Over the past few weeks, around 500 people have been killed in Bangladesh amid violent protests which have resulted in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ending her 15-year period in charge; fleeing the country to India and leaving a power vacuum where her government used to be. These protests began over a month ago after Bangladeshi students, many of whom have been suffering from high unemployment rates, were complaining about the ‘quota system.’ This is a policy insisting that a certain percentage of government jobs go to veterans of the 1971 war for independence and their family members. Those protesting saw this quota as a way for Prime Minister Hasina to unfairly keep her political allies in power, as her father was a leading figure in Bangladesh’s independence movement. Hasina’s heavy-handed response to these protesters, which involved mass arrests, curfews, and deaths, eventually led to her resignation as pressure for her to leave became too strong. In her place, the students invited the popular Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus to take charge of the country as the interim leader. Saying “It’s not my dream, it’s [the students’] dream”, Yunus was sworn into power. However, a week into his leadership, with Prime Minister Hasina gone, not enough has been done to avoid the lawlessness that has now become prevalent in Bangladesh’s largest cities. According to residents of Bangladesh’s capital, “Dhaka has turned into Gotham”, and the new government haven’t been able to stop the violence, looting, and arson that has become commonplace. The police have only recently returned from a total strike, and with their return, there is a hope that they will be able to restore order. As of yet, reports of violence against the Hindu minority in the country are increasing, and lawlessness has gotten so bad that vigilantes have taken to the streets as a last attempt to keep the peace.

During her time as the head of Bangladesh’s government, Sheikh Hasina became more authoritarian and undemocratic, and due to the way she allowed violence against protesting citizens, she needed to resign. However, the whole situation that resulted in her leaving has left the new leadership in a difficult position. With insufficient resources in a country of 170 million, then re-establishing law and order is not easy. Despite this, it is obvious that there has been a clear failure in attempting to stop the targeting of religious minorities in the country. Yunus has said that his priority is “law and order” which is encouraging. In addition, he is also currently working to make Bangladesh less authoritarian, which should help to ensure peace in the future. Yet with a history of military coups and presidential assassinations, it won’t be simple.

Ever since its independence, Sheikh Hasina has been linked to politics in Bangladesh. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was one of the leaders of the Bangladeshi independence movement until his assassination in 1975. Six years later, and Sheikh Hasina returned from exile and took power of the Awami League political party. In 1996, she was elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the first time, lasting five years. Yet it was her second time as Prime Minister, from 2009 to 2024, where she became increasingly undemocratic amidst election fraud claims, leading to her eventual resignation.

It has been a long time since Sheikh Hasina was last out of power, so it is not yet clear how this new government will fare for Bangladesh. The little time it has been in power has been nothing short of chaos. The hope however is, that once the unrest has settled, this new government will not only restore peace to Bangladesh but also succeed in stopping the country from slipping back into authoritarianism.