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Modi's Pacific Moves & Big Crackdowns | Hasina is Back | PoJK, Balochistan, Pak | Aadi Achint

APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. Over the past few years, a series of popular uprisings across the world have been described by mainstream media as “Gen-Z Uprisings” – movements led by young people and described in western media as generally being against government corruption. These movements have been most notably visible in our own media due to their use of technology, including platforms like Discord and TikTok, and internationally consistent adoption of pop culture symbolism, like the flag of the “straw hat pirates,” a black flag depicting a grinning jolly roger wearing a straw hat. The flag is the banner of the protagonists of the long-running hit anime series One Piece whose adventures often find them coming to the defense of marginalized communities around their world. But these movements didn't come out of nowhere (or the internet for that matter). Understanding their origins – and the elections that have resulted from their successes – can shed light both onto the international struggle against authoritarianism and the challenges we face building an alternative. In this episode we are looking at two countries, Nepal and Bangladesh, where popular uprisings in the summer of 2024 and fall of 2025 have led to elections this year. In this episode, we are joined by two US based organizers, Sharmin Hossain and Samir Shrestha, whose work as part of South Asian diasporas has rooted them in movement work here in the US while maintaining relationships and solidarity abroad. Sharmin Hossain is a Bangladeshi Muslim organizer from Queens, New York, who is currently the Organizing Director for 18 Million Rising. To learn more about 18 Million Rising, check out their site at www.18millionrising.org. Follow Sharmin on all platforms at @sharminultra Samir Shrestha belongs to the indigenous Newari tribe of Nepal, where he was born. He has spent the last 18 years involved in movement work here in the US. To learn more about The Ruckus Society and request a training, visit: www.ruckus.org/training-action-support/training-requests/ To learn more about Convergence Magazine and the Block and Build Podcast, follow them at @_convergencemag and @blockandbuildpod. Check out Covergence's work at www.convergencemag.com. Transcript Swati Rayasam: [00:00:00] welcome fellow travelers to Apex Express. It's been a minute, but in case you don't remember, my name is Swati Rayasam, and I'm gonna be your conductor tonight. I have been very excited about this week's episode for a few months because tonight Apex is featuring Convergence Magazine's Block and Build podcast. Block and Build is creating a roadmap for the movement that's working to block the impacts of [00:01:00] rising authoritarianism while building the strength and resilience of the broad front that we need to win. And both the team at Convergence and the guests for tonight's show are close comrades and friends of Apex. On this episode, Cayden Mak, podcast host and editor-in-chief of Convergence, is joined by Samir Shrestha and Sharmin Hossain, two US-based organizers from the South Asian diaspora, Nepal and Bangladesh respectively. Sharmin and Samir will talk about the history and continued struggles of the international Gen Z uprisings, which have only really made a blip in Western media coverage. They'll discuss the history of those movements and the political conditions which created them, as well as help us understand how Americans can be in meaningful solidarity with people's movements abroad. Without further ado, I'll hand it over to Cayden. Cayden: Over the past few years, a series of popular uprisings across the world have been described by mainstream media as the Gen Z uprisings, movements led by young people and described in Western media as [00:02:00] generally being against government corruption. These movements have been most notably visible in our own media due to their use of technology, including platforms like Discord and TikTok, and internationally consistent adoption of pop culture symbolism. but these movements didn't come out of nowhere, or out of just the internet, for that matter. Understanding their origins and the elections that have resulted from their successes can shed light both onto the international struggle against authoritarianism and the challenges that we face building an alternative. In this episode, we're looking at two countries in particular, Nepal and Bangladesh, where popular uprisings in the summer of 2024 and fall of 2025 have led to elections this year. I was recently joined by two US-based organizers, Sharmin Hossain and Samir Shrestha, whose work as part of the South Asian diaspora has rooted them in movement work here in the US while maintaining relationships and solidarity abroad. Sharmin Hossain is a Bangladeshi Muslim organizer from Queens, New York, who's currently the organizing director for 18 Million Rising. Sharmin, thanks so much for joining us today  Sharmin: Thank you for having me. I love Convergence.  Cayden: Thank you. [00:03:00] And, Samir Shrestha belongs to the indigenous Newari tribe of Nepal, where he was born. He spent the past 18 years involved in movement work here in the US, and Samir, it's really good to see you this morning.  Samir: So good to see you too, Cayden.  Cayden: Well, to start us off, let's try and set some context Sharmin. I'm wondering if you can give us kind of a quick gloss of the 2024 uprisings in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party were ousted from power. What are the sort of themes of the protests, and then the way that the state responded, and where are we kind of now? Sharmin: Wow, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor to talk about my country and all the amazing things that happened, because I think the Global South really forges, like, new possibilities as far as, like, what we can do and, and consolidate as far as power goes. So today is actually March 26th, and it's Bangladeshi Independence Day, coincidentally. Cayden: Happy independence Day.  Sharmin: Happy Independence Day. I find it very serendipitous for us to delve into this layered and complex history, um, of the student movement. So [00:04:00] the Bangladesh student protests of July 2024, were deeply rooted in systemic inequalities that the young working class and the poor faced. Nearly 32 million young people were actually out of the workforce, or education in a population of a country of 170 million. So that's a pretty significant number. And so that issue was a focal point for widespread discontent in the country. In July of 2024, the High Court of Bangladesh actually reinstated a quota system for government jobs after an appeal was made when the then-ruling Hasina government abolished the quota system, um because in 2018 she faced a lot of pressure from student protesters. But this quota system is really interesting, and it represents a lot. It reserved 30% of government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters. And in Bangladeshi history, that's a very complex and layered identity. Millions of our [00:05:00] ancestors actually fought in the liberation war against the US-backed Pakistani military, and the Bangladeshi Liberation War, and genocide in Bangladesh actually resulted in the death of over three million people who sacrificed for the birth of our nation. And so for the Hasina government, the quota system was actually what she used to appoint a lot of her loyalists and her supporters to high levels of government, the military, and it basically created the political ecosystem for the Awami League, her party, to maintain dominance. And the Awami League actually was the party that once led the liberation struggle, and over the course of 15 years, we actually saw how much they consolidated power through political repression, the Digital Security Acts that was surveilling and targeting freedom of speech, as well as the corruption and fear that they [00:06:00] stoked against their opposition. And these government jobs, like most of us, it represents many things. It represents the government's responsibility to take care of poor people, um, economic and political opportunity, and it also represents, like, the corruption and the authoritarian rule of the Awami League, and how they were rigging elections, and how the court systems, and even entrance exams for the Bangladeshi civil service, were actually regularly leaked and compromised. And so -within that background, that's when you have the Students Against Discrimination movement take the streets in July demanding fair access to government jobs. And things actually got violent really fast. Within seven days, nearly 174 people were murdered, and thousands were injured. There was an indefinite curfew, social media blackouts, and then a military occupation with shoot on sight orders. And of course, the bullets that were raining upon, Bangladeshis were US, [00:07:00] arms. So students were terrorized by these vigilante groups that were collaborating with the Bangladeshi police. And these student groups were actually organized by the Bangladeshi Awami League. These student groups were notorious for repressing student elections, sexually assaulting students, um really threatening people that were running for student elections. And so there's already this, like, vigilante ecosystem that exists within the campuses that was weaponized during the student protests. And then you have a climax moment on July 14th. Sheikh Hasina went on television accusing the students of being Razakars, and Razakars are collaborators of the Pakistani army, and it's a very derogatory term in Bangladesh, and it refers to people who support the Pakistani military's operation to suppress the Bangladeshi Liberation War. They're also accused of heinous crimes. And so when students were accused of being Razakars, it, like, [00:08:00] lit a fire. Millions took the streets that day, and they were like, “Oh, hell no.” Like, “How dare she disrespect us?” While there's thousands of people who are on the streets, blood, everywhere. Rickshaw wallas are having to pull students into hospitals. There's just so much violence happening on the ground. And so on that National Day of Action, July 15th, clashes happen. Multiple deaths are live-streamed, and one of them, Abu Sayeed, he was a university student at Rangpur University in northwest Bangladesh, really galvanized the country because we watched this student, who is not armed, surrender and get sh- shot, by the Bangladeshi police. And we know what these spontaneous moments of violence do to the public, right? It usually always sets fire to another wave of social protests and action. And so then millions start marching to Sheikh Hasina's home, and [00:09:00] really, her brutal and arrogant response sealed her fate. And the protesters, and at this point, this is a populist movement, millions of people that are rickshaw wallas, working-class people, students, teachers, are taking the streets, marching towards her house. And they demand her resignation. And on August 5th, within 36 days of the movement, she resigns and flees to India, our neighboring country. Over 1,400 people have been killed, under her brutal repression. And so that's some of the background of the student movement, and we can talk more about some of the dynamics of it. Cayden: Yeah, that's super helpful, and I think reflecting on the ways in which also the sort of, like, escalation on the part of the government is, I think, a really important story here, for sure. Samir, I'll also now turn it to you. What should our listeners know about last fall's uprisings in Nepal, which also ousted the sitting government of, K.P. Oli and his, his party and how they led to [00:10:00] elections, earlier this month, in March of this year?  Samir: Thanks, Cayden, and Happy Independence Day to you, Sharmin. I am somebody who was born and raised in Nepal, and am spending most of my life in the diaspora now, and I wanna name the limitations of, uh, my understanding of what's going on in Nepal because of me not being on the ground organizing with the masses. And, I wanna honor the work that's been happening in Nepal, on the ground one of the big things that, that's really n- is important to name is, like, it's only been 20 years since we abolished monarchy. Uh- Mm-hmm. … uh, 2006, right? That is a big thing for us to understand. And the party that was in power, and has been in power since, was the party that has been organizing our movements, and that is the organized left in Nepal, and, like, really betrayed our people once we, once they got into power, right? And, like, started kind of veering towards the right once they got in power. So 20 years later The economic conditions of our people on the ground are really dire. There's no jobs available. People are migrating. A lot of our folks, one of the biggest source of economy and source of money for our, [00:11:00] our people back home is, like, migrant work, uh, in Dubai and, traveling to Dubai, Qatar, and working under very bad conditions. So one- that's one of the big things that's also been informing,, lot of the consciousness of the- our young people in Nepal, right? And then one of the other things that's named really important is, so since the election, since 2006, the Communist Party, the Congress Party, and the Maoist Party have been, they're the only ones who have been in power for the last 20 years, and these are all old upper caste men, even though they were the ones who were leading the movement and were organizing at left. But these were s- the representation and the leaders in these parties were all upper caste, caste Arya people, which is the dominant caste in Nepal, right? And that's a very important layer to name. And that really informed, I think, a lot of the ways they showed up after we won. And, and that's one, one big question that we always have in the left, right? What do we do after we- Yeah … abolish monarchy? What do we do after we win? And we haven't figured that out too, as does any other movements, right? And 20 years later, the frustration is on the very high, against the status quo. And then we, and there [00:12:00] was a lot of, like, obviously there was a lot of inspiration from Bangladesh, like Indonesia, and, like, the uprisings there. And, like, this one, uh, thing started trending the young people started organizing around Nepo babies. There's like, you know, “Yeah, you don't have access to we do, you're gonna take our access away from social media while your kids, and people who have connections to you and have, access to you are just posting about the life, the lavish life they're living abroad and in my homelands,” right? So that's one of the places where it started. And once that started, there was online campaign. And there was already conversations around banning social media in Nepal, and they were- Hmm … finding, like, different ways around it, and that really escalated the way people really responded to the situation, is like once they started organizing around Nepo babies and how they were, like, getting momentum around that, that's when exactly the social media ban went into effect, right? And that's a really important name because, like, one of the biggest pet peeves for me as a diaspora person has been this idea of people only started the uprising and took the streets because of the social media ban. [00:13:00] But just- Hmm. Mm-hmm … all these other things really added up to it. That was just the, just the point of escalation, right? So fast-forward, people started organizing on Discord. Uh, also the irony of it is that was one of the apps that was banned, uh, in Nepal as, uh… And people started organizing in Discord. And also wanna name the reality of, like, the only people who had access to Discord are also, like, privileged folks like us- Sure like younger, upper middle class people. So we were not really getting folks from outside Kathmandu and from our villages and from rural areas, right? So they didn't really have any say in what the organizing would look like. So it happened very, organically, very decentralized. So there was a call for people to show up at Maitighar which has been a popular protest space in Nepal, for a very long time. And it was like at the, at the center of Kathmandu. So there was a call out september 8. A lot of folks came out, and then people from outside Kathmandu that couldn't make it to Kathmandu started coming in big numbers. And the goal of the protest was peaceful protest, right? [00:14:00] And one of the things that happened, don't quote me on this, but my understanding of it from, talking to people there is, like, a lot of political parties who had, who were the opposition from the Communist Party at that time started infiltrating the protest, and the protest started becoming, quote-unquote, “violent,”, which was not, uh, what the young people wanted. So fast-forward, that led to 19 deaths on the first day of the protest, which led to the home minister resigning, at the end of the day. But Oli, the prime minister, is so arrogant and really didn't figure out the power of young people and, like, how they could keep mobilizing and organizing. He decided to just downplay them and say, “I'm not resigning,” which led to more heightened escalated protests the second day, where people started marching to the parliament buildings and started burning down buildings. And people started, people got to a lot of, like, the political parties' political party leader home and started burning them, and, really started, holding them accountable. And also , there was videos of clips of, like, people torching into people's homes and, like, [00:15:00] Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been in power for the last 20 years in different, ways, who's one of the, considered one of the most corrupt leader in Nepal, from Nepali Congress party, got attacked by the protesters. So fast-forward, more escalation led to, like, 52 more deaths, and the Oli party finally decided to resign at the end of that night, and that's, that's when curfew was impo- imposed by, the army. So that led to, like, a total of 72 deaths. I wanna name, like, in just the two days of mobilization, two days of organizing, because sometimes in the left we don't understand. We talk about the similarities of our struggles but we don't really talk about the conditions that led to it and, like, the level for the risk that our folks leveraged, to be able to topple the government, right? So I just wanna name that out loud and honor that part of, like, how the, how people, like, really leveraged risk. And then fast-forward, people started organizing. The conversation kept going on on Discord, and then there was, like, a town hall style meetings happening on Discord where, like, I think 7 to 8,000 people were on it. And also I still wanna name again, the people who didn't have access to the internet and [00:16:00] phones were not able to part- participate in that. And decided Susila Karki, who was a chief justice 10 years ago, a woman, who also joined protesters during the first day of them mobilizing in the street. They decided, they voted, to hold her as the interim prime minister for now. And There was also one other layer is like a lot of people wanted Balen Sah, who is our prime minister now, but constitutionally if he was part of the interim government, he wouldn't be able to run for prime minister. So that was like a strategic decision that, uh, like he made, and the movement made around not electing him as part of the interim government. So one of the big responsibilities of the interim government was to hold elections in six months, which honestly I was not very-  Cayden: That's hugely ambitious. Samir: It is hugely ambitious, right? And also the reality is it happened, and also there are questions around, yeah, were we able to hold elections in a way where everybody had access to it, right? And that is a big question that I'm still asking, I'm still sitting with. But there were like record numbers that showed up to the polls, but [00:17:00] we haven't really, like we still really don't have answers around what accessibility looked like for people to show up at the polls. And fast-forward now, the Rastriya Swatantra Party which emerged at like a, at a very popular party in 2022, won with majority. And we just sworn in our new Prime Minister Balen Sah yesterday, we can talk about more later. Cayden: Well, thank you for summing up, both of you for summing up- Pretty long, complex histories fairly quickly for us. I've been thinking about the way that, like, Western media largely reports on these kinds of uprisings as if they come out of nowhere. And, like, we know as movement people that rarely, if ever, like, do they truly come out of nowhere. So, like, yeah, I wanna dig into what the longer arc of these stories really is. And I, I really wanna talk about, I guess, like, the specific texture in both Bangladesh and Nepal about how these protest movements position themselves against the government, against, like, other social forces, and, like, how kind of, like, other social phenomena acted on and shaped [00:18:00] these movements as well. Sharmin: I love that question 'cause it allows us to see, like, also the rich history of our, like, respective areas, and how much, like, young people have always been at the forefront of so many revolutionary struggles. And we often, um, you know, uh, post social media era like to make generalizations that this never existed before. But actually, you know, in Bangladesh, students are the most incredibly organized force that has shaped much of our history since 1947. The 1969 uprisings against Ayub Khan, the 1971 Liberation War, and then the , 1987 protests against the military dictator Ershad. And then later, our return to democratic governance in 1990 and the road safety protests of 2018, which actually laid the groundwork for so much of the student, frustration with the government not being able to keep students safe because of road safety issues and [00:19:00] just, the general mismanagement of transportation and, public resources. And so the campus has always been a key space for the pulse of the nation. But it's also a key space for goons and vigilante groups to organize their forces. So the Bangladesh Awami League has their faction, the Chhatra League, and then there's, you know, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is the right-wing Islamist group of Bangladesh that has been growing, has their faction, the Chhatra Shibir. And then the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which, you know, has been in opposition to the Awami League, also has their goons on campuses. And so one of the major, trends you'll see during these moments is how these factions are actually weaponized to make sure that the violent state apparatus is deployed within public spaces. And, you know, you asked about, like, missteps and some of the things that political formations, might forget to plan for or think [00:20:00] about. And, you know, one of the things that I, I'm sure Samir can relate a little bit is, like, a lot of these student organizations, you know, students against discrimination, there was a group of men who claimed leadership of the student movement and formed, a party, the National Citizens Party. And you notice quickly the contradictions of their formation. All the women leaders were either asked to leave or they left because of what an undemocratic, unfeminist space it was. And then you noticed quickly that the National Citizen Party started allying itself with the right-wing forces to gain a populist base. And that, to me, is the, one of the biggest contradictions of what do leftists do when we gain power? And also, like, the sober conversation is, are these leaders leftists? Or did-  Cayden: Yeah, were they ever? Were they ever?  