‘Sheikh Hasina Should Return, Face Action’: Bangladesh Braces For Real Battle As Scars Of

A green bag with Bangabandhu Mujibur Rehman’s picture is all that seems clear at the Bangabandhu memorial on Dhanmundi in Dhaka. The memorial, which once housed the memorial of father of Bangladesh, is dark. The smell of smoke is strong. The spot was one of the targets of the protesting students who wanted Sheikh Hasina out.

Just about 5 km away is the burnt Awami League office. Nothing remains except a few burnt posters of the party, its leader Hasina and signs of the opulence before the violence. This is where the students claim they were beaten up by Awami League leaders. Some students claim that they were locked up by the leaders in this office.

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Jannatul Naim Arnob, one of the main student leaders, tells News18: “We are not against Mujibur Rehman. He paid the price for Sheikh Hasina’s atrocities. We broke his statue because we are angry with his daughter. We also don’t think so many statues of his should have been put up across the country.”

The statement perhaps explains the horrific images of protestors standing on the statue of Rehman, some even urinating on it, as it was being brought down. The remains of the statue are now packed in jute sacks.

As Bangladesh goes back to normalcy slowly, the real challenges emerge. The parliament stands quiet with no clarity on when the elections may take place. The expats and businessmen have begun to return, but there is still no guarantee of business as usual. This would be the main challenge for the Muhammed Yunus-led interim government.

Arnob says, “Our battle and fight is not over. It is wrong to say we are politicised. We found support over weeks as our cause was right. We felt victimised. We felt Hasina was not right and that’s why we should continue to be on the streets. We need to be like a pressure group or conscience keeper of the government so that they work for the people of Bangladesh. We want Sheikh Hasina to return. She should face action.”

As we go back to the PM house called Ganabhaban, all that remains are broken chairs and utensils. There are very few visitors now.

For most people in Dhaka at least, Hasina does not matter much. For the students and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Jamaat she does though — Enough to want her back and hang her.