It is for the sake of academic studies the world should analyse the principal reasons for the utter fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime in Bangladesh in 2024. Apparently, all were legally correct for her to rule. But it came to a sheer full stop by the public-student movement only when her party set sail for a fresh journey of 5 years though having robust internal structure to sustain. Was the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in Bangladesh in 2024 merely the result of a combination of widespread public discontent, sparked by student protests, and exacerbated by her government's increasingly authoritarian response? The tipping point, no doubt, came after violent government crackdowns on protests that began in June 2024, initially over apparently the benign reforms to the job quota system. What began as a student-led movement quickly escalated into a national uprising against Hasina’s leadership and we have seen how quickly it melted to the ground with her fleeing from the country. A plain list of the key factors resulted in Hasina's inability to quell the protests peacefully, led to her ouster would look like the following:
- Student Protests
- Escalating Violence
- Unpopular Elections and Corruption
- Military’s Role
True that these key factors combined to result the ultimate fall. But these conform only the tip of the iceberg. The real reasons which caused these factors come to being and taking place all at once require detailed analysis. We endeavoured only ten of them in order to provoke your thoughts
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#9 Compromised Sovereignty
The sovereignty of Bangladesh under the regime of Sheikh Hasina, especially her later terms from 2009 onwards, has been a subject of criticism by her opponents and some analysts, both domestically and internationally. On Feb 25, 2009 an unthinkable incident shook the country. 57 Army officers deputed to BDR were killed in the so-called mutiny. It did not take a long time for the defense analysts, both military and non-military, to relate the mass killing with the ensuing process of silencing the entire military barrack and its purposes. The implicit links to Indian agents could not be kept under the carpet during Sheikh Hasina regime.
The blatant support of India for Sheikh Hasina’s rigging of 2014 and 2018 elections and regaining the throne were no secrets to the nation that India was interfering into domestic matters of Bangladesh. Likewise, all critics argue that certain political decisions and foreign policy strategies ensured all advantages to India whereas longstanding critical issues for Bangladesh, e.g. border killing by BSF, the Teesta River water-sharing dispute, imbalanced trade, etc. were being pathetically ignored.
It went to the extent that the government offices started direct dictations from the Indian people from unknown sources. These were reflected on various pseudo-articles which created a huge amount of psychological pressure on the Bangladeshis of all sects.
Seeing the success of the Indians in denting the sovereignty, the Chinese came with their loan-snags. Bangladesh got entangled in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in a way that risks compromising long-term sovereignty by increasing infamous indebtedness to China. China too were a big supporter Sheikh Hasina’s regime was a big surprise to the nation. The establishments of Sheikh Hasina could not provide any respite to the citizens who fell victims of the civil war in Myanmar and saw many secret killings inside the secured Rohingya Refugee camps.
The national defense and national intelligence appeared to be paralysed in front of the foreign influences of China and India. Finally, all these were apprehensions revealed to be true by the fact that Sheikh Hasina fled to none other country than India and by the subsequent reactions made by India, which were no surprise to the nation
#8 Information Hazard
Ever since Sheikh Hasina took over the power in 2009 it was first revealed to the nation that the state is controlling information.
[1]#6 Legitimacy of the Regime
Although the regime is completely ratified by the legal framework of the state machinery, the regime was not perceived as a legitimate one
[1]#5 State vs State
Every nation has got some might. It apples the might against external forces. When the state machineray starts applying its might against its own citizens the fall of that statemachinery is just a matter of
[1]#4 Weak Political Structure
During the last 15 years Bagladesh has seen complete depoliticisation and the rise of oligarchs replacing the politicians. At one point of time, ruling Awami League found themselves to have no political opponents at all in the country. So, they conducted an election where they became their own opponent in the parliament which is unprecedented at all. The source of fresh blood in politics in Bangladesh had been student wings of the mainstream political parties, came to a stern reality that it became a source of student hooligans for the party. A sheer stop of flow of talents in politics for 30-40 years completely eroded the soil of politics of the country.
[1]#2 International Reputation
Sheikh Hasina regine earned a very bad reputation internationally except for India. The pressure kept rising on her by the international media being critic of her and showing all the details of her brutality. This necessarily eroded her confidence.
[1]#1 Widespread Unemployment
This is the number 1 reason for her regime to face the ultimate fall in utter disgrace as the youngsters came to a do or die situation to 1 Agendum: Get Down Hasina
[1]#3 Corruption, Nepotism & Utter Breach of Governance
In 15 years of her regime, Sheikh Hasina could not show to the nation any significant reduction in corruption [1]
