Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Sheikh Hasina's Return to Bangladesh Viewed as Favourable for India
Sheikh Hasina used to be the leader of a country called Bangladesh.
She was in charge for 15 years.
Many people were not happy because they were struggling with money problems and felt the rules were not fair.
Big protests started in 2024, and she had to leave her country.
She went to live in India, which is next door.
Now she wants to go back home to Bangladesh.
Some leaders in Bangladesh are angry that she stayed in India.
India thinks her going back is good for them either way.
If she becomes powerful again, India gets back a trusted friend.
If she does not, India can make new friends in Bangladesh without any trouble.
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been in exile in India since 2024, when protests over economic hardship and authoritarian rule toppled her 15-year government.
Hasina now wants to return to Bangladesh from India, where her continued presence has caused friction between the two countries.
Dhaka administrations led by Muhammad Yunus and Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party have complained about India's hosting of Hasina.
The Awami League has been banned from Bangladeshi politics and faces a legal onslaught from the BNP, according to the article.
Commentary argues India wins strategically whether Hasina's return revives her political career or ends in failure.
- Who
- Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister of Bangladesh, now living in exile in India.
- What
- Hasina wants to return to Bangladesh from exile in India, where she has been since 2024.
- When
- Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024; she now seeks to return to her home country.
- Where
- From India, back to Bangladesh.
- Why
- Commentary argues her departure benefits India either way, ending diplomatic friction over her exile and giving New Delhi strategic freedom in its Bangladesh policy.
- Person
- Sheikh Hasina
- Role
- Former prime minister of Bangladesh for 15 years
- Exiled since
- 2024
- Exile location
- India
- Reason for exile
- Protests over economic hardship and authoritarian rule
- Subsequent governments
- Muhammad Yunus (interim caretaker) and Tarique Rahman (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)
- Awami League status
- Banned from Bangladeshi politics
- Author / Publication
- Hindol Sengupta, Firstpost