Fall of an Iron Reign: Prelude to Change
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.
When Dhaka’s streets broke out in rioting fury on the evening of the Monsoon Uprising in July 2024, it was more than a dynasty toppled—it was the birth of a nation long held in terror. The impenetrable regime of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which had dominated Bangladesh for fifteen years with an iron hand, dissolved overnight under the pressure of authoritarian excess, censored media, and a history of electoral corruption.
The catalyst was a brutal, state-directed assault on student protesters—young voices demanding dignity, transparency, and democratic renewal. The state was merciless. Based on United Nations reports and independent human rights monitors, more than 1,400 civilians were killed, over 20,000 were injured, and hundreds were blinded or maimed by tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Live ammunition was fired into crowds without discrimination. The bloodbath shocked the world’s conscience.
Sheikh Hasina had fled the country, finding asylum in India by August 5. Her departure had created a political vacuum but also a fractured republic—shredded institutions, traumatized citizens, and a crisis of legitimacy at every level of government.
Into this tempest strode Dr. Muhammad Yunus—Nobel Peace Laureate, social entrepreneurship trailblazer, and enduring global figure of moral leadership. Charged with heading an interim government through one of Bangladesh’s most precarious moments, Dr. Yunus came with a promise: to restore values to public life and chart a course toward genuine democratic reform.
This piece analyzes the daunting task that is now confronting the Yunus-led interim government—ranging from institutional rot and foreign meddling to vested political interests and military excesses. It attempts to investigate whether this interim government, created in protest and hardened by necessity, can give not only a departure from the past but a platform for a fair, equitable, and accountable future. Bangladesh is at a turning point. This is the story of a nation in search of itself—and the moral test of those with the responsibility to lead it forward.
A Country in Disarray: Leading in the Face of Institutional Failure
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Yunus inherited not only a collapsed regime but a state on the verge of institutional collapse. The deterioration of civilian law and order during the revolution forced the military to take control of cities, effectively transforming Bangladesh into a semi-militarized state. Meanwhile, the state’s people had lost their trust because the patronage politics, spying, and endemic corruption had rented asunder for decades.
Above all, Yunus had no hope of being completely empowered to assemble his team. As an agreement reached between political parties and the military, he was compelled to include several advisors linked to vested interests. This undermined the reform agenda of the interim government and made it vulnerable to sabotage. Despite that, Dr. Yunus could appoint a couple of good reformers, such as Dr. Khalilur Rahman—who was appointed to make or mar the legitimacy of the new government.
Khalilur Rahman: Technocrat in Exile
“The price of greatness is responsibility.”
—Winston Churchill
Dr. Khalilur Rahman is the morally upright technocratic leadership Bangladesh must find to guide it through its precarious democratic transition. A seasoned economist and diplomat with over 25 years of service to the United Nations, Dr. Rahman was a lead author of the landmark Brussels Program of Action (2001), significantly altering market access for Least Developed Countries. Both a Harvard and Tufts alumnus, he has won unusual bipartisan respect in capitals from Washington to Beijing.
As National Security Advisor and Special Envoy for the Rohingya Crisis, Dr. Rahman has been instrumental in redirecting the foreign policy agenda of Bangladesh. His accomplished diplomacy has helped to guide bilateral relationships with China and India and has continued to have senior-level engagement with successive US administrations. His presence at the April 2025 BIMSTEC Summit was particularly remarkable—managing provocative discussion between Indian NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese envoys while simultaneously strengthening Bangladesh’s sovereign policy stance on trade, maritime security, and repatriation of refugees.
But for all his impeccable qualifications, Dr. Rahman is now a victim of a well-plotted political campaign of slander. The BNP, responding to the imaginations of many with opportunistic action on behalf of foreign interests, has leveled unsubstantiated allegations against him—claiming he had worked under a foreign pseudonym and questioning his national allegiance. Dr. Rahman has denied these allegations publicly, strenuously, and unequivocally, reaffirming his long service to the Bangladeshi state and adherence to democratic principles.
