As we mark the first anniversary of the people's uprising—led by the country's youth, fondly known as Generation Z—it is clear that the greater task now lies ahead: rebuilding a nation with little preparation for the monumental responsibility. But then again, how could anyone truly prepare for an uprising of such magnitude, one that surged like a tsunami, defying all expectations? Over the past 15 years, prior to the changeover, the opposition—most prominently the BNP—tried repeatedly, with meticulously crafted strategies, to unseat the regime. Yet none of their efforts could rival the spontaneous July-August uprising, which reshaped the political landscape in ways that no planned agitation ever could. By systematically denying citizens their right to vote in three consecutive elections and holding power for fifteen years and seven months through sustained repression, Sheikh Hasina secured her place among the world's most notorious autocrats. And yet, even her loyal Special...

  The image of a former Chief Justice, hands cuffed behind his back, clad in a bulletproof vest and helmet, being escorted to court is deeply unsettling. Yet it is no more disturbing than a Chief Justice fleeing his official residence in the wake of a popular uprising, seeking refuge in a military garrison, or being forcibly evicted by plainclothes security agents and exiled from his own country. Alarmingly, Bangladesh has witnessed all of these in the last eight years. It is a tragic chronicle of how the judiciary has been systematically dismantled by an all-too-powerful dictator—Sheikh Hasina. The repeal of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished the provision for a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee elections, stands as a pivotal moment in this erosion. It enabled Sheikh Hasina to conduct three consecutive one-sided elections and tighten her grip on power. While the Supreme Court had the jurisdiction to rule on the amendment, the conduct of then Chief J...

  The Awami League regime, which sought global recognition as a model of governance, has ironically left behind a legacy marred by unprecedented brutality against its own citizens. The scale of state violence and repression under Sheikh Hasina’s rule rivals some of the worst autocracies in the world, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Bangladesh is also a unique example, where a military dictator Gen HM Ershad, succeeded in resettling him in a democratic political framework, but a popular leader who jointly led movement for restoration of democracy, degraded herself turning into a worse dictator.  The recent student led uprising, evolving into a broader civilian insurrection, has been dubbed by some as the "Gen Z Revolution." However, lacking a coherent revolutionary agenda or a well defined path for enacting fundamental change, this movement remains more of a chaotic and prolonged transition towards democracy than a fully fledged revolution. Consequently, the pursuit of justice for...

 In the hours before Sheikh Hasina fled Gonobhaban, her official residence in Dhaka, on 5 August, Bangladeshi security forces killed scores of protesters who had joined a huge march to the capital demanding an end to her autocratic rule. Around the same time, it has since been reported, Hasina had pressured the army chief to enforce a curfew using deadly force, which would have meant the military joining the bloodbath. The army chief refused. The prime minister’s desperate hold on power finally slipped when security chiefs warned that the advancing protesters would reach Gonobhaban within an hour and they doubted their ability to contain the crowd. Speculation that India, her strongest international ally, would intervene in her favour proved unfounded, and Hasina was left at the mercy of the military, which ultimately facilitated her escape across the border. She wound up at a safe house in Delhi, trying but failing to gain asylum in the United Kingdom. All told, the...

During a press conference on 14 July, Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, was asked about the peaceful protests that had been on across the country’s university campuses for a week, with students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs. “Why are they opposing the freedom fighter quota?” she asked in response. “Do they want the descendants of the Razakars to get all the facilities?” Hasina was trying to discredit the protesters, but instead her use of the term “razakars” offended students and further fuelled their protests. Razakar is a pejorative used for people who collaborated with the Pakistan army during Bangladesh’s war for liberation in 1971. In reaction to the remark, students carried out marches late the same night, using “razakar” satirically in their slogans and accusing Hasina of labelling them as such for simply demanding their rights. Ministers and leaders of the ruling Awami League made remarks distorting the protesters’ slogans,...

It’s now clear that the 12th parliamentary election will be largely a contest between the official nominees of the Awami League and those who have been declined nomination by the party. Officially, there are about 29 registered political parties in the race, but most of their participation is something better to be described as token representation. Even the total number of nominees of the three much-hyped parties - Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM), Trinamool BNP, or Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP) – could not equal the 300 seats, that are up for grabs. Apart from propping up these three  “king’s parties,’ there have been several attempts to break up and weaken the opposition BNP and its alliance, who have been mounting street agitation for over a year, demanding  a reintroduction of the caretaker government for overseeing the upcoming parliamentary election. But such attempts including bringing in General Ibrahim’s Kalyan Party to the electoral race didn’t incur a meaning...

I t’s a rare thing that a country’s parliament is told by none other than the prime minister that its top newspaper is the enemy of the people. In utter disbelief, people heard last month that Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister and head of the ruling Awami League, told parliament that “the daily  Prothom Alo  is the enemy of the Awami League, democracy, and the people of the country. I am saying with regret that they never want to permit any stability in this country.” Her unhappiness with the country’s lone independent vernacular daily was already well known – she had barred its journalists from her office and public events in 2013, without giving any reason or making it official. Also, since Hasina returned to power in 2009, she and some of her cabinet had made a number of allegations against  Prothom Alo  – ranging from the newspaper siding with undemocratic forces to it creating instability and thwarting the government’s development agenda. But the prime ...

The just-concluded visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India, too, has been described by officials in both the countries as a success that will further cement friendly ties between the two neighbours. However, a good number of observers in Bangladesh, view the outcome fett short of the expectations.  According to them, the seven MOUs signed during the visit were mostly on routine cooperation. The most significant MOU signed was the one regarding sharing of Kushiyara river water, which was agreed upon at the Joint River Commission meeting a week before.  After reading the 33-point joint statement issued after the bilateral talks and the two leaders’ meeting, one conclusion that, I think, exasperated and saddened every conscious citizen was the use of the word “satisfaction,” despite failing to bring down border killings to zero. Item 10 of the joint statement says, “Noting with satisfaction that the number of deaths due to incidents along the border has significantly reduc...