Renowned Bangladeshi author Dr. Taslima Nasrin, who has lived in exile for more than 32 years, has shared a lengthy and detailed reaction on social media following former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent speech from India.
In her statement, Nasrin praised Hasina’s courage and unwavering determination to return to Bangladesh. At the same time, she offered a strong critique of Hasina’s political decisions, accusing her administration of compromising with religious hardliners, carrying out state repression, and failing to uphold human rights.
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‘There Was No Crack in Her Voice’
Reflecting on Sheikh Hasina’s speech, Taslima Nasrin wrote:
“Even after two years away from her country, there was no weakness in her voice—only a firm determination to return home. As someone who has spent 32 years in exile, I understand the longing to return to one’s own country. Her determination touched me.”
Calls Ban on Hasina’s Speech ‘Undemocratic’
Nasrin described the Bangladeshi government’s ban on broadcasting Sheikh Hasina’s speech as “undemocratic,” arguing that suppressing opposition voices is incompatible with democratic values, regardless of who is in power.
She said Sheikh Hasina has every right to speak, defend herself, and return to her own country.
She also called for restrictions on the Awami League to be lifted, saying the party’s political future should be decided by the people through elections—not by the government or the courts.
‘Political Responsibility Cannot Be Avoided’
Referring to the 2024 student movement, Nasrin said Sheikh Hasina had argued that the protests were exploited as part of a planned effort to seize power and that the matter deserves an impartial investigation.
However, she stressed that Hasina cannot avoid political and moral responsibility for the deaths, injuries, and state repression that occurred during the movement.
“History cannot be explained by conspiracy alone,” she wrote. “Admitting one’s mistakes is not a sign of weakness; it is the greatest courage a leader can show.”
‘Appeasing Religious Extremists Led to Her Downfall’
According to Taslima Nasrin, Sheikh Hasina’s greatest political mistake was repeatedly compromising with religious fundamentalist forces in order to remain in power.
She cited several examples, including the removal of writings by progressive and non-Muslim authors from school textbooks following Hefazat-e-Islam’s demands, granting official recognition to Qawmi madrasa degrees, and advising writers not to criticize religion after secular bloggers and free thinkers were murdered by Islamist extremists.
Nasrin argued that these compromises ultimately strengthened the very forces that later contributed to Hasina’s political downfall.
“The jihadist forces she appeased and nurtured for years eventually infiltrated the student movement and turned it into a political weapon against her. She was not merely the victim of a conspiracy; her repeated compromises with secularism created the conditions that allowed that conspiracy to succeed.”
She warned that appeasing religious extremism may provide short-term political survival, but in the long run, those same forces ultimately consume the state and those in power.
Calls for Fair Justice, Not Political Revenge
Taslima Nasrin said she wants Sheikh Hasina to return to Bangladesh—not to face assassination, execution, or political vengeance, but to receive an independent, impartial, transparent, and internationally credible judicial process.
She emphasized that while any crimes committed during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure should be investigated and prosecuted, crimes committed after her fall—including killings, looting, attacks on minorities, violence against women, suppression of journalists and free thinkers, and Islamist extremist violence—must also be brought to justice.
“Justice cannot be selective,” she wrote.
‘She Must Return Ready to Admit Her Mistakes’
Concluding her statement, Taslima Nasrin urged Bangladesh to move beyond politics of revenge.
She said Sheikh Hasina should return not merely as a claimant to power, but as a leader willing to acknowledge both the achievements and failures of her time in office.
According to Nasrin, if Sheikh Hasina openly admits her major political mistakes and pledges never again to compromise on secularism, her return could become an important opportunity for Bangladesh’s democratic and secular renewal.
