Dhaka — One year ago, on August 5, 2024, a mass uprising ended Sheikh Hasina’s long tenure as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister. Just days later, on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus became Chief Advisor to the interim government, pledging sweeping reforms and a return to democracy. But twelve months on, that promise has given way to disorder, political repression, and creeping authoritarian rule.
A July 30 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accuses the Yunus-led government of abandoning its reform agenda and engaging in politically motivated crackdowns — mirroring the abuses it had vowed to end. The government banned the Awami League, the party that led Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation struggle, and launched mass arrests of AL supporters and other opponents. After July 16 clashes between security forces and AL activists, hundreds were detained and 10 murder cases were filed against over 8,400 people.
From August 6 to September 25, 2024, more than 92,000 people were charged — many with murder — including Hasina, 390 former ministers, MPs, and local leaders. In one case, former North Dhaka mayor Mohammad Atiqul Islam has been held since October 2024 on over 60 murder-related charges, 36 of which allegedly occurred while he was abroad.
Security forces have also arrested over 8,600 people this year under “Operation Devil Hunt,” ostensibly targeting criminal gangs from the Hasina era, but which HRW says disproportionately targets AL supporters.
While 11 reform commissions were formed in 2024 to address the judiciary, police, and election system, none of their key proposals — such as judicial independence and a police accountability body — have been implemented. Analysts suggest the government’s political agenda, not institutional barriers, explains the lack of progress. The commissions themselves have been criticised for lacking transparency and diversity, being dominated by Bengali Muslim men.
Repression has also extended to the media. A Rights and Risks Analysis Group report says that between August 2024 and July 2025, attacks on journalists rose 230%, with nearly 900 assaulted, while criminal cases against journalists surged 558%.
Religious minorities, especially Hindus, have faced worsening violence since Hasina’s ouster. Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad recorded 258 incidents of communal violence in the first half of 2025, including 20 rapes and 59 attacks on places of worship. HRW also notes rising hostility toward women’s rights activists, LGBTQ+ people, and indigenous communities, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Once hailed as the dawn of a democratic revival, Yunus’s first year in power has instead deepened Bangladesh’s crisis. Elections are scheduled for February 2026, but given the current trajectory, doubts remain over whether they will be free or fair.
For many Bangladeshis, the past year has been a harsh lesson in misplaced trust. For the international community, it is a warning to watch closely as the nation drifts further into chaos and authoritarian rule.
With inputs from IANS