Notably, diplomatic insiders and regional analysts point to New Delhi’s growing unease with Dr. Rahman’s independent and assertive foreign policy approach. Unlike pliant predecessors, Rahman has resisted Indian attempts to exert undue influence over Bangladesh’s internal security and foreign policy decisions. His emphasis on multilateralism, strategic diversification, and sovereign autonomy runs counter to India’s long-standing efforts to retain hegemonic leverage in South Asia. So India’s subtle efforts at discrediting him—via media surrogates, political pressure, and intelligence leaks—are now seen as a part of a larger attempt to scuttle the Yunus government’s reformist momentum.
Dr. Rahman’s ordeal is not a personal vendetta—it is a test of whether Bangladesh will stand by its reformers against the corrosive forces of regional geopolitics and domestic factionalism. It is a sign of a broader malaise in South Asian politics, where merit and national service are regularly sacrificed at the altar of expediency and foreign appeasement.
While the country hovers on the threshold of democratic renewal, safeguarding visionaries like Dr. Rahman is not only a question of ethics; it is a question of strategic necessity.
Ashik Chowdhury and the Illusion of Economic Momentum
“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
—Thomas Edison
One of the Yunus administration’s most prominent appointments is Mahmud Bin Harun, commonly known as Ashik Chowdhury, to lead the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). A Harvard-educated, well-spoken non-resident Bangladeshi with private equity exposure in Dubai and Singapore, Chowdhury’s elevation was seen as a departure of sorts towards technocratic talent.
Chowdhury’s keynote address at the March 2025 International Investment Conference was international news. He foresaw Bangladesh as being a regional manufacturing hub in the future, similar to Thailand or Singapore, and identified sectors such as electronics, green textiles, and renewable energy.
But critics discern behind the sleek writing a disconnect with reality. Bangladesh still struggles to cope with investor-hostile environments: mob violence, administrative obfuscation, and anti-foreigner feelings have been headline news in The New York Times and The Financial Times, warning of Bangladesh’s slide into instability.
Besides, BNP officials and other local economists have dismissed Chowdhury’s appointment as make-believe rather than substance—a mirage for the lack of institutional reform in land acquisition, taxation, and judicial integrity. Until these foundational issues are addressed, investor summits are kabuki theater rather than movement.
Council of Advisors and the Central Bank
The caretaker administration, led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has established a broadly representative Council of Advisors, more officially designated as the National Consensus Commission, to lead the nation through its revolutionary moments of crisis. Comprising 23 routine advisors and three special assistants, the council constitutes a concerted effort to represent the rich diversity of Bangladeshi society. It includes accomplished scholars, experienced political leaders, student leaders, economists, and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities. Women, youth activists, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian members were all given prominent tasks—highlighting the administration’s commitment to inclusiveness, pluralism, and reconciliation at the national level.
Among the typical indicators of this council is that it has a strong economic agenda. Dr. Yunus—world-famous for revolutionizing poverty alleviation through microcredit and social business—is supported by an inner circle of finance experts, including a former Managing Director of Grameen Bank and a former Governor of Bangladesh Bank. They are here to be accounted for, signaling unequivocally that this caretaker government is as much about economic stability and financial responsibility as about political change and grassroots empowerment.
One of the prominent individual involved in the constitutional reform process is Dr. Ali Riaz, a renowned political scientist and professor at Illinois State University, who was voted Chairperson of the Constitutional Reform Commission. Dr. Riaz has used intellectual acumen, comparative insight, and deep sensitivity to Bangladesh’s constitutional historical difficulties in the endeavor. Under his leadership, the commission has established the process of investigating fundamental structural issues—decentralization of authority, separation of powers, judicial independence, and electoral integrity—in motion. His vision draws on both international best practices and African democratic tradition and positions the commission as a leading institution for institutional renewal. Preliminary draft proposals for constitutional change intended to limit presidential excess and reassert parliamentary restraints have received broad support from civil society. Dr. Riaz’s transparent process of consultation—with participation by legal experts, opposition parties, youth groups, and marginalized sectors of society—has given legitimacy and momentum to the broad reform agenda.