Sharmin: Or did we project our leftist dreams onto them and I think one of the things that [00:21:00] we've been doing for many generations, and I think Vincent Bevins' work really synopsizes this well, in looking at the last decade of popular uprisings, is that we've been doing politics without ideology, right? Mm-hmm. That these political for- formations actually don't have a coherent theory of change when they're contesting for power. And so you notice quickly the National Citizens Party was very reactionary, and it was very anti-fascist by, their vernacular, but what anti-fascism meant was that we hate the Awami League, we're gonna ban the Awami League, and the Awami League is no longer going to exist. And then we're- Yes … gonna fight for Sheikh Hasina to be hanged, right? And so that became their populist slogan.  Cayden: Hmm.  Sharmin: And so, you know, there is no left force in Bangladesh, and that's something that we have to name, that for sure there are garment workers that are organizing a party. There's a communist league that does not actually grow in their base. Um- Hmm … and that is why coming out of [00:22:00] the July uprisings, you notice this leadership actually turned center right really fast because they didn't have a, a vision that was rooted in economic and political struggles of the working-class students who made up majority of the base of people that were on the streets. Um, and you know, it was surprising, Cayden, I'll just say, like, after the, the NCP was getting ready for elections that just happened this past February, they joined a coalition with the largest Islamist force of Bangladesh, and this is such a misstep, right? To join forces. W- your enemy of your enemy is not your friend, right? Like, wh- where, like, where, when has that gotten us anywhere? It falls into the traps of organizing without a clear, coherent ideology, and then the post-uprising impact is weakened. And so a lot of that groundwork of, like, theoretical work, we actually have to do that to be able to be ready for fights that take power in the way that [00:23:00] feel, restorative and generative, instead of what we're seeing now, which is a populist right-wing growth in Bangladesh. Cayden: That feels like such an important lesson that we need to learn, unfortunately, over and over again, and I feel like this theme of, the enemy of my enemy is sometimes still my enemy has been coming up on this show a lot lately. That like, it, I, uh, you know, we see it happening in our movement politics here too, especially in, in this sort of moment of authoritarian retrenchment in our own government, that like, there are, there are challenges around that, and there's like ways that I think, yeah, it makes sense that it feels good in the moment to be like, “Yeah, there's more of us than there are of them.” But it's like, well, who, who are us? Like, what is the us that we're talking about? Samir, I will pass it to you to talk about, I guess, some of the texture that we should know about the protest movement in Nepal, and like what are the ways that, other social forces also outside the state have shaped the way that the protests have played out there. Samir: I was listening to Sharmin, and I was like, “Oh, there's so many similarities,” [00:24:00] like in a lot of the political forces that led our movements and also like talking about K.P. Oli, there's so many similarities of like how they were the face of the movement. And as somebody who really admired K.P. Oli because, you know, he was part of the social movement left. He was part of , like the first people's movement struggles, uh, that happened in the '90s that got rid of absolute monarchy. He was the face of the Communist Party. He did take up arms, right? So all of the tools that our revolutionary histories have used to, find liberation, right? So he used a diversity of tactics. Like, he started as somebody who believed in picking up arms. And then he led a people's movement in the '90s of, like with other political parties to get rid of the Panchayat system, which was a system of absolute monarchy and where all the political parties were dissolved right by the king from the 1960 to 1990, right? But one of the big things that I think we didn't think about when our movements were being led, when our movement ancestors were organizing and like really thinking about is like what does identity mean for our movements. There's political forces, [00:25:00] the social movement parties that are leading our people and organizing our people, and they did the organizing that happened in Nepal, the door-to-door, the base building that happened, if that was done by political parties, right? Which is true, and we need to name that layer, too. And I think one of the things that we're missing in this moment right now is we have been so, so frustrated by the last 20 years of governance by these forces. We wanna forget the political history of how we got here, right? Mm-hmm. And that has been one of my big critique of the young people in Nepal, right? And for me, I also think about as somebody who's getting older and also had access to my dad who was part of this movement, right? He was a big force as part of the Communist Party, and now he's heavily traumatized because of the way he got betrayed by his comrades, right? And I think one of the forces I was talking about identity is, like, all of these political forces were led by upper caste Brahmin men, and there was no indigenous representation. So finally, the 1990, we were able to get rid of absolute [00:26:00] monarchy. By '96, we still don't have full democracy in Nepal, so, you know, the Maoists decided to wage a civil war where they really organized the masses, and really created conditions for the monarchy, to bow down, right? And the Maoist party came out of this forest and, like, built a coalition with the Communist Party and the Congress Party to take the streets again. In 2006, we finally were able to get rid of monarchy, but 2006 to 2014 was a struggle to, like, really, draft a new constitution for us, where we made some progress and where we also did some things where it took us back around, like, women's rights, right? And so there was a big feminist movement that really created, like, organizing conditions of 2026 in so many ways, right? And one of the things that we were seeing during the last 20 years is what's happening is all the communist parties, the people who led our movements and uprisings were veering towards the right, right? Hmm. Because they consolidated more power, like, you know, exactly what happened with, uh, Bangladesh. They consolidated more power where, you know, they could stay in power [00:27:00] for long. The indigenous folks were part of the struggles and the uprisings in the 100 years of our movement struggles. But once we won and they got, the Communist Party got into power, they started, like, pushing policies that would not benefit indigenous peoples, right? And then one of the big things that Nepal wanted is federalism in terms of, like, one of the big critiques of Nepal has been the government is so centralized in Kathmandu. Other people outside of Kathmandu really don't get to take part in politics. And, so federalism was one of the big things that we pushed for, right? At Indigenous Struggles, that is the one thing that we pushed for so that we can govern our homelands, and that was the one thing that Oli was, like, against too, and that was also one of the reasons why he started becoming less and less popular, right? But one of the things that's 2026 was, I think it's also really important to understand, is the 2026 uprisings were led by youth who I believe, I dare to say, didn't have, the full understanding, the political understanding of our political histories in that way. And there's this, like, disconnect in terms of, like… it's hard for me to bridge the 100 years of left in Nepal [00:28:00] and like, you know, this youth uprising that's happening in Nepal that has no connection because it's not an organized group, right? It's very decentralized. Right. It happened on Discord. And that is one of the big questions we have now is, like, how do we as young people, the young people who led this uprisings, how do they stay organized, right? And that is a big question we still don't, we don't have answers to, right? The movement histories and, you know, the last 20 years has been very traumatizing, but there's also so many lessons and so many beautiful things that happened during the organizing, right? So how do we make those connections? How do we ask those questions? How do we talk to this feminist group? How do we talk to, like, workers, right? We need to figure that out. And I think one of the big things, like Sharmin talked about too, is like the student protest student movements were a big part of how we got liberation in Nepal, and the student movements are like directly connected to political parties because they have the student wing. But that also doesn't mean they are not organized. Yes, they were organized, and they really figured it out, but they have gotten corrupt. There's goons there, there's only men there. [00:29:00] And, like, how do we really ask those questions as a movement now and start building on some of our social movement histories? And that is a big question. And I haven't heard anything, and I'm very curious what's gonna happen on that, and I've been sitting with that a lot, too.  Cayden: Yeah. No, I, I mean, I feel like thinking about the challenges in remembering and then sometimes, like, having movement history misremembered to us by people with motivations. I can see how in that way for these young people who are getting organized, who are, like, trying to figure out what they want from the government in the future . there's some real, delicate territory for them to negotiate around, like, understanding themselves in a lot of ways as political and historic actors, which is really interesting. Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org.  Cayden: One of the other trends that [00:30:00] I would love to talk about is this, sort Western media trend where, an uprising happens somewhere, a protest movement happens somewhere, and they're like, “Oh, there's an interim government. Great.” And then, like, in the US, we don't hear anymore the establishment of interim government is, first of all, deeply informed by the social movements and social forces that are already moving on the ground and also glosses over the way politics is done in a particular place. I'm wondering if there's stuff that you've noticed that has really been lost from the international media discourse about the politics of both Bangladesh and Nepal since the sort of student uprising moment. And if there's stuff that you've been seeing in the like, interim government moments that you're like, “Oh, this is something to watch out for.” Like, “This is something that we can draw some lessons from.”  Sharmin: Yeah. Well, in Bangladesh we had a United States favorite Nobel Laureate, you know, Muhammad Yunus- Mm-hmm as our interim government. And, and I think what's so fascinating is that, you know, he is the world's sweetheart because he created [00:31:00] this, like, you know, microfinancing program that is, a program that they say, you know, empowers the poor people. And, we know that in practice it actually did not reverse poverty, and it actually left millions of people in more debt, than, they or- originally were projected to gain. And so I think what's very fascinating about having such a pro-capitalist, figure that is, a sweetheart of empire, it spoke to his legacy in office, you know? During his time, he also signed one of the most devastating US-Bangladesh trade agreements with Trump- Hmm … which actually, further isolates China from the Bangladeshi trade market and, forces Bangladesh to do all of our trade deals with the US. And it's a non-binding agreement. And so it is, deeply unlawful and also devastating to the economy of this area of Southeast Asia that actually needs China as, an ally, as a country that has, contributed a lot to the development of [00:32:00] our, transportation systems and, so for us it- it's also about how much of this interim government was, you know, representing the interests of the global elite and what he was willing to do to be able to s- to, to squash, revolutionary energy within the country. The Women's Commission was one of the most powerful consolidation of feminist leaders under the interim government that were looking to reform land laws for women. And similar to what, Samir was saying, right? Women's rights just are the first thing that these governments throw under the bus and that- women's commission report that was looking to really examine land laws and inheritance laws and and the rights of women economically like actually triggered one of the largest anti-feminist rallies in the country's history- Wow … where millions, millions of Jamaat-e-Islami men and their supporters took the streets in [00:33:00] protest of women having rights. And that was something you did not see the Western media touch, even-  Cayden: No …  Sharmin: even though the Western media was, like, so excited for this revolution, right? You know, on the ground too, you have those people that are like, “This is a CIA-backed, like, uprising,” right? And then on the ground you see, like, oh yeah, people actually don't want to touch the complexities of this country because it is layered within, like, religious nationalisms- Mm-hmm ethnic nationalisms, and caste. And so in my experience, I would just say that people know very little of the political forces within this, greater West Asian political landscape and how it connects to US imperialism here and abroad, you know? Pakistan was once the CIA's closest ally in the Cold War, and they continue to be during the war on terror right now, right? Mm-hmm. The United States provided Pakistan with military, diplomatic, and economic support because a [00:34:00] pro-US military dictatorship in this region that was a staunch anti-communist ally created a buffer between the axis of the USSR, China. Cayden: Hmm.  Sharmin: And then I'll say at the same time, on the ground, there were dozens of reports of mobs that were attacking temples and Hindu leaders. Hindus are a minority in Bangladesh that have been historically, marginalized, and these contradictions were, were getting highlighted, right? Because that violence was eerily similar, right? The partition of South Asia- Yeah …  Cayden: excluded  Sharmin: Hindu-Muslim communalism, and there were tensions and divides that fell across class lines. And for Western and, hegemonic media outlets, this looked like, oh, the Muslims are attacking the Hindus again.  Samir: Right.  Sharmin: And so for me, like, the being able to reckon Islamophobia, communal violence, identity and class politics, but also the way nationalism operates in South Asia, it, it's a tricky dance [00:35:00] And I've been learning how to really convey this complex history because the country's, uh like, beautiful history of, like, using guerrilla warfare to defeat US-backed forces in the region, it also represents something different from its neighbors, India and Pakistan. Mm-hmm. And within that, you know, we have Bangladesh joining the PLO in Lebanon to fight on behalf of Palestinian liberation. We have the fact that the country's actually i- inception was based on a socialist vision, right? And it's now one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with the fast fashion garment industry that's also ravaged by climate crisis and mass displacement. And so for me, it always just comes back to anti-war and anti-imperialism, like all the nodes of my brain, because I'm like, “Here's this US global death-making machine and this defense industry that sells tear gas shells to my country and [00:36:00] sells Israeli surveillance technology to my country.” And then there's this Bangladesh trade agreement that Trump was able to wager during this vulnerable moment for our country and it's at the core of all the political and economic violence within my country. And so the neoliberalization of our campuses and what these students are facing is because of the war economy. And so, so I just, like, zoom out in those moments, and I'm like, “Oh, this, this feels very much so like Cold War politics and the aftermath.”  Cayden: Yeah, like the politics of the Cold War have just simply never left us. Like, they're still here, and it's like we've sort of swapped in China as the big bad in a lot of ways.  Sharmin: Right.  Cayden: Samir, I wonder if there's, stuff that you've been seeing about the interim government in Nepal that you think are worth our sort of examination as kind of like lessons that we can draw from what happens after the protest, and yeah, like how that has been part of the electoral moment also we're in in Nepal right now. Samir: Yeah, [00:37:00] well, the interim government was, what was it, about five months. I think we didn't really see a lot of work that happened from the interim government, but obviously one of the big wins of the interim government was they were successfully able to hold elections. And the Western media has only focused on Balen Saha, this, quote-unquote, “rapper,” this charismatic guy who is gonna, who's 35 years old and is gonna lead. And then like Sushila Karki, I mean, one of the big things that everybody is like, “Oh, she's the first woman prime minister of Nepal, and what does that mean for us?” And, you know, this identity politics of like, “Oh, we finally got a woman president.” And for us it's like when we talk about it, that's the only thing we see in the discourse. But the reality is she was also a woman prime minister in an interim government that she knew was gonna last for six months, right? And also one of the things that a lot of people don't think about and realize is like the youth really didn't know who she was. And I think that's one of the big things that Sarmin talked about too, is like how do our youth have the consciousness? And do we have a left, social movement left, that's actually supporting them to really understand, you know, the conditions [00:38:00] of our people and who we're electing and, like, how we're organizing and what that means for us, right? But one of the big popularities about her was, like, she was not a career, jurist as she was appointed, was a lawyer that was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009 by the Judicial Council, and she had this reputation of pushing back against some of the political parties and some of the establishments in that time. So that was, like, one of the big things that really lured our folks, there was this one interview of her that went really viral about how she talks about, you know, establishment parties and how she challenged, some of the status quo while she was… Because a lot of times what happens with some of these appointments are people who are loyal to the to the parties, right? That was the one big thing that really attracted a lot of our young folks, to mobilize around her being the prime minister. And it's just, like, a lot of unknowns around, like, we still don't know because with the older parties, it was very clear to us that the Communist Party was, like, more loyal to China, right? And the Congress party was more loyal to India. And then one of the things a lot that we don't see in the discourse even in left spaces, right? Even [00:39:00] in, like, media spaces is, more than US imperialism, India and China is also waging some form of imperialism in our homelands, right? And that we don't wanna name that layer because in the US, as, us being in the belly of the beast, our only responsibility is to fight US imperialism. And then for me, as somebody from the Global South, I understand that how that impacts our movement and how that is dangerous and harmful to our people in our, back in our homeland. Because China and India are bullying Nepal in a lot of different ways politically, right? Because nothing happens in Nepal without the consent of India and China, right? And India obviously has more power, and they're, like, fighting over that power in Nepal right now. And the other thing that I wanted to name is, I was hoping K.P. Oli, during our interim prime ministership, during that interim government, would be held accountable, which didn't happen. And we're not talking about that, right? And also she [Karki] had a lot of limitations, and we still are figuring out what, like, what kind of power she held, right? But the hope was for me was, like, that she would hold the people who were responsible for our people's deaths accountable during the six months she was there, which [00:40:00] really didn't happen and really moved. And that's one of the things that hasn't been talked about, and I think that was a big political opportunity for her to do some of that work to push K.P. Oli out of power because he, after doing all of this, was still able to contest the elections and lost really badly. But one of the things for me, the inspiration was, like, how Sheikh Hasina was pushed out of the country, right? Like, that was one of the hopes and dreams, and that didn't really happen, during this interim government.  