Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is hiding out in India, is defending her 2024 exit from power as a necessary act to prevent bloodshed, even as a United Nations report attributes more than 1,400 deaths to the violent crackdown carried out under her watch. The UN assessment, based on hospital records and field investigations, describes the death toll as credible and well-documented. Hasina, described by critics as the “Butcher of Bengal,” has begun challenging those findings while maintaining she never ordered security forces to fire on crowds.
In a new interview with Firstpost, Hasina said her departure was not an abdication but a response to threats against her life and fears of escalating violence. She said, “Leaving was a choice between submitting to the demands of extremist forces or removing myself from immediate jeopardy and protecting my people from further bloodshed. I chose to leave temporarily to prevent further escalation and loss of life. My departure was a matter of survival, not abdication.”
Her account conflicts with what unfolded in the hours and days after she fled. With no constitutional transfer of authority and senior officials suddenly absent, Bangladesh slid into chaos. Security forces fractured, protests surged in Dhaka and other major cities, and the state’s chain of command broke down. The resulting vacuum left the military as the only institution capable of restoring minimal order, a move generals later described as unavoidable due to the collapse of civilian control.
Critics argue that by saving herself, Hasina left the country leaderless at its most volatile moment. They say her sudden exit heightened the instability and set the stage for sweeping unrest that forced the army to step in and stabilize streets that had descended into violence.
Hasina rejects the criticism and claims extremist groups infiltrated the protest movement and exploited the turmoil. She also disputes the UN casualty figures, calling them inflated, even as investigators maintain their accuracy.
Bangladesh is now preparing for elections expected in 2026 under the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus. Hasina says she wants to contest the vote if the Awami League is allowed to participate. The debate over her role in the 2024 unrest is set to shape the political landscape as the country moves toward its next test at the ballot box.