hindutva regime ...

  Bangladesh has once again set a new record by convicting a Nobel laureate for alleged violations of the country's law. The only other Nobel laureate punished after winning the prize is Myanmar’s dethroned leader Aung San Su Kyi, whose conviction was purely political and a consequence of a military takeover. There is a host of Nobel laureates who won this prestigious accolade while they were in prison. But imprisoning a Nobel laureate is an occurrence rarer than rare. Rather, in a recent incident, we saw the exoneration of Philippines' celebrated journalist Maria Ressa in a tax avoidance case after she won the award.  In Bangladesh’s case, it is ironic that the apprehension expressed by176 world leaders and Nobel laureates that Professor Yunus has been targeted with “continuous judicial harassment,” has become a reality over a period of  four months. The conviction of 83-year-old Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus and three of his colleagues, in many ways, sets a new example. The f...

On 7 January, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, is set to claim re-election in what some observers have called “staged polling”, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has termed a “dummy election” and   The Economist  has described as a “farce”. Desperate to avoid a genuine democratic exercise, Hasina’s government has preemptively removed its only real challenger from the field. More than twenty thousand BNP activists are behind bars, as are key BNP leaders, and the opposition party has decided to boycott the election rather than contest an unfair vote. The farce is best explained with the facts. For the 300 directly elected seats in Bangladesh’s parliament, the ruling Awami League has official nominees in 263 constituencies. In addition, it also has 269 party members standing as “independent” candidates, meaning there are two or sometimes even more Awami League candidates in many places – and that’s not counting the candidates of other parties allied to ...