Cayden: Hmm. That's interesting that there's, like, a possibility that he might be back. Well, I wanna turn a little bit to thinking about this history that's been unfolding and, like, what it is like to be observing, talking to comrades and loved ones as an organizer who's based here in the US as part of your diasporic community. One of the things I think a lot about is, like- When we talk about solidarity with people's movements internationally in the US, sometimes we forget that, like, people from those diasporas are our comrades. They are here. And that we have a lot to, [00:41:00] like, learn from them. What has it been like watching the sort of, like, social movements in Bangladesh and Nepal respectively, and what has it been like to have that consciousness as an organizer here in the US dealing with all of the political stuff that we've been dealing with here? Samir: I love that you asked that question, Cayden, and also, like, yes, I just wanna start with, like, this layer of like, oh, yes, we have comrades here who are from these diasporic communities who actually can inform us in this. And to add another layer to that, even with, with my, you know, my history of being born and raised in Nepal and, like, being connected to our movements there and, like, living here for the last 20 years now, right? That also creates another layer where I don't have access to everything, and that also creates a layer of, like, that I don't have to know everything, right? And I wish our left- Mm-hmm … Western left understood that layer sometimes because – In our movements, I'm gonna go be a little– I'm gonna little shit about our movements here, you know? Because one of the things that happens is, like, the romanticization of what's going on in our homelands without understanding, and this idea- Mm-hmm of, like-like, we have to know the answers to every… It's okay to not have answers. I think that's a big thing that I reflect on a lot as somebody here, [00:42:00] right? And also, the reality is I have access to my father, who is, for me, the only revolutionary that I know who was part of, like, social movements and who, like, really spent his whole life to the movement and is now still doing things after being betrayed by his party, right? So I think that's one of the big things. I think it's okay to know that. I think the second thing for me as somebody in the diaspora, it's my role in the diaspora. It's also what is my role in the diaspora to inform my comrades. If you're an upper-caste person, it is your responsibility to name that in the movement spaces that you hold and name that layer- Mm … and inform people about that layer. I think about that a lot. I sit up, I sit with that and reflect on that a lot, and that really informs the way I show up as somebody in the diaspora. And my responsibility, one of the things that we saw when all of this was happening you know, the movements, the social movement left was so fast, got into this train of, like, it's a Color Revolution [i.e., the revolution is backed by the US government/is a US-led intervention], as if our peoples don't have the capacity to organize. Yes, there was infiltrations. Yes, India was involved. But yes, there was also uprising where 70 people died, right? So just, bringing it down to, like, it's not really being complex and, like, [00:43:00] being nuance about that. And that really is harmful to our people back home, right? Because that, in that, when we're doing that, we're taking away, like, access from our people in terms of, like, how they are doing things. And also, like, really, I think invalidating the fact that our, the governments that was being oppressing against the uprisings are oppressive. So that just, like, invisibilizes, uh, what the state is doing, right? Because it is a Color Revolution, you know. The, it is not led by the people. We're, there was even sign, things like they said, like, “Oh, there were signs in English.” Like, can you just think about, you know, the, the orientalist, uh, you know-  Cayden: Yeah …  Samir: orientalist way that you are thinking even as somebody who considers yourself a social movement left. So that's, I think, one my, that, for me, that is a big responsibility. And- And that is where I can also make an impact as somebody in the diaspora. I am not on the ground, that is the reality of it, and knowing where I can make impact and how I can make impact, and knowing very clearly that I don't have all the answers, and I'm not– I'm an outsider in so many… I go back home every time I go home for a couple of months, the way I show up in these movement spaces [00:44:00] is I'm here to listen and I'm an outsider, and I'm trying to figure out how I can support you, right? And that is, for me, a role as a diasporic person, and I'm very clear on that. And I think it's also because I have access to my dad who grounds me in that, and it's like- Mm-hmm “Samir, you don't live here anymore.” He will remind me very clearly. He's like, “You don't live here anymore.” And you need to understand that, and that's okay.” And he will ground me in that, and that really helps me in terms of thinking of how I wanna show up as a diasporic person.  Cayden: Yeah. No, that's, that's really helpful, and I think that, like, this thing that you're describing about the sort of like in some ways, like, healthy, but in other ways sort of, like, overblown skepticism that US observers can have about uprisings, revolutions in other countries just because, like… The, the word that came to mind as you were describing it was, like, infantilizing, right? That it's, like, as if people can't independently form their own political opinions without the intervention of the, like, global superpower is just sort of, like, baffling to me. You hit on something that, like, I think about a lot [00:45:00] also as somebody who is, like, a generation removed from the immigrant generation in my family. I don't have a ton of relationships with my family who are in Hong Kong and China, but, like, how do I, like how do I relate to that? It's very challenging, and it's- and I, I think that there's so much in, like, US like left social movement discourse that I'm just kind of like, “I actually don't know how to relate to this as a diasporic person sometimes.” Sharmin, I'm also interested to hear from you on this.  Sharmin: Yeah. Yeah, similarly, I feel, I feel like there is this, like, uh, relationality that it's pushing people that are here to really think about more clearly. I feel like some of the early '70s through the '90s was a very, like, symbolic type of solidarity that we had- Mm-hmm where, where, you know, we would do the cultural attire, the cultural associations, you know, the melas, which are, like, big fairs that we have in these hubs of, like, immigrant communities. And now I think the politics are coming back. Like, I think after the July uprising, [00:46:00] you actually saw solidarity actions popping up across hubs in, you know, New York and California where people were like, “Actually, this impacts me and I wanna talk about what this means. I wanna talk about the cultural and political organizations that run this local community.” And one thing that I really took back from the last two visits to Bangladesh is really learning the skills of talking to somebody who disagrees with me because-  Cayden: Hmm …  Sharmin: I think in the United States the left does not practice, being able to engage, talk, even, like, be in relationship with people that might be politically opposed to you. And so when I go to Bangladesh, I'm actually surrounded by a lot of homophobes. I'm surrounded by a lot of men who, like, support the Awami League, and I've had to kind of, like, sit in this in between of being like, “Oh, yeah, like, I actually have to learn how to debate better. I have to learn how to, like, you know, be that person that's, like, holding humanity but also holding the, the critical left analysis that I, I believed in to be right because I [00:47:00] know I'm right.” Right? And I know that, like, this is a hill that's worth dying on. And I think with Mamdani's win in, in New York, like, there's so many examples of how that, like, South Asian left politic that's actually talking about class exists- Mm-hmm.  Cayden: Yeah …  Sharmin: within the geography of our communities. And, you know, especially for, you know, Samir and I are, like, the minority South Asians, so we're not the Indian upper caste. And so for us, we're like, “This has always been the reality of our people.” They are working-class organizers. They're people who know how to talk about the intricacies of domestic labor, about the unorganized labor forces, about the people that are left out of the political agenda of our government. And so for me, like, I really take some of the lessons that DRUM [ Desis Rising Up and Moving]  is doing on the ground in New York around what it means to actually build a member base that's rooted in relationship, but also towards a North Star. And that North Star, it looks a little socialist. It looks a little working class. It looks [00:48:00] very deeply rooted in a feminist, anti-oppressive politic. And I think for someone in diaspora, that's been the biggest growth area for me, where I'm like, “How do I hold this vision and not lose hope that my people are not, like, all right-wing people that are out to, like, you know, destroy me and my people?” But we are in this center-right populous moment that will require us to do cultural shift. It will require us to do that, like, slow work of tilling the land, like Ella Baker spade work. And you know, a comrade of mine, Nafiz, who's a brilliant writer at Jamhor, when I was talking to him about processing the February elections, he was just like, “You know, I actually think, like, I'm seeing a lot of possibility right now because I saw what happened to Egypt after Tahrir Square, and I saw where Egypt went and what a military dictatorship did to that country.” And he was like, “And Bangladesh, that's not what happened to us.” And, and he was like, “And this is important for us to really reckon with how… Not to [00:49:00] say, like, ‘Oh, it could be so much more worse,' but it could be so much more worse.” And we have to work within these, like, terrains in a way that's, like, really reckoning with why are people wanting to find comfort in these right-wing religious social groups, because they are the only organized groups of people that are providing shelter and food. And so unless the left fills that gap, we are gonna see right-wing populism, and we've seen it within white supremacy here, but it translates to every Global South country, from Brazil to, you know, um, obviously South Asia. And so yeah, I just am trying to be more, like, relative in that way, where I'm like-  Cayden: Hmm Sharmin: “Oh, we're a lot more relative than we think we are.”  Cayden: Yeah. That is such a good insight about, like, having to context switch Across geography, across political context, like builds a, like a really important muscle for us as organizers. This has been an absolutely fantastic [00:50:00] conversation and I've learned so much from both of you. My one sort of like, well I have two outgoing questions and they're sort of related to one another. One is thinking about like as a monolingual English speaker, as somebody who's like in the US, I think one of the things that I've often felt a challenge around is like where do I look to for news, for updates, and for analysis about what's going on in the Global South, especially for places where I have no cultural or language connection. And like when you're assessing news and information that's coming out about movement politics. What do you consider, what do you think about, what are the questions you ask yourself when you're like seeing headlines, kinda day-to-day that you think would be useful for other folks to start thinking about? Sharmin: Yeah. I, I really think about, like, multiple nationalisms right now, that there's, like, these competing forces of, like, who gets to tell the story. And I always, like to think about, like, how, uh, US [00:51:00] interests, Chinese interests, or even, like, Indian interests are determining the news landscape right now. And I don't like to think about it, but I, I've been looking at so much coverage that feels very much like, yikes, like what is going on, with our, like, news ecosystem? And unfortunately, I think we need to get back on Facebook. Like, I think that the fact that- … progressives and the left have left Facebook, like, I get it. Fuck Meta, and Facebook is the main place for so much like organizing. And we-  Cayden: Contest every space.  Sharmin: Get back on Facebook. Who cares if there are right-wing trolls on it? You we have to create alternative like information systems that are, like, really amplifying to these networks and groups of people that are getting inundated with that information. And I think we're really lucky because there's a lot of leftist South Asian publications now, Himal South Asian, Jumphore, you could become Patreon supporter and really be a part of these legacy, South Asian [00:52:00] left, thinkers that are actually thinking about, like, the long-term arc, and they, they're contending with socialism. They're contending with the communist, like, legacies of our organizations. And so, I just really appreciate that they're doing political analysis with politics and not just focusing on, like, symbolic forms of, like, political analysis. So shout-out to them and, and their hard work because yeah, they, they're English media that is getting translated for this day and age, you know? Cayden: Yeah. I… It was really exciting to me to, like, do a lot of the sort of, like, background for this conversation and find, like, English language movement media coming out of South Asia. I was like, “This is so exciting.” Like, this is… I feel like in some ways the thing that they're trying to do is, like they're kind of our comrades- Mm-hmm in a sense, right? Like, they're trying to do a similar thing to the thing that we're trying to do at Convergence, and I was like, “Ooh, this is really cool. Like, I'm bookmarking this.” Yeah. So I don't know. Samir, do you have, do you have other thoughts about, like, what things [00:53:00] US people should be thinking about as they're kind of assessing news and developments? Samir: Yeah, big ups Himal Magazine. I think that is a big source of information for me too. And also as somebody who struggles with reading Nepali now, which I'm very embarrassed of it's really hard for me to get access. to. I have to sit with my dad to, like, really go through some of the news articles, which, you know, my dad gracefully agrees. Uh, I think one of the big things is, like, I do benefit a lot from his free labor. I'll just name that on this podcast. But I think, and one of the things I would say is like- Thanks,  Cayden: dad …  Samir: really, like, figuring out, like, I don't know, like, pushing through the binary of, like, what US imperialism means for Nepal and what also there's, there could be other forms of imperialism that I named earlier, that Sharmin named too. And also right now, I think there's a lot of unknowns for us too, right? We have this party that was not part of the political establishment that came into picture in 2024. So we are still grappling with the idea of, like, what does this mean for us? Who are they gonna be loyal to, and how does, what does this mean for geopolitics in Nepal, right? So we are still sitting with that question. And there is some clarity around, I think one of the things I would say is there's a [00:54:00] lot of excitement, even in diaspora community, and my role in the diaspora also has been talking to some of my friends who are stoked about this prime minister right now because we haven't built a left that is informing them of the nuances and, like, how we can actually figure out the critique of this person, right? Because for me, I think it's really important the social movement left to understand because even my friend, my comrades are sending me, “Oh, this rapper is a prime minister now.” It's somebody that I trust a lot, right? Yeah. And I have to do the work of like, “Hey, this person has this history of governing in this way when he became the mayor of Kathmandu, where he was against poor people,” right? He did some changes, structural changes that helped, upper middle class people. And using that as a way to, like, really assess what he's gonna do for Nepal, and I'm actually skeptical, right? He is somebody from the Madhesi movement, which is a indigenous group that is very marginalized in Nepal, but he also comes from a very upper class background, right? And that's also real. We have to name that. His party's ideology is to push us away from federalism in some sense, right? And also the reality is they had a majority, they won a majority because we didn't have a social movement left outside of political parties that would help us assess him, right? [00:55:00] So that's, I think that's the question. Those are some of the questions I would love people to ask, because I am asking those questions as somebody who is from Nepal and from the diaspora, and I check myself every time. And yeah, I will end it with, like, it's okay to not have all the answers, and just, yeah, do some of that work of, like, reflecting on, like, asking yourself how you are taking in some of the information that you're seeing. And obviously, Himal Magazine is a big source, and one of the Substacks that I would highly recommend too is, I think we could put it in the links later, it's called Kalam Weekly, which is on Substack. I have some critiques of their writing too, but that's really been helping me understand what's going on in Nepal right now.  Cayden: You both have been so incredibly generous with your time, and this has been such a rich conversation. I don't know if there are places also where if our listeners want to follow your work, I don't know, if there's organizations or places where you are publishing thoughts, either your own or organizationally that you wanna share. Sharmin, is there any place people can find you online? Sharmin: Yeah, for sure. We're building the Asian American left at 18 Million Rising, so you could follow us there, and I'm @sharminultra [00:56:00] on all social media.  Cayden: And Samir, is there a place people can find you?  Samir: Uh, yeah, I am a very quiet person. Uh, but direct action has been a big part of our struggles in the last few years, and we are really thinking about, like, how we can escalate strategically, so I am part of a network of direct action trainers called the Ruckus Society. Hit us up. We do trainings, go to our website, request a training if you need any direct action support. We love nerding out on action design and thinking about action curriculum and how we train our people to do action safely. And follow Ruckus Society, and I don't really have a social that's public, so…  Cayden: that's so fair. I respect your choice not to be perceived.  Samir: I mean, also, I'm not Sharmin, I feel I learn from her so much, from Sharmin, so I just wanna name that, and also just from how I- And  Sharmin: we're friends. Like, we, we've done direct actions together. Like, we've been arrested together. Like-  Cayden: Yeah. …  Sharmin: we're comrades, so it's just so fun to be able to talk about this- Well, I really-  Cayden: Yeah …  Yeah. Thanks again, Sharmin, Samir. Absolutely a pleasure to talk, and I'm, I'm sure we'll talk again soon.  Sharmin: Talk soon. [00:57:00] Thank you, guys.  Samir:

