The Betrayal of a Nation: How Bangladesh Was Stolen on August 5, 2024

On August 5, 2024, Bangladesh experienced what may become known in history as its most tragic political betrayal since 1975.

In a silent but savage military coup, one of the most transformative leaders the country has ever seen, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was forcibly removed from power. Just three days later, on August 8, a shadowy figure — Muhammad Yunus — assumed control of the state, backed not by a democratic mandate, but by the veiled hands of foreign intelligence, majorly the American deep state CIA, reactionary forces, and domestic traitors.

This was not merely a power grab; it was a geopolitical hijacking. A sovereign nation, on the verge of reaching first-world benchmarks in development, has now been turned into a Res Pública without a republic — a Banana Republic.

The Golden Years That Were

For over a decade and a half, Bangladesh had defied expectations. From being tagged as a “basket case” by Henry Kissinger in the 1970s, the country under HPM Sheikh Hasina began to rewrite its destiny. Under her visionary leadership, Bangladesh’s GDP grew at an average rate of 6–7%, poverty was slashed dramatically, electricity reached every household, mega-infrastructure projects like the Padma Bridge were completed without foreign loans, and the country emerged as the second-largest garment exporter in the world.

Foreign policy, too, had matured. Dhaka navigated the intricate web of global alliances with dignity — maintaining trade ties with the West, while engaging constructively with China and India. Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina was increasingly being compared with the Asian Tigers, with The Economist and The World Bank praising its trajectory.

But this very success, paradoxically, sowed the seeds of her removal. As George Orwell once said, “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Sheikh Hasina’s truth — a people-powered, nationally-rooted model of development — was too inconvenient for certain global and domestic actors.

The Axis of Subversion: Who Betrayed Bangladesh?

The orchestration of the coup was not a spontaneous military uprising. It was the culmination of a years-long conspiracy by a nefarious nexus of foreign intelligence agencies and domestic collaborators — the CIA, Pakistan’s ISI, renegade military officers like General Waker, and political factions whose loyalties lie neither with democracy nor with the Liberation War of 1971.

At the heart of this conspiracy stands Dr. Muhammad Yunus, a man who once gained international acclaim (by his foxily utter manipulation) for microcredit innovation, but whose later years have been tainted by accusations of financial malpractice, labor exploitation, and opaque dealings with foreign lobbies. He is now nothing more than an Alibaba figure, installed to serve the interests of Uncle Sam — a rogue imperial actor masquerading as a beacon of freedom.

Let us not forget the cast of domestic villains: Jamaat-e-Islami and its paramilitary arm ICS now Shibir, which committed genocidal atrocities in 1971; BNP, a party born not from the people but from the barrel of a gun in Dhaka Cantonment; opportunistic factions of the radical left; and extremist right-wing fundies, all united not by ideology, but by their collective disdain for Bangladesh’s progressive rise.

The Cost of the Coup: Descent into Darkness

Since the events of August 5, Bangladesh has been bleeding — metaphorically and literally. The utopian dream that once animated the youth, entrepreneurs, and farmers of the country has been replaced with a dystopia ruled by repression, paranoia, and economic sabotage.

1. Suppression of Pro-Liberation Voices:

Pro-liberation activists, journalists, professors, and students are being arrested, harassed, or silenced. Any public praise of Sheikh Hasina is now treated as sedition. The 1972 Constitution, a sacred document that embodied secularism, nationalism, socialism, and democracy, is being trampled by reactionary decrees and imported ideologies.

2. Mob Violence and Political Chaos:

Gangs aligned with Jamaat-Shibir and BNP roam the streets with impunity. Political lynchings, abductions, and communal provocations have become alarmingly routine. Law enforcement agencies, once professionalized under Hasina’s reforms, are now instruments of fear.

3. Youth Degradation and Cultural Erosion:

The younger generation, once proud of their heritage, are being indoctrinated into nihilism, consumerism, or religious fundamentalism. Universities have lost academic freedom, and social media is flooded with disinformation campaigns orchestrated by troll factories linked to the new regime.

4. Economic Sabotage:

Foreign investors are fleeing. The Taka is in freefall. Exports have plummeted. Infrastructure projects have stalled. Corruption, once curbed, is back with a Brobdingnagian vengeance. Yunus and his cohorts have failed to present any roadmap for economic recovery — because their purpose was never governance, but guardianship of Western and Pakistani interests.

5. A Nation in Collapse:

Hospitals are short of supplies, educational institutions are under censorship, the press is muzzled, and the judiciary is politicized. The moral compass of the nation has been shattered, and ordinary citizens find themselves wandering in a fog of fear and helplessness.

A Return to the Cold War’s Dirty Playbook

The fingerprints of Uncle Sam in this coup are unmistakable. The United States has long used the guise of “democracy promotion” to interfere in the sovereign affairs of nations — from Iran in 1953, Chile in 1973, to Libya in 2011. Bangladesh in 1975 and again in 2024 is merely the latest victim of this imperial playbook.

What did Sheikh Hasina do to deserve this fate? She refused to let foreign powers dictate her economic model. She pursued independent defense policies. She maintained strong ties with China and Russia while not capitulating to Western pressure. And worst of all, from their perspective, she proved that a Muslim-majority democracy could succeed on its own terms.

Her removal was not just an affront to democracy — it was a neo-colonial warning to any developing nation seeking to rise without kneeling.

A People’s Resistance Is Stirring

But the story is not over. History is not kind to puppet regimes. Just as Ayub Khan, Yahya, Ershad, Zia and Begum Zia’s misrules collapsed under the weight of popular resistance, so too shall the current regime of collaborators and mercenaries.

Mass protests have already begun to stir across the country. Expatriate Bangladeshis, freedom fighters, students, and workers are organizing in defiance. Independent journalists and activists continue to risk everything to speak out. The spirit of 1971 — of freedom, resilience, and sacrifice — has not died.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.” Let that be the guiding light for all who refuse to accept the robbery of their nation.

Down with the Betrayers

This is not a call for violence, but for vigilance — not a call for despair, but for defiance. We, the people of Bangladesh, reject the illegitimate rule of Muhammad Yunus. We denounce the meddling of the CIA, the ISI, and their cohorts. We will not bow to foreign interests or domestic puppets.

Let the world know: Bangladesh is not for sale.

The ghosts of 1971 are watching. So too are the unborn generations who will ask us what we did when the motherland was bleeding.

Let us rise. Let us resist. Let us reclaim our republic.

Sent-in by: Anwar A. Khan

Author's Bio: Anwar A. Khan, a direct witness of the brutal birth of Bangladesh from the direful Pakistani military regime from a very close proximity in 1971 and a frontline Freedom Fighter of the 1971 war field to establish Bangladesh.

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