Bangladesh's trajectory a cause for worry

When student-led, anti-government protests in Bangladesh snowballed into the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's 15-year-long autocratic rule in August 2024, many in the South Asian nation hoped it signaled better times ahead.

- MANOJ MISRA

Four months on, things are not going to plan. The initial surge of public jubilation has given way to pessimism. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, is grappling with governance problems, political instability, religious extremism and a fragile economy.

Moreover, a series of recent events have highlighted and exacerbated Bangladesh's fraught diplomatic relations with neighboring India.

The arrest of a Hindu monk in Muslim-majority Bangladesh on 24 November encapsulates the problems facing Yunus. The detention of Chinmoy Krishna Das (also known as Chandan Dhar) was followed by sectarian violence in which a Muslim lawyer was killed and anti-Bangladesh protests in India.

As an expert on Bangladesh's political and social landscape and a former Indian High Commission employee in Dhaka, I believe it is clear that how Yunus addresses myriad challenges - upholding the rule of law, managing the economy, ensuring safety for minorities and rebuilding relations with India - will be critical for restoring democratic health in Bangladesh.

The interim government's immediate challenge is addressing deteriorating law and order.

While Hasina's authoritarian rule left little space for democracy or dissent, her abrupt removal in August has created a power vacuum in which previously marginalized political factions compete for influence and public support.

This has coincided with a rise in vigilante justice, extortion and the abuse of the legal system for settling political disputes. The mob lynching of 49 people, mostly political opponents, since Hasina's ouster is symptomatic of Bangladesh's current lawlessness.

The police's reluctance to address this security vacuum has only worsened the situation. Law enforcement's heavy-handed response to anti-Hasina protests generated widespread anger among Bangladeshis.