India-Bangladesh ties had soured under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government after the fall of the Hasina regime. Both have been trying to normalise ties ever since. Watch more on this with Deep Halder, Author and Columnist at ThePrint:   

A version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-drones-are-the-new-tanks-time-for-india-to-catch-up-13998019.htmlThe most important lesson (of many) from Gulf War 3 may have been foreshadowed by the Ukraine War and other conflicts: that a combination of a step-change in warfare (military strategy) and disruptive innovation (business strategy) could rewrite the rules. If so, we may need to rethink the value of much expensive hardware. Moreover, nations such as India may need to seriously revamp their arms procurement: to small, cheap, local maybe?The most disturbing aspect of this scenario is that it reduces the human factor, and human control, over warfare. It leads to the specter of robot warfare, of Skynet, of 2001: A Space Odyssey, where autonomous intelligences may take rational decisions that have grave consequences for humans, inflicting collateral damage on innocent bystanders in ways that nobody quite understands. We need a real-life version of Isaac Asimov's “Three Laws of Robotics”. But then humans too inflict unthinking collateral damage..Step-change in warfare, and disruptive innovationThere have been numerous instances where a settled and standardized war tactic was suddenly overturned by a new invention, rendering old military assets impotent. One or two examples will suffice: one was the eclipse of heavy cavalry after the invention of massed archers using longbow volleys to mow them down with thousands of synchronized arrows raining down, also inducing panic in their horses in mid-charge.Another example is how battle tanks overwhelmed the previous model of trench warfare. (Ironically, in turn, tanks are now being rendered sitting ducks by drones.)In both cases, long-held assumptions had to be rewritten practically overnight, and entirely new mechanisms had to be put in place. It is a good question (on which reasonable people may differ) as to whether the arrival of drone-and-missile-based warfare is rendering air power, including fighters, bombers and aircraft carriers, essentially obsolescent.Clayton Christensen articulated the theory of disruptive innovation in business, where an entrenched incumbent can be overthrown in short order by an insurgent attacking them from an unexpected direction, often based on lower-cost options. One example is that of Kodak and the film-camera business. Cheap and convenient digital photography dislocated Kodak et al practically overnight.I personally experienced this disruption in the 1990s when I had a key role in operating system strategy for Sun Microsystems, the runaway leader in engineering workstations and servers, which used the Unix operating system. Despite our best efforts, Microsoft+Intel coming in from the low end (as Windows systems became more capable) rapidly captured the key resource, which is third-party software vendors. This caused end users to desert in droves.There were other reasons, too: internecine warfare among firms using Unix, such as IBM, HP, Sun, AT&T, Toshiba, et al. While they bickered, Windows systems became more powerful. Lesson: the ecosystem has to be managed carefully, including supply chains.Putting these three together (step-change, disruptive innovation, and the ground realities of the Gulf War 3) one can speculate that future military doctrine will be vastly different. Here is Iran's military doctrine, for reference, from the substack NotesonGeopolitics (Disclaimer: I am neither endorsing it or criticizing it, just offering it as an example).The US is adjusting to this reality. There is a book titled “Project Maven”, based on 200+ interviews chronicling the US military's shift to AI-driven warfare, starting with a 2017 Pentagon project to automate drone footage analysis amid overwhelming data volumes.Project Maven evolved from error-prone early tools (such as misidentifying school buses as threats) to supporting autonomous systems like Goalkeeper drones and Whiplash naval units, now used in conflicts from Ukraine to the Caribbean by 25,000 personnel across 32 companies.Speaking of disruptive innovation, it is ironic to see the US reverse-engineering Iranian Shahed drones, and the Russians doing the same to Ukrainian drones: incumbents learning from insurgents.This is only the beginning, of course. There is a nightmare scenario: murmurating, autonomous drone swarms with a hive mind. A flock of starlings flying in perfect synchrony is a thing of beauty: they do not collide with each other, the entire swarm changes direction instantaneously, and there is emergent intelligence in the swarm, much greater than the intelligence of the individual bird. The same is true of beehives and ant colonies, too.A company called ShieldAI in fact has a product named Hivemind that does precisely this.Imagine a murmurating drone swarm of 1,000 or even 10,000: and since they cost so little make, this is not unrealistic. The enemy may shoot down 90% of them, but the 10% that gets through, especially if they are kamikaze drones fitted with explosives, can cause real damage. There is the old joke about quantity: “What do you do when you invade China? First day, you take 10,000 prisoners. Second day, you take 100,000 prisoners. Third day, you surrender!”But we don't have to go that far: just take two instances where inexpensive drones were able to penetrate the defenses of heavily secured military airports. The first was in Russia in June 2025. Using 117 low-cost drones, Ukrainians struck several airbases at once. There is video footage of FPV drones landing on Tu-95 bombers, destroying them. These are strategic long-range nuclear bombers from the Cold War era, and will be difficult to replace.And then, just last month: at Barksdale Air Force Base in the US, where B-52 nuclear bombers are deployed, there were repeated drone swarm overflights (of 12-15 drones) between March 9th and March 15th, 2026. They couldn't be jammed, and displayed “non-commercial signal characteristics”, although they did not actually attack the planes. Reconnaissance, it must be assumed. Superpower militaries are unable to contain them.Electronic warfare like jamming may be ineffective anyway as swarms self-repair. But it is true that there are air defense weapons that can shoot down the majority of drones. There are interceptors (but they are much more expensive than the drones themselves). Then new Directed Energy Weapons (including both lasers and high-powered microwaves) are in development. Rail guns, I understand, are overkill for them.Where is India in this arms race?India finds itself left behind in this transition, and remains committed to legacy platforms such as tanks, fighters, and other imported systems. It is true that there were battlefield successes in Operation Sindoor, where X-25 drones (towed on a 100 meter optical cable) emitted the radar signatures of Rafale fighter jets, thus drawing enemy missiles to themselves, without harming the planes. But these were Israeli products; also British-origin Banshee drones were used for spoofing Su-31 and Mig-29 signatures..Indigenous drone efforts lag China by 3-5 years in scale, AI integration, and mass production; reliance on Chinese components persists despite bans. It does not have to be this way: India should create Production Linked Incentives for drones and missiles, and harness Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at scale.India needs to promote this as a cottage industry, so that many individuals will get involved, as in the following post by a Ukrainian drone-maker, with a hashtag #MadebyHousewives. That country produces as many as 4.5 million cheap drones a year, often using 3d printing.While Ukraine and Iran improvise hive-mind swarms under fire, India's northeast and border regions face asymmetric threats from low-cost systems. The recent mercenary scandal in the Northeast illustrates the peril. Mercenaries, the Northeast and a new Christian enclave?The March 2026 arrests by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) expose how this drone proliferation directly endangers the Seven Sisters. Six Ukrainians and American mercenary Matthew Aaron Van Dyke were detained across Indian airports. They had repeatedly crossed from restricted Mizoram into Myanmar since 2024, training ethnic insurgent groups in drone assembly, operation, jamming, and electronic warfare.They smuggled European drone consignments through India for insurgent networks, some linked to proscribed Indian groups operating in the northeast. This is no abstract threat: drones enable precision strikes on security forces, surveillance of remote terrain, and supply drops. These capabilities could ignite or sustain insurgencies in India's volatile borderlands.In the background is former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's explosive 2024 warning. Hasina alleged a “white man's” conspiracy to carve out a new “Christian nation” (akin to East Timor or South Sudan) from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, Myanmar's Rakhine and Chin regions, and India's Northeast. She cited foreign eyes on the Bay of Bengal and ethnic fault lines.Hasina's claim was dismissed as paranoia then; today, Ukrainian-American actors arming Myanmar's rebel groups lend credence to a broader destabilization playbook. A hive-mind-enabled drone campaign could empower separatists and create a Christian-majority enclave, exploiting Christian tribal demographics and porous borders. This is hybrid warfare at its most insidious: mercenaries as force multipliers for great-power proxies.If these insurgents can leverage drone swarms to close the Siliguri Corridor or target regional infrastructure, they can create a fait accompli on the ground for India.ConclusionThe drone-missile age demands urgent adaptation. Nations must invest in AI swarm doctrine, resilient EW, decentralized deployment, and indigenous mass production ecosystems. For India, the wake-up call is clear: clinging to legacy investments while insurgents import hive-mind precursors risks not just military irrelevance but territorial integrity. The Tu-95 pyres and B-52 overflights are warnings. The northeast drone pipeline is a direct threat. Warfare has changed; those who fail to swarm will be overrun.Here is the AI-generated audio podcast about this essay:1570 words, Apr 3, 2026 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

