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The dramatic change in Bangladesh's political landscape during the first week of August this year has yet to be accepted by some at home and abroad. It is a harsh reality that a bloody mass uprising ultimately compelled the authoritarian Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee to India. Most of her party men are now on the run, and the party's supporters face people's wrath for obvious reasons. The Hasina loyalists abroad are, however, spreading disinformation about the country.
It is difficult for any autocratic regime and its loyalists to accept the fall, whether in an electoral process or in the face of a mass uprising. So, they used to manufacture elections in various ways. The Hasina regime, which lacked fairness and transparency, did the same to show that it resumed power through election. The process started in 2014 and continued in 2019 and 2024. The lack of fairness and transparency in these national parliamentary elections in Bangladesh was quite evident, and the legitimacy of the polls was seriously questioned. Nevertheless, Hasina did not bother to care about the polls' legitimacy as she successfully retained power, perpetuating an unjust and undemocratic regime.
Despite being authoritarian or autocratic, many such regimes retain some domestic support based on a kind of narrative. Such unconditional support base becomes a strength of the dictatorial regime to continue its deeds and misdeeds. The persistent repression of opposition political parties and critics to uphold the narrative is a fundamental characteristic of any authoritarian regime. The supporters and loyalists actively participate in repression and intimidation besides the government agencies and forces as they become a parallel administration under different banners.
Bangladesh witnessed the same thing during the last one and a half decades. Bangladesh Chattra Legue (BCL), the student wing of Hasina's ruling party, was in forefront in this regard. The leaders and activists of the organisation, now banned in the country, unleashed a reign of terror and intimidation through torture, murder, rape and harassment in various educational institutions across the country.
Authoritarian regimes in different countries are sometimes backed by bigger and stronger countries for their interests, compelling the regimes to compromise the greater interests of the countries. The Hasina regime has set a classic example in this regard. Backed by India, her government could overlook various international pressures, particularly those from Western countries, to ensure good governance, human rights, and democratic values.
Hasina claimed that she and her party, Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), were accountable to the people of Bangladesh. In reality, her loyalty to India has proved again and again. So, after the fall of Hasina, India extended support to her by giving her a safe shelter and indicated that it would continue to do so. The indication is a great relief for Hasina loyalists at home and abroad. There is also an allegation that India, through its proxies, trying to destabilise the country to undermine the interim government.
Bangladesh is now going through a phase of difficult transition, and Hasina loyalists will continue to defame the country using various tools. Many of these loyalists have benefited dramatically from corruption and money laundering during the last one and a half decades. So they have no shortage of finance to invest to reverse the course. It will definitely be a big challenge not only for the interim government but also for the whole country. The ill effort to create instability in the country by these loyalists will be intensified in the coming days. Harassment of an adviser in Geneva airport by a group of Hasina loyalist is an example in this connection.
It is also not surprising that most of these loyalists are unrepentant about the crimes and misdeeds of Hasina that distorted the country's socio-economic balance. To them, killing of more than 1,500 people during the July movement along with wounding more than 10 thousand people is no crime but right thing. To them, money and power at any cost is everything. So, their support to Hasina is understandable.
Among the Hasina loyalists, some are apologists who acknowledged that there were some misdeeds during the last 15 years. They, however, try to justify all these misdeeds as unintentional and part of the governance system.
These apologists also say that some repressive steps taken were necessary to ensure the country's stability and long-term development. The long list of development works reflected in the economic growth of Bangladesh must be credited to the Hasian regime, they further argued.
Similar arguments have also been made by many Indian politicians, intellectuals, journalists and social media activists. To them, the brutal repression and mass killing of students and youths in July-August by Hasina is obscure. Labelling the ousted regime as corrupt and despotic is wrong to them. They also overlooked Hasina's undermining the electoral process and distorting the institutions in Bangladesh. All these are fine to them as long as it helps retain a friendly and loyal regime in to power.
All these loyalists and apologists also argue that it was the Haisna regime that upheld the spirit of independence of Bangladesh. They also back the narrative of the country's war of independence in 1971, initiated by Awami League, only to justify the oppressive regime of Hasina. To them, anyone raising any question about the AL's 1971 narrative is anti-liberation or pro-Pakistani. The mass uprising of 2024, however, successfully challenges the biased, distorted, one-sided narrative of 1971 and breaks the taboo, imposed by Hasina and her loyalists. As these loyalists and apologists will continue to try to spread false, distorted and misleading information, it is necessary to fight against the damaging propaganda and activities with facts and information.