Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina suddenly ousted from power under military pressure, after which anarchy has spread in the country. A wave of retaliation is going on across the country against the leaders and workers of the ruling Awami League. People are being killed on the streets. Most of those killed were Awami League people and policemen, but some border guards and some Hindu community leaders were also among the victims. It is clear that Awami League has lost its ground and now there is no possibility of its name being included in any government that comes after Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
It then became clear that when Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman called the leaders of the country’s political parties to finalize the interim government, no one from the Awami League was called. However, leaders of the recently banned Jamaat-e-Islami were also involved in this.
Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has made it clear that his mother will not return to Bangladesh politics. After this, Awami League has become completely leaderless, it has become a ship without a captain. Most of its leaders are now worried about their existence.
What will happen after Sheikh Hasina?
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the political party that has ruled Bangladesh for two full five-year terms since the restoration of democracy in 1991, is seen as the only party capable of forming a government in Bangladesh. The mood in the BNP is quite optimistic as they believe that if not on their own, they can certainly rule in alliance with allies like Jamaat-e-Islami. Khaleda Zia (BNP chairperson), who was imprisoned during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, was released by the army soon after taking charge.
Also read: Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus becomes head of interim government of Bangladesh, demand of protesting students accepted
The decision to release Khaleda Zia along with calling the Jamaat leaders is a clear indication that the Army expects BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami to play an important role in the post-Hasina environment. There are reports that Khaleda’s son Tariq Rahman, who has been living in London to avoid jail after being convicted in several serious cases, is planning to eventually return to Bangladesh.
When his mother was the Prime Minister during 2001-2006, he played an important role. If elections are held in Bangladesh soon and BNP wins, Tariq will be the frontrunner for the top post as his ailing mother is likely to step down from the post.
Students supporting Mohammad Yunus
Bangladesh’s powerful Generation Next, inspirational student-youth platform Students Against Discrimination may have other ideas and even the army cannot remove them.
Sabrina Karim of Cornell University says, “This is a historic day for Bangladesh, as what started as a student-led movement to change the civil service quota system turned into a revolution that overthrew Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. “This could be the first successful revolution led by Generation Z.”
Student leaders advocated handing over the charge of the interim administration to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which the army wants to set up for a smooth transition from Hasina rule to elected rule in future. Yunus had tried to form a political party during the military-backed caretaker rule during 2006–08. He was supported by the US and many people who were trying to break away from the political binary system of Bangladesh and form the Awami League or BNP government.
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Some people will say that if Yunus wants, he can use this Bangla Spring moment to directly enter politics. He may get strong support from anti-Awami elements in student forums and professional circles, and both India and the US may find him more acceptable than BNP-Jamaat.
one more hope
Is there a possibility that the protesting students emerge with their own political organization with an agenda for a new Bangladesh? Whereas no such experiment has been done so far in Bangladesh or West Bengal. In the year 1985, a similar incident happened in Assam, the leaders of the anti-foreigner movement moved straight from their hostels to the Dispur Secretariat and ruled the state for two terms. However, some student leaders like Naheed Islam may also be included by the opposition Awami League parties due to their existing popularity.
These parties could also approach some dissidents from the Awami League, who had personal popularity and mass appeal, but were sidelined by Sheikh Hasina’s ruling circle. However, this is more likely to be considered for the distant future rather than the immediate.
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Subir Bhowmik (senior journalist)