By Aminul Hoque Polash On December 22, The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam stated at a protest meeting, titled “Mob Violence-Affected Bangladesh,” that we have entered an era of killings. Expressing opinions is a far-off matter; now it’s about the right to survive. The Daily Star and Prothom Alo can be called Bangladesh’s most influential non-state actors. When such messages come from them, it’s easy to understand the current situation in Bangladesh. But the trouble is, they made this statement after being attacked themselves. However, this anarchy, mob violence, anti-independence activities, and anti-India narrative-building in Bangladesh have been ongoing since Dr. Yunus’s interim government took charge in August last year.
Dr. Yunus is as responsible for this unbearable situation as are the active political parties, media, or civil intellectuals who remained silent and supported these actions. They perhaps thought that this mob violence would only target Awami League leaders, workers, and supporters. But they forgot that when the city burns, the temple doesn’t survive. That’s why everyone is being attacked today. The country is in a state of ultimate anarchy. The nation has reached the threshold of a failed state.
If you just look at the events of the past week, centred around the death of political activist Osman Goni alias Sharif Osman Hadi, the country’s two leading media outlets, Prothom Alo and Daily Star, were vandalised and set on fire. Two traditional institutions carrying the national culture, Udichi and Chhayanaut, were vandalised. Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 was vandalised again. Across the country, homes of Awami League leaders and workers were vandalised and looted anew. In Bhaluka, a Hindu worker at a garment factory named Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and burned alive on charges of religious insult. In Jhenaidah, a Hindu rickshaw puller named Gopal Bishwas was accused of being a RAW agent because of a red thread on his hand, brutally beaten, and handed over to the police. In Chittagongโs Rauzan, homes of 4-5 Hindu families were burned down. Attacks were launched on the Indian Assistant Commissions in Chittagong and Khulna, alleging that Hadi’s killer is in India. Even on Christmas Eve, a bomb attack in front of a church in Dhaka’s Moghbazar resulted in one death. These situations prove the current state of Bangladesh.
These events are not isolated incidents. Rather, they are part of Dr. Yunus’s meticulously designed plan. Notice that currently in Bangladesh, an imposed anti-India narrative is being forcefully established. Under the cover of this extreme anti-India stance, Dr. Yunus is trying to hide all his misdeeds and failures. Even centred around Hadir’s death, this anti-India sentiment has been capitalised on. The failure to catch the criminal is being blamed by establishing the narrative that the criminal has fled to India. And the main instigator is Dr. Yunus himself.
Tarique Rahmanโs plan for an Islamic Bangladesh
GCDG report recalls police killings, release of militants in July-August 2024
Yunus Turned Revolution Into Chaos. Is Bangladesh moving into indefinite turmoil?
You surely remember that before taking charge as Chief Adviser, Dr. Yunus made objectionable comments about India’s Seven Sisters while in France. Later, during his visit to China, he violated all diplomatic etiquette and urged the Chinese president to expand business in the Seven Sisters. His government’s adviser, Mahfuj Alam, published a new map on Facebook combining the Seven Sisters and Bangladesh. As Dr. Yunus’ travel companion to the UN session this year, Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Amir Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that his party has 50 lakh people ready to occupy India, and they want to implement Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Moreover, the King’s Party NCP, built under Dr. Yunus’s direct patronage, is constantly issuing direct threats of attacking India along with various aggressive statements. The interim government has never been seen taking action on these matters. Instead, Dr. Yunus has used this anti-India stance as capital to create a long-term unstable situation in the country by aligning with extremist communal groups, aiming to prolong his power.
If you look at the issue of minority persecution, there is direct incitement and patronage from the current government behind it. It started on August 5. Let me remind you a bit: When mob terrorists attacked Baniachong police station in Sylhet, the army handed over Hindu Sub-Inspector Santosh Chowdhury to the mob and safely evacuated the rest. Santosh Chowdhury was publicly killed, and his body was hung from a tree in front of the station. No civilised society can witness such an incident.
From August 2024 to June 2025, at least 2,442 incidents of minority persecution occurred in Bangladesh. The interim government has categorically denied these issues, calling them Indian propaganda. For protesting minority persecution, Chinmoy Prabhu was arrested on false sedition charges and has been detained in prison for over a year. A silent genocide is ongoing against the Awami League and minority communities in the country, and the main responsibility lies with Dr. Yunus-led interim government.
Bangladesh is currently on the brink of becoming an extremist fundamentalist state. After August 5, all top militants in the country were released from jail. Top terrorists were also released. Convicted militant leaders like Jasimuddin Rahmani, Harun Izhar, and even Major Syed Ziaul Hoque are now freely giving militant speeches in public.
Rahmani At Shahbagh: A disgraceful display of extremist mobilisation for Osman Hadi
Touhidi Janata continues mob attacks on cultural establishments, media outlets
NCP mob leader Jannat Ara Rumi was depressed due to her two divorces, say police
Thousands of weapons looted from all police stations across the country after August 5 are now in the hands of these militants. We are seeing extremists from Pakistan coming to the country under the name of Islamic gatherings and spreading militancy. The interim government has close ties with the Pakistani government anyway. All this is being done to turn Bangladesh into a fundamentalist state. And all of it is happening with the direct support of Dr. Yunus himself and his main patron, Jamaat-e-Islami. Because only by destabilising the country can they implement their personal interests under its cover.
BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, returned to the country on Thursday after 17 years. During the post-1/11 army-backed caretaker government, he left for the UK after giving a bond that he would never engage in politics again. Upon returning, he said he wants to work for the country and its people. But the activities of his party’s leaders and workers over the past one and a half years do not convey that message. BNP is one of the key stakeholders in mob violence, oppression of the people, torture, extortion, and occupation in the country. Moreover, BNP has shown no protest against Dr. Yunus’ anti-national activities and has not spoken for the people’s interest in the past one and a half years.
We cannot forget the misrule of the 2001-2006 term either. Bangladesh was the world champion in corruption for five consecutive years then. Militancy spread in the country. Bombs exploded in 63 districts, the August 21 grenade attack happened, and ten trucks of arms were imported for India’s separatists. Therefore, the possibility of his statements turning into reality is low. BNP wants to come to power at any cost. Tarique has returned to claim his share of that power. But historically, they will also have to bear the responsibility for the misrule of the Yunus-led interim government over the past one and a half years.
To overcome the current situation, the people of the country need to become aware of the real conditions. But sadly, due to the invisible censorship imposed on the media, people are not able to know that. Notice that Tarique’s daughter, Zaima Rahman’s pet cat, Jibu, got as much media attention as the murdered Dipu Chandra Das did not get in Bangladesh’s media. This selective humanity or selective justice creates anarchy in society. That situation has been created in Bangladesh. Dr. Yunus has erased the spirit of the country’s Liberation War, our culture, heritage, timeless traditions, and neutral foreign policy with a backspace. To get out of this, we all need to unite again and fight like the Liberation War of 1971. Otherwise, there is no salvation for us.
Aminul Hoque Polash: Security expert and former diplomat.
English 
Bengali