DHAKA—Bangladesh on Tuesday marked one year since students launched protests that culminated weeks later in the overthrow of the government.
July 1, 2024
University students launch demonstrations to demand reforms to a quota system for sought-after public sector jobs.
They say the scheme is used to stack the civil service with those loyal to Hasina, who won a fifth term as prime minister months earlier in a vote without genuine opposition.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Deadly violence intensifies later in July with police opening fire.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter, and the industry is hit hard by the protests.
Clashes escalate despite a curfew, the deployment of soldiers and an internet blackout. Up to 1,400 people are killed in the unrest, according to the United Nations.
Aug. 5, 2024
Thousands of protesters storm Hasina’s palace, with millions on the streets celebrating, some dancing on armored cars and tanks.
Hasina flees Dhaka by helicopter to neighboring ally India, as army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announces the military will form an interim government.
Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus returns to Bangladesh at the behest of student protesters to lead the government as its “chief adviser.”
Yunus says he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration.
The 85-year-old microfinance pioneer embarks on an ambitious program to overhaul democratic institutions that he says are required to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.
May 24, 2025
The interim government warns that intense political power struggles could jeopardise gains that have been made.
Yunus’s government calls for “broader unity”, warning of the risk of “the return of authoritarianism” if it cannot push through reforms.
The government bans Hasina’s Awami League, pending the outcome of the trials of its leaders for the deadly crackdown on protesters.
June 1, 2025
Hasina is put on trial in absentia and accused of having orchestrated a “systematic attack” that amounts to crimes against humanity.
The 77-year-old remains in self-imposed exile in India and has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
The prosecution of senior figures from Hasina’s government is a key demand of several political parties jostling for power.
Those on trial also include the former police chief and ex-interior minister.
Yunus, under intense pressure from political parties, notably the BNP, brings forward his election deadline to early April. He says he will step down after polls.
The BNP says they want elections before Ramadan which begins around February 17.
The interim government says it could bring the vote forward if there is “significant” progress on reforms and trials.
