Hasina’s fall from grace in nation her father founded
Dhaka, August 5
Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Bangladesh's PM and fled the country on Monday following weeks of protests, has been one of the dominant figures in its politics since the assassination of her father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, nearly a half-century ago.
Her flight came less than seven months after she celebrated a fourth straight term in power - and fifth overall - by sweeping national elections in January.
Her last 15 years in power were marked by arrests of opposition leaders, crackdowns on free speech and suppression of dissent, and she resigned in the face of deadly student-led protests that have killed hundreds.
Protests began in June after student groups' demands for the scrapping of a quota system in government jobs escalated into a movement seeking the end of her rule.
Hasina’s resignation proves the power of the people. — Tarique Rahman, exiled acting chairman of opposition BNP
Her political career was rooted in bloodshed. Her father, who led Bangladesh's fight for independence from Pakistan in 1971, was assassinated with most her family in a military coup in 1975. She was fortunate to have been visiting Europe at the time.
She returned to Bangladesh from India, where she lived in exile, in 1981 and was elected head of the Awami League.
Hasina first led the Awami League party to victory in 1996, serving one five-year term before regaining power in 2009, never to lose it again.
As time went on, she became increasingly autocratic and her rule has been marked by mass arrests of political rivals. — Reuters
Hasina won’t return to politics: son
London: Bangladesh's ousted PM Sheikh Hasina will not make a political comeback, her son and former official adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said on Monday, asserting that she left the country for her own safety on her family's insistence. He said Hasina had been considering resigning since Sunday. PTI
HISTORY OF UPHEAVAL, COUPS
1975: First PM Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassinated along with most of his family members in a coup, two more coups follow with Gen Ziaur Rahman seizing power.
1981: Ziaur assassinated by rebels in Chittagong city where he was residing.
1982: His successor Abdus Sattar ousted in a bloodless coup led by Hussein Muhammad Ershad, who took over as chief martial-law administrator.
2007: The army chief staged a coup and backed a caretaker government that ruled the country for the next two years until Hasina took power in 2009.
2009: Unhappy with their wages and living conditions, revolting paramilitary forces killed more than 70 people in the capital Dhaka.
2012: Army said it had foiled a coup attempt by retired and serving officers.
2024: Army Chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman said Hasina had resigned following violent anti-quota protests and an interim government would be formed to lead the country.