What Awami League needs now is not an answer to who will succeed Hasina or even a debate on whether Hasina should return to Bangladesh, but a new leadership on the ground.. Watch Author & ThePrint Columnist Deep Halder explain:   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   To Read: https://theprint.in/opinion/awami-league-desperately-needs-new-leadership-its-looking-for-it-in-wrong-places/2879667/

For decades, Bangladesh has long oscillated between competitive democracy and dominant-party rule. In 2024, mass protests brought an abrupt end to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's long tenure in power, opening the door to Bangladesh's most consequential election in more than a decade—one that returned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power and reshaped the country's political landscape. With Hasina's fall and a new government in office, the country once again stands at a crossroads—testing whether institutional reform and electoral competition can deliver lasting democratic stability. To talk about the new political era in Bangladesh, Milan is joined on the show this week by Naomi Hossain. Naomi is Global Research Professor with the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. She has researched extensively across Bangladesh and has managed large international studies spanning 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Naomi is the author of the acclaimed 2017 book, The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success. Naomi and Milan discuss the abrupt end to Hasina's fifteen-year rule, the performance of the interim government under Muhammad Yunus, and the prospects for new prime minister Tarique Rahman. Plus, the two discuss the country's immense economic challenges and the role of the military. Episode notes: Naomi Hossain, “Ali Riaz's Big Bet,” Counterpoint, January 19, 2026. Naomi Hossain, “Dhaka pre-election diary (pt 1, possibly, of 2),” Substack, January 6-19, 2026. “How India Lost the Neighborhood (with Muhib Rahman),” Grand Tamasha, February 11, 2026. “Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution (with Neil DeVotta),” Grand Tamasha, January 25, 2025.

Local media declares the BNP winner of Bangladesh's first election since the ousting of Hasina, the U.S. House votes to disapprove of Trump's Canada tariffs, Kim Jong Un's daughter is reportedly named his successor-designate, the White House announces the end of ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Switzerland schedules a vote on capping the population at 10 million, the U.S. House passes a Trump-backed bill to create new voting rules, a principal dies after being shot during a school siege in Thailand, a Ukrainian athlete is disqualified from the Winter Olympics for refusing not to wear a helmet deemed to violate rules on political expression, a study links reading and writing to a 38% decreased risk of Alzheimer's, and Gallup ends its 90-year tradition of publishing presidential polls. Sources: Verity.News

Die US-Regierung wendet sich gänzlich vom Klimaschutz ab. Sie stimmt der wissenschaftlich weltweit anerkannten Einschätzung nicht mehr zu, dass Treibhausgase dem Klima schaden. Eine Entscheidung, die möglicherweise weitreichende Konsequenzen hat. Ausserdem: Bei der ersten Parlamentswahl in Bangladesch hat sich die Nationalistische Partei von Tarique Rahman zur Siegerin erklärt. Es war die erste Wahl nach dem Fall von Regierungschefin Sheikh Hasina vor anderthalb Jahren. Hasina hatte das muslimische Land zunehmend autoritär regiert.

Bangladesh has held its first elections since a student revolution deposed autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina in 2024. Hasina's main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is now projected to win. Yet the biggest development is the resurgence of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, which was banned under Hasina. Minorities targeted in recent mob violence and some women now fear for their rights. FRANCE 24's Navodita Kumari, Alban Alvarez and Muktadir Rashid report. 

Will Thursday's elections be a watershed moment for Bangladesh? Millions of people are expected to cast ballots in the first polls since long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina was removed in 2024. But can the vote spark a real political transition for the country's democracy? In this episode: Ashikur Rahman, principal economist at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh Prapti Taposhi, activist and a first-time voter Thomas Kean, senior consultant for Myanmar and Bangladesh at the International Crisis Group Host: James Bays Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the fatal shooting of a protester by border control agents triggered mass demonstrations and presented the Trump administration with an unexpected test of its immigration strategy. Footage captured by onlookers has undercut official statements and intensified questions about the level of force and use of high-tech tools being used to crack down on dissent. Contributors: Julie Millican – Vice president, Media Matters Qasim Rashid – Human Rights lawyer and founder, Let's Address This Naureen Shah – Director of government affairs, ACLU Prem Thakkar – Reporter, Zeteo News On our radar Just days after ownership of TikTok in the US changed hands, with several of the investors linked to President Trump, users reported widespread censorship of content critical of the administration and its allies. Tariq Nafi reports on the allegations, the tech backlash and the rise of rival platforms. Bangladesh's election and the media under threat Bangladesh's first post-Hasina elections are approaching amid deep political turbulence and growing fear within the country. After major newsrooms were attacked and journalists targeted by disinformation-driven violence, the country's media finds itself on the front line of a volatile transition. Mahfuz Anam, the editor of a large English daily, tells us what that's like. Featuring: Mahfuz Anam – Editor, Daily Star

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on a new era for Bangladesh as it heads towards February elections following the ouster of the country's prime minister.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on the sentencing of a British politician and her aunt, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in a corruption trial in the capital Dhaka.

Il tribunale speciale di Dhaka ha condannato a morte l'ex leader del Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina per il suo ruolo nell'uccisione di migliaia di manifestanti durante la rivolta di luglio 2024. La storia di Sheik Hasina è una storia di indubitabile passione politica, lacerata dal senso di vendetta, una tragedia shakespeariana ambientata in Bangladesh: è la storia di Hasina, contro, Hasina. I contributi audio della puntata sono tratti da: Cheers in Bangladesh court as former PM Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death, Al Jazeera, 17 novembre 2025; Bangladesh Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina Reacts After Death Sentence Verdict, Firstpost, 17 novembre 2025; On March 25,1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of Bangladesh's independence, canale Youtube Bangladesh-বাংলাদেশ, 22 marzo 2025; ২৫ মার্চ রাতের গণহত্যার বর্ণনা, canale Youtube Filmatic, 25 marzo 2022; Grenade Thrown on Shaikh Hasina, canale Youtube NewsofMozammel, 26 gennaio 2012; Sheikh Hasina's Arrest Reaction at House of Lords, canale Youtube Tanvir Ahmed, 19 luglio 2007, Inside Bangladesh's secret prisons hidden in plain sight , Bbc, 16 aprile 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

VOV1 - Một tòa án đặc biệt tại Bangladesh ngày 27/11 đã tuyên phạt cựu Thủ tướng nước này Sheikh Hasina tổng cộng 21 năm tù giam trong ba vụ án tham nhũng liên quan đến đất đai. Như vậy, chỉ trong vòng chưa đầy 2 tuần, bà Hasina đã phải nhận 2 án phạt khác nhau.Cựu Thủ tướng Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina  (Ảnh: Reuters)

In this episode, host Ray Powell sits down with Dr. Lailufar Yasmin, a renowned political scientist at the University of Dhaka, to unpack Bangladesh's dramatic recent political crisis and explore why what happens in this densely populated South Asian nation matters to the broader Indo-Pacific regional stability.Recorded just one day after Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity--this conversation provides crucial context for understanding a nation in transition. Powell and Dr. Yasmin discuss the uprising that toppled Hasina's government, the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and the geopolitical implications for great power competition in South Asia.Dr. Yasmin explains how the July 2024 student protests escalated into a nationwide uprising after Hasina's government responded with lethal force, killing over 1,400 protesters. The movement, known as the "July Uprising," ultimately forced Hasina to flee to India on August 5, 2024, ending her 15-year authoritarian rule. The conversation explores how Hasina transformed from a democracy icon into an increasingly autocratic leader who rigged elections, suppressed opposition, and dismantled democratic institutions.The episode delves into the "July Charter," a reform blueprint calling for constitutional changes including a bicameral parliament, proportional representation, prime ministerial term limits, and restoration of the caretaker government system. Dr. Yasmin discusses the upcoming February 2026 referendum and elections, explaining the challenges of ensuring credible democratic transition amid deep political divisions, the banning of the Awami League political party, and security concerns.The conversation reveals how India's strong historical support for Hasina and the Awami League—rooted in India's assistance during Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence—has created tension following her ouster. Dr. Yasmin describes India's initial disinformation campaigns falsely blaming Pakistani intelligence for the uprising, and how the interim government's engagement with China has also caused concern in New Delhi. She argues that Bangladesh must pursue an independent foreign policy that serves its national interests rather than simply accommodating regional powers.The discussion also provides essential historical context, tracing Bangladesh's origins from the 1971 Liberation War when East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) fought for independence from West Pakistan, resulting in genocide that killed an estimated three million people. Dr. Yasmin explains how this history continues to shape contemporary politics, including emotional debates over justice and national identity.Dr. Yasmin also addresses the selection of Muhammad Yunus as interim leader, describing how the Nobel Peace Prize winner's global credibility and pioneering work in microcredit made him an acceptable figure to unite a divided nation. She discusses both the promise and challenges of his leadership, including concerns about whether the interim government can remain truly neutral given that many of its coordinators are former student protesters.Dr. Yasmin challenges Western misconceptions about Bangladesh, emphasizing the nation's resilience, innovation in climate adaptation, economic progress, and warm hospitality.

