Bangladesh in turmoil is result of synthesis of 'deep state' conspiracy with Islamic radicals ::: Hasina plus Modi (India) ... was a "stabiliser" ..... it kept Jamaat, fundamentalists contained ... and there was good civil-military balance,

When in August 2024, Bangladesh was known for the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. in December 2025 - it is not only chaotic.

It deserves a closer look on why Sheikh Hasina was much better than what Dhaka has now.

"... A nation born from a fight against genocide is now normalising political erasure, street violence, and silence on minority persecution," says former Indian diplomat Nirupama Rao. 

Rao says, Hasina's opponents in the west were "fixated" on her through a narrow lens: elections that didn’t meet Western democratic aesthetics, long incumbency, centralised power, human rights reports. 

Dhaka protest

Protest in Kolkata when Hindus were attacked in Bangladesh

These are all "real issues", but it ought to have been remembered that when "treated in isolation", things won't make such sense and may backfire too.

"Bangladesh was judged as if it were Denmark with a turnout problem, not a fragile, densely packed state with a violent Islamist history and a traumatised political culture," Rao posted on social network X. 

She is also right in pointing out that in doing so, three hard realities were ignored.

First, Hasina was a stabiliser, not a revolutionary hero, 

*** but it is also true that Hasina had proved herself a "state-builder in a hostile environment". 

"She kept Jamaat and its offshoots contained, maintained civil-military balance, protected minorities better than any realistic alternative, and kept Bangladesh economically and geopolitically predictable. Her western opponents knew this. They just chose to downplay it," says Rao.

Rao is actually being nice. 

Any frank and objective analysis would point fingers towards the west and the Deep State and what was their intention in Bangladesh. These lobbies and power that maybe were eyeing Martin islands and these were crucial from the 'necessity' or perspective of keeping a watch on Myanmar and South Asia and South East Asia.

On this Hasina was unrelenting for years and a strong committed in Delhi gave her a strength and neo-confidence to deal with the challenges.  

Rao points out how the west actually "overestimated the “democratic opposition”. There was no credible, unified, liberal alternative waiting in the wings. Removing pressure from Hasina didn’t empower democrats. It empowered street power, radicals, and actors who thrive precisely when institutions weaken".

Rao says:

"..... there was the old habit of believing that toppling or delegitimising a strong incumbent automatically opens space for pluralism. 

History says the opposite. 

In divided societies, power vacuums don’t fill with moderates. They fill with the loudest, angriest, and most organised forces. Often religious, often violent."

This is what exactly happened. 

"These were destructive missteps. Not because Hasina was flawless, but because state collapse is always worse than imperfect order. 

Chasing  democratic optics ended up accelerating a counterrevolution that hollowed out politics, normalised persecution, and destabilised an entire country," writes former diplomat.

"This wasn’t values-driven paternalism . It was context-blind activism masquerading as strategy. And Bangladesh will pay for it long after the policy memos have been forgotten."

She hastened to add: "If this is what victory looks like, Bangladesh has lost. 

Counterrevolutions always promise purity and deliver instability, fear, and blood on the streets."

Hasina and Modi : Made a Good Team for Stability and Growth in South Asia

It is true what Bangladesh has inherited today is - 'Counter Revolution' ::::

1.  Yunus is a proof that sheer manipulation and ambition is not enough to emerge as a ruler or a nation. The interim regime's biggest demerit was it didnot focus on governance -- least administration. 

2. It sided with the radicals and the "tide". 

-- The fall of Hasina left a huge vacuum. But then; gradually extremist elements took over.

3. Interim regime focused on absolutely meaningless priorities -- friendship with Pakistan and India-bashing. It did not enforce rule of law. Extremists took over the streets). 

4. Yunus was clueless and also complicit. Jamaat was brought back into the mainstream.

5. Ahmadiya Muslims and Awami League supporters--everything was brushed under the carpet of the so-called revolution. 

--- First the Chhatra League was outlawed and then the Awami League itself.

6. They ran a discredited Kangaroo court to prosecute Sheikh Hasina and thought

a capital punishment for a former PM would be a winning master stroke.

