Muhammad Yunus is not only an opportunist. He is a smart operator. In July-Aug 2024 he presented himself as a 'savior (Masiha in Urdu)' to the violence-hit chaotic Bangladesh.
More than a year -- quite turbulent 12 months -- and now he is eyeing bigger canvas.
His political ideology will be conservative but he would experiment a liberal economic experiment to keep himself as a much sought after 'reformist'.
The strong impression also goes that he is a stooge of the US deep state and hence all that happened in Bangladesh since 2024 were backed by CIA.
Blogger in Dhaka : During Sheikh Hasina regime
Looking back 2024 -- For Yunus - someone seen as Sheikh Hasina’s political adversary, the appointment marked both a personal victory and a national gamble.
And the outcome of the gamble is still not clear !!
On the economic front, foreign investors—like a major Singaporean group has already pledged funds. This club believes Yunus can stabilize the Bangladesh economy.
On the political front, Yunus always tried to hire an help. He also believes in reliance on village-level committees and conservative networks risks hardening into ultra-nationalist tendencies.
Yunus was sworn in as chief adviser to the interim government on August 8, 2024. Sheikh Hasina had to flee and is in India. The Yunus-led administration consists of student leaders and civil society figures. He will not compromise with political values.
It may be also mentioned that the interim government has promised sweeping institutional changes, prioritizing the restoration of a non-partisan caretaker government.
He was to conduct polls and importantly 'depoliticize' state official institutions and overhaul the Election Commission.
'Delayed elections' has not helped improve his image.
He has postponed setting a firm election date to allow for reforms to be implemented, suggesting a timeline between late 2025 and mid-2026.
This delay has drawn criticism and demands for earlier elections from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- which had the entire opposition (to Awami League) space.
But now other players are coming in.
On February 28, a large number of students gathered in front of the Parliament in Dhaka, waving the national flag, sporting bandanas and headbands in the flag’s colours, green and red, ahead of the launch of a new party Jatiyo Nagarik Party (JNP).
In English it's also called ---- National Citizen Party (NCP). Yunus is the mentor behind it but he has not joined the new outfit yet.
The students were all supporters of the Students Against Discrimination that spearheaded a protest in 2024 demanding reservation in government jobs. Last year’s protest snowballed into a people’s insurrection and led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
On the political front, Yunus's reliance on village-level committees and conservative networks risks hardening into ultra-nationalist tendencies. The Jamaat group is also a party to keep watch.
In what reveals the power and confidence gained by Islamists in Bangladesh, several Islamic hardline parties in May this year (before Operation SIndoor against India) warned the Muhammed Yunus-led interim government against implementing the proposals of a women's reforms commission.
One of the Islamist groups said the leaders wouldn't get even "five minutes to escape", an allusion to the 45 minutes that Sheikh Hasina got to leave Bangladesh.
May 1, 2025 -- Bangladesh Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman addressed a seminar against women's reforms proposals.
Now, back to square one and beyond.
Political ambition has been something very close to Yunus's heart.
When Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microfinance through the Grameen Bank, he announced the launch of Nagarik Shakti (Citizens’ Power) - in 2007 - a political platform that promised to connect villages with the national decision-making process.
The initiative failed to gain traction.
India Games !!
India's new import rules (in 2025) sharply limit Bangladesh's access through Northeast land ports, forcing key goods onto restricted sea routes. The move comes after Bangladesh imposed similar restrictions on Indian goods.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), said Bangladesh’s restrictive trade policies are not only straining bilateral ties, but also undermining its own economic interests.
India’s decision has affected over $770 million worth of imports, roughly about 42% of all goods shipped from Bangladesh. Ready-made garments alone made up $660 million last year. Those will now only be allowed through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva ports, effectively shutting land routes via the Northeast.
In June this year I interacted with a Hindu Awami League leader (reportedly hiding).
To a question in responded in a choked voice - "Under the situation... the US, the global community and India can do a lot to help Bangladesh and its people ..and can do everything.
But what India wants to do is strictly India's decision".
Of course, either Bangladeshis or Indians -- the contemporary setting and political uncertainty in Dhaka is a "serious threat" to the entire South Asia.
Post Modi-Xi Jinping renewed friendship or so -- we have to wait for a while to 'examine' what are the developments that will unfold.
For Yunus being sworn in as interim head was a a national gamble.
Yunus entered politics not as a career politician but as an economist with a reformist image. But he intents on reviving his long-dormant political ambition. The army chief is aware of it and so are the US, China and of course India.
Having said all these - we may also state - India and China may act this time jointly or in mutual understanding. The American 'deep state' committed to games linked to Christianity ought to be countered.
ends
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