Speaking from exile in India, former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina rejected the 2024 uprising as an organised violent regime change plot and warned the world that an unstable Bangladesh threatens all of South Asia.
By Imran Malik | World Affairs Desk | MediaBites.com.pk
Two years after being forced out of Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina has spoken — and she is not holding back.
Addressing a virtual press event organized by the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia in New Delhi via video link, the former Bangladesh Prime Minister called on the international community to support her country’s struggle for democracy and delivered a stark warning: a destabilized Bangladesh is a danger to the entire South Asian region.
“A stable Bangladesh matters for South Asia, for the Bay of Bengal, for development partners, and for all countries that live in democracy, rule of law, and justice,” she said.
Not a Student Movement — An Organized Plot
Hasina flatly rejected the widely accepted narrative that the July-August 2024 unrest was a peaceful student movement that organically toppled her government.
She described it as an organised campaign that deliberately hijacked genuine quota reform protests and converted them into what she called “a violent political instrument” aimed at regime change. She alleged that false propaganda manipulated genuine students while covert forces directed violence, arson, attacks on infrastructure, and the killing of security personnel.
Citing statements by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, Hasina argued the events were “meticulously designed” and led by a “mastermind” — not a spontaneous uprising.
Persecution, Demolition and Disappeared Leaders
After her removal on August 5, 2024, Hasina said Awami League leaders and workers faced systematic persecution — thousands killed, disappeared, or arrested. Historical symbols of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War were vandalized, including the demolition of Sheik Mujibur Rahman’s historic Dhanmondi 32 residence.
“For the last two years, I watched my beloved Bangladesh suffer,” she said. “This is not the Bangladesh we built; this is not the Bangladesh for which 3 million people sacrificed their lives in 1971.”
Her son Sajeeb Wazed questioned UN casualty figures of around 1,400 deaths and condemned an indemnity ordinance granting blanket legal protection to protesters for any killings — including of civilians and police — calling it unprecedented and contrary to human rights norms.
India Distances Itself
India’s Ministry of External Affairs was quick to distance itself from the event. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that the government had “no involvement whatsoever” and does not endorse any views expressed — while separately confirming that Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been invited to the upcoming BRICS summit in September as BIMSTEC chair.
Parliamentary elections held in February 2026 were won by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique Rahman. The Awami League was barred from contesting.
Hasina remains in India. Her struggle for return is far from over.
