BANGLADESH'S DARK HISTORY

To under Bangladesh today, one has to delve into its history and understand the intrigues, the palace conspiracies and the divide in the top leadership of our Eastern neighbour into pro and anti-Pakistan camps. There was simply no pro-India camp; it was antipathy to our Western neighbour, Pakistan, that prompted Dhaka to look for a détente with India. Manas Ghosh's Mujib's Blunders - the power and the plot behind his killing tells one how Bangladesh blundered from one crisis to another, and how colossal the 'ignorance' about India is in that country.

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Anyone who wants to understand what is happening in Bangladesh these days must read Manas Ghosh’s Mujib’s Blundersthe power and the plot behind his killing, to understand the rapid decline and the chaos that is reflected in our Eastern neighbour's politics and administration these days. Those who were incarcerated are now running the government, and those running the show for years are either in exile, in jail or some cases killed!

As the Hindu put it, “when Mr. Yunus, backed by student groups, took over as the ‘Chief Adviser’ of the interim government on August 8, 2024, three days after the fall of the Hasina administration, he promised to lead Bangladesh into a new dawn of democracy from the semi-authoritarian years of the Awami League. But nine months on, he is still struggling to stabilise the country and rein in the mobs. The government's crackdown on the Awami League, one of Bangladesh's largest political parties, has further eroded hopes for inclusive elections. Most of the party’s senior leaders are either in exile or in hiding, while hundreds of party workers have been killed. .... By postponing the elections, suppressing the Awami League, using both state and non-state tools, and failing to restrain the mobs, Mr. Yunus, an unelected leader, is steering Bangladesh into deepening chaos and uncertainty.”