Dhaka, Sep 14 (IANS) Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August, Bangladesh has entered a period of escalating political unrest. The interim administration, led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, initially pledged a swift return to democratic governance.
However, as Eurasia Review notes in its September 11 op-ed titled “A Nation On Trial: Bangladesh Arrest Surge Threatens Democracy”, “the promise of democratic restoration has been replaced by a campaign of surveillance, suppression, and silence”.
Months have passed without any roadmap for elections. Instead, the country is witnessing a surge in arbitrary arrests and the criminalisation of peaceful civic actions.
In Tejgaon, nine individuals were detained for chanting slogans in support of Hasina during a spontaneous procession.
What should have been protected as free speech was rebranded as “sabotage”, giving authorities legal cover to detain participants. The crackdown has extended far beyond street activism.
As Eurasia Review reports, “even symbolic acts of dissent are now treated as threats to national security”.
Mahila Awami League leader Nahida Noor Sweety was tracked and arrested after discreetly joining a post-prayer rally. Accused of financing protests, her case exemplifies the regime’s intent to intimidate symbolic leadership and discourage even quiet forms of mobilisation.
Intellectuals and former bureaucrats have also been targeted.
Abu Alam Shahid Khan—a Liberation War veteran and former press secretary to Hasina—was arrested for attending a roundtable on constitutional reform.
His detention, along with those of Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, law professor Hafizur Rahman Curzon, and journalist Manjurul Alam Panna, underscores what the article calls “a deliberate effort to erase the space for civil discourse”.
Student leaders like Sheikh Ibne Sadiq and Amir Hamza have been jailed for their affiliations with banned political groups. These arrests, according to the op-ed, are “not about public safety—they are calculated moves to dismantle the organizational backbone of opposition politics”.
Even violent incidents are being exploited to justify sweeping crackdowns. Following clashes in Chittagong’s Saltgola Crossing, where a police officer was injured, authorities detained 19 people and charged dozens more—many unnamed.
Rather than isolating the guilty, the state used the event to indiscriminately arrest political activists, turning isolated violence into a tool for repression.
The cumulative effect is a pervasive climate of fear. As Eurasia Review warns, “Bangladesh is not just silencing dissent—it is redrawing the boundaries of legitimacy itself.”
Citizens now hesitate to speak, organise, or engage in political discourse.
Self-censorship has become widespread, and silence is mistaken for stability. The article concludes with a stark warning: “Only a free, fair, and inclusive election can begin to reverse the damage. Without it, the nation risks sliding further into authoritarianism, leaving democracy as nothing more than a memory.”
–IANS
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