The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh has handed a death sentence to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The tribunal found her guilty of crimes against humanity. It convicted held her of ordering the killing of anti-government protesters between June and August 2024. Sheikh Hasina fled to Delhi last year when her government fell. She has lived in exile ever since. But now she is a wanted criminal in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government wants India to extradite her. Will India agree to do so? Does this mark the end of Hasina's political career? With national elections due in February, what does this tribunal verdict mean for domestic politics in Bangladesh? What does it mean for the future of Awami League, the party Hasina leads?  Guest: Kallol Bhattacherjee from The Hindu's Delhi bureau. Host: G. Sampath Recorded by Aniket Singh Chauhan Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity committed during a violent crackdown in 2024. Amid an unstable political landscape, will Hasina’s sentencing be a step forward for Bangladesh, or will it spark more unrest in the country? In this episode: Ahmede Hussain, Editor, The Delta Gram Episode credits: This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Farhan Rafid and Tracie Hunte with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Diana Ferrero, Fatima Shafiq, Sarí El-Khalili, and our host, Manuel Rápalo. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz and Kylene Kiang. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

La ex primera ministra de Bangladesh Sheij Hasina ha sido condenada a la pena de muerte por crímenes contra la humanidad cometidos durante la cruenta represión de las protestas de julio y agosto de 2024, que costó la vida a 1.400 personas. Hablamos con Rubén Campos, director de programas de Club de Madrid y especialista en Asia.Escuchar audio

Trump, Epstein belgelerine dair tutum değiştirdi ve dosyaların yayımlanması yönünde oy kullanma çağrısı yaptı. Bangladeş'te eski Başbakan Şeyh Hasina idam cezasına çarptırıldı.Bu bölüm AstraZeneca hakkında reklam içermektedir. AstraZeneca Türkiye Türk Tıbbi Onkoloji Derneği işbirliği ile hayata geçirdiği “Belirti Yoksa da Yok Sayma” farkındalık kampanyasıyla akciğer kanserinde erken tanının önemine dikkat çekiyor. Kampanya filmini buradan izleyebilirsiniz.

Bangladesh's ousted leader Sheikh Hasina is sentenced to death, The U.K. extends its asylum-settlement wait period to 20 years, The U.S. designates a Venezuelan cartel as a terrorist organization, Iran allegedly halts uranium enrichment and says it will negotiate only if treated with “dignity and respect,” The DR Congo and M23 rebels sign a peace framework in Qatar, Donald Trump urges Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files, 45 Indian pilgrims are killed in a bus-tanker crash in Saudi Arabia, Over 120 people are injured in Gen Z–led protests in Mexico, Jeff Bezos reportedly launches a new AI startup, Michelle Obama says the United States is not ready for a woman president, and a DNA analysis of Hitler's blood reveals genetic disorders. Sources: www.verity.news

(11.10.2025-11.17.2025) More boat watch. Tune in.#applepodcasts⁠ ⁠#spotifypodcasts⁠ ⁠#youtube #amazon⁠ ⁠#patreon⁠patreon.com/isaiahnews

Bangladesh has entered its most tense political phase in decades after a special tribunal sentenced former prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death. Exiled in India, Hasina has rejected the ruling, calling it unlawful and politically motivated, as protests erupt and party loyalists vow resistance. Analysts say her exile in India leaves a leadership vacuum ahead of elections. It remains to be seen whether the crisis now moves toward diplomacy or spirals into further violence.

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 137-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 27,310 on turnover of $7.7-billion N-T. Shares in Taiwan ended slightly higher Monday after profit-taking eroded most of the initial gains amid lingering concerns over stretched artificial intelligence stocks at home and abroad. Analysts say the market was initially led by the electronics sector as investors took cues from a rebound enjoyed by tech stocks on the U.S. markets on Friday. But this strength was compromised by the end of the session as many investors shifted to the sell side. MOFA names new ambassador to Palau The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved the appointment of Andy Chen as Taiwan's new ambassador to Palau. Chen has been the director general of the ministry's Office of Parliamentarian Affairs since February. He will replace sitting ambassador Jessica Lee, who'll be returning to the MOFA headquarters in Taipei. Chen previously (先前) served as Taiwan's representative to Oman and head of Taiwan's office in Vancouver, Brunei, and the Philippines. He received his bachelor's degree in Arabic Language and Culture from National Chengchi University. (AH) Bangladesh's former leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death In Bangladesh, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death by a special tribunal (特別法庭 ) that found her guilty of committing crimes against humanity. She was put on trial in absentia and was found guilty of overseeing a crackdown on protesters last July. According to a UN report 1400 people were killed during the demonstrations last year, most by security forces firing live ammunition. Hasina claims she's innocent. Neha Poonia has more. Canada Budget Vote Passes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney won a vote on his budget in Parliament that could have triggered (觸發) a possible election. Carney's Liberal government does not have enough votes to pass the budget on its own but it passed 170-168 with the support of a Green Party member of Parliament and some New Democrat abstentions. The Liberals don't have a majority of seats in the House of Commons and must rely on an opposition party to pass legislation. The budget vote is considered a vote of confidence in the minority Liberal government. Carney's Liberal Party scored a stunning comeback victory in an election last April in a vote widely seen as a rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump. But the Liberals fell just short of winning an outright majority in Parliament. British Royal Mint Issues Freddie Mercury Coin Design Britain's Royal Mint is celebrating Freddie Mercury with a new coin design. The coin marks 40 years since his iconic Live Aid performance. It features an image of the Queen front man midperformance, with a musical stave (五線譜 ) representing his vocal range. Mercury's sister struck the first coin at the Royal Mint in Wales last week. She said the coin captures his passion and joy. The coins go on sale Tuesday. Mercury died at age 45 in 1991, just one day after he publicly (公開地) announced he was HIV positive. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. AI 不只是科技，更是投資的新藍海 您還沒上車嗎? 11/22下午二點，由ICRT與元大投信共同舉辦的免費講座 會中邀請理財專家阮幕驊和元大投顧分析師及專業團隊 帶你掌握「AI 投資機會」 加碼好康！ 只要「報名並親臨現場參加活動」 就有機會抽中 全家禮券200元，共計5名幸運得主！ 活動地點：台北文化大學APA藝文中心--數位演講廳（台北市中正區延平南路127號4樓） 免費入場，名額倒數中!! 立即報名：https://www.icrt.com.tw/app/2025yuanta/ 「投資一定有風險，基金投資有賺有賠，申購前應詳閱公開說明書」 #AI投資 #元大投信 #理財講座 #免費講座 #投資趨勢 #ETF -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

pWotD Episode 3121: Sheikh Hasina Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 199,741 views on Monday, 17 November 2025 our article of the day is Sheikh Hasina.Sheikh Hasina Wazed (born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2024. She was the longest-serving prime minister of Bangladesh since the country's independence and the longest-serving female head of government in the world. Her premiership was characterized by dictatorship, oligarchy, and crimes against humanity. She resigned and fled to India following the July Revolution in 2024, and in November 2025, she was found guilty of crimes against humanity by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal and sentenced to death in absentia.Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's founding president, and is a member of the Tungipara Sheikh political family. She had little presence in politics before her father's assassination in August 1975. Afterwards, she took asylum in India, became involved with the Awami League, and was elected as its president – a position which she continues to hold. After returning to Bangladesh in 1981, she and the Awami League became involved with the pro-democracy movement against the military rule of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, culminating in the 1990 Bangladesh mass uprising and the restoration of parliamentary democracy in the 1991 Bangladeshi general election.Following a narrow loss to Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the 1991 election, Hasina, as leader of the opposition, accused Zia's BNP of electoral dishonesty and boycotted the Parliament. This was followed by violent demonstrations and political turmoil, causing Zia to resign in favour of a caretaker government. Hasina was elected prime minister in the June 1996 election, and she was succeeded by Zia in July 2001. During the 2006–2008 political crisis, Hasina was detained on extortion charges. After her release from jail, her party won the 2008 election, and she became the prime minister for a second term.During Hasina's second premiership, Bangladesh witnessed democratic backsliding and widespread human rights abuses. Her re-elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024 were criticised by international observers as being fraudulent, with the earlier and latter being boycotted by the BNP. Human Rights Watch documented widespread enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings under her government. Numerous politicians and journalists were systematically and judicially punished for challenging her views. Reporters Without Borders gave a negative assessment of Hasina's media policy for curbing press freedom in Bangladesh since 2014. A 2024 government report estimated that more than US$16 billion was annually laundered from the country during Hasina's tenure from 2009 to 2024, adding up to more than $240 billion over 15 years. Her government provided assistance to nearly a million Rohingya who had entered the country fleeing the genocide in Myanmar.In 2022, anti-government protests broke out demanding Hasina's resignation. These were followed in July 2024 by fresh student protests which demanded the reform of quotas in government jobs. The protests were met with brutal crackdown by law-enforcement agencies and paramilitary forces, resulting in massacre of students. By August, the protests intensified into a mass uprising against the government, culminating in Hasina resigning and fleeing to India. In February 2025, a UN OHCHR report found that she personally directed and coordinated the crackdown and that it may amount to crimes against humanity. In November 2025, she was convicted of crimes against humanity by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal and sentenced to death in absentia. Hasina stated the trial was a "farce trial" driven by a "political vendetta."Hasina was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, and was listed as being one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes in 2015, 2018, and 2022.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:49 UTC on Tuesday, 18 November 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Sheikh Hasina on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Salli.

Sheikh Hasina, in exile in India, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. The former Prime Minister was found guilty of ordering the use of lethal force against protesters, resulting in the deaths of around 1,400 people. Hasina denies the charges and her supporters say they are politically motivated. Also on the programme: we ask what led to Donald Trump's sudden U-turn on the Epstein files; and the discovery of two organ pieces by a teenaged Johann Sebastian Bach.(PICTURE: Bangladeshi Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman addresses the media in Dhaka, 17 November 2025 CREDIT: MONIRUL ALAM/EPA/Shutterstock)

Hasina fue condenada a muerte por crímenes de lesa humanidad por la represión de unas protestas estudiantiles ocurridas a mediados de 2024.

Pakistani economy has collapsed over the last 15 years, especially in comparison with India and also Bangladesh. In episode 1750 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta explains how Pakistan's economy has fallen far behind. He also looks at the key turning points, how Bangladesh grew under Hasina & where India's growth took off. ----more----Read Financial Times' article here: https://www.ft.com/content/9fb7dc91-0678-452f-8865-05ee0a1c0704----more----Read ThePrint #Economix by Bidisha Bhattacharya: https://theprint.in/author/bidisha-bhattacharya/----more----Watch ThePrint #Economix by Bidisha Bhattacharya on Bangladesh's economic crisis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfa0eRI2uIaRNr_WoYa9Ey60TTpJyN-QJ

World news in 7 minutes. Friday 11th July 2025.Today: Houthi attacks. Gaza clinic attack. Bangladesh Hasina charge. Russia MH17 responsible. Ukraine drones. UK France migrant deal. DRC cholera. Kenya legs shoot. Guatemala earthquakes. Barbie with diabetes.SEND7 is supported by our amazing listeners like you.Our supporters get access to the transcripts and vocabulary list written by us every day.Our supporters get access to an English worksheet made by us once per week.Our supporters get access to our weekly news quiz made by us once per week.We give 10% of our profit to Effective Altruism charities. You can become a supporter at send7.org/supportContact us at podcast@send7.org or send an audio message at speakpipe.com/send7Please leave a rating on Apple podcasts or Spotify.We don't use AI! Every word is written and recorded by us!Since 2020, SEND7 (Simple English News Daily in 7 minutes) has been telling the most important world news stories in intermediate English. Every day, listen to the most important stories from every part of the world in slow, clear English. Whether you are an intermediate learner trying to improve your advanced, technical and business English, or if you are a native speaker who just wants to hear a summary of world news as fast as possible, join Stephen Devincenzi and Juliet Martin every morning. Transcripts, vocabulary lists, worksheets and our weekly world news quiz are available for our amazing supporters at send7.org. Simple English News Daily is the perfect way to start your day, by practising your listening skills and understanding complicated daily news in a simple way. It is also highly valuable for IELTS and TOEFL students. Students, teachers, TEFL teachers, and people with English as a second language, tell us that they use SEND7 because they can learn English through hard topics, but simple grammar. We believe that the best way to improve your spoken English is to immerse yourself in real-life content, such as what our podcast provides. SEND7 covers all news including politics, business, natural events and human rights. Whether it is happening in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas or Oceania, you will hear it on SEND7, and you will understand it.Get your daily news and improve your English listening in the time it takes to make a coffee.For more information visit send7.org/contact or send an email to podcast@send7.org

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on political upheaval in Bangladesh.

