Jayanta Roy Chowdhury
New Delhi, Aug 5 (UNI) The political future of Bangladesh, the prospects of Sheikh Hasina’s return and the evolving relationship between Dhaka and New Delhi will come under the spotlight at a special interaction organised here by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia) on Wednesday evening.
Titled “Sheikh Hasina’s Homecoming”, the interaction will examine the former Bangladesh Prime Minister’s political and legal circumstances, the possibility of her return to Bangladesh, which she has spoken of earlier at a time when the newly elected Premier Tarique Rahman is trying to consolidate his regime.
Hasina is expected to speak to the gathering through an audio link. It is as yet unclear whether she will personally take questions or whether queries will be fielded by her former ministers and advisors who will be present.
Rahman has recently travelled to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and signed and discussed a number of projects, including the expansion of Mongla port and the Teesta water storage facility, both near the Indian border.
The new Bangladesh government has also held military exercises with American troops in Sylhet, near Assam, and is planning a US-led multi-nation naval exercise in November in the Bay of Bengal.
Wednesday’s discussion at FCC, besides focusing on Hasina, is also expected to throw light on how the Awami League views recent developments in Bangladesh.
The discussion, being held for the first time since the political upheaval of August 5, 2024, which saw Sheikh Hasina being flown to safety in India, brings together a panel of former Bangladesh officials, political analysts, diplomats, journalists, and public figures with close knowledge of Bangladesh.
Among the prominent speakers are Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Sheikh Hasina’s son and former Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former Education Minister of Bangladesh; and Mohammad Ali Siddique, General Secretary of Bangladesh Human Rights Watch.
The panel also includes former parliamentarian and cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, former diplomat and security analyst Aminul Hoque Polash, writer and political analyst Abu Obaida Arin, and Adv. Shah Md Bakhtiar, Director of Bangladesh Human Rights Watch USA.
The programme comes at a particularly significant moment in Bangladesh’s history when a crackdown and trials of large numbers of journalists and academics, besides Awami Leaguers, have started.
The political transition following the events of August 2024 has reshaped the country’s domestic political equations, while questions surrounding Sheikh Hasina’s political future continue to have significant implications for Bangladesh and the world at large.
For India, the issue carries an added strategic dimension as Bangladesh occupies a pivotal position in India’s eastern neighbourhood, sharing a long border, besides economic, cultural, and security linkages.
Developments in Dhaka have implications not only for bilateral relations but also for connectivity in India’s Northeast, regional trade, border management, and wider South Asian geopolitics.
The evening is therefore expected to go beyond the immediate question of Sheikh Hasina’s return and explore the larger issue of what kind of Bangladesh is emerging after August 2024, and how India and the world should engage with it.

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