Still, there are challenges ahead. The sustainability of the interim structure and whether its inclusive nature can withstand pressure from hardline interest groups has been cause for concern. Others fear that the temporary government could overstep its authority or that certain parties will seek to hijack the reform process for themselves. Legitimacy and success of the council thus rest not only on who constitutes it but on whether it can deliver genuine reforms in the fields of governance, transparency, and institutional accountability.
Around whom economic policymaking gravitates is the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, and veteran IMF economist, whose steady hand is seen as critical to returning fiscal credibility. Under his leadership, the central bank has embarked on bold initiatives, including the adoption of a market-based exchange rate, the revamp of insolvent bank boards, and the introduction of green finance guidelines that meet international standards of sustainability. Dr. Mansur’s tightening of monetary policy—through targeted interest rate hikes—has been widely applauded by economists who are trying to curb inflation. Meanwhile, his advance-planned injections of liquidity into flailing banks have been controversial: praised as pragmatic by some, criticized by others as potentially inflationary and harmful to long-term investor confidence.
Together, the National Consensus Commission, the Constitutional Reform Commission, and the leadership of the central bank create a visionary, layered strategy to restore institutional integrity, restore public trust, and chart a path to a genuinely democratic, fair, and economically resilient Bangladesh. Political will, public acceptance, and the ability to convert moral legitimacy into sustainable systemic reform will depend on whether they succeed.
The Politics of Power and the Illusion of Democracy
“Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.”
—Naomi Klein
While sympathetic to the original anti-government protest movement, the BNP has directed attention toward politically motivated ends, demanding elections within December 2025 and the removal of several interim officials. Youth movements like the National Citizen Party (NCP), however, maintain that before elections, reforms should be implemented, not afterward.
Bangladesh also has a long and checkered electoral record that is not democratic. Gerrymandering, vote-rigging, and intimidation have plagued the political process. Procedural democracy cannot supplant substantive democracy; civil society leaders’ arguments aver.
Without self-governing institutions—courts, election commissions, and a free press—the ballot box is being turned into an instrument of autocracy. The rush to elections, therefore, threatens to replicate the past in new dress rather than build a democratic future.
The Military’s Problem: Power Behind the Throne
“Every country has an army. Either its own, or someone else’s.”
—Paul Kennedy
The military remains both Bangladesh’s guardian and would-be spoiler of the transition. General Waker-Uz-Zaman’s public and prominent May 2025 appeal for a prompt return to civilian rule underestimates tensions building within the military. There are indications of a growing “cold war” between Yunus’s administration and the military top command. Cooperating in public, segments of the officer class gazed longingly back to the pre-Yunus regime and were seriously troubled by Dr. Yunus’s reform program. To make progress toward constitutional rule, the military must redefine its role—not as kingmaker, but as guardian of national sovereignty. This will require internal transformation, civilian supervision, and a demonstrable withdrawal from politics.
A Fragile but Indispensable Path to Reform
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
—Peter Drucker
Dr. Muhammad Yunus has set April 2026 as the horizon for the next national election in Bangladesh—a deadline of urgency and pragmatism. It is more than a deadline; it is a promise to turn the next exercise of the democratic franchise from a mere ritual into an authentic expression of people’s will. In the interim, the interim government has its work cut out in creating the institutional foundations for a free, fair, and credible electoral process—something Bangladesh last saw more than a decade ago.
