The end came swiftly. Five decades after her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, was assassinated in his own home, the curtain fell on Sheikh Hasina’s uninterrupted but controversial 15-year rule over Bangladesh. She was unceremoniously bundled out of the country in a helicopter, her legacy irrevocably tarnished by the blood of hundreds of student protesters shot dead over the past three weeks by government forces and ruling party workers. Hasina was forced to resign from the post of Prime Minister by the students movement. She is now believed to be in Delhi and will likely travel to the West in the months to come.
The immediate trigger for the unrest is alleged to be the lopsided reservation policy that set aside a third of government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters-a contested category with ample room for corruption. However, the anger had been building over an election widely seen as a sham, the subversion of the democratic process, sweeping suppression of dissent, and crippling anxiety among young people about quality jobs and the fear that they might lead a life worse than the previous generation. With Hasina gone, India faces significant concerns about development in Bangladesh. Over the years, Sheikh Hasina has been a loyal friend of India. Many in Bangladesh alleged that India protected the Hasina government for a long time and turned a blind eye to its wrongdoing. Whoever assumes leadership in Bangladesh may be hostile to India, so India will have to work extra hard to win back the trust of opposition parties in Bangladesh.