Seasonal demands return Nagaland :::: "Festive extortion" leaves Govt officials anxious -- reports Morung Express

"As Nagaland prepares for Christmas and New Year celebrations, government departments are reportedly facing renewed monetary demands from Naga political groups, raising concerns over administrative vulnerability and entrenched informal practices," says the report in Dimapur-based daily.

It's routine.

Like Sun rises in the east ... like politicians are busy either making money wherever they can and 'start preparing' for the 2028 battle ... since late 1990s or so ... 'extortion is happening' regularly and rather religiously.

This is one fallout of the ceasefire that started in August 1997 and the so-called peace talks are still pending.

Rhythmic cheering echoed around the streets for about 10 days between Dec 1 and 10th - Hornbill Festival. The extravaganza is organised in very district and every town.

Top of that it has been wedding season. 

Nagas are mostly Christians and hence Christmas is a vital festival. The state of Nagaland cradled in the wilds of northeast corner of India is also regarded as one of the ‘most Baptist states’ as over 75 per cent of it is dominated by Baptist Christians.

But Nagas have remained traditional to the core cherishing good old traditional values and virtues of onetime animism, but CORRUPTION is a way of life.

Corruption is linked to easy money and it is linked to this annual feature of  donation/tax collections and extortion. 

Despite Christians forming 90 percent of Nagaland's two million people, the BJP gained political prominence in 2018 and became part of the state government following an election in February that year.

It is not that Corruption came to Nagaland because of BJP. The original party that ruled the roost in the state was Congress. 

There goes a saying .... As New Delhi shivers; Nagaland sneezes. So BJP capturing power in alliance with a regional party was fairly easy.

Congress has failed to open account in two assembly polls - 2018 and 2023. But in 2024, Lok Sabha polls - "political corruption" helped it to win the lone seat.  

Nagas change their political affiliation with as much ease and fun. They care not much about political parties. Elections are won or lost by candidates and one reason is Bolero and the other reason is cash flows. Thanks to Digital India ... even online payments are done reportedly. 

In fact, politics/elections and even normal life in Nagaland are one of the most expensive affairs in northeast India.

Earlier, Congress had it easy. Even Union Food Minister has been successfully discharging the role of election in-charge (or AICC observer) during elections.

Now, BJP does it and the liberal approach suits the regional protagonists. 

Well, the "resourceful politics" always help to win seats. The effects of the powerful Nagaland Baptist Church Council's appeal for voters to stay away from the BJP and also from corruption during elections never work here.

Rahul Gandhi could easily say "Vote-purchase" is here to stay in Nagaland. And if his party is Zero-MLA party today; it is due to lack of resources. Ideologies do not matter much in most seats. 

Corruption is eating into the inherent virtues of simple Naga people.  

On 'extortion'; the daily 'Morung Express' quotes an official as saying ---

“We are expected to follow financial rules, yet we operate in an environment where unofficial pressures exist".

That's the reality. Here is another set of quotes:

“I am not aware such guidelines or protocols ever made to respond such demands till now and we are stuck in between,” said one head of the department.

Another asserted that there is ‘no clear government guidelines on this".  

“The State government should come up with official notification to stop any kind of contribution/tax.” 

“The government should say NO to such demands” were the pleas of the department heads while pointing out that “there is a risk of service termination and misappropriation of resources in the CAG audit.”  (reports the newspaper) 

ends 

Hindus are Kafirs and hated in Bangladesh - once a loving (sic) paradise called 'East Pakistan' : Bhagawat Geeta says "Jaisa Karm karokey waisa phal deta Bhagwan" ::::: 'Daily Star', 'Prothom Alo' just tasted own medicine .... bitter and unpalatable !!

 Daily Star, Prathom Alo just tasted their own bitter medicine. 

They may try to play 'victim-hood' today -- something we see in India from time to time.

Indirectly they cradled and nurtured the monsters and the monsters - like that proverbial saying - came back to them full grown. 

Why they .... were caught surprised ?

'Daily Star' says -- "atut monoboley egiye jaabe 

(WE WILL MARCH AHEAD WITH OUR UNBREAKABLE CONFIDENCE )

It could have delivered a better journalism had it questioned why 'students' protest' turned so violent in 2024. Was  Hasina's only crime was she was close to India ? 

We would like to see how many strong edits and write ups had come in Bangladesh against 'radical Islam' and unwarranted India-bashing. 

