Bangladesh After Hasina: A Year of Unrest, Reform, and Uncertainty
Last year, Bangladesh stood at the brink of a historic turning point when student-led uprisings toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ending her 15-year rule and forcing her into exile in India.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of an interim government, vowing to restore democratic order through credible elections, constitutional and electoral reforms, and peace after deadly unrest that erupted nationwide in July 2024, leaving hundreds dead.
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But one year on, Yunus’s administration has struggled to manage the aftermath. Bangladesh remains mired in political instability, growing religious polarization, and a fragile security situation.
A Nation in Political Disarray
Uncertainty looms over the country’s democratic future. The student protest leaders who ousted Hasina have formed a new political party, pledging to dismantle the dominance of the two entrenched dynastic parties: the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Hasina’s Awami League.
Critics, however, accuse the new party of being too close to Yunus’s administration and using state institutions to sow disorder for political gain.
Compounding tensions, the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has returned to political life after more than a decade of repression under Hasina. Now aligned with the student-led party, Jamaat is attempting to fill the vacuum left by the banned Awami League. Its leaders, some facing charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, remain controversial and unpredictable.
Both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are now locked in fierce competition for influence over the administration, judiciary, and university campuses. The timing of the next national election has become a point of contention.
While Yunus has announced elections will be held in April 2026, weak law and order and a lack of political consensus have created uncertainty. Bangladesh’s army chief has expressed a preference for elections in December 2025—a timeline Yunus has resisted.
“Post-revolutionary honeymoons rarely last, and Bangladesh is no exception,” says Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst and senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation. “This interim government faced immense expectations to restore democracy and stability, but doing so without a popular mandate is especially challenging.”
Yunus Delays Elections in Push for Reform
Yunus has delayed elections, insisting on broad reforms—spanning the constitution, judiciary, police, and electoral process—before polls can be held. Talks have been ongoing with parties other than the Awami League.
Proposed reforms include term limits for prime ministers, the creation of a bicameral parliament, and changes to how chief justices are appointed.
However, little consensus has emerged. While both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have agreed to some reforms under conditions, more fundamental constitutional changes remain contentious.
Jamaat favors giving the interim government more time to complete reforms before elections, while BNP is calling for a faster return to voting. The student-led party largely echoes Jamaat’s position.
“The reform agenda was meant to unify the country,” says Kugelman, “but it has instead become a source of division between those who want more time for change and those who believe it’s time to transition to an elected government.”
Rights Concerns and Islamist Resurgence
Under Yunus, human rights conditions in Bangladesh have come under scrutiny.
Minority groups, especially Hindus, accuse the interim administration of failing to protect them adequately. The Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council claims hundreds of attacks on minorities have occurred over the past year. Meanwhile, the Awami League has accused the government of detaining thousands of its supporters.
The administration denies the allegations.
Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, notes that while Yunus’s government has ended enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings that marred Hasina’s rule, “there’s been little progress in delivering long-promised security reforms or building strong, independent institutions.”
Meanwhile, Islamist groups—some advocating for Sharia law and changes to women’s rights—are jostling for power. Many are attempting to ally with BNP or Jamaat.
Though these groups have historically struggled to gain significant electoral traction in Bangladesh’s Muslim-majority population, their resurgence is raising fears of deeper polarization.
A Diplomatic Pivot Toward China
During Hasina’s tenure, Bangladesh was India’s closest partner in South Asia. But after her ousting, the interim government under Yunus has shifted toward India’s regional rival, China.
Yunus’s first official state visit was to Beijing in March, where he secured loans, grants, and investment deals. India, angered by Hasina’s fall, has refused to extradite her and halted visa issuance to Bangladeshis.
Internationally, Yunus appears to enjoy support from Western governments and the United Nations, signaling that Bangladesh may continue balancing multiple foreign powers.
However, Kugelman warns that the “Trump factor” may become Bangladesh’s biggest foreign policy challenge.
In January, the Trump administration suspended USAID funding to Bangladesh, disrupting key rebuilding efforts. “Now, Dhaka must rebuild ties with an unpredictable U.S. government that views Bangladesh largely through a trade lens,” Kugelman says.
