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New Delhi/Dhaka: Once again there has been a huge earthquake in the politics of Bangladesh. The country’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has now clearly said that she is going to return to Bangladesh soon. He himself has admitted that he knows very well that as soon as he sets foot on the country’s soil, he will be put in jail or can even be hanged, but despite all these deadly threats and risks, he has made a firm decision to return to his country.

Sheikh Hasina distanced herself from the violence of 2024 student movement

Along with this, Sheikh Hasina has completely distanced herself from the bloody violence that broke out during the historic student movement in the country in the year 2024. He has bluntly said that he had nothing to do with the violent incidents and actions that took place during that protest. He has termed all the charges against him and the death sentence awarded as completely ‘politically motivated’.

‘I know they will try to hang me’

In an exclusive and written interview given to the well-known ‘Kyodo News’, Sheikh Hasina boldly said, “I will return to Bangladesh under any circumstances. I will present myself before the court there.” Although he did not take the name of any particular court, but pointing towards the Bangladeshi authorities, he said in a warning tone that they may send me to jail or make every effort to hang me, but I am fully aware of all these dangers. Let us remind you that after the bloody mass movement in July-August 2024, she had to flee the country to save her life and since then she has been taking refuge in India.

Why did this big announcement of returning home suddenly come out?

This shocking announcement of Sheikh Hasina has come at a time when last year i.e. in November 2025, the War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh had sentenced her to death in her absence for serious crimes against humanity. Let us tell you that during that time the country was under the command of an interim government under the leadership of Mohammad Yunus. Since then Sheikh Hasina has been continuously calling this entire decision a fake and political conspiracy.

On the other hand, the government of Bangladesh is continuously putting pressure on India and has also formally requested to extradite Hasina. Recently, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India had also confirmed that New Delhi has received this request from Bangladesh and the government is closely investigating the matter keeping in mind all the legal and judicial processes.

What is the stance of Tariq Rehman’s government?

Earlier this month, reacting to a media report on Sheikh Hasina’s intentions to return to the country, Prime Minister Tariq Rehman’s Information Advisor Zahidur Rehman had said during a press briefing on July 14 that his government was trying hard to bring Hasina back to the country so that she could face the cases against her in the court. He also said that the government will provide them full opportunity to defend themselves as per the law.

More than 1400 innocent people died in the bloody protest

Let us tell you that this big movement of students broke out in Bangladesh in June 2024 when the court there reinstated the rule of 30 percent reservation (quota) in government jobs for the descendants of the fighters of the 1971 freedom struggle. After this, students from all over the country came out on the streets. The allegation was that the then government of Sheikh Hasina had used all its might to crush this student movement and the police had opened fire on the unarmed students.

According to United Nations (UN) estimates, around 1,400 people died tragically during this intense political unrest and violence, most of whom were victims of firing by security forces. However, Sheikh Hasina has always denied ordering all these killings and has always claimed that this entire movement was misused by political opponents for their personal and political gains.