First, The Indian Express' Ritu Sarin joins us to discuss her investigation into the money trail and mule account used in a digital scam.Next, we shift our focus to Punjab, The Indian Express' Kanchan Vasdev explains that the AAP government is implementing one of its largest-ever land acquisition drives under a new land pooling policy. (18:35)And in the end, we discuss a pivotal court ruling in Bangladesh, where the tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in jail in a contempt case. (24:35)Hosted by Ichha SharmaProduced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Ichha SharmaEdited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this inspiring episode of The SLP Business Podcast, host Ebony Green sits down with her close friend and business bestie, Hasina Echoles, a powerhouse SLP and seven-figure private practice owner based in Miami, Florida. Hasina is the CEO and founder of Global Speech and Rehab Services and currently serves as President of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists.Together, they dive into what it truly means to build a legacy, sharing Hasina's journey from renting her first tiny clinic to making the ultimate boss move: purchasing her own commercial building. Hasina opens up about the challenges and triumphs of buying property as a woman of color, the financial considerations and mindset shifts required to own real estate, and how she strategically structured the deal for long-term benefits.If you're an SLP or healthcare business owner dreaming of building wealth and creating generational impact, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and behind-the-scenes insight you don't want to miss.In this episode, you'll learn:Why Hasina decided to buy instead of rent—and how long it really tookThe emotional and financial rollercoaster of commercial real estateHow to structure your building purchase for long-term tax and income advantagesWhy patience, preparation, and relationships with banks truly matterWhat it looks like to build with legacy in mind

Hasina Saintkitts worked as a nanny and daycare assistant, but she always dreamed of running her own childcare business. When her daycare plans didn't work out, she shifted her focus to opening a preschool. While searching for guidance on creating her online preschool, she found Joy's book and knew she had found the right support. After joining Preschool All Stars, she jumped right in, and with the HUB, she customized her website to reflect her unique style. Listen in to hear how Hasina built her preschool with the support and tools she needed!Please rate and review us at Apple Podcasts. (We hope we've earned your 5 stars!)GET MY FREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR PRESCHOOL JOURNEY:❤️ Get my FREE “Start Your Preschool” book (+ $7.95 s&h)❤️ Start my FREE “7 Students in 7 Days” Challenge”❤️ Join my Preschool All Stars membership to get mentorship, support, friendship, and training for every step of your preschool journeyFOLLOW ME ON MY MISSION:

Im Sommer 2024 musste die autokratische Regierung nach landesweiten Protesten zurücktreten. Seitdem führt eine Interimsregierung unter Nobelpreisträger Muhammed Yunus – bekannt als «Banker der Armen» - die Geschäfte. Doch die Gewalt nimmt zu, die Preise bleiben hoch und Reformen fehlen. Shima Akhter, 24, geht schon wieder demonstrieren. «Die Situation ist gefährlicher als im Juli und August». Damals hatten Studierende nach wochenlangen Protesten das autokratische Regime der Regierungschefin Sheikh Hasina aus dem Amt verjagt. Mehr als 1400 Menschen verloren nach UNO-Schätzungen ihr Leben im Kugelhagel der Polizei. Hasina und ihre Partei Awami League hatten das Land 15 Jahre lang mit eiserner Faust regiert, die Wahlen gefälscht und Meinungsfreiheit unterdrückt. Nach ihrem Rücktritt versprach Nobelpreisträger Muhammad Yunus demokratische Reformen. Doch die Kriminalität steigt, die extreme Armut auch. Zehntausende Textilarbeiterinnen und -arbeiter haben ihre Arbeit verloren. Das Vertrauen schwindet, dass Dr. Yunus und seine Interimsregierung die Lage in den Griff bekommen. «Die Flitterwochen sind vorbei», urteilt Polit-Ökonom Parviz Abbasi aus Dhaka. Jeder habe zwar gewusst, dass der Weg steinig werde. Aber niemand habe realisiert, dass die Übergangsregierung nicht in der Lage sein würde, Antworten zu liefern.

* Messages of support for Ukraine after Trump berates Zelenskyy * Rubio says Zelenskyy owes Trump apology after White House clash * Türkiye advances in its quest for 'terror-free' future: Erdogan * Bangladesh students whose uprising ousted Hasina unveil new political party * Gaza marks Ramadan amid ruins, hunger after months of Israel's brutal war

Bangladeshi students who ousted Hasina set up ‘National Citizens Party'. Where it stands on key issues   https://theprint.in/world/bangladeshi-students-who-ousted-hasina-set-up-national-citizen-party-where-it-stands-on-key-issues/2513969/

Last August, the interim govt lifted ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. It has rebranded itself as 'moderate & democratic', and is advocating for peaceful transition to an Islamic welfare state.  

#cuttheclutter With the demolition of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's former residence 32 Dhanmondi, an iconic site of the country's liberation struggle, and calls for the assassination of former PM Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh faces new political unrest. In Episode 1603 of #CutTheClutter, ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at Hasina's fiery speech targeting the Yunus govt, Mujibur Rahman's life, Bhasha Andolan & revision of history books in Bangladesh. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read FT Muhammad Yunus' interview article - https://www.ft.com/content/46c77787-6f22-4625-bf62-1df5d1f7e122 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read The Daily Star article on textbook changes in Bangladesh - https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/education/news/primary-secondary-level-major-changes-coming-bangla-english-textbooks-3788301 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read Michael Kugelman's article on six months of Yunus govt in Foreign Policy - https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/05/bangladesh-interim-government-protests-reform-hasina/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To read report on challenges facing Muhammad Yunus' interim govt - https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/12/12/bangladeshs-economic-progress-may-have-been-hyped --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To watch Sheikh Hasina speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI9vNNAuSQg

After student protests toppled Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, New Delhi and Dhaka have been at odds. Indian politicians complain about Hindus being mistreated in the Muslim-majority country; Bangladesh's interim government fears that Hasina may launch a bid to return to power from India. It's the latest development in what's become an extremely complicated environment in what Avinash Paliwal calls “India's Near East”: India, Bangladesh (or East Pakistan before the 1970s), and Myanmar (or Burma before the 1980s). As Avinash explains his book India's Near East: A New History (Hurst: 2024), successive Indian leaders tried to get a handle on international tensions and ethnic conflict—and with a major external threat in China looming in the distance. Avinash Paliwal is Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London, specialising in South Asian strategic affairs. A former journalist and foreign affairs analyst, he is also the author of My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the U.S. Withdrawal (Hurst: 2017) You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of India's Near East. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

After student protests toppled Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, New Delhi and Dhaka have been at odds. Indian politicians complain about Hindus being mistreated in the Muslim-majority country; Bangladesh's interim government fears that Hasina may launch a bid to return to power from India. It's the latest development in what's become an extremely complicated environment in what Avinash Paliwal calls “India's Near East”: India, Bangladesh (or East Pakistan before the 1970s), and Myanmar (or Burma before the 1980s). As Avinash explains his book India's Near East: A New History (Hurst: 2024), successive Indian leaders tried to get a handle on international tensions and ethnic conflict—and with a major external threat in China looming in the distance. Avinash Paliwal is Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London, specialising in South Asian strategic affairs. A former journalist and foreign affairs analyst, he is also the author of My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the U.S. Withdrawal (Hurst: 2017) You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of India's Near East. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

After student protests toppled Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, New Delhi and Dhaka have been at odds. Indian politicians complain about Hindus being mistreated in the Muslim-majority country; Bangladesh's interim government fears that Hasina may launch a bid to return to power from India. It's the latest development in what's become an extremely complicated environment in what Avinash Paliwal calls “India's Near East”: India, Bangladesh (or East Pakistan before the 1970s), and Myanmar (or Burma before the 1980s). As Avinash explains his book India's Near East: A New History (Hurst: 2024), successive Indian leaders tried to get a handle on international tensions and ethnic conflict—and with a major external threat in China looming in the distance. Avinash Paliwal is Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London, specialising in South Asian strategic affairs. A former journalist and foreign affairs analyst, he is also the author of My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the U.S. Withdrawal (Hurst: 2017) You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of India's Near East. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Day four of the truce reveals grim discoveries in Gaza, with 120 bodies found in bombed homes. While over 2,400 humanitarian aid trucks have entered the enclave, challenges persist. The aid flow offers some relief, but Gaza's recovery remains overshadowed by the devastation of Israel's 15-month brutal war. Türkiye declared a national day of mourning after a devastating fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu claimed at least 70 lives and injured 51 others. President Erdogan expressed condolences and vowed accountability for the tragedy at the popular ski resort. Calling for unity and compassion, he urged all sectors to respect the nation's grief during this difficult time. As rescue operations concluded, the country reflected on the immense loss and renewed calls for safety measures. Donald Trump kicks off his new presidency with a bold move, firing 1,000 opponents in his administration. His late-night Truth Social post announced the dismissal of key figures, including retired General Mark Milley. While Trump pushes to reshape the government, critics and even religious leaders urge him to prioritise unity and compassion, especially for immigrants. A report reveals that children were held in secret detention centres during Sheikh Hasina's tenure as Bangladesh's prime minister. Babies were reportedly used as leverage during interrogations, with mothers denied basic needs like milk. The commission investigating enforced disappearances uncovered multiple cases, including a pregnant woman beaten in custody. Hasina, now in exile after a student-led revolution, faces arrest for crimes against humanity. Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station produced oxygen and rocket fuel components through artificial photosynthesis. Using semiconductor catalysts, the Shenzhou-19 crew converted carbon dioxide into oxygen and ethylene, a key fuel ingredient. These experiments, crucial for long-term space survival, are part of China's push for a crewed moon mission by 2030.

"Bangladesh has come out of a lot of difficulty in the past. Bangladesh is a place of hope, is a place of resilience ... We could again come together as a nation, with the ertailers and the brands supporting us, and make the transformation. It's a huge, huge opportunity."Rousing words from this week's compelling interview with manufacturer Shafiq Hassan, of the Echotex manufacturing facility in Gazipur, Bangladesh.Last year Bangladesh was ranked the third-largest exporter of clothing globally (after China and the European Union) exporting USD $38.4 billion worth of garments. The nation is home to over 40K garment factories of various sizes, and over 4 million garment workers.A decade after Rana Plaza, much progress has been made, including around environmental sustainability. Bangladesh now has 186 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified factories, and, according to Reuters, lays claim to 9 of world's top 10 'green' garment factories (considering carbon, water and energy footprint, waste, logistics, and using more sustainable materials).Clare interviewed Shafiq in London, in September 2024, a little over month after peaceful students protests in Bangladesh toppled ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then presiding over an increasingly corrupt and authoritarian regime. Her government's response to the protests - appalling violence - is well documented. This week, a new report by the current interim government, titled Unfolding the Truth, implicates Hasina in as many as 3,500 cases of forced disappearances during her time in office.Warned the Solidarity Centre in August: "The economy of Bangladesh, depends on garment factories, but producers say customers are concerned about violence and disruption." What's more, the previous government's "repression against workers seeking to form and join unions has prevented garment workers from achieving the living wages and safe working conditions they have sought to achieve."So what's next?The Nobel peace laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus (founder of the Grameen bank) is leading the interim/ caretaker government. The factories are back working. Leading facilities like Echotex continue to innovate. What's unfolding is very relevant to the fashion sector, and to all of us who care about ethical production and want to understand the role brands have to play when it comes to what we hope are long term partnerships with suppliers.Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production.We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating / reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Share on socials! Recommend to a friend.Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressTHANK YOU Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Aug. 5, following weeks of student protests and police violence that left hundreds dead, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India. The students have since worked with the country's military to form an interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus. Soon after Hasina's resignation, South Asia correspondent Karishma Mehrotra traveled to the capital city of Dhaka to speak to students, members of the new interim government and others. Martine Powers talks with Karishma about what she learned in Dhaka – and what comes next as this new government tries to make meaningful reforms. Today's show was produced by Peter Bresnan, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Anant Gupta and Rashad Ahamad. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs.Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed. And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system.Eventually, students were able to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.The students who ousted Hasina are now helping to lead Bangladesh. "We youth are not only the generation of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram," says 19-year-old protestor Mumtahana Munir Mitti. "We also love our country. And we also love to participate in [the] rebuilding of our country."For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The US government supported protests that overthrew Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. New interim leader Muhammad Yunus has been cultivated by Washington for decades. Ben Norton discusses the geopolitical reasons for the regime change; the roles of India, China, and Russia; and the Pentagon's desire to build a strategic military base on Saint Martin's Island. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irlrT3zvsqQ Topics 0:00 Interim leader Muhammad Yunus: Made in USA 5:09 Overthrow of Sheikh Hasina 7:44 US military base on St. Martin's Island? 8:57 Myanmar 10:33 China's reliance on Strait of Malacca for oil imports 13:34 Bangladesh-China relations 14:47 BRICS 15:36 US pressure to join Quad 17:47 Russia warned of color revolution in Bangladesh 19:06 Arab Spring 19:58 Was Hasina's undelivered resignation speech fabricated? 22:26 Hasina: "White man" demanded military base in Bay of Bengal 23:58 Hasina: USA "can overthrow the government in any country" 25:36 US-backed 1975 coup against Sheikh Mujib 28:33 US-backed 2022 coup against Pakistan PM Imran Khan 31:00 US support for protests in Bangladesh 31:22 NED funding for Bangladeshi opposition 31:41 NED funding of opposition media outlet Netra News 34:13 Historical context: Partition, India, Pakistan, 1971 liberation war 38:40 Reasons for protests 41:13 US-backed color revolutions 46:21 US State Department pressure on Bangladesh 47:36 Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, & extremism 54:12 Outro

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus - a longtime political foe of Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina - has been named the country's interim leader. The 84-year-old was appointed a day after Ms Hasina fled the country following weeks of deadly protests that brought her resignation. Also on the programme: The former president of Catalonia, in Spain, pops up briefly in Barcelona but is at risk of arrest; and the two astronauts struggling to find a way back to earth. (Picture: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus attends a press briefing along with student leaders in Dhaka. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule came to an end today after weeks of violent clashes with protesters left more than 300 people dead. Jubilant scenes emerged from the capital, Dhaka, after Hasina resigned and fled the country. Also, it's been five years since India revoked the special status of Kashmir. And, nearly 400 people were arrested in about a dozen cities across the UK over the weekend, after the murder of three young children sparked anti-immigrant riots. Plus, a look at the largest drumming orchestra in the Americas as hundreds of drummers play together in downtown Florianopolis, Brazil.Listen to today's Music Heard on Air.

