From iron fist to helicopter exit: The dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule ended as she fled deadly protests, with the military announcing an interim government

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s journey, both in life and politics, has been deeply shaped by an early trauma that was as much a personal tragedy as it was a national one.

In 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, her father and the revered founding leader of Bangladesh, was assassinated in a brutal military coup that wiped out nearly her entire family. At the time, Hasina was abroad, which saved her life but forced her into exile in India.

Her return to Bangladesh and eventual rise to the position of prime minister symbolised the nation's aspirations for a better, more democratic future. As a secular Muslim woman, she was initially celebrated for her efforts to curb the military's influence, confront Islamist militancy, and reform the country’s struggling economy.
 

 

However, over time, Hasina’s leadership style shifted. She allegedly became authoritarian, suppressing dissent and exhibiting an air of entitlement that suggested she saw Bangladesh as her personal legacy. On Monday, after years of alleged ‘repressive rule’, Hasina resigned under immense pressure from a vast protest movement and fled to India.

The turning point came when student-led protests erupted in response to her government’s heavy-handed approach to what had begun as a peaceful movement. Enraged by her deadly crackdown, protesters stormed her official residence, destroying nearly everything inside.  They defaced her portraits, dismantled statues of her father throughout the city, and attacked the homes and offices of her party officials.
 

Hasina’s departure comes just months after she secured a fourth consecutive term in office, a victory she believed solidified her hold on power. In her wake, she leaves behind a nation teetering on the brink of chaos, engulfed in instability that has marked Bangladesh since its inception when her father played a pivotal role in its creation.

While there is a sense of relief among the protesters at her resignation, the future of Bangladesh remains uncertain. The country, home to 170 million people, now appears leaderless. The security forces, responsible for the deaths of at least 300 protesters, have lost credibility. The deep-seated animosities between Hasina’s party and the Opposition are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon, and many fear a resurgence of Islamist militancy in the power vacuum left by her departure.

“We are finally free of a dictatorial regime,” Shahdeen Malik, a constitutional lawyer and legal activist in Dhaka told The New York Times.

“Earlier, we had military dictators. But this civilian dictator was more dictatorial than previous military dictators,” he said.

Malik recalled that during Hasina’s initial term as Prime Minister in the late 1990s, she brought a breath of fresh air to the country’s turbulent political landscape, which had been plagued by coups and assassinations. She demonstrated a commitment to democracy, and her party seemed to pursue greater accountability.

However, after her return to power in 2009, following electoral defeat, exile, and an assassination attempt that claimed more than 20 lives, she seemed driven by darker instincts. Hasina viewed her opponents as extensions of the forces that had inflicted her deep personal trauma, says the legal activist.

She embarked on a mission to mould Bangladesh in the image of her father, who had been accused of attempting to turn the country into a one-party state before his assassination. Hasina’s rhetoric increasingly invoked the memory of those days, as if the country had never moved on.

Her father’s image became ubiquitous, and she portrayed her supporters as the rightful heirs of the nation’s liberation from Pakistan. Meanwhile, she demonised her opponents as traitors, drawing from the vocabulary of the old war.

“It is undeniable that she endured one of the most profound traumas, the loss of her entire family,” Malik noted adding, “We have always believed that her personal trauma influenced her political actions and decisions.”

In recent years, Hasina’s hold on power rested on two pillars: the ruthless suppression of the opposition and the entrenchment of a patronage network that protected her interests in return for their own survival.

When confronted about her tactics, she often responded that her political opponents had treated her far worse in the past. Public sympathy for her traditional opponents remained limited. However, it became clear that her true test would come over an issue more fundamental than power politics.

Last year, as the economy stagnated, the Opposition began to show signs of regrouping. Hasina’s image as the architect of the country's economic transformation had faded, with the overreliance on the garment industry becoming evident and inequality deepening. As food prices soared and foreign reserves dwindled, her government struggled to maintain its footing.

Despite the economic challenges, she managed to hold on, turning to China and India for diplomatic and economic support. She wielded her control over the security forces to stifle the Opposition, dragging her adversaries into court battles before judges loyal to her.

The student protests that erupted last month were sparked by a seemingly minor issue: a quota system that favoured certain groups in government jobs. But the underlying anger reflected broader economic frustrations.

In response, Hasina resorted to the repressive tactics that had quashed previous challenges. Initially, she dismissed the students, accusing them of being descendants of those who had betrayed Bangladesh during the war of independence. When this incited further anger, she escalated the crackdown.

She unleashed her party’s aggressive youth wing on the peaceful protesters. When clashes erupted, she deployed more force — the police, the army, and even the Rapid Action Battalion, an antiterrorism unit notorious for allegations of torture and disappearances.

Her situation became increasingly precarious as the violence escalated. By late July, more than 200 people, mostly students and young activists, had been killed. She responded with an iron fist, imposing a curfew, cutting off internet access, and rounding up 10,000 people, with tens of thousands more facing criminal charges. While the protests seemed to be losing momentum, they were not extinguished.

However, when the curfew and communication blackout were lifted, it became clear that the protest movement had not been quelled but evolved into a demand for accountability for the earlier bloodshed.

On Sunday, the protesters gathered in their largest numbers yet. When Hasina once again responded with force, resulting in nearly 100 deaths — the deadliest day of the protests — it became evident that the fear she had instilled was finally broken.

As the protesters called for a march on her residence the following day, Hasina’s response seemed defiant. She urged the nation “to curb anarchists with iron hands”.

In the early hours of Monday, the roads leading to her Dhaka residence were heavily barricaded. The internet was shut down, and public transport was halted. Security forces tried to hold back the swelling crowds at the city gates.
 

But by midday, it became clear that these measures were merely buying time for what was happening behind the scenes. Hasina had resigned and was leaving the country. The army chief was in discussions with political parties regarding an interim government.
 

Grainy cell phone videos showed Hasina exiting a black SUV at a military airbase, where a helicopter awaited her. She departed for India, where she is expected to stay before possibly relocating to London.
 

VIDEO | Visuals of Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh in a helicopter shortly after resigning as PM, amid massive protests against her government that has killed more than 106 people since Sunday. pic.twitter.com/s64om4nhI7

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 5, 2024

Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman then addressed the nation, announcing the end of her rule and promising “justice for all the murders and wrongdoings.”

For the protesters, the jubilation was immediate. They flooded the streets and stormed her residence, taking selfies and souvenirs. One protester walked away with a plant, another with chickens, and yet another with a single plate. One even claimed a giant fish from the prime ministerial pond.

Things people took from PM's residence [ a complete thread ]

05.08.2024#Bangladesh ???????? pic.twitter.com/3zAQf4FTih

— ????????????????????????. (@_ayeshasays) August 5, 2024

However, as night fell, signs of lingering anger emerged. Protesters tore down statues of Hasina’s father, set fire to the museum dedicated to him, and attacked the homes of her ministers and party officials. Reports also surfaced of attacks on the homes and places of worship of minority Hindus, raising fears that the Islamist elements she had kept in check might now feel emboldened.

“It will not be enough for Sheikh Hasina to flee,” declared Nahid Islam, one of the student protest leaders who had been detained and tortured during the crackdown.

“We will bring her to justice,” he added.