Two Years After a Student-led Uprising Ousted Sheikh Hasina, Critics Say Bangladesh's Reform Drive Is Stalling Amid Deepening Political

Hasina, exiled in India, plans a December return, casting doubt on the country's political future. "At the end of the day, we did not see the elimination of discrimination, the creation of an inclusive society, or the new political order that was promised, said Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, a Dhaka University international relations professor. "It seems we are forgetting the very reasons behind the uprising of last July.

The movement began in 2018 over a job quota system; in 2024, court-backed reinstatement sparked wider protests. After over 1,000 deaths, Hasina fled in August 2024. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, drafted the "July Charter, approved by about 70% of voters in a February 2026 referendum. It proposed term limits, an upper house, stronger presidential powers, and judicial independence.

The BNP won a decisive election majority but has since skipped several reform pledges. Ali Riaz, who led the Constitution Reform Commission, cited "time-bound commitments" unmet within 180 working days, calling it "deeply regrettable. The interim government issued 133 ordinances; the BNP refused 20, including measures on human rights, anti-corruption, enforced disappearances, and referendums.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed called the charter's implementation order "a document of endless deception. Asif Mahmud of the student-led NCP accused the BNP of "betraying the public" and "taking the country backward. Khan noted the opposition shares blame: There is no sign of the opposition breaking free from this tendency either. A commission found 1,569 verified enforced disappearance cases among 1,913 complaints; about 75% of returnees were linked to Jamaat-e-Islami and 22% to the BNP.