On front pages: Attacks on Hindu homes, Hasina’s phone call, and Delhi impact

From being seen as a miracle economy years ago, Bangladesh on Monday looked like a South Asian tragedy, with Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country and protesters storming her home. The contours of its interim government are yet to be defined while economic problems are likely to worsen. 

While the Bangladeshi press had big headlines on Hasina’s exit, reports of attacks on Hindu houses also featured on some of the front pages, from New Age to Daily Star. 

Meanwhile, a front page report in Bangla daily Prothom Alo noted how Hasina insisted on using brute force 45 minutes before her departure. No amount of pleading from her aides and officials could persuade her to relent, and it was only after a call from her son that she agreed to quit.

In the run-up to Hasina’s exit, editorials in the Bangladeshi media repeatedly stressed the need for dialogue and to curb mass violations of human rights. On Sunday, an editorial in Daily Star noted that the violence had started when the student wing of the governing party had targeted student protesters mid-July but may now escalate into a civic conflict. While the New Age had urged the government to hear the voice of the protesters, the Daily Sun had said that businesses can’t afford any more unrest.

Attacks on Hindu homes 

“Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said that scores of Hindu houses and businesses came under communal attacks in 20 districts in hours between afternoon and night on Monday. The attackers plundered shops, temples and houses and assaulted Hindu women while many were injured,” read a report in New Age.

A front page report in the Daily Star pointed to attacks on Hindu properties in 27 districts. “Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust in a statement demanded that the Bangladesh Army and administration identify the perpetrators of the arson, vandalism, and lootings, and take appropriate steps for the security of the minorities.”

It did not find a mention on the other front pages of New Nation, Daily Sun or Prothom Alo.

And now, while Hasina tries to find asylum in the UK, Delhi has to walk a tightrope for its Dhaka reset. Ties with Bangladesh, after all, are crucial for India’s security and economic interests.

Here’s what the front pages and editorials said in India.

Indian Express 

The front-page lead was headlined, “Hasina falls, flees; Army takes Dhaka”. The report carried three pictures: of former PM Sheikh Hasina leaving Dhaka in an helicopter; people greeting army personnel in Dhaka in celebration of Hasina’s resignation, and protesters vandalising the statue of Sheikh Mujbur Rehman, former PM and Hasina’s father. 

Another report in the lead package detailed that Hasina landed in India, met national security advisor Ajit Doval, was taken to a safe house, and is set to go to the United Kingdom. It said: “Hasina’s unceremonious exit has got India worried and concerned that the popular anger against her may also singe Delhi, seen as a trusted ally and supporter of the Awami league.”A report also looked into the challenges facing India as it needs to “deal with new Dhaka”. 

Its editorial, headlined “Exit Hasina”, said it is “also true that Hasina represented the secular and modernising version of Bangladeshi nationalism. However, her relentless efforts at pushing the Awami League’s version of history and refusal to engage with other arguments and forces were unsustainable in a country that has been vertically divided between secular nationalists and Muslim nationalists who did not support the war of liberation in 1971.” 

“New Delhi should be worried that Islamists were amongst the ranks of the protestors. It must now actively work to limit the damage from Hasina’s fall and ensure that the high stakes relationship is protected.”

The Telegraph 

The newspaper’s Kolkata edition’s front page report was headlined in bold letters: “HASINA FALLS. LANDS IN INDIA.” A picture of protesters with the country’s flag, atop statues, and defacing a mural of Hasina was placed alongside the report. 

The report added that army chief general Waker-Uz-Zaman had said that “the armed forces will maintain peace”, but peace has “remained elusive in a country in turmoil for weeks. Reports poured in about attacks on Awami League leaders and the minority Hindus and their places of worship”. 

Times of India 

The Times of India front page carried a banner headline: “Shaken Hasina Flees, Army In Charge”, along with a picture that showed Sheikh Hasina’s residence taken over by protesters. It said Hasina was not given time to record a farewell speech, while her son and former official adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said she would not return to politics. 

