Sheikh Hasina resigns: Your guide to Indo-Bangladesh ties, timeline of deadly protests that led to PM’s ouster

After 15 years in power, Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh's prime minister on Monday under pressure from protesters agitating over a special job quota bill. The nationwide protests, which began peacefully, turned violent in July.  Despite the Supreme Court of Bangladesh scaling back the reservations, unrest persisted, leading to Sheikh Hasina resigning and fleeing the country. She is currently in India. 

Bangladesh protest: Here's a look at the timeline of what led to the unrest and subsequent resignation of Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.

Timeline of Bangladesh protest:

The job quota that sparked the nationwide protests in Bangladesh provided reservations in government jobs to relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971.

1. The Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP), along with other central and provincial services, was established in Pakistan after 1947 India-Pakistan partition. Back then,  quota provisions for public service recruitment were established through an executive order, which was later solidified under the 1956 constitution, Dhaka Tribune reported.

2. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced the job quota system in 1972 as a recognition of its freedom fighters. This was soon after the 1971 war of Independence against Pakistan. According to local media, a movement began demanding the cancellation of this system, and it has continued on and off ever since.

3. Cut to 2018, there was a 56 per cent reservation in government jobs in Bangladesh. Of this, 30 per cent of jobs were reserved for descendants of freedom fighters, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for residents of backward districts, 5 per cent for people from minority groups, and 1 per cent for people with disabilities. This was marked by massive protests at various educational institutions, with many demanding quota reforms.

4. In 2018, the Bangladesh government halted the job quotas. It reportedly scrapped all forms of quotas. The move was aimed at ensuring the recruitment of meritorious and qualified individuals for positions in grades 9 to 13 (formerly known as first and second-class jobs) in government jobs.

However, quotas for third and fourth-class posts (grades 14 to 20) remained in effect, local media said. Now-ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decided in 2018 that if no candidate from the relevant quota is found, those positions would be filled from the merit list.

5. But in June 2024, Bangladesh's High Court nullified that decision and reinstated the quotas after relatives of 1971 veterans filed petitions. It was after the high court's order that thousands of students launched protests.

6. The Supreme Court suspended the high court ruling and heard the matter on July 21.

7. On July 21, the Supreme Court dismissed a lower court order that had reinstated the quota. The Supreme Court ruled that the veterans' quota be cut to 5 per cent (from 30 per cent earlier), with 93 per cent of jobs to be allocated on merit. The remaining 2 per cent will be set aside for members of ethnic minorities, transgenders and disabled people.

8. Last week, protests resumed with angry mobs issuing new demands, including bringing justice and accountability for those killed and for Hasina to step down, Al Jazeera reported.

What do Bangladesh protesters want?

Those protesting Bangladesh want the entire quota system to be replaced with merit-based system. They argued that the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement. They even demanded Hasina's resignation as PM.

Giving in to the protester's demand, Hasina stepped down as Bangladesh Prime Minister on Monday. She fled to India and is likely to remain there until she reportedly gets asylum in the United Kingdom.

India-Bangladesh ties under Sheikh Hasina rule

Bangladesh, under Sheikh Hasina's rule, became an important ally of India. Bangladesh not only shares the longest border with India (among other neighbouring countries), but also has rich historical ties including language, trade relations and culture.

Now, with the Army taking over Bangladesh and the release of Hasina's rival Khaleda Zia from jail, the development in the neighbouring country could mount trouble for its India's partners. Here's how...

Under Hasina's rule, India-Bangladesh diplomatic ties strengthened as the two countries intensively worked on improving railway, road, and inland water connectivity, boosting security and border management, amplifying defence cooperation, and cooperating in the power and energy sector.

In 1996-2001 term, the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India is said to be the Sheikh Hasina's government's "most significant...achieved laudable successes".

The Indian government calls Bangladesh its "biggest trade partner in South Asia". Morover, as per the government, India is Bangladesh's second biggest trade partner in Asia. "Bangladesh exported $1.97 billion of goods to India in FY 2023-24. In FY 2023-24, the total bilateral trade has been reported as $14.01 billion," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement this year.

Why India may be concerned?

Soon after Hasina's resignation on Monday, Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as former prime minister Khaleda Zia, 78.

Moreover, Bangladesh Army General Waker-uz-Zaman reportedly said he is holding talks with major political parties, including Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

This may be of concern for India as Hasina's resignation may pave the path for the main opposition BNP, which is largely viewed as "anti-India". Zia is the chief of BNP.

When Khaleda Zia ruled Bangladesh, the country had a rocky relationship with India. During her tenure, India faced challenges related to cross-border terrorism.

India stated in its Annual Report 2004-2005 that "India has from time to time, expressed concern" over the activities of the terrorist groups operating from "the territory of Bangladesh through diplomatic channels, as also in the bilateral meetings between India and Bangladesh." However, Bangladesh had then denied harbouring "Indian insurgent groups" on its soil.

"It is no secret that the Awami League has historically had a better and friendlier relationship with India compared to the BNP," Dhaka Tribune had reported earlier.

According to her Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times since 1991. She took over as the PM in 1991, becoming the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She became the prime minister for a second consecutive term in 1996.

But she had to resign within a month as Sheikh Hasina had forced the government of Khaleda Zia to quit power on March 30, 1996. "Zia was re-elected in 2001, regaining power by promising to eliminate corruption and terrorism," the party said on its website. In 2006, she finally stepped down from office.

Hasina had won a fourth straight term – since 2009 – only in January this year in an election boycotted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of her arch-rival Begum Khaleda Zia-–who is in poor health and was jailed by Hasina for graft in 2018.

How the Bangladesh politics unfolds will be clear in the next few days as the army and authorities chalk out a plan to form an interim government. Whether Awami Leagu's rival BNP will be part of the government is yet to be determined.