Dhaka: Is a military coup looming over Bangladesh?
A meeting between Bangladesh Army chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman and his top commanders on Monday has set the rumour mills rolling.
But this is not without reason. Bangladesh has had its share of military coups. The first military coup took place on August 15, 1975, less than five years after the country was liberated. The founding father of Bangladesh and the country’s president Sk Mujibur Rahman and his family were assassinated in that coup. Only his two daughters, Hasina and Rehana remained alive as they were in London.
The last one took place in January 2007 when another caretaker government was in charge of affairs in that country. Then Army chief Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed took over charge till general elections were held in December 2008. The Awami League stormed into power in these elections and Sk Hasina remained the country’s prime minister for the next 15 years, till she was forced to resign and flee to India on August 5, 2024.
India has also been dragged into this controversy with Bangladeshi social media influencer Pinaki Bhattacharya urging students and extremists in the country to hold protests against Gen Zaman, who he claims is backed by India.
There is no doubt that India would like Hasina to be reinstated in Dhaka, but at the same time, there is no evidence of New Delhi’s involvement in any goings on in Bangladesh at the moment.
Bhattacharya, who is now based in France, is a trouble maker. Recently, he was called out by Mohammad Harun Al Rashid, Bangladesh’s ambassador to Morocco, for waging an ‘online war’ against the Hasina government. Rashid made stinging comments against the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh, after which he was ordered to return to Dhaka. The senior diplomat refused to do so and the Bangladesh government cancelled his passport. By then, Rashid had moved to Canada with his family.
“For years, digital terrorists such as Pinaki Bhattacharya and Elias Hossain have exploited Western countries as platforms for radicalization and manipulation. They have waged an online war against Bangladesh’s government, spreading disinformation and inciting unrest. Just look at how Pinaki, from France, and Elias, from the US, orchestrated the destruction of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum online — an act of sheer brutality and criminality,” Rashid had posted on Facebook.
Anarchy reigned in Bangladesh after the fall of the Hasina government in August 2024. The attack on Hindus in the country led to concerns in India. The Bangladesh Army, under Gen Zaman, did its best to curb violence and save the minority Hindus from persecution. This did not go down too well with the radicals, who now make up the mobs controlling the streets.
Some believe that the Bangladesh Army could be looking towards the creation of a national unity government in the country that will be under its control.
