On the eve of Bangladesh's elections, exiled writer Taslima Nasrin has delivered her most blistering critique in years of the country's political direction, accusing the Muhammad Yunus-led interim dispensation of empowering Islamic fundamentalists, presiding over widespread violence, and allowing democracy to collapse into what she calls a dangerous "use of elections to establish theocracy".
"I don't know that Bangladesh anymore," Nasrin told NDTV's Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul in a wide-ranging exclusive interview. "Jihadis are in power. I should say Islamic fundamentalists were brought to power. And almost every day there is more violence-attacks on minorities, attacks on opposition party members, attacks on liberal voices."
Speaking from exile in India, where she has lived for over three decades, Nasrin painted a grim picture of a country she says has been overtaken by fear and lawlessness under Yunus, who currently heads the administration as chief adviser. "Journalists are imprisoned though they committed no crime. Opposition party members are in prison, though they committed no crime. But there is no action against the jihadists and fundamentalists. They walk free," she said.
Nasrin alleged systematic destruction of Bangladesh's cultural and historical symbols. "Statues of freedom fighters were destroyed. Newspaper offices were demolished. Cultural organisations were burned to ashes. And hardly any action was taken against the criminals, because they are fundamentalists and fundamentalists support the regime."
At the heart of her criticism is the election itself. While Yunus has maintained that the polls will be free and fair, Nasrin dismissed that claim outright. "This election is not legal without the Awami League," she said, arguing that excluding a major political force strips the process of legitimacy. "Some people are saying Yunus may even destroy this election because he wants to stay in power."
She warned that if Islamist forces consolidate their gains, Bangladesh could be pushed irreversibly towards theocracy. "They will use democracy to establish theocracy. If Jamaat comes to power, they will implement Sharia law. Then women and minority people will have no rights. It will be a disaster."
Nasrin was equally unsparing of mainstream political parties, saying religion has been cynically used across the spectrum. "BNP and Jamaat ideologically are not very different. They both use Islam to stay in power. Hasina also did the same thing," she said, accusing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina of undermining secular education by expanding madrassas and equating religious degrees with university qualifications. "Those madrassas became factories of jihadis. It was a Frankenstein moment."
Yet Nasrin said her greatest disappointment came from BNP's acting chairman, Tarique Rahman. "When he came to Bangladesh and declared he would govern on the basis of Prophet Muhammad's ideas, that is theocracy," she said. "We hoped he would separate religion from state. Secularisation is a must for the state, for education, for society."
"If he wants to follow the ideology of Prophet Muhammad, there will be no rights for women, no rights for non-Muslims," she warned. Still, she held out conditional hope. "He lived in a civilised country for 17 years. I hope he learned how to rule. I hope he will restore the 1972 Constitution with secularism, Bengali nationalism and socialism."
On the spiralling violence against minorities, particularly Hindus, Nasrin was unequivocal in placing responsibility on the regime. "Yunus is in power because of Islamic fundamentalists. That's why he doesn't want to take action against them," she said. "With their support, he stays in power."
Referring to recent lynchings, including the killing of Deepu Chandra Das, whose assault was broadcast live on social media, she said such brutality thrives on state silence. "The violence against Hindus is not new in Bangladesh. No political party gives real security to Hindus," she said.
She also cited the prolonged imprisonment of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das. "He was accused of raising a saffron flag above the Bangladesh flag. That is not true. He was accused of murder when he was already in custody. His real crime was giving Hindus courage to protest injustice and not leave their ancestral land," Nasrin said. "They want Hindus silent and isolated."
Nasrin accused Yunus of attempting to erase the memory of the 1971 Liberation War. "He says Bangladesh got independence in 1947 and a second independence in 2024. So 1971 is erased," she said, alleging that collaborators of the Pakistani army were being rehabilitated. "He supports those who killed three million Bengalis and raped 200,000 women."
On Sheikh Hasina's dramatic flight to India last year, Nasrin expressed unexpected empathy. "When I saw her in exile, I felt sad," she said. "Even though she banned my book and prevented me from going back to my country, exile is very painful. People who never lived in exile will never understand that pain."
"She should have the right to return and participate in politics," Nasrin added. "Just like I should have the right to go back to my country."
For Nasrin, the core issue remains freedom of expression. "Why can't I go back to my country? Because there is no freedom of expression," she said. "A fatwa was issued against me. Fundamentalists put a price on my head. The government took action against me, not against those who wanted to kill me."
After 31 years in exile, she still dreams of return but only under a genuinely democratic order. "If the government wants me to return, and gives security, I can return," she said. "If there is freedom of expression, I can go back to my country."
Until then, she said quietly, "India is a nice place to live. If I cannot return home, I will live here for the rest of my life, but I hope my country will at least have democracy."
