The first intervention dates back to August 15, 1975, when mid-ranking Bangladeshi army officers stormed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka. Armed with tanks, mortars and automatic rifles, they killed the founding President, along with his wife, sons and 10-year-old son Sheikh Russel. Coordinated attacks across the capital targeted extended family members, leaving more than 40 people dead by midday.
Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana survived only because they were in Germany at the time. As news of the massacre spread, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi reached out to Hasina directly and offered immediate refuge. The sisters arrived in New Delhi within days, where the Indian government placed them under high-security protection and provided accommodation first in Lajpat Nagar and later at Pandara Road. For years, they lived under assumed identities as intelligence agencies monitored threats against them.
Hasina spent six years in exile before returning to Bangladesh in 1981 after being elected general secretary of the Awami League. Once in power in 1996, she overturned the indemnity law shielding her father’s assassins and initiated trials that led to multiple death sentences in 2010.
Her supporters argue that the recent death verdict and the 2024 attack reflect a recurring pattern of political vendetta. As Bangladesh grapples with deepening divisions, Hasina’s uncertain future once again places India at the centre of a complex regional crisis.
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