Will Bangladesh Go For National Elections By The End Of 2025 Itself?

By Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam 24 March 2025 There are indications surfacing from Dhaka that Bangladesh may go for national elections by this year itself if the concerned political parties agree to accept a minimal reform in various administrative, financial and electoral agencies with assurances that the winning representatives in Jatiya Sansad (National Assembly/Parliament) will continue pursuing the reform process in the south Asian country. Professor Muhammad Yunus who took the leadership of an interim government in Dhaka soon after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led mass movement in July-August 2024 continues asserting that Bangladesh needs a major reform in various sectors including civil & police administration, anti-corruption departments, financial institutions, judicial and electoral system to bring the Muslim majority nation on the right tracks. The caretaker government head has already directed the responsible authorities to prepare for the general elections by December 2025. Currently, the Nobel laureate is looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a one-to-one discussion during an important summit in Bangkok. His administration in Dhaka had already made a formal request to the Union government in New Delhi for a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on the side-lines of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, scheduled for 2-4 April in the Thai capital city. India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar stated that the particular proposal was under consideration but political observers believe that it is highly unlikely. There may be many reasons, but some recent developments may deter PM Modi from having a meeting with Prof Yunus. First, the octogenarian banker turned interim government’s chief adviser is busy bringing Dhaka closer to Islamabad, even though Pakistan itself is facing severe internal problems with the Baloch freedom aspiring nationals. Prof Yunus met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024. It was followed by regular cargo shipping and direct flights to facilitate the people to contact between Bangladesh and Pakistan (incidentally both were under the same territory as Islamic Republic of Pakistan after separating from Hindustan/India in 1947). Days back, a delegation of Pakistani traders visited Dhaka with an aim to establish a joint council and a team of Bangladeshi military officials paid a trip to Pakistan, followed by a Pak-military delegation visiting Bangladesh. The unholy alliance between Dhaka and Islamabad may pose more challenges to New Delhi. While Pakistan remains an enemy nation since its birth, another neighbour also started behaving like a foe to India. More precisely, Prof Yunus is embarking on a China visit just ahead of the BIMSTEC summit and he is supposed to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 28 March. It may complicate the bilateral relation in more than one way, as New Delhi has been relentlessly fighting Beijing's growing influences both on eastern neighbours namely Bangladesh and Myanmar (also known as Burma or Brahmadesh). Meanwhile, a strong message from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ideologue of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, over the atrocities on religious minorities in Bangladesh with impunity from the government agencies, may prevent any such talks with Prof Yunus immediately. The RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha 2025 (ABPS) on 22 March expressed its serious concern on the unabated and planned violence, injustice and oppression faced by the Hindu and other minority communities at the hands of radical Islamist elements in the neighbouring country. Terming it a fit case of human rights violation, the ABPS observed that during the recent regime change in Dhaka, several incidents of attacks on maths, temples, Durgapuja pandals and educational institutions, desecration of deities, barbaric killings, looting of properties, abduction and molestation of women and forcible conversions were reported. RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Arun Kumar, while briefing the media in the midst of three-day ABPS (21-23 March 2025) held in Bengaluru, highlighted the continuous decline of the Hindu population in Bangladesh (from 22% in 1951 to just 7.95% today) asserting that it only reflects the severity of the perennial crisis. The level of organized violence and the government’s passive response in the last few months was alarming, but the administration continues denying the religious angle of these incidents. The RSS’s annual meeting also raised concerns over the rising anti-Bharat rhetoric in Bangladesh, which threatens to strain the historically deep-rooted ties between the two nations. Bharat and its neighbouring countries share a common cultural and historical heritage, and any form of communal discord in one part of the region affects the entire subcontinent, Kumar commented. He also added that despite facing severe persecution, the Hindus in Bangladesh had shown remarkable resilience in their struggle for justice and religious freedom. Their peaceful, collective, and democratic resistance has been met with strong moral and psychological support from Hindus in Bharat and across the world. New Delhi has reiterated its commitment to standing with Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and engaged in diplomatic efforts with Dhaka. Finally the Sangh called upon international organizations such as the United Nations and the global community to take serious note of these inhumane acts and pressurize Dhaka to take concrete steps to halt violence against Hindus and other minorities. It asserted to remain resolute in the commitment to protect the rights, dignity, and religious freedom of Hindus in Bangladesh and urged an immediate intervention to address this grave humanitarian and existential crisis. … URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/bangladesh-reform-process-nation-elections-/d/134960 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and FeminismIslam Women and Feminism