Bangla Spring was spearheaded by US

Bangla Spring was spearheaded by US, allege political analysts in Dhaka

"What happened in Bangladesh in the past few weeks was planned and executed with the help of the US which had been eyeing a regime change for a long time," said a political commentator

A photo taken with a drone shows people gather around at the Bangladesh Parliament House in Dhaka(Photo | PTI) Yeshi Seli  Updated on:  09 Aug 2024,

NEW DELHI: The student protests that led to the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina government were facilitated by the US, allege political analysts in Bangladesh.

"What happened in Bangladesh in the past few weeks was planned and executed with the help of the US which had been eyeing a regime change for a long time. We refer to it as 'Bangla Spring' where students were introduced to radicalised communities and received training on regime change through study circles," Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, a political commentator, told The New Indian Express, adding that India was caught unawares.

The US was constantly highlighting human rights issues, imposed visa restrictions and sent many high level officials to Bangladesh over the last two years, he said.

"Sheikh Hasina banned the Islami Chhatra Shibir and Jamat-e-Islami with a gazette notification as she could see which way they were heading but that sparked this movement as these organisations helped mobilise students along with left wing political parties. The threat of millions of students storming Ganabhaban with no support from the army made the PM flee," added Professor Kalimullah.

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"American diplomat Donald Lu, who is known as a global regime change expert, visited Bangladesh several times and met both the ruling and opposition parties. In his last visit, he also met student and youth activists and sowed the seed of revolution in Bangladesh," an academician from Bangladesh told The New Indian Express.

"India couldn’t see this coming as they relied mostly on the Awami League. The ISI too was quite active and was pursuing a proxy war against India. Besides, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir has a strong influence on men in uniform. It may be recalled that when the Army chief spoke about the change in government, his first reference was about the radical organisation," Professor Kalimullah added.

Nearly all members of the interim government in Bangladesh have a direct connect with the US. The only Hindu who was invited to be a part of the government, Dr Bidhan Ranjan Roy, didn’t attend the oath ceremony on Thursday and has been evasive on whether he will join.

Meanwhile, protests over atrocities against minorities continue, while there was also a mutiny reported in a jail in Chittagong in which eight people died.