The great fall of Sheikh Hasina

Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

The great fall of Sheikh Hasina

Editor’s note: Since we don’t do the Big Story every day, some of you have been worried about us turning into an In Shorts. We hope our coverage in recent weeks has calmed those fears:)

First, wtf happened: Bangladesh has been rocked by angry student protests against reservation quotas since July (details on the quotas here). The government backed down—the quotas were mostly cancelled—and the protests were called off… except not.

A surprise escalation: After a temporary lull, students were back on the streets with renewed force—joined by Bangladeshis of all stripes. Now they had a single out-sized demand: the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by August 3. The police have been brutal in putting down the protests—but the reaction this weekend was exceptionally bloody. Around 100 people were killed—bringing the total to 300. You get a sense of the violence below/here:

The tipping point: The show of exceptional force, however, backfired. Tens of thousands joined the cause—and a march on Dhaka was planned for Monday. That’s when the military pulled the rug:

During a huddle with Hasina at her residence at 10.30 pm on Sunday, the chiefs of the army, navy and air force assured her they would maintain order and not allow the march. “But the PM was told this morning that the armed forces would not stop the marchers, and the jitters set in. The three chiefs went to Ganabhaban (Hasina’s residence) and advised her to step down. She wrote her resignation letter in their presence,” a source said.

The reason: The military was uncomfortable with being closely associated with a highly unpopular Hasina—and doing the dirty work to keep her in power.

Where is Hasina now? In Delhi. The former PM landed in an Air Force base in Ghaziabad around 6 pm—and has applied for asylum in the UK. If she is turned down, she will look further afield at Finland et al. Her son—Sajeeb Wazed Joy—claims his mother has retired from politics: “I think she’s done. My family and I are done.”

A country in chaos: Bangladesh army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman called for peace and plans to set up an interim government. But it doesn’t seem to have slowed down the protesters—who stormed both Hasina’s residence (see below) and the Parliament building.

Note the irony of the statue of the founding father of Bangladesh being toppled like he’s Saddam Hussein:

TBH, some of the scenes are kinda amusing—like this great Bengali fish heist:

And this lady on the stolen elliptical—it in the midst of the madness:

About that interim government: The army has released Hasina’s arch-nemesis Khaleda Zia from prison—and her party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is expected to play a key role. A student leader said:

Political and civil society representatives, our teachers, and the leadership of the students and the public will present the road map… and it will have to be implemented. The will of the main stakeholders of this student-public uprising will be reflected in it.

But there seems no end to the unrest—and no consensus between the students, established parties and civil society leaders. Bangladesh appears perched on the edge of anarchy—or perhaps extended military rule. Reminder: The country was under military rule as recently as 2007.

The conundrum for India: Bangladesh is critical to New Delhi’s national security strategy—acting as a bulwark against China in the northeast:

Across political parties in India, Hasina has found support because the Indian establishment has long seen her as a way of keeping radical Islamist groups out of power in Bangladesh. India has also sought to have influence in Bangladesh to counter its regional rivalry with China.

But, but, but: New Delhi has maintained a studied silence on Hasina’s ouster—perhaps because it doesn’t want to alienate the new dispensation in Dhaka. OTOH, it may be too late. An Indian national security source says:

We have come to know that two conditions are being talked about to be a part of the interim government — the person has to be free of any connection with the Awami League and India.

New Delhi seems to be inextricably tied to Hasina in the mind of Bangladeshis—which can only be good news for Beijing. One sign of this hostility: Enraged protesters are also targeting Hindus and temples.

Why did this happen? Our previous Big Story has lots more details, but here’s a quick overview:

One: An authoritarian Hasina: “Her time in power was rife with accusations of forced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, and the crushing of opposition figures and her critics.” Most recent elections have been a sham—including the latest in January.

Two: Unemployment. Despite being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Here’s a telling bit of data: “Estimates suggest that around 18 million young Bangladeshis are looking for jobs. University graduates face higher rates of unemployment than their less-educated peers.”

Three: Bangladeshi believe only Hasina’s supporters have enjoyed the fruits of Bangladesh’s prosperity—hence the rage against widespread corruption. Even the quotas were seen as a sop for her loyalists.

The bottomline: The fall of Hasina shows how easily the “core natural resource” of young people “can easily flip into a liability without employment, hope or representation.” Or as Syed Munir Khasru writes in the Indian Express: “This unexpected development serves as a stark reminder that economic progress alone cannot sustain a leader’s popularity in the face of eroding democratic values and civil liberties.”

