New Delhi: It was on 5th August 2024 that Sheikh Hasina fled to India in a military helicopter after resigning as Bangladesh Prime Minister following an intense mass agitation led by students and youths.
Hasina has been in India ever since, in hiding.
On the second anniversary of the collapse of Hasina’s 15-year rule, she is set to make her first open appearance in exile in India.
The event will be hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia) in Delhi, where Hasina is expected to speak about her plans and proposed return to Bangladesh.
The interaction on August 5 will take place from 6 pm to 7.30 pm at the Sir Mark Tully Auditorium on Mathura Road in New Delhi, with live streaming on the club’s social media platforms.
Two years ago, student-led demonstrations against a controversial quota system evolved into a nationwide anti-government movement and culminated in protesters storming and vandalising official buildings in Dhaka.
Hasina, perhaps fearing for her life, managed to escape the rampaging mob and flew to te Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, near New Delhi.
Since her arrival and secret stay in India, Hasina has stayed away from public events and formal media interactions.
The invitation for August 5 lists a number of Bangladeshi political leaders, diplomats and public figures who are expected to participate in the programme alongside Hasina.
Among them are Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son and former ICT adviser to the Bangladesh PM; Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, Bangladesh’s former Education minister; Mahammad Ali Siddique, general secretary of Bangladesh Human Rights Watch.
The panel also includes former Bangladesh cricket captain and ex-member of Parliament Shakib Al Hasan; former diplomat and security analyst Aminul Hoque Polash; political and counterterrorism analyst Abu Obaidha Arin; Shah Md Bakhtiar, director of Bangladesh Human Rights Watch USA.
The event will be chaired by Dr Waiel Awwad, president of FCC South Asia and the International Association of Press Clubs (IAPC).