That Student Movement in Bangladesh Fooled Us

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen said Sunday that a clip of the student protest at Jantar Mantar reminded her of the 2024 Bangladesh student uprising that toppled then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, warning that such movements can be hijacked by extremists. "That student movement in Bangladesh fooled us. Because we thought the students wanted to abolish the quota system.

Sheikh Hasina had also agreed to their demands, but ultimately the government fell. Later, we found that jihadis (Islamic fundamentalists) were behind that movement. The fallout has not been good for Bangladesh.

Jihadis have taken over power there, Nasreen told news agency PTI. She voiced concern about similar movements given Bangladesh's post-2024 trajectory. Nasreen also defended Hasina, who is in exile in India, and opposed the ban on her Awami League party in Bangladesh.

"No political party should be banned. The manner in which Awami League's Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave the country is questionable. It was not right to ban the Awami League.

It was a move against democracy, she said. "I want the ban to be lifted as soon as possible. The party should be allowed to participate in the elections, and I want Hasina to return to Bangladesh, she added.

Bangladesh's interim government banned Awami League in 2025 under anti-terrorism legislation, and Nasreen said party workers have faced violence since. Nasreen herself fled Bangladesh in 1994 after death threats from radical religious groups over her writings, and has lived in exile in India since 2004. She was forced out of Kolkata in 2007 due to violent protests, but returned Friday after nearly two decades. "I can't believe that I am in Kolkata now.

I was driven out in 2007. Initially I had thought that I will be able to return. Kolkata is a progressive city. But as years passed, I had a feeling that I may never be able to return.

But then Osman Gani Mallik of Secular Mission invited me to Kolkata. He made all the arrangements, she said in a television interview.