 "A man walks past a portrait of Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka. It's been a year since Hasina has been ousted from power and she has been in exile. File image/AFP")
On August 5, 2024, Sheikh Hasina, then prime minister of Bangladesh, boarded a military aircraft and landed at the Hindon Airbase in India’s Ghaziabad along with her younger sister Rehana. This moment marked the end of her 15-year rule in the neighbouring country.
Now, a year later, Bangladesh is under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus . The country continues to battle political and economic instability with a growing number of voices demanding for elections to be held by the end of this year.
But what about Hasina — where is she? What is she up to?
Hasina’s hasty departure from Bangladesh
Last August, Hasina resigned from her position and fled to India following weeks of unrest. Her exit came after crowds broke a curfew and stormed the prime minister’s residence in the capital Dhaka, following weeks of bloody protest.
As she exited, Bangladesh army General Waker-uz-Zaman announced that the military had taken control of the government; parliament had been dissolved, and the government was formulating a plan for fresh elections. “The country is going through a revolutionary period,” Zaman said in a national television address. “We request you to have faith in the army of the country. Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to nonviolent and peaceful ways.”
Thousands of protesters celebrated in the capital, waving Bangladeshi flags as the news broke, while others looted her official residence, carrying out furniture and even fish from the kitchens. It is an “end of a regime that delivered a lot of development but was increasingly authoritarian, as we saw with the mass killings,” said Naomi Hossain, a research professor specialising in Bangladesh at the London-based SOAS University to the Associated Press.
But what about Hasina?
Sources have revealed that the 77-year-old leader was given just 45 minutes to head to the helipad of the old airport in Tejgaon in order to escape the angry mob that was making its way to her residence, the Ganabhaban Palace. From there, they boarded a Bangladesh Air Force helicopter and headed to India , where they requested safe asylum for a brief period. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed Hasina had requested for “approval to come to India for the moment at a very short notice”.
Around an hour or so later, flight monitoring website FlightRadar24 showed a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J Hercules military plane heading deep inside India and towards New Delhi. It later landed at Indian Air Force base of Hindon.
Hasina’s present whereabouts
Days after her arrival in India, Hasina was moved from the Ghaziabad Hindon air base to a safe house in New Delhi’s Lutyens Bungalow Zone.
Officially, the MEA has refused to provide any details on Hasina’s stay in India. However, sources have told media outlets that the former Bangladeshi PM has been provided with stay in the same areas as MPs and other senior officials reside. Moreover, she’s been given a strong security detail, with personnel guarding her round the clock but in plain clothes.
It is noted that her daughter Saima Wazed , who was the regional director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) South-East Asia Region until she was asked to proceed on indefinite leave due to court cases in Bangladesh, also lives in Delhi.
The Print in a report last November stated that a core security group looks into whatever movement of Hasina outside the safehouse. Moreover, a report by the Hindustan Times noted that the inner and outer security cordon of all the safe house is taken care of by the officials of the central agencies while “watchers and spotters” from the commando unit of the Delhi Police are deployed around the bungalows to keep a vigil on suspicious activities and people.
Notably, Hasina’s stay in New Delhi brings back memories of her previous visit — 49 years ago. In 1975, Hasina and Rehana sought India’s help after soldiers assassinated her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with seven family members, including his 10-year-old son Russell. Hasina escaped because she was in Germany with her husband and Rehana.
The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, extended refuge to Hasina, her husband MA Wazed Miah, her children and her sister. Recounting her time then, Hasina told India Today in 2022, “Mrs Indira Gandhi immediately sent information that she wanted to give us security and shelter… We decided to come back here (Delhi) because we had in our mind that if we went to Delhi, from Delhi, we’d be able to go back to our country. And then we’ll be able to know how many members of the family are still alive.”
The Bangladesh leader and her family stayed at 56 Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar-3 first. They then shifted to a house in Lutyens Delhi’s Pandara Road where they stayed until 1981.
Hasina’s time in exile
But what has Hasina been doing in the time following her exit from Bangladesh?
She has called out the interim government on numerous occasions and even addressed a live “rally” for supporters in Dhaka. In an address on February 5, she called out those who had attacked her family home and her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ’s memorial museum at Dhanmondi, burning most of the interiors down. “Demolishing a building can only destroy a structure but couldn’t erase the history,” she said.
In May, she accused the Yunus government of “selling the nation to the United States”. She also condemned the ban on her Awami League party, calling it unconstitutional. She claimed Yunus gave the reins of the government to “terrorists”, against whom her government fought.
“My father did not agree to America’s demands for St Martin’s Island . He had to give his life for that. And that was my destiny as I never thought of selling the country to stay in power,” she said.
She further added, “What a misfortune it is today. Such a person came to power, a person who is absolutely loved by the people of the whole country, a person who is loved by the world, and what happened to that person today when he came to power?”
“He has seized power with the help of terrorists, even those who are banned in various international arenas, against whom my government protected the people of Bangladesh. After only one terrorist attack, we took strict measures. Many were arrested. Now prisons are empty. They released everyone. Now Bangladesh is the reign of those militants,” she said.
However, a report by The Hindu states that she was requested by officials in New Delhi to tone down her comments against the Dhaka government.
Bangladesh still awaits her extradition
On the other hand, Bangladesh still awaits India’s response on extraditing Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka where she has been put on trial on charges of corruption, human rights violations and even war crimes.
In fact, Bangladesh’s foreign adviser, Md Touhid Hossain, said Bangladesh had sent a letter to India requesting the return of Hasina. But, there has been no positive response from India in this regard.
“There is no new information on this. Bangladesh has requested India to return Sheikh Hasina to face trial. No positive response has come from India. Bangladesh is waiting. Meanwhile, the trial proceedings against Sheikh Hasina have already begun. The trial does not stop whether someone appears or not,” he was quoted as telling the media on Monday evening (August 4).
Bangladesh’s request for Hasina’s extradition has forced India into a balancing act. The Indian government realises Hasina’s presence could hamper its efforts to build strong diplomatic ties and trade relations with the new interim administration in Dhaka, but Hasina had also built up excellent ties with India during her time in office.
With inputs from agencies