Bangladesh’s Crisis Deepens: Top Leaders Resign, Hindu Communities Under Attack – Top 10 Developments
Dhaka: Bangladesh, often referred to as the land of rivers, is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina, tendering her resignation from the position of Prime Minister on August 5 amid escalating protests. The protests erupted in early July due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans. The unrest escalated when students opposed a new policy that allocated government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, sparking violence that included attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka. Check the top 10 significant updates here.
Just three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the interim government on the night of August 8. Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur and founder of Grameen Bank, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts to create economic and social development through microcredit. Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the country’s chief advisor.
Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan tendered his resignation, five days after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime. The 65-year-old top judge revealed his decision around 1:00 PM after protesters of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement gathered at the apex court premises. The students had issued an ultimatum to him and the judges of the Appellate Division to resign by 1: 00 PM.
A total of seventeen members of Bangladesh’s interim government took their oaths in Dhaka this week, with Muhammad Yunus being sworn in as the country’s chief advisor, a role equivalent to Prime Minister. The oath ceremony followed the dissolution of parliament by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, paving the way for the interim administration after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf has stepped down from his position.
A large section of people are protesting outside the Houses of Parliament in London and the White House in Washington against alleged violence targeting minority Hindus and others in Bangladesh.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is on high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam.
Hasina, the 76-year-old daughter of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had been ruling the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009. She was elected for a record fourth consecutive term and fifth overall term in the 12th general election held in January, amid a boycott by the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former premier Khaleda Zia and its allies.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina surreptitiously fled the country in a military aircraft and landed in India on August 5, 2024.
Several people have been killed while many have been injured in the ongoing crisis.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a committee, led by the Additional Director General (ADG) of the BSF Eastern Command, to monitor the situation at the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB). The Additional Director General of BSF, Eastern Command, is the chairman of the five-member Committee. Sharing a post on X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said,” In the wake of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Modi government has constituted a committee to monitor the current situation on the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB). The committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus, and other minority communities living there. The committee will be headed by the ADG, Border Security Force, Eastern Command.”
In the wake of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Modi government has constituted a committee to monitor the current situation on the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB). The committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 9, 2024
(With Inputs From Agencies)