Reading list: The Telegraph has the best reporting on exactly what happened—and what it means for India. Syed Munir Khasru in Indian Express has a good op-ed on the lessons of Hasina’s fall. The Hindu is best on the job reservations that triggered the protests. BBC News has the big picture on the downfall of Hasina. Al Jazeera has more visuals from the celebrations in Dhaka. Our Big Story on the recent rigged election offers the most context on Bangladeshi politics—and India’s involvement.

2024 Olympics: Heartbreak for Lakshya

Sen lost his battle for the bronze—in his 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 loss to Lee Zii Jia. It was one of the longest badminton matches at the Olympics—lasting 72 minutes. This is also India’s first Olympics in 12 years without a medal in the sport. Adding salt to injury: Badminton legend Prakash Padukone who said:

All the support and finances needed to perform at the top level were given to the Indian players. It's not like earlier times when our players lacked facilities and funds. So, it's high time our players step up and win as expected.

Indian Express has the match report.

In happier news for India: Avinash Sable has qualified for the men’s 3000m steeplechase—and has a shot at winning the first-ever medal for India.

A bit of heartwarming drama: The gymnasts were unhappy with the inexplicable deathly silence at the balance beam finals. Maybe that’s why GOAT Simone Biles didn’t even score a medal. Our favourite moment was when Biles and her fellow compatriot Jordan Chiles celebrated the win of gold medalist Rebeca Andrade from Brazil, by bowing down to her.

The Noah Lyles Show: The US sprinter scored a gold in the closest finish ever in a 100-metre sprint—nosing out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. The reason he won: It’s all about a technique called dipping your torso—which is measured first when crossing the line. See the race in all its glory below. (The Guardian)

Why we love Lyles: This throwback clip from last year—where he calls out US leagues like the NBA—which call themselves “world championships”:

Too hot to handle: It’s so effing hot in the Olympic Village—which has no AC—Italian gold medallist swimmer Thomas Ceccon slept on the grass lol. (Telegraph UK)

Macron’s kiss: We wrap up with this passionate ‘kiss’ between President Emmanuel Macron and his sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra—also known as AOC. It’s causing quite a stir in Paris.

A land deal in Ayodhya

The context: Between February 2022 and November 2023, three parcels of land were sold in Majha Jamthara—an unpopulated village 6 km away from the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. These were sold to three buyers: a) Homequest Infraspace—a subsidiary of the Adani Group; b) a foundation established by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; and c) a trust associated with Baba Ramdev. This was a bit odd since the land at the time was notified as an army “buffer zone.”

What happened now: According to The Print, the land was magically denotified in May—and became eligible for commercial development. It looks like a blatant case of favouritism. This is how a government official blithely admits “several influential people” had bought land in the area since it was “prime property.” And claims the move is a-okay because the government too is planning to denotify more villages and build on the same land. Why this is notable: Real estate boom in Ayodhya has become a political scandal—with some land being “ecologically sensitive”, and locals feeling short changed about losing properties without sufficient compensation. The latter is one reason the BJP lost in the constituency. The Print has more details.

Say goodbye to the the Preamble

The government-appointed NCERT has been on a tear—gutting textbooks for various grades. Most recently, it was in the news for erasing entire swathes of Indian history—including Babri Masjid and 2002 Gujarat riots. Now, it’s dropped the Preamble to the Constitution from several textbooks for classes III and IV, this year. Until now, it has been tradition to include the Preamble in the first couple of pages. The NCERT has instead developed an affection for the national anthem—which has popped up in language textbooks. (The Telegraph)

The great slide of the rupee

The rupee has been steadily declining against the US dollar—and is now the second-worst performing currency in Asia. At Rs 83.83, it is barely above the Taiwanese dollar. What’s with the slump? One surprising reason is that the Reserve Bank has been buying dollars to keep the rupee cheap:

The central bank “may want to avoid a loss of competitiveness by buying USD to prevent undue strength in the INR, especially as India attempts to move its economy up the value chain,” Barclays Bank said in a note.

NDTV Profit has lots more nerdy gyaan on other reasons for the slide.

Organ transplants rise in India

A new report shows that 18,378 organ transplants were performed in the country in 2023—the highest ever for India. The number of deceased donors increased from 837 in 2013 to 2,935 in 2023. Of these, 77% were men——while women were 63% of the living organ donors. What’s notable: 10% of those who received the transplant were foreigners—who travelled to India specifically for the surgery—mostly from the US and the UK.

