File photo of Prof Muhammad Yunus
By Deepak Parvatiyar and Nava Thakuria*
Will the arm-twisting of the interim government work for the Islamist radicals to enforce a ban on the Awami League, the political party of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, now in exile in India? While the head of the caretaker government, Professor Muhammad Yunus recently made a public forum that the interim government has no plan to ban the party, which ruled Bangladesh for the last three consecutive terms (2009 to 2024), the students who were part of the violent mass movement that overthrew the Hasina government and recently floated a new political outfit – the National Citizens Party, are not willing to listen.
As the military is out on Dhaka roads to check for any violence, many political party leaders and influential individuals involved with the monsoon (July-August 2024) revolution now criticise Professor Yunus for his soft approach to Awami League. Some even alleged that Bangladesh army chief Waker Uz Zaman was pursuing it so that they could participate in the elections. They also termed it a conspiracy to rehabilitate Hasina’s party as the ‘Refined Awami League’ and ultimately bring the deposed premier back from India. The Bangladesh armed forces have rejected all allegations and made it clear that they had no interest in installing any political party.
Yunus, who took the leadership of an interim government in Dhaka soon after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led mass movement in July-August 2024, asserts that all individuals within the Awami League, who are accused of mass crimes, will be punished under the law, but Hasnat Abdullah, a key member of the the new political outfit, in a recent Facebook post, alleged that the military leadership was pressurising them into acknowledging the Awami League as part of Bangladesh’s political structure.
So why should the National Citizens Party, which was formed with the blessings of Professor Yunus himself, and dubbed by the Awami League supporters as a front of the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami, now criticise the Professor? Afterall, after taking charge, Yunus had officially banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), which serves as the student faction of the Awami League, and declared it a terrorist organisation on October 23, 2024, .
It does appear preposterous that Yunus could develop a soft corner for the Awami League. Therefore, political pundits now speculate whether this is a political ploy to whip up passion on the streets, that could finally pave the way to the formal ban on the Awami League.
Wary of the emerging scenario in Bangladesh, a top Awami League leader, who fled to India, said the Awami League is more dependent on the Indian government and its leadership than anyone else to step in to keep supporting Hasina because, while there are still some pro-liberation elements remaining in former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League remains the biggest pro-liberation political party in the erstwhile East Pakistan and hence is the biggest friend of India. Else Bangladesh would go to the pro-Pakistan Islamist radicals.
One assessment was that Professor Yunus would delay the elections to give time to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami time to spread its base in the country. As of today, it has just about a 3-4% support base in Bangladesh and it requires at least a couple of years or more to be election-ready and take control of the country. However, with the change of guard in the United States, and Donald Trump replacing Joe Biden as the US President, Yunus seems unsure of the American moves now. It may be pointed out that Yunus was seen as close to the Democrats, particularly the former President Bill Clinton and his wife and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who is believed to have played a decisive role in his elevation as head of the interim government in Bangladesh, also to keep India in check.
Hence, with Trump already freezing foreign aid to Bangladesh, Professor Yunus seems to be in a hurry for an earlier election than anticipated by the Awami League, because of the fast-changing Bangladesh-USA relationship.
Already indications are surfacing from Dhaka that Bangladesh may go for national elections by this year itself if the concerned political parties agree to accept a minimal reform in various administrative, financial and electoral agencies with assurances that the winning representatives in Jatiya Sansad ( Bangladeshi Parliament) will continue pursuing the reform process in the South Asian country. Professor Yunus is understood to have directed the responsible authorities to prepare for the general elections by December 2025, while he continues asserting that Bangladesh needs major reform in various sectors including civil and police administration, anti-corruption departments, financial institutions, and judicial and electoral systems to bring the Muslim majority nation on the right tracks.
Lately, over 20 political parties including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e Islami, newly-formed National Citizen Party (NCP) among other smaller parties submitted their opinions to the National Consensus Commission, which is planning to talk to other political parties in the coming days. Headed by Professor Yunus himself, the Commission sent some recommendations to nearly 35 political parties asking for their opinions. The recommendations were picked from five reform commissions namely the Constitution Reform Commission, the Public Administration Reform Commission, the Electoral System Reform Commission, the Judiciary Reform Commission, and the Administrative Reforms Commission. Till now, Awami League is not in the scene and it’s difficult to guess immediately if Hasina’s party will be allowed to participate in the polls.