For that purpose, the Yunus government has presented a broad reform agenda to restore public confidence, rebuild shattered institutions, and disassemble the deep-seated structures of authoritarianism. The agenda includes:
- Reconstructing civilian law enforcement: After decades of politicization and collusion with state violence, the police institution has to be professionalized, retrained, and refocused toward public service so that it can recover citizens’ trust.
- Reorganization of the Media Regulatory Organizations and the Election Commission: The electoral oversight institutions’ independence, transparency, and integrity must be assured to prevent future vote-rigging and partisan interference. A free, independent media environment also needs to be assured so that public debate can be encouraged.
- Pursuing perpetrators of the July 2024 massacre to justice: Victims of state brutality demand that accountability be swift, transparent, and non-negotiable. Bringing to the book even members of the defunct security and intelligence agencies of the former regime are at the core of moral legitimacy restoration.
- Depoliticization of judiciary and civil service: Reinstating a meritocratic, non-political, and responsible bureaucracy is necessary to restore administrative effectiveness. Likewise, the judiciary has to be insulated from political pressure and reformed to act as a check on executive misuse of power.
- Phasing out military functions to national defense: While the army performed a necessary stabilizing role in the breakdown of the state, retaining it in civilian politics risks degenerating the very democratic transition that it helped safeguard. Phased, structured demilitarization of the government is required to restore civilian authority and constitutional balance.
- As a further symbolic measure, the interim government will also declare July “Sanad Month”—a month of commemoration and rebirth. “Sanad,” a public charter or decree in the national language, will commemorate the sacrifices of the Monsoon Uprising and enshrine the pillars of the new republic: justice, accountability, and the sacrosanct sovereignty of the people.
The path forward is challenging and uncertain. But with moral clarity and long-term commitment, Bangladesh can still turn this moment of breakdown into a renaissance of its democratic potential. The job is a colossal undertaking. But with international backing—in the form of the United Nations, ASEAN, and the European Union—and the clamor of the public for justice, the interim government continues to have a mandate for reform.
From Revolution to Reconstruction: The Ultimate Test
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.
Sheikh Hasina’s downfall marked the end of an era but not yet the beginning of a new one. The road from regime transition to democracy is fraught with peril, compromise, and the constant threat of reversal. Should structural change fail, the same military groups and dynasties will soon be at it again under different flags.
Dr. Yunus’s vow to retire by mid-2026 is a watershed commitment. It ensures that his leadership will be interim in character—not yet another coup. But the commitment must be matched with political wisdom and people’s vigilance.
Bangladesh has far too often relied on false dawns. This is a chance to change faces and transform the system itself. And if the revolution is to be anything, it must become reconstruction.
Conclusion: The Moral Imperative of Now
The decision before Bangladesh today is not political—it is civilizational. At risk is not the fate of an interim administration or a temporary switch of guards but the future of an entire nation at the juncture of history. Injustice, if not corrected, does not merely hurt the present; it deforms the future. Each failed reform of the present will threaten another ten years of degradation of civil liberties, institutions still captive to special interests, and an emergent generation disillusioned with the notion of democracy itself.
The cost of doing nothing is not an abstraction—it is painfully real. It suggests additional banishment from the ideals of justice, transparency, and accountability. It suggests shelving the youth voice, muzzling the opposition, and ultimately withdrawing merit in the face of the machinery of power. It implies leaving behind the promise of a democratic, inclusive, and sovereign Bangladesh.
At this critical juncture, history has no pause button. The window of possibility for actual change is narrow and fleeting. Bangladesh cannot afford to miss the moment—not when it is on the threshold of remaking its destiny. The test before us demands not just vision but moral strength, not leadership but sacrifice, not rhetoric but action from principle.
Let us now evoke the collective will to rise above the specters of the past. Let us demonstrate—before the nation, the world, and the ages—that Bangladesh is not destined to repeat its past cycles of betrayal and despair. The call for ethical leadership, institutional rebirth, and moral audacity is not a call for the morrow.
It is a call for today. And it must begin with us—all of us—today.