It highlighted “three numbers that tell a story: 30 million jobless youth in a population of 1.70 million; 44 percent fall in forex reserves in three years; and 28 percent drop in value of Bangladeshi currency”. 

Another report headlined “trusted friend out, Delhi-Dhaka ties set for rough reboot?” said that “the hurried and rather unceremonious departure of Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh hasn’t just wrong-footed the Indian government but also left it faced with possibly the biggest foreign policy challenge in the neighbourhood in recent times, one which might make the storm in ties with the Maldives this year look like a walk in the park…Hasina acted as a source of regional stability by keeping religious extremists and anti-India forces under check.”

An editorial said that Hasina “sowed the seeds of her downfall. But her exit is a huge problem for India”. “Where Hasina tripped up was in her handling of domestic politics. She decimated the opposition space, even had a bizarre experiment where the designated opposition party was in govt, and ruthlessly went after her govt’s critics. The draconian Digital Security Act, 2018 was used to muzzle free speech across social and mass media. This lack of an official opposition created a political vacuum that eventually attracted street protests. Add to this recent economic woes engendered by Covid and the Ukraine war, which created a serious cost-of-living and unemployment crisis, manifesting in the anti-jobs-quota protests last month. Multiple factors created a perfect storm.” 

The Hindu 

The Hindu’s front page also carried a banner headline: “Hasina quits, flees Bangladesh, lands in India”. 

“The country is now set to have an interim government,” said the report, adding that Hasina landed near Delhi and has requested asylum from the UK, and that her sister Rehana, who holds UK citizenship, is accompanying her. 

“In Dhaka, Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed her resignation in an address to the nation. He urged protesters to stop the unrest and pledged to meet their demands and bring justice for those who were killed. He said he would talk to the President to form the interim government and had held talks with the main Opposition parties and civil society members, but not the Awami League, Ms. Hasina’s party.”  

Hindustan Times 

“HASINA FLEES BANGLADESH,” was the front-page lead headline on Hindustan Times. The report included four pictures depicting the major events of the day: protesters taking over Hasina’s residence, looting a painting, a protester atop the statue of Sheikh Mujbur Rehman, and the former PM’s helicopter before she fled the country. It said, “Hasina, 76, was left with no option but to quit as public anger grew over the death of more than 300 people in a crackdown by her administration.”   

“Her flight came a little more than six months after she began a fourth consecutive term — and the fifth overall since 1996 — by winning general elections in January that were boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The elections were marred by a low turnout of 40% and her last few years in power were marked by a crackdown on the Opposition, including the jailing of leaders, stifling of dissent, and muzzling of media.”

Its editorial pointed to lessons from Hasina’s debacle. “When an interim government is created and new elections are called, if at all, it will be key to gauge the foreign policy outlook of the new regime. In sum, even as New Delhi looks to become a global fulcrum between the Great Powers, it will need to carefully evaluate its options in a tricky neighbourhood where it has few friends left and portents of instability cropping up — from Dhaka to Kathmandu.”

Business Standard

The second lead on the business daily’s front-page covered the upheaval in Bangladesh. 

The report headlined “Sheikh Hasina quits as Bangladesh PM, flees, lands in India on way to UK” said, “The protests could have a fallout on Bangladesh’s thriving textile exports…The situation in Bangladesh also poses challenges for India’s substantial public and private sector investments in the energy and infrastructure sector of Bangladesh.”

It added that “an investment that made headlines was Adani group’s 800 MW Godda power project in Jharkhand, which is sourcing coal from the group company’s coal mine in Australia to supply power to Bangladesh…Till July 22, about 2,894 Indian students studying in Bangladesh had crossed over to India, while another about 3,000 students are expected to come now, official sources said.”

In its editorial, the paper noted that South Asia’s “miracle economy” rested on “fragile foundations” but Hasina’s exit “cannot be viewed with complacency by New Delhi”. 

Read this Newslaundry piece to understand the issue and what it means for India.