Moreover, after Trump publicly stated in response to a journalist’s question during a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington on February 16, 2025, that he “will leave Bangladesh to Prime Minister (Modi),” and reports that India will support the initiative to compel the Yunus administration to conduct parliamentary elections by the conclusion of this year, triggered a significant wave of turmoil and conjecture within political circles in Dhaka.
Professor Yunus is now looking forward to meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a one-to-one discussion during an important summit in Bangkok. His administration in Dhaka had already made a formal request to the Union government in New Delhi for a bilateral meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, scheduled for April 2-4, 2025, in the Thai capital city. India’s Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar stated that the particular proposal was under consideration but there are indications that it may not materialise. There may be many reasons, but some recent developments may deter PM Modi from having a meeting with Professor Yunus.
First, Professor Yunus is busy bringing Dhaka closer to Islamabad, even though Pakistan itself is facing severe internal problems with the Baloch freedom aspiring nationals. Professor Yunus met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024. It was followed by regular cargo shipping and direct flights to facilitate the people contact between Bangladesh and Pakistan (incidentally both were under the same territory as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan after separating from India in 1947). Days back, a delegation of Pakistani traders visited Dhaka to establish a joint council and a team of Bangladeshi military officials paid a trip to Pakistan, followed by a Pakistani military delegation visiting Bangladesh.
The growing proximity between Dhaka and Islamabad may pose more challenges to New Delhi. While Pakistan remains an enemy nation since its birth, another neighbour also started behaving like a foe to India. More precisely, Professor Yunus is embarking on a China visit just ahead of the BIMSTEC summit and he is supposed to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on March 28, 2025. It may complicate the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh in more than one way, as New Delhi has been relentlessly fighting Beijing’s growing influences both on eastern neighbours namely Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Meanwhile, a strong message from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ideologue of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, over the atrocities on religious minorities in Bangladesh with impunity from the government agencies, may also prevent any such talks with Professor Yunus immediately. The RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha 2025 (ABPS) on March 22, 2025, expressed its serious concern about the unabated and planned violence, injustice and oppression faced by the Hindus and other minority communities at the hands of radical Islamist elements in Bangladesh under Professor Yunus. Terming it a fit case of human rights violation, the ABPS observed that during the recent regime change in Dhaka, several incidents of attacks on maths, temples, Durgapuja pandals and educational institutions, desecration of deities, barbaric killings, looting of properties, abduction and molestation of women and forcible conversions were reported.
RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Arun Kumar, while briefing the media amid the three-day ABPS (March 21-23, 2025) held in Bengaluru, highlighted the continuous decline of the Hindu population in Bangladesh (from 22% in 1951 to just 7.95% today) asserting that it only reflects the severity of the perennial crisis. The level of organized violence and the government’s passive response in the last few months were alarming, but the Yunus administration continues denying the religious angle of these incidents.
The RSS’s annual meeting also raised concerns over the rising anti-India rhetoric in Bangladesh, which threatens to strain the historically deep-rooted ties between the two nations.
India and Bangladesh share a common cultural and historical heritage, and any form of communal discord in one part of the region affects the entire subcontinent, Kumar commented. He also added that despite facing severe persecution, the Hindus in Bangladesh had shown “remarkable resilience” in their struggle for justice and religious freedom. Their peaceful, collective, and democratic resistance has been met with strong moral and psychological support from Hindus in India and across the world, he added.
Finally, the Sangh called upon international organizations such as the United Nations and the global community to take serious note of these inhumane acts and pressurize Dhaka to take concrete steps to halt violence against Hindus and other minorities. It asserted to remain resolute in the commitment to protect the rights, dignity, and religious freedom of Hindus in Bangladesh and urged an immediate intervention to address this grave humanitarian and existential crisis.
New Delhi has reiterated its commitment to standing with Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and engaged in diplomatic efforts with Dhaka.
*Senior journalists