This week we talk about student protests, curfews, and East Pakistan.We also discuss Sheikh Hasina, Myanmar, and authoritarians.Recommended Book: The Identity Trap by Yascha MounkTranscriptBangladesh is a country of about 170 million people, those people living in an area a little smaller than the US state of Illinois, a hair over 57,000 square miles.It shares a smallish southeastern border with Myanmar, and its entire southern border runs up against the Bay of Bengal, which is part of the Indian Ocean, but it's surrounded to the west, north, and most of its eastern border by India, which nearly entirely encompasses Bangladesh due to the nature of its historical formation.Back in 1905, a previously somewhat sprawling administrative region called Bengal, which has a lot history of human occupation and development, and which for the past several hundred years leading up to that point had been colonized by various Europeans, was carved-out by the British as a separate province, newly designated Eastern Bengal and Assam, at the urging of local Muslim aristocrats who were playing ball with then-governing British leaders, the lot of them having worked together to make the region one of the most profitable in British India, boasting the highest gross domestic product, and the highest per-capita income on the subcontinent, at the time.This division separated Bengal from its Hindu-dominated neighboring provinces, including nearby, and booming Calcutta, which was pissed at this development because it allowed the British to invest more directly and lavishly in an area that was already doing pretty well for itself, without risking some of that money overflowing into nearby, Hindu areas, like, for instance, Calcutta.This division also allowed local Muslim leaders to attain more political power, in part because of all that investment, but also because it freed them up to form an array of political interest groups that, because of the nature of this provincial division, allowed them to focus on the needs of Muslim citizens, and to counter the influence of remaining local Hindu landowners, and other such folks who have previously wielded an outsized portion of that power; these leaders were redistributing power in the region to Muslims over Hindus, basically, in contrast to how things worked, previously.In 1935, the British government promised to grant the Bengalese government limited provincial autonomy as part of a larger effort to set the subcontinent out on its own path, leading up to the grand decolonization effort that European nations would undergo following WWII, and though there was a significant effort to make Bengal its own country in 1946, post-war and just before the partition of British India, that effort proved futile, and those in charge of doing the carving-up instead divided the country into areas that are basically aligned with modern day India and modern day Pakistan, but two-thirds of Bengal were given to Pakistan, while one-third was given to India.This meant that a portion of Pakistan, the most populous portion, though with a smaller land area, was separated from the remainder of the country by Indian territory, and the logic of dividing things in this way was that the British wanted to basically delineate Hindu areas from Muslim areas, and while large, spread-out groups of Muslims lived roughly within the borders of modern day Pakistan, a large, more densely crowded group of Muslims lived in Bengal, hence the otherwise nonsensical-seeming decision to break a country up into two pieces in this way.Frictions developed between mainland Pakistan and the portion of Pakistan, formally Bengal, that was initially called East Bengal, and then renamed East Pakistan in 1955, almost immediately. There was a movement to get the Bengali language officially recognized as a state language, alongside Urdu, which was promoted as the exclusive federal language of Pakistan, early on, and a list of six demands were presented to the Pakistani government by East Pakistan-based politicians, all of which aimed to get the region equal representation in what they felt was a West Pakistan-biased system, despite the fact that, again, East Pakistan, formally Bengal, was the most populous part of the country, and they had the most thriving economy, as well, bringing in most of the country's income.These demands led to what's become known as the Six Points Movement, which in turn, just a few years later, kicked off the Bangladesh War of Independence, which was exactly what it sounds like: an effort by folks in East Pakistan to achieve independence from the larger government of Pakistan, which had in recent years been taken over by a military junta which, like the previous government, didn't give as much political power to Easy Pakistanis.That junta, in late March of 1971, launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight that was meant to take out separatists in East Pakistan—but in practice this meant they swooped in and started targeting academics, members of the local intelligentsia, and people of Hindu faith, alongside members of the rabble-rousing groups that were petitioning for more power in this smaller-by-landmass, but larger by population and income, segment of the country.Operation Searchlight sparked the aforementioned Bangladesh War of Independence, and nine months later, the military government's efforts during this conflict were deemed to be genocidal because of how they targeted ethnic Bengalis, killing somewhere between 300,000 and 3 million of them, while also intentionally and systematically raping hundreds of thousands of Bengali women, the soldiers who committed these acts doing so with the formal go-ahead from their government—they were told to do so, basically.These atrocities eventually pulled India into the conflict, in part because millions of Bengalis were fleeing across their border to escape the genocide, and in part because the genocide was occurring, to begin with, and that sparked the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, which eventually led to an end to that genocide when Pakistan's government surrendered at the tail-end of 1971.That victory led to, formerly Bengal, then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. It also concretized India's military dominance in the region, and Pakistan, what remained of it, lost more than half its population, much of its economic base, and suffered a long period of embarrassment that left it questioning the basis of its militant, braggadocios approach to both nationalism and foreign policy; it was previously a well-respected and feared military force, but it became a somewhat eyes-downcast entity in the region for a while, lots of reforms eventually helping it shore-up its economy, but remnants of this period still percolate in its internal politics and government operation, to this day, including its antagonism toward India, and its support of local jihadist groups, which the government uses as a counterbalance against India and other local power structures, which it can no longer face head-on.What I'd like to talk about today is a swirl of new tumult in modern day Bangladesh, and what this moderate uproar might mean for the country's future.—Modern Bangladesh is surrounded by conflict.Myanmar's military government is in the midst of a civil war, following the recent overthrow of its democratically elected civilian government, and the subsequent rise and loose collaboration between rebel groups in various parts of the country.India is booming, and is broadly considered to be the next big power player on the world stage, though it's already a regional titan. It also continues to scuffle with Pakistan to its northwest, and with China along its shared borders, which are located just a short distance north of Bangladesh.Bangladesh's coast, along the Bay of Bengal, has long underperformed economically, despite being surrounded by some of the most impactful producers of goods in the world, and this coastline, including the one occupied by Bangladesh, has become incredibly unpredictable in recent years: regularly flooding, entire villages being swept out to sea, and freshwater sources increasingly tainted by those incursions of salt water.This area already has a lot going on, in other words, and many of those goings on seem primed for amplification in the coming years, as global power structures and economic tangles continue to flex and break and rearrange, and as the climate continues to behave in increasingly distressing ways; there's a political and military realignment happening in this part of the world, but geopolitics and global economics are also swirling and rearranging in all sorts of unpredictable ways.All of which serves as context for a recent series of protests that arose around Bangladesh beginning in July of 2024.These protests were held by mostly students who were not fans of a quota scheme that was originally implemented by the government in the wake of that 1971 war with Pakistan, this system abolished in 2018, but which was reimplemented by the country's High Court shortly before the protests began.And this system basically promised that 30% of all government jobs would go to the descendants of people who fought in that war against Pakistan, for independence, alongside some jobs for minority groups, folks from traditionally underrepresented districts, and people who are disabled—though mostly it was meant to honor the descendants of those veterans.The protesting students were pissed about this reimplementation because the country's economy isn't great at the moment, and unemployment is rife; the jobs that are available are not paying much, and are not terribly secure. About 18 million young people are currently unemployed in Bangladesh.Government jobs, in contrast, tend to provide some level of consistency and predictability, pay relatively well, and tend to stick around—folks in such jobs aren't worried about being fired or their jobs disappearing, because of their very nature. So the best jobs, by that standard, are government jobs, and nearly a third of those jobs have been promised to people who, in many cases, just happened to be born to the right parents or grandparents; and notably, the majority of folks with families who fought in that conflict, are also supporters of the current, authoritarian Bangladeshi government—so part of the criticism here is that these quotas offer a means of giving cushy, reliable jobs to supporters of the current regime, without seeming like that's what they're doing.These peaceful student protests were met with heavy resistance and violence by the government, which deployed police and soldiers who shot at protestors and shut down universities and the internet in the country, and that led to more protests, including by non-students, who were also met with at times deadly force.About 150 people have been confirmed killed, so far, though that's the government's figure, and other, independent counts have tallied more than 200 dead. Hundreds of protestors were also arrested and curfews were implemented.The Supreme Court responded to the initial protests by reducing the quota in late July, to the point that about 5% of government jobs would go to descendants of those veterans, which in practice meant about 93% of all government jobs would be divvied-out in a normal way, hiring people based on who's the best candidate.Protests largely ceased after that announcement, and the government restored internet services 11 days after shutting it down across the country. Social media platforms like WhatsApp and TikTok remain restricted, however, as these services were used to promote and organize protests.Curfews have also been relaxed somewhat, though police are reportedly sweeping through schools and cities, grabbing people who were recorded at protests, arresting thousands of them, including at least half a dozen students who led the initial protests that kicked everything off.Protest leaders are now demanding that the remaining curfews be lifted, that those who were arrested are released, charges against them dropped, and that the leaders responsible for the heavy-handed response should resign.Some protestors have also called for the country's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to step down, as she initially called the students traitors, though she later backtracked and said she didn't want them to be harmed.Hasina is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Bangladeshi history, having initially stepped into the position in 1996, then stepping back into the role in 2009—she's held the office ever since.She's generally considered to be an authoritarian, and has been accused of fixing elections, extrajudicial killings, and the imprisonment, or worse, of politicians and journalists who challenge her in any way.She is, given all that, then, perhaps not surprisingly blaming these protests not on the students—not any longer, at least—but instead on opposition political parties who she says are attempting to challenge her rule, and thus, the wellbeing of the country as a whole.Given that this is a relatively well-established authoritarian regime, there's a nonzero chance those who are in charge of these protests will take the win with the quota system, even though it wasn't fully removed, and step back from these other, more substantial demands that are unlikely to be met, short of perhaps a token resignation here and there by lower-run government officials who take the bullet for those higher up.Outside demands for impartial investigations into who caused what are likewise unlikely to move forward, and the government has made it pretty clear it intends to double-down on the "it's the political opposition doing this to us, and you" narrative, which could help them justify further clamping-down on these groups, even to the point of more imprisonments and killings, but bare-minimum, in such a way that it makes dislodging the current ruling party even more difficult in the future.It's possible that tumult elsewhere around the world, including in Bangladesh's own backyard, might encourage overreaction, not under reaction, from those in charge, as Myanmar's military government is having a lot of trouble with rebels, these days, and while it's not impossible that the prime minister will give in to more moderate demands, publicly apologizing for the violent response and firing some of her higher-level ministers, her government's history hints that things are more likely to tilt in the other direction, at least for the foreseeable future, and at least if the protestors fail to scale-up their operations to incorporate more of the country's population than they have, thus far.At the moment, then, things have calmed a bit in terms of protests and government responses to those protests in Bangladesh. But there are elements to this story that have made things even more volatile than they already were, and because of how uncertain so many variables in the region are right now, there's a chance we'll see this, or connected movements and storylines, bubble back up at some point in the near-future.Show Noteshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2024/bay-of-bengal-climate-change/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Hasinahttps://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-protests-quelled-anger-discontent-remain-2024-07-26/https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/bangladesh-student-protests-mass-movement-against-dictatorhttps://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-campus-violence-hasina-bc513b6d68cf5b94cfd898f3c7f153d2https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladesh-student-group-vows-to-resume-protests-if-demands-not-met/article68456310.ecehttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/25/bangladesh-minister-defends-govt-response-to-protests-amid-calls-for-probehttps://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/7/24/bangladeshs-deadly-protests-explainedhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/largest-U-S-state-by-areahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladeshhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_war_of_1971 This is a public episode. 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