Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country
Student-led protests
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country after weeks of student-led protests turned deadly, sparking nationwide unrest.
The home was attacked
The 76-year-old fled to India in a helicopter on Monday, reports said, after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in the capital, Dhaka.
country rule
This brought an unexpected end to the reign of Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, who had been in power since 2009 and had ruled the country for a total of more than 20 years.
Political career
Credited with overseeing the South Asian nation’s economic progress in recent years, Ms. Hasina began her political career as a pro-democracy icon.
increase in vice
However, in recent years he has been accused of being a dictator and suppressing opposition to his rule. Politically motivated arrests, disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses all increased under his rule.
election
In January he won an unprecedented fourth term as prime minister in January elections widely panned by critics and boycotted by the main opposition.
How Sheikh Hasina came to power?
Born in a Muslim family in East Bengal in 1947, Sheikh Hasina had politics in her blood.
Freedom leadership
His father was the nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the “father of the nation” of Bangladesh who led the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 and became its first president.
At that time, Sheikh Hasina established her reputation as a student leader of Dhaka University.
travel abroad
His father was killed along with most of his family in a military coup in 1975. Only Mrs. Hasina and her younger sister survived as they were traveling abroad at the time.
Returned to Bangladesh
After living in exile in India, Ms. Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 and became the leader of the political party her father belonged to, the Awami League.
Stepping into pro-democracy
He joined hands with other political parties to stage pro-democracy street protests during the military rule of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Driven by a popular uprising, Ms. Hasina quickly became a national icon.
contract
He was first elected to power in 1996. He was credited with signing a water-sharing deal with India and a peace deal with tribal rebels in the country’s southeast.
But at the same time, his government was criticized for many allegedly corrupt business deals and for being too beholden to India.
He lost to nemesis Begum Khaleda Zia
He later lost to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) former ally-nemesis Begum Khaleda Zia in 2001.
nomenclature
As heirs to political dynasties, both women dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than three decades and were known as the “Warring Begums”. Begum refers to a high-ranking Muslim woman.
Observers say their bitter rivalry has made bus bombings, disappearances and extrajudicial killings a regular occurrence.
returned to power
Miss Hasina finally returned to power in 2009 in elections held under a caretaker government.
Allegations of corruption
A true political survivor, he endured numerous arrests while in the opposition as well as several assassination attempts, including one in 2004 that damaged his hearing. He also survived attempts to force him into exile and has been accused of corruption in numerous court cases.
What has he achieved?
Bangladesh under Miss Hasina presents a contrasting picture. The Muslim-majority country, once the world’s poorest, has achieved credible economic success under his leadership since 2009.
It is now one of the fastest growing economies in the region. Even surpassing its huge neighbor India. Its per capita income has tripled in the past decade and the World Bank estimates that more than 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the past 20 years.
Expansion of exports
industry
Much of this growth has been driven by the garment industry, which accounts for the lion’s share of total exports from Bangladesh and has expanded rapidly in recent decades, supplying markets in Europe, North America and Asia.
project acceptance
Using the country’s own funds, loans and development assistance, Ms. Hasina’s government has also undertaken massive infrastructure projects, including the flagship $2.9 billion Padma Bridge over the Ganges.
What is the controversy surrounding him?
the challenge
The latest protests were the most serious challenge Ms Hasina has faced since taking power, and followed a highly contested election in which her party was re-elected for a fourth straight parliamentary term.
the movement
The unrest began over demands for the abolition of quotas in civil service jobs but turned into a massive anti-government movement as he used the police to violently crack down on protesters, killing more than 200 and injuring many more.
Arrival of terrorists
Amid growing calls for his resignation, he remained defiant. He condemned the agitators as “terrorists” and appealed for support to “suppress these terrorists with a firm hand”. He has jailed hundreds of people and brought criminal charges against hundreds more.
Rapid depreciation of foreign currency
The movement against the quota came as Bangladesh grappled with the rising cost of living in the wake of the pandemic. Inflation has skyrocketed, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have rapidly declined and its external debt has doubled since 2016.
Blaming Miss Hasina
Critics blame this on the mismanagement of Miss Hasina‘s government, and say Bangladesh’s previous economic success only helped those close to Miss Hasina‘s Awami League because of endemic corruption.
They also said that the economic progress of the country has come at the cost of democracy and human rights.
Struggle for multi-party democracy
Ms Hasina has long been accused of taking repressive authoritarian measures against her political opponents, opponents and the media – a remarkable turnaround for a leader who once championed multi-party democracy.
Mrs. Hasina’s return to power
Rights groups estimate that there have been at least 600 enforced disappearances since Mrs. Hasina returned to power in 2009, with hundreds more the subject of extrajudicial killings.
Abuse and torture
Bangladesh’s security forces have also long been accused of serious abuses and torture, and in 2021 the United States sanctioned the Rapid Action Battalion — a notorious elite unit of police accused of brutal extrajudicial killings citing human rights violations.
Many human rights activists and journalists have faced increasing attacks, including arrests, surveillance and harassment. Harsh laws have been used against journalists that critics say have undermined press freedom.
Ms Hasina and her government are also accused of “judicially harassing” the likes of economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus with court cases. He was jailed earlier this year and faces more than 100 charges, which his supporters allege are politically motivated.
In the lead-up to this year’s election, several senior BNP leaders, along with thousands of supporters, were arrested after anti-government protests, which rights groups say were an attempt to disable the opposition.
Ms. Hasina’s government categorically denies claims of such abuses. But it has severely limited the visit of foreign journalists seeking to investigate such allegations.
[Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country]
Weeks of anti-government rallies have ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and an interim administration is set to be formed.
After Ms Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country on Monday, large crowds thronged her official residence in Dhaka amid allegations of looting and chaos in the capital. At least 20 people were killed in the violence, adding to more than 90 deaths on Sunday, which was already the highest single-day casualty record in Bangladesh’s recent history.
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