Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, has been asked to lead the interim government following a political crisis that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country on Monday. At 84, Yunus praised the student-led protests that had led to Hasina’s fall, calling it a ‘Second Victory Day’. He has been critical of Hasina’s strict rule over the past 15 years.
He now takes charge after one of the deadliest protests in the nation’s history, which resulted in over 300 deaths and thousands of arrests. The protests had begun over a job quota system that reserved more than half of the jobs for specific groups, including one-third for the descendants of Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence veterans. Although the Supreme Court reduced the quotas on July 21, it did not satisfy the protesters.
“This is our beautiful country with many exciting possibilities. We must protect it and make it wonderful for ourselves and for future generations,” Yunus told reporters. The recent protests, which started over government job quotas, grew into a larger movement driven by the youth, who make up a third of the population.
They are calling for a new type of politics that emphasises greater democracy and accountability. Yunus faces significant challenges, including restoring law and order, reviving the economy and ensuring free and fair elections. Ahmed Ahsan, a former World Bank economist and director of the Policy Research Institute in Bangladesh, said Yunus was “the.