Bangladesh: A nation in free fall

Hasina’s death sentence shows country’s institutions remain compromised

Alok Tiwari

Last week’s verdict of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentencing its deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed to death surprised no one. It did remind the people of similar trial and execution of Pakistan’s former president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979. Only, Sheikh Hasina, in exile in India at present, is out of reach of Bangladesh law enforcement and hence safe. Ironically, she was handed over the death penalty by the tribunal she herself set up to try the alleged collaborators with Pakistani regime during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. Given the current state of India-Bangladesh relations and the fact that she had been largely pro-India during her 15-year rule, it is almost certain that India will not extradite her.

Her presence along with that of her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan in India will be one more festering wound in the relations between the two countries. Bangladesh demanded her return immediately after the tribunal verdict while India issued a mealy-mouthed statement deflecting the demand. Sheikh Hasina ridiculed the verdict as that of a kangaroo court. She should know. During her tenure, she herself has presided over setting up and working of several such courts to fix political opponents.

As the political tug-of-war over her fate continues, it is time to reflect upon the lost promise of Bangladesh. Ever since its separation from Pakistan and formation as independent country with India’s military intervention in 1971, the country has been rocked by ill-governance. The rot began during the life of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself. He ruled the country for just over three years after its founding before he and his entire family were assassinated by a group of rogue soldiers of Aug 15, 1975. His daughters Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister escaped only because they were abroad.

His initial steps were towards building a democratic and secular Bangladesh, but he fumbled while dealing with rising corruption and left-wing extremism. Instead of strengthening and relying upon legitimate law enforcement machinery, Sheikh Mujib set up a paramilitary force that answered to only himself. It was involved in a series of human rights violations, extra judicial killings, and atrocities. This combined with his economic mismanagement that failed to address the problems of the poorest caused unrest that led to his assassination and coup.

Bangladesh since has had a several swings in governance with coups leading to military rule and return to a semblance of democracy, pretty much like Pakistan. During the democratic interregnums, power has been shared between Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League now led by Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by wife of former military ruler Gen Zia-ur-Rahman. During the terms of both the focus was less on bringing proper governance to Bangladesh and more on eliminating political opposition.

It is natural for any political party or a leader to seek power. Every party that gets elected seeks to cement its position. The legitimate way of doing this is through delivering on electoral promises, ensuring basics of good governance, and undertaking steps that improves the lot of people. Then there are other ways that parties, particularly in developing and poor countries deploy. These are use of state machinery to gain political advantage, handicapping opponents through dubious laws or eliminating them altogether when that does not work and manipulating elections.

Mature democracies have non-political institutions like an independent judiciary and election commission that prevent this from happening. A media that is outside the influence of those in power is also a powerful check on abuse of power. Both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina undermined these as they aimed to take each other down in the infamous ‘war of begums’. Zia is credited with introducing several educational and administrative reforms. Hasina presided over a long period of economic boom that lifted millions out of poverty. Bangladesh became a hub of textile exports. She also kept Islamic religious extremism at bay.

However, both failed when it came to honouring the democratic ethics. When in power they not just sought to counter the opposition but to finish it altogether. This led to systematic weakening of judiciary, setting up pliable courts to fix opponents, and installing election commissioners that would brazenly favour the ruling party. During her tenure, Sheikh Hasina ultimately forced the other begum out of the country. This essentially left the opposition BNP headless. Her last elections saw opposition boycotting over unfair practices of the election commission.

When all these boiled over in the anti-quota agitations by Bangladesh’s Gen Z, her response was brutal and left hundreds of protesters dead. Popular opposition led to her fleeing the country. The interim government that replaced her proved no better at rebuilding institutions and trust. Though led by the much-respected octogenarian Muhammed Yunus, it failed to bring the country back on rails. Having faced persecution at the hands of Hasina, Yunus himself has plenty of reasons never to allow her back into mainstream of Bangladesh politics.

His hostility to her Awami League led him to make peace with religious extremists who also hated her secular stance. They attacked the country’s Hindu minority. The police and the courts treated the perpetrators lightly. Though Yunus outwardly spoke of protecting the minorities he never came down heavily on those who harassed and even killed the Hindus on one pretext or another. Simply put, the era of putting personal grudges over the national interest has continued.

As Bangladesh heads for elections sometime early next year, its leaders as well as voters will have much to think very hard about. As a poor country it has many intractable problems like corruption, lack of education, and poor infrastructure. But these cannot be addressed unless there is stability and a government that is committed to more than just self-preservation. Whoever comes to power must first restore the independence and credibility of judiciary as well as the election commission. Else, Bangladesh’s fall into a dark abyss is set to continue.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Nov 20, 2025