As you sow -- so shall you pray. Sometimes; others also have to pay a price !! 

***

"It happens always. The idea is simple - for any Islamic uprising first attack should be directed to the most popular/circulated media institutions. 

Nip in the bud anything that may one-day try to give a dissenting voice," explains Agartala-based Manas Pal, a longtime Bangladesh watcher.

He points out - "There is a word 'Tawahush' which means total chaos . That Tawahush is  an important and integral tool for Islamic terror tactics on way to creating an Islamic regime. 

That's what ISIS predicted in its mouth piece Dabiq (14th edition) 10 years ago dedicated to Bangladesh." 

He posted on Facebook that - he has a copy of this edition.

Needless to add; one cannot agree more. Indian agencies also knew worse in Bangladesh or in the context of Dhaka-Delhi ties were yet to come. Perhaps. Sheikh Hasina's ouster was a teaser. 

Right from Hadi murder to rabid anti-India, anti Liberation War and anti-Mujib family campaign to everything - all were just part of massive sinister designs. 

It's all planned. Make no mistake, says Manas Pal adding -- "Bangladesh has gone down to drain and the maggots will crawl up from all directions now".  

Daily Star's own version::::

It was around midnight, and the newsroom of The Daily Star was running at full pace. The first edition deadline was close. Reporters were filing last-minute updates, sub-editors were polishing headlines, and the usual pressure of a night shift filled the room.  

A reporter at The Daily Star, began receiving repeated calls late Thursday night warning that a mob was vandalising another newspaper office nearby and was moving towards his workplace.

He immediately alerted colleagues in the newsroom..... and so on !!

Bangladesh is in chaos. The Yunus regime has always been a puppet and now this immature team stands exposed. They do not have any idea about governance or security apparatus.

They thought simple India-bashing and directing the riot against Hindus will salvage them. Perhaps this was the motive when helpless Dipu Das was attacked.

February elections now look remote and that may be chief agenda of a 'fraudster' who faced the other side of law when Hasina was in power.

If polls are held and a new regime - likely BNP - comes back -- he will have no business to be in Dhaka. His western guardians may not take him on lap this time.

"A DARK DAY FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM" -- runs a piece in 'Daily Star' 

It was one of the darkest days for independent journalism in Bangladesh when two of its largest newspapers -- The Daily Star and Prothom Alo -- were attacked.   

"Even while we remember Sharif Osman Hadi's role in the July uprising as one of its frontline activists and are deeply saddened by his untimely demise, we note with concern that certain elements and quarters have exploited the public anger to incite mobs against two newspapers that have always stood for objective journalism. 

It appears that this is another attempt at creating an environment of instability in the country to derail the forthcoming election. We further point out with grave apprehension that this attack on newspapers will reflect badly on Bangladesh's freedom of speech and erode the country's image across the globe." 

( ** some of it is pure gyan. It's like Rahul Gandhi walking into Hindu temples.)  

Media also encouraged a mixed interference of 'Deep State', Pakistan and radical elements and now 'media' shedding tears -- crocodile or of some other living species is for posterity to judge.

But from the Indian point of view - things are serious and more serious perhaps than the 1971 crisis. 

Developments in Bangladesh --- could turn out as the last nail in the coffin for  the aapa-led dispensation in Kolkata.

It's also a lesson for those in northeastern states - who for long encouraged 'hating outsiders'. Hatred sometimes works like the proverbial 'four fingers' coming at you. Anti-Modi rhetoric and RSS-bashing is also a favourite past time with many people and communities in northeast India.

Gaze in thine own heart. 

ends 

"Fundamentalism and radicalism are spreading like cancer in Bangladesh" ::: Look, how radical-Muslim brotherhood had made Bangladeshis forget what Pakistanis had done to them

"Fundamentalism and radicalism are spreading like cancer in Bangladesh. All the right thinking people should unite to fight this menace," said Samik Bhattacharya, West Bengal BJP chief.

He also said that - "Since the 1980s, fundamentalist forces have been spreading their base in Bangladesh".  

(A photograph taken during the conflict of a woman who had been assaulted featured in an exhibition in London. A snap of that era.

Titled 'Shamed Woman', but also called 'Brave Woman', the image was taken by a Bangladeshi photographer, Naib Uddin Ahmed. 

