Bangladesh under Yunus: Mob rule and mayhem see over 600 lynching deaths in year since Hasina's fall

Over the past one year since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has slipped into a state of lawlessness under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus, the octogenarian propped by the agitators and the military as the country’s unelected ruler.

Amid cyclic attacks on the country's religious minorities, particularly Hindus , mob violence has increasingly become the norm in Bangladesh that has not even spared the country’s police personnel.

Since August 5, 2024, at least 637 people, including 41 police personnel, have been lynched in Bangladesh, according to Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance’s (GCDG) data carried by The Economic Times.

For comparison, there were just 51 cases of lynchings in 2023 when Hasina was in power.

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Pakistan-backed groups, many of whom pursue outright Islamist extremism, have run amok in Bangladesh since the ouster of Hasina. They have waged a campaign of retribution against political opponents, particularly the workers, activists, and leaders of Hasina’s Bangladesh Awami League (BAL). They have also attacked the country’s minorities, particularly Hindus, whom they accused of siding with Hasina.

In the past year, Hindus have been attacked in their houses, their houses have been burnt, and their temples have been attacked. Instead of making the protection of minorities’ protection a priority, Yunus has presided over the state patronage of extremists, which has included acts like the release of jihadist leaders from jail .

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Most lynching victims were from Hasina’s party

Of those lynched, around 70 per cent of victims were from Hasina’s BAL, local human rights bodies have said.

These victims have largely been from Hindu and Ahmadiya Muslim communities, which have been a favourite target of Islamists in the country.

Even though agitating groups said they were fighting for democracy, they have propped an unelected regime of Yunus with little accountability. The regime has not yet announced a date for elections and continues to run the country without any mandate from the people.

Moreover, in yet another case of democratic backsliding, Yunus has banned BAL and has presided over a campaign to remove BAL, BAL’s leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman —the father of the nation— from public consciousness.