‘India knew about Sheikh Hasina’s downfall’

The Indian Express has interviewed former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty where he has said ‘India knew about Sheikh Hasina’s downfall’.

“The quota system started in 1972 after the 1971 War of Liberation. The government then decided to give some preference to those who fought for Bangladesh’s freedom and fixed a quota for them in public jobs. Over the years, once that generation passed on, they demanded that the quota be continued and given to their children, and later to their grandchildren”, he said.

The dissent stemmed from the fact that if you include the other quotas for minorities, women, etc., it came to almost 56 per cent. In 2012, an anti-quota movement first began. In 2018, Sheikh Hasina decided to remove the quotas and issued a government order cancelling them, which was challenged by those benefitting from the provision. The High Court then stayed the order and that’s when the agitation began again”.

“I believe the agitation would have stopped after the Supreme Court judgment, which reduced the quota to only 7 per cent. More than 300 people died during those agitations. The protesters returned with a nine-point demand. They wanted the resignation of ministers, the police commissioner, and so on. Now, why they did that is a mystery. And my view is that there were other influences at work there — mostly foreign and some internal. Since Hasina obviously did not agree to sack her ministers they went on a rampage again. And this time, I think, it was a very well-oiled machine backing them”.

“Why did it turn so political, with the march to Dhaka and demands for the PM’s resignation? That is also a question. I would say that ultimately it was the army that unseated her by saying that, no, we can’t protect you. We will not fire on these protesters”.

“Did we know about the things happening in Bangladesh? Of course, we knew. But the question is whether Sheikh Hasina anticipated her downfall. My sense is that she didn’t, maybe if you stay for 15 years in power, then you feel that everything is okay”, said Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty.

“She’s been here before, stayed from 1975 to ’81, when her whole family was murdered as part of a political plot. She’s back again. Does she have a future as a political leader of the Awami League (AL)? I would say we cannot dismiss the possibility that the AL reorganises, they are not a party that will disappear. They will participate in the next elections. Would Hasina then go back? She’ll have to face cases and inquiries, and they might put her in jail. It’s what was done to Khaleda Zia, and revenge politics is very much possible. But will the AL produce a new leader?  These are all possibilities. Whether Hasina will continue to stay here, is her choice. I don’t think the government of India is going to push her out”.

Inputs taken from the Indian Express