Sheikh Hasina became Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the first time in 1996.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled her country after resigning amid massive protests and escalating violence that resulted in hundreds of deaths since July. Over 100 people died on Sunday alone. She is currently in India, potentially en route to the United Kingdom. Hasina and her sister arrived in Delhi on Monday, following increased pressure for her resignation.
This isn’t the first time Hasina has sought refuge in India; in 1975, after the massacre of her family, including her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she sought safety there. She, along with her husband, children, and sister, lived in Delhi’s Pandara Road under an assumed identity for six years, from 1975 to 1981.
On August 15, 1975, Hasina’s father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, was assassinated alongside 18 members of her family, just four years after becoming the president of the newly formed country.
This assassination plunged Bangladesh into political turmoil and military rule. At the time, Hasina was in West Germany with her husband, MA Wazed Miah, and had no choice but to seek refuge in India. India, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, provided Hasina with security and shelter, continuing its support from Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan.
“Mrs Indira Gandhi immediately sent information that she wanted to give us security and shelter… We decided to come back here (Delhi) because we had in our mind that if we went to Delhi, from Delhi, we’d be able to go back to our country. And then we’ll be able to know how many members of the family are still alive,” Hasina said in an interview in 2022.
After leaving Germany, Sheikh Hasina, accompanied by her family and two young children, was placed in a secure residence in Delhi.
Hasina’s six-year stay in India was a critical period in her life. Upon arriving in Delhi, she met with Indira Gandhi. During her exile, Hasina developed strong relations with Indian leaders, including Congress’ Pranab Mukherjee and the Gandhi family.
“Indira Gandhi made all the arrangements for us, including a job for my husband and the Pandara Road house where we stayed,” Hasina said in the interview.
The initial years were particularly challenging for her young children, who were toddlers at the time, she had recalled. She shared that her children often cried and wished to be with their grandparents, especially their maternal uncle. “They mostly remembered my younger brother, Sheikh Russell,” she said.
In Delhi, Hasina first stayed at 56 Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar-3, before moving to a house on Pandara Road in Lutyens’ Delhi. After six years, on May 17, 1981, she returned to Bangladesh and was elected as the General Secretary of the Awami League while still abroad.
Her return marked the start of a long and difficult struggle against the military regimes that had taken over the country. After facing numerous obstacles, including imprisonment on corruption charges, Hasina became Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the first time in 1996.
Now, in 2024, Sheikh Hasina finds herself once again in India during a tumultuous period of her life.