The image is considered to be as "classical a pose as any Madonna and Child".

The woman has her hands clenched, her face completely covered by her hair.) 

The Bangladesh liberation war is often asserted to be one of the most grievous examples of wartime rape.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, members of the Pakistani military and 'Razakar paramilitary' force raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.

Some of these women died in captivity or committed suicide, while others moved from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to India.  

In 2009, almost 40 years after the events of 1971, a report published by the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee of Bangladesh accused 1,597 people of war crimes, including rape. 

Since 2010, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has indicted, tried, and sentenced several people to life imprisonment or death for their actions during the conflict. The stories of the rape victims have been told in movies and literature, and depicted in art. 

The term Birangana was first introduced in 1971 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to refer to victims of rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War, in an attempt to prevent them from being outcast by the society.

Since 1972, victims of rape during the war have been recognised as Birangona, or "war heroines", by the government of Bangladesh.  

The atrocities in East Pakistan were the first instances of war rape to attract international media attention, and Sally J. Scholz has written that this was the first genocide to capture the interest of the mass media. 

The women's human rights organisation Bangladesh Mahila Parishat took part in the war by publicising the atrocities being carried out by the Pakistani army.

Owing to the scale of the atrocities, US embassy staff had sent telegrams indicating that a genocide was occurring. 

One, which became known as the Blood telegram, was sent by Archer Blood, the US Consul General in Dhaka, and was signed by him as well as US officials from USAID and USIS who at the time were serving in Dhaka. 

In it, the signatories denounced American "complicity in Genocide", in an interview in 1972, 

Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister, justified the use of military intervention, saying, "Shall we sit and watch their women get raped?"   

In 1994, the book Ami Birangana Bolchi (The Voices of War Heroines) by Nilima Ibrahim was released. It is a collection of eyewitness testimony from seven rape victims, which Ibrahim documented while working in rehabilitation centres.

The narratives of the survivors in this work are heavily critical of post-war Bangladeshi society's failure to support the victims of rape.

Published in 2012, the book Rising from the Ashes: Women's Narratives of 1971 

-- includes oral testimonies of women affected by the Liberation War. As well as an account from Taramon Bibi, who fought and was awarded the Bir Protik (Symbol of Valour) for her actions, there are nine interviews with women who were raped. 

The book's publication in English at the time of the fortieth anniversary of the war was noted in The New York Times as an "important oral history".

The 2014 film Children of War portrays sexual violence during the war. The film by Mrityunjay Devvrat, starring Farooq Sheikh, Victor Banerjee, Raima Sen, among others, is meant to "send shivers down the viewers' spine. 

"Apostles of neo-consumerism.... Extortion" :::: Sabotage !! Derail !!! :::: We are at the end of 'first 25 years' of a new century .... None can ever have a 'satisfying' answer ... :: We can all pose questions .... that's Nagaland of 2026 and beyond ??

We have come to the end of the year 2025. 

This is not just the end of a calendar year. Take a closer look - we have also come to the end of first quarter of the new century. How much we have traversed is something that ought to be looked into. 

This is all the more important in the perspective of Nagaland. Imagine where things stood around 2000 and what has been achieved or not achieved. 

Last 25 years or to be precise 28 years has been 'years of extortion' for Nagas and other citizens of Nagaland.  

In the process - what everyone has been deprived is the 'road to peace and development'. People called it Solution. But last two decades and more also produced a so-called Status quo Club. They have kept the state and the people away from transition. 

And this status quo means - the old menaces of corruption and nepotism would prevail. Now at the fag end of December 2025 -- around Christmas season --- people no longer harbour hope. Why ? --- it's no longer a question. Probably everyone knows the answer. 

Life is like that - I suppose. Things go awry at times ..... twisting and turning as the river Dhansiri. Around these --- there are protagonists - political and otherwise - who would nurse a secret or two of their own. 

Of course the world has changed a lot since 2000 or to be precise since 1997 or for that matter even 2003. 

For a few minutes --- let us think universal - the well perceived global context. Take a pause - malls are half deserted today; but in 2003 or 2005 or even till 2007 -- the malls made a lot of sense. 

Capitalism and Consumerism ... etc etc.

