The situation in present-day Bangladesh reflects a complex interplay of domestic politics, international influence and personal rivalries, particularly between ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor of the new interim government that has taken charge of the country.

Hasina has accused the United States of orchestrating her removal from power for refusing to allow a US airbase on St Martin’s Island, a strategic Bangladeshi location in the Bay of Bengal. She has suggested that this refusal led to foreign interference in her country’s affairs, particularly in the form of the anti-quota student protests that, she alleged, were used to destabilise her government.

At the same time, observers do not rule out the hand of the US Deep State in the political upheaval in Bangladesh. The Deep State refers to the clandestine network of powerful individuals or groups within the government or military that operates independently of elected officials to influence or control government policy and decision-making in order to pursue its own agenda.

The interim government that has taken over the reins of Bangladesh is perceived by some observers to be pro-US. The most prominent figure in this government is Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and a globally recognised pioneer in microfinance. Known for his strong links with US organisations, such as USAID and the Ford Foundation, Yunus is seen by some as aligned to US interests. The Ford Foundation is already under the scanner of Indian investigating agencies for allegedly pumping up anti-India sentiment.

The strained ties between Hasina and Yunus soured further after the latter suggested he might float a political outfit. Hasina viewed it as a direct challenge to her leadership. She accused Yunus of treating Grameen Bank as his personal property and the bank of undertaking unethical practices, such as the alleged diversion of $100 million meant for microcredit to a sister organisation, Grameen Kalyan, in purported violation of Bangladesh’s financial laws.

Despite his global acclaim and contributions towards poverty alleviation, Yunus has faced legal challenges and scrutiny within Bangladesh, with his close ties to US entities fuelling suspicion of alignment with foreign interests.

This situation underscores the broader tensions within Bangladesh, where issues of sovereignty, foreign influence and political legitimacy are frequently contested, highlighting the delicate balance the country must maintain between domestic interests and international relations.

The US had been pushing Bangladesh to offer St Martin’s Island for its military base. Washington is seen as aiming to control the Bay of Bengal to underpin India and counter China by controlling the Malacca Strait, though which three-fourths of the global maritime shipping trade passes. Hasina had flatly refused to do so, going by the US record of fleecing vassal states through military bases. In Bangladesh-US ties, this was the last straw.

“Now if I say that I will lease out St Martin’s Island or our country, there will also be no problem for me to stay in power. I know that,” Hasina said in a recent press statement, remarking on how the US wanted to build an airbase in the Bay of Bengal.

Hasina also accused the US of carving out a “Christian country” from parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. She claimed a “white man” who met her before the Bangladesh elections in January this year had assured her of facing “no problems” during the elections if she allowed them to build an airbase on Bangladesh territory.

The US State Department, however, has said that any suggestion that Washington was involved in precipitating Hasina’s resignation was absolutely untrue.

Some observers have hinted at an orchestrated nexus aimed at ousting Hasina. In the current wave of protests that engulfed public and private universities in Bangladesh, among those involved are students of BRAC University in Dhaka. BRAC University is a prominent participant in projects of the Open Society University Network (OSUN), founded by George Soros, a Hungarian-born American businessman. Incidentally, Soros has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been accused by the BJP of trying to interfere in “India’s democratic process”.

BRAC University’s parent organisation, the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC, is one of the world’s largest non-profit set-ups. It has for long been funded by Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF). OSF extended $10 million through BRAC towards helping displaced Rohingya people who had taken refuge in Bangladesh.

Similarly, several other US-based organisations are suspected to be funded by OSF and some of them work in the Maoist-affected regions of India and along the India-Bangladesh border.

It has been established that on August 2 this year, 22 US senators had written to US secretary of state Antony Blinken to take action against the Hasina regime. Of these senators who signed the letter, one was ‘Ilhan Omar’, the proverbial Pakistan-backer in the US Congress.

India, China and Russia had congratulated Hasina and her Awami League for their national election victory in January. The National Democratic Institute (NDI), the US organisation that observed the Bangladesh polls, is funded by the US State Department’s National Endowment for Democracy. NDI has been quite active in Bangladesh and is alleged to have funded some anti-government news outlets there. In fact, some media outlets had labelled Hasina “authoritarian” and urged her to step down.

Besides the US, the role of the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Begum Khaleda Zia, and Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI in fuelling the unrest in Bangladesh has also come under scrutiny, showcasing the political tensions and instability in the country. Sources claim the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) orchestrated plans in collaboration with BNP vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, based in London. Bangladesh officials claim to have evidence of meetings between Rahman and ISI officials in Saudi Arabia, indicating active involvement of the ISI with the BNP leader. Rahman has posted ‘provocative’ messages on social media on the unrest in Bangladesh.

At the same time, the student wing of the banned Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, allegedly backed by the ISI, has faced allegations of inciting violence and turning the student protests into a political movement.

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