Also this: Most of the surgeries were performed in the capital—followed by Rajasthan and West Bengal. Why is that: Many patients are from Nepal, Myanmar, or Bangladesh—and Delhi is the closest available option for transplant surgery. But but but: “[T]he organ donation rate in our country still continues to be less than 1 per million population.” (Indian Express)

China has a ‘pet’ problem

Like many Asian economies, China is experiencing plummeting birth rates. Turns out Chinese people are getting pets—instead of having babies. According to Goldman Sachs, the number of pets (70 million) will be 2X the number of kids less than four years old by 2030—which will in turn create a $12 billion market for pet food. The reason offered by one woman:

"I think the increasing trend of keeping pets is related to the atomisation of society… Maintaining a relationship with a pet is much cheaper and less difficult than maintaining relationships between people.”

BTW, she has three cats, a crested gecko and a hognose snake! ICYMI: This Big Story by Samarth Bansal where he explains the trend of the “baby bust” around the world.

A related read: Voice of America has a fascinating read on the rise of dog weddings in China. (Financial Times, paywalled, Business Insider)

A spinning-top iceberg in the Antarctic

The world’s biggest and oldest iceberg—A23a—is “spinning on the spot” in Antarctica—instead of floating along the waters. The 1 trillion tonne iceberg is not stuck or grounded, so why is this happening:

Scientists say the frozen block, which is more than twice the size of Greater London, has been captured on top of a huge rotating cylinder of water. It's a phenomenon oceanographers call a Taylor Column — and it's possible A23a might not escape its jailer for years.

Point to note: Icebergs typically fall apart and melt—but A23a “refuses to die” since it broke free from the Antarctic coastline in 1986. For over 30 years, it has been a “static ice island.” BBC News has some excellent maps and more nerdy details. See the iceberg below.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Cue ‘Succession’ theme song in the next 8-10 years—Adani reportedly plans to step down as company chairman by then, and hand over control to his four male heirs.
Food manufacturer Mars—the owners of chocolate brands Snickers and M&Ms—are exploring a potential acquisition of Kellanova—the manufacturers of products like Cheez-Its and Pringles.
SoftBank Group has experienced its largest, single-day fall in value—by $15 billion—since it went public in 1998. The reason: a stock rout in Japan.
Intel has fallen far behind its competitors in the chip manufacturing race and is frantically conserving cash.

sports & entertainment

UK authorities have rejected the passport application of a six-year-old girl. The reason: she is named Khaleesi after the ‘Game of Thrones’ character—falling afoul of Warner Brothers’ trademark.
Aerosmith have cancelled their upcoming farewell tour and announced their retirement from performing live again, in light of frontman Steven Tyler’s vocal injury.
The unrest in Bangladesh has put the country’s hosting of the Women’s T20 World Cup in jeopardy—the International Cricket Council (ICC) is considering back-up options.
In sadder cricketing news, former England batsman Graham Thorpe has passed away, aged just 55. Here’s a highlights reel from his last ever Test innings, to remember him by.

as for the rest

The National Testing Agency (NTA) made a surplus income of Rs 448.21 crore in the past six years from examination fees, according to government data.
An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York made an emergency landing in Phoenix after lice was spotted in a passenger's hair.
After his disputed reelection as Venezuela president, Nicolás Maduro vows to “pulverise” challenge to his rule.

tktk things to see

One: Algerian boxer Imane Khelif—who has been viciously hounded and wrongly labelled as a transgender person—recorded a message for all her bullies. A reminder: Khelif has beaten Hungary’s Anna Hamori to reach the women’s welterweight semifinals—and is guaranteed to win a medal. (Euronews)

Two: Amid the race riots in the UK, the good folks in Bristol gathered outside a local hotel to protect asylum seekers housed inside—from the raging mob outside. Watch the inspiring show of solidarity here. (Bristol Post)

Three: Tech companies are increasingly under fire for their ‘insensitive’ AI ads. Apple recently got in trouble for promoting their iPad literally taking a hammer to human creativity. Now it’s Google's turn to catch flak for showcasing its AI chatbot Gemini. It writes a human-like letter on behalf of a little girl—who wants to send it to her Olympic idol. Google has retracted the ad—but it is still available on YouTube. Ars Technica has more details.

Four: HBO Max released a sneak peek of its lineup for 2024-2025—including ‘The Penguin’, ‘Dune: Prophecy’, and our personal fave ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. (Variety)

Five: Speaking of trailers, this one is for ‘M. Son of the Century’—a series that charts Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. It is helmed by ‘Pride and Prejudice’ director Joe Wright, and stars Italian actor Luca Marinelli. The limited series premieres at the Venice Film Festival this month, but will release in 2025, on streaming services Sky and NOW. (IndieWire)