A boy born in 2000 is today 25 and he knows what's good for him and what's bad. He probably can analyse well - why he has remained an underachiever.

Who was the uncle who displeased his parents? Who was the leader who disturbed his father's job and today he is still coughing out handsome amount of his hard-earned money to 28 other 'uncles'.  

In short he/she - a youth of 25 plus - in Nagaland today has to handle being 'apostles of neo-consumerism' and dealing with their patrons and patrons.  Home sickness is still a disease ....

"Country road ... take me home" - is still a favourite song. But there are 'less roads' .... and probably there is brain drain.

A group of Naga young women made news in Pune recently. Is it their fault alone?  

We have questions. But no one can have a satisfying answer. We can only feel uncomfortable and also make our friends and even detractors uncomfortable. 

The book 'The Power that Be' says humankind has remained the same old stuff -- never stopped worshiping. 

It argues - the people have only changed the icons to worship. His reference was to 'skyscarppers'. Later on people discovered semi-Gods in shopping malls.  

The end of capitalism .... is another refrain. And all that is passing by. 

Narendra Modi's government has 'Act East Policy'. But when it comes to northeastern states - it is by default or design wrong protagonists --

N Biren Singh

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Neiphiu Rio and

Thuingaleng Muivah.

The NSCN-IM leader has shown his ultimate strength and weakness - in the form of Oct 22, 2025 - Soomdal speech.

This happened a day after Oct 21st when Rio turned a neo-champion of regionalism. The helpless and 'starving' Cock was chained.

N Biren Singh is by now an established liability and also a part 'spoiled' kid. Himanta defies definition as of now. Can he retain Assam for the Lotus party -- is a crucial thing to unfold in just about a few months. 

We know this world where 'consumerism' need not be always based on seduction.

Blogger and an Angami Naga friend 

What would a world like this look like? 

Novelist J G Ballard’s thesis in one piece of fiction has been that if consumerism gets politicized, the world is going to revert exactly to what it was before capitalism.

A mindless bundle of war, violence and killing. Neighbouring Manipur has gone through that. There might be foreign hands and there might be Biren Singh's failures; but the fact is mutual suspicion is strong. 

In Nagaland -- some brave people came forward and staged a Common Platform rally on Nov 18. That was a winner.

It killed the efforts of those who wanted to create hurdles for a gathering that wants Peace, Solution and Development. They have ensured a success tale as a milestone -- without Boleros from rich and powerful and also despite veto power of some organisations and notwithstanding the fear of guns.  

One participant from a remote village enthusiastically said -  "ainei mori asey ... extortion paisa dibo lagey. kam bhi nae. Ekta rally teh jailey maribo ?  Na paribo hola

(We are at the mercy of conditions... facing death on daily basis. No money; but we have to pay tax. There is no job around. Just for attending a rally; people will kill us .... ? Is life that easy ? ) 

Salunthang Lotha, president of Naga Hoho, was one of those who attended and spoke  at the Nov 18 rally. He was in Delhi lately and he said : "This was a historic rally. Nagas have expressed their inner feeling .... an exasperation with the system we are in. It is an early warning".

ends   

Bangladesh : Pendulum has shifted 'away' for Delhi after 15 years ::::: "A priest is a shepherd, the world is a wolf" :::: What's Bangladesh Army up to ?? :::: Hasina-bashing has limitations in terms of garnering votes !!

 "A priest is a shepherd, the world is a wolf".   

The Metaphor

The Priest as Shepherd: A spiritual leader (priest, pastor, parent, teacher) responsible for guiding, feeding, protecting, and uniting their people (flock).

The World as Wolf: Represents evil, division, false teachings, or harmful influences that threaten the flock.

The Conflict: Do shepherds build walls to keep wolves out, or do they go out to save the lost ??

Why Guns have say : Blogger - somewhere in eastern sector 

Bangladesh is in turmoil. Let's call it a part of pre-election episode in the entire series and these will continue !!

Polls have been announced in February 2026? 

Vital questions -- What will interim chief advisor Yunus benefit after the polls? The same yardstick applies to his sponsors including the Deep State ? There is every possibility - the BNP will do better than any other party. 

Jamaat also has its own sets of expectations. 

Things to watch -- How would Awami League supporters and cadres align and with whom ?

