Amid violent protests, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and left the capital, Dhaka. According to HT, her chopper landed in Tripura’s capital, Agartala. The 76-year-old politician, daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history, with nearly three decades in office. She served from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024.
Hasina was active in politics during the late 1960s at the University of Dhaka, acting as her father’s political liaison while he was imprisoned by the Pakistani government. In 1971, she and her family were briefly detained due to their involvement in the liberation war that led to Bangladesh’s independence. Tragically, in August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with his wife and three sons, was assassinated by military officers. Hasina, abroad at the time, spent the following six years in exile and was elected to lead the Awami League, the political party founded by her father. Returning to Bangladesh in 1981, she became a vocal advocate for democracy, facing multiple instances of house arrest and becoming the leader of the opposition.
In December 1990, after Hasina issued an ultimatum that garnered widespread public support, the last military leader of Bangladesh, Lieutenant General Hussain Mohammad Ershad, resigned. Hasina accused Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of electoral fraud and led a boycott of Parliament, resulting in widespread protests and political unrest. This led to the establishment of a caretaker government, and Hasina became prime minister following the June 1996 elections. Her first term saw economic growth and a decrease in poverty, though political instability persisted. She completed her term in July 2001, the first Bangladeshi prime minister to do so since the country’s independence.
Amid the 2006–2008 political crisis, Hasina was arrested on extortion charges but won the 2008 elections after her release. Her re-election in 2014 was controversial, marked by a boycott from the BNP and criticism from international observers. She was praised in 2017 for providing sanctuary to nearly a million Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar. Her fourth term, following the 2018 election, was marred by violence and allegations of fraud. Recent unrest began with student protests against the government job quota system, leading to the military imposing an indefinite curfew and authorities severing internet access to manage the situation.
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