Vital Poser -- What is and what will be the role of Bangladesh army during and after the elections? 

For Yunus and the newly floated NCP - they need time to 'consolidate' their position. 

The NCP is at best .... a party with support base in Dhaka and Chattogram; they need to expand base across Bangladesh.

Merely - Sheikh Hasina bashing has a limitation. It could be like the Hindi saying - "Aata Nahi Ghar mein. Mummy puri banao". 

It is clear - things are at make or break stage for the NCP and Yunus and also the Deep State and other interested foreign powers. 

Thus; India-bashing is a good tool politically. 

About the growing control of Islamists in Bangladesh, the parliamentary panel headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pointed out that Jamat-e-Islami, which was previously banned, has had its electoral registration reinstated, which will enable it to participate in the upcoming elections.  

'Prothom Alo' newspaper office torched on Dec 18 late night violence 

"The continuing ban on the Awami League will obviously call into question the inclusiveness of any future elections in Bangladesh," the panel pointed out. 

The committee has expressed concern about a recalibration of Bangladesh's relation with Pakistan and the expanding footprint of China -- especially in terms of infrastructure, port development, and defence-related cooperation. 

In this context, it cited projects like the expansion of Mongla Port , Lalmonirhat Airbase, and the submarine base at Pekua that is capable of accommodating eight submarines when Bangladesh has only two. 

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son and advisor of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has warned that the interim government in Dhaka, led by Muhammad Yunus, is attempting to install an Islamic regime and that the country’s deteriorating security situation poses a direct threat to India.

In an email interview with 'The Indian Express', Wazed said --

“Elections with the largest party, the Awami League, and the third-largest party, the Jatiya Party, being barred from participating disenfranchises half the voters of the country. This is going to be a rigged election".  

Pendulum has swung. India should have been more practical and more far-sighted post-1971. For 15 years, things were with us because of Hasina factor. 

The emergence of Bangladesh proved religion alone cannot be basis for forming one or two nations. Helping East Pakistan transition was perhaps not a mistake; but the lapses were in other areas.

One of them was -- after Bangladesh was created; India presumed that the 'thought process' of the new nation would be different. It won't be so radicalised; so much of anti-kafir.

We never presumed within decades Bangladeshis would forget the torture and forgive their tormentors and seek greater cooperation with Pakistan.

ends 

What did Tharoor panel really warn ??? :: Awami League office torched :::: Protests erupt in Bangladesh after anti-India radical Osman Hadi's death ::: Was helping Bangladesh/East Pakistan get its freedom and the manner it was left 'independent' a strategic blunder ?

Protests erupt in Bangladesh after Osman Hadi's death, Awami League office torched

From Indian point of view - was helping Bangladesh/East Pakistan get its freedom in 1971 and the manner it was left 'independent' a strategic blunder ??

A Parliamentary panel led by Shashi Tharoor has recommended that the government of India must strictly monitor to keep any foreign powers from setting up military foothold in Bangladesh and offer Dhaka a comparative advantage in development, connectivity and port access.

"While the challenge in 1971 was existential, a humanitarian and a birth of a new nation, the latter was of a graver, a generational discontinuity, a shift of political order, and a potential strategic realignment away from India," says a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor. 

Protesters also gathered at the residence of India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chattogram after news broke of the death of Sharif Osman bin Hadi and threw stones at the premises. Stones were hurled at the residence of India’s Deputy High Commissioner too. 

(32-year-old Hadi was a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha and an outspoken critic of Sheikh Hasina and also India )

****

Foreign interference especially by the US deep state has been a matter of concern for both Dhaka and New Delhi.  Bangladesh's security forces have also been accused of serious abuses. 

In 2021, the US sanctioned its Rapid Action Battalion - a notorious police unit accused of carrying out numerous extra-judicial killings - citing human rights violations.

****

The demonstrators assembled outside the Khulshi premises around 11 pm on Thursday, shouting slogans over Hadi’s killing and raising chants against the Awami League and India.

Chanting slogans and waving placards, protesters accused authorities of failing to protect Osman Hadi, the convener of political platform Inquilab Mancha and a radical leader known for his fierce anti-India and anti–Sheikh Hasina rhetoric. 

Massive protests broke out across Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, with thousands gathering at Shahbag following the death of radical leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a polarising figure known for his strong anti-India rhetoric.

Chanting slogans and waving placards, protesters accused authorities of failing to protect Hadi, the convener of the political platform Inquilab Mancha and a key organiser of the July uprising. The demonstrations soon escalated, with a group vandalising the office of Daily Prothom Alo, the country’s largest newspaper, amid heightened outrage.  

Local media reports that several people are stranded inside the building that houses the offices of Prothom Alo & Daily Star. Protesters first vandalised these offices and then set them ablaze. 

Sheikh Hasina in 1990s - Getty Image/BBC 

(She was first elected to power in 1996. She earned credit for signing a water-sharing deal with India and a peace deal with tribal insurgents in the south-east of the country.

But at the same time, her government was criticised for numerous allegedly corrupt business deals.) 

According to the Associated Press, soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed outside the two buildings but did not take action to disperse the protesters. Security officials tried to persuade them to leave peacefully as firefighters arrived outside The Daily Star building.  

Some protesters raised overtly anti-India and anti-Awami League slogans, including “Demolish Indian aggression!” and “Catch and slaughter those who belong to the League (Awami League)”.

Bangladesh’s foreign office earlier confirmed that Hadi had died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore. He had been in critical condition since December 12, when he was shot in the head by unidentified assailants while campaigning in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical care but did not survive. 

The interim government has appealed for calm, urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands. 

A day of national mourning has been announced on Friday, with special prayers to be held at mosques across the country.

Sharif Osman Hadi came to prominence during the July Uprising and the campaign seeking a constitutional ban on the Awami League. Casting himself as a hardline opponent of pro-India politics, he also targeted the BNP, warning that a return to old-style politics would quickly collapse.

Bangladesh's longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed began her political career as a pro-democracy icon, but fled mass protests against her rule in August 2024 after 15 years in power. Since then, Hasina has been in self-imposed exile in India, where she flew after being deposed by the student-led uprising which spiralled into nationwide unrest.

On 17 November, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death after convicting her of crimes against humanity. 

"It was found Hasina had ordered a deadly crackdown on protesters between 15 July and 5 August 2024. She denied all charges against her. Up to 1,400 people were killed during the weeks of protests leading up to her ousting, most by gunfire from security forces, UN human rights investigators said," - says BBC. 

Parliamentary panel led by Tharoor in its latest report says -- "If India fails to recalibrate at this moment, it risks losing strategic space in Dhaka not to war, but to irrelevance". 

 

ends 

New study claims .... Adolescence - from nine to 32

 These are five brain phases:

Childhood - from birth to age nine

Adolescence - from nine to 32

Adulthood - from 32 to 66

Early ageing - from 66 to 83

Late ageing - from 83 onwards

"The brain rewires across the lifespan. It's always strengthening and weakening connections and it's not one steady pattern - there are fluctuations and phases of brain rewiring," Dr Alexa Mousley told the BBC.

These patterns have only now been revealed due to the quantity of brain scans available in the study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications. 

During Childhood; 

the brain gets less efficient during this stage. It works like a child meandering around a park, going wherever takes their fancy, rather than heading straight from A to B.  

Adolescence starts 

... around the onset of puberty, but this is the latest evidence suggesting it ends much later than we assumed. 

It was once thought to be confined to the teenage years, before neuroscience suggested it continued into your 20s and now early 30s.

This phase is the brain's only period when its network of neurons gets more efficient. 

** The brain stays in the same phase between nine and 32.

Early ageing - This kicks in at 66, but it is not an abrupt and sudden decline. Instead there are shifts in the patterns of connections in the brain.

Instead of coordinating as one whole brain, the organ becomes increasingly separated into regions that work tightly together - like band members starting their own solo projects.

Although the study looked at healthy brains, this is also the age at which dementia and high blood pressure, which affects brain health, are starting to show.

Late ageing - Then, at the age of 83, we enter the final stage. 

There is less data than for the other groups as finding healthy brains to scan was more challenging. The brain changes are similar to early ageing, but even more pronounced.  

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, director of the centre for discovery brain sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This is a very cool study highlighting how much our brains change over our lifetimes."

She said the results "fit well" with our understanding of brain ageing, but cautioned "not everyone will experience these network changes at exactly the same ages".