49 years ago, India gave asylum to Sheikh Hasina, history is repeating itself like 1975, read the full story

Sheikh Hasina in India : India may also have to bear the brunt of the political coup in Bangladesh. This is the reason why the Indian government is considering possible options to provide safe refuge to Sheikh Hasina. ABP LIVE learned from sources that New Delhi has activated all the options to see where Hasina can be given safe refuge. It seems that the possible options could be Switzerland or Finland. On Monday, the plane of Sheikh Hasina, who fled from Bangladesh, landed at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad. Earlier she hoped that she could go to the UK via India. According to the source, all security arrangements were already made at Hindon Airbase, where Hasina landed on Monday, it seemed that Hasina would soon leave for America or Britain with her sister Sheikh Rehana, but that could not happen. Hasina realized that she cannot take refuge in America or Britain, now the rest of the options are also running out fast. So she has now decided to stay in India. Sources say that she is staying in a safe house, away from the eyes of the public or media.

‘Arrest Sheikh Hasina and hand her over to India’
Meanwhile, an interim government has been formed in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said on Tuesday that Dhaka wants good relations with India. In such a situation, New Delhi should arrest both Hasina and Rehana and send them back. SCBA directly blamed Hasina for the death of 300 people killed in protests in the country and said that she should be held accountable for these deaths.

Sheikh Hasina’s sister may go to London
British diplomatic sources told ABP Live that it is not possible to apply for asylum from outside the UK, ruling out Hasina’s path to London. The UK Home Ministry said it does not comment on such individual cases. There is no provision in our immigration rules to allow someone to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary asylum. It was also emphasized that they should first seek refuge in a safe country. However, it seems that Sheikh Rehana, who is a British citizen, may soon leave for London. Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiqui is a member of the British Parliament.

Contact being made with the US
Another source said that India contacted the US through diplomatic channels to send Hasina, but was shocked when it came to know that Washington had already revoked her visa. In May 2023, Washington had amended the new visa policy, Immigration and Nationality Act. Since then, there has been a situation of tension in the relations between the Hasina government and the Joe Biden administration. On Tuesday, former Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, who was close to Hasina for several decades, was detained at Dhaka airport and handed over to the army. He was also trying to come to India.

India is in a dilemma right now, looking for options
Sources also told ABP Live that the Narendra Modi government does not want Sheikh Hasina to stay in the country for long as Bangladesh is undergoing regime change amid violence. New Delhi is believed to be in constant touch with all its embassies in friendly countries, including Gulf countries. Sources said Hasina can also settle in Saudi Arabia, for which talks are underway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi All these issues were discussed in the high-level meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi and later in the all-party meeting on Tuesday. According to sources, India is also working to suppress the international opposition to the Awami League leader.

Before the formation of the new government, Sheikh Hasina…
The meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, discussed how India will be able to continue its relations with Bangladesh, which were at their peak during Hasina’s tenure. New Delhi is also concerned that the soon-to-be-formed government in Bangladesh may urge India to send Sheikh Hasina back to Dhaka and take action. Therefore, India is planning to provide safe haven to Sheikh Hasina once the interim government is formed in Dhaka, an official said. A meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Hasina may also be scheduled soon, but it will not be made public. At present, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is keeping both Modi and Hasina updated, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been asked to find a safe haven for her.

August is a tough month for Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina fled from Bangladesh in early August. The same thing happened in August 1975. Sheikh Hasina’s father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally murdered along with 18 members of his family. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur is also known as the founding father of Bangladesh. Mujibur Rahman was assassinated after leading the country for 4 years. After this, military rule was imposed in Bangladesh for a few years. Hasina was then living in West Germany with her late husband Dr. Wazed Miah, who was a famous nuclear scientist. She and her husband were allowed to stay in India as long as they wanted. This permission was given by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her husband was also given a job in Delhi and the family was also given a temporary house. They stayed in Delhi till 1981, after which they returned to Dhaka. After almost five decades, Hasina has returned to the place from where her political journey started.

The whole family was murdered, Haseena had fled
Sheikh Hasina fled when her father and family members were assassinated in 1975. She took refuge in India with her sisters after the assassination. Hasina survived because she was in Germany with her husband and Rehana at that time. General Ziaur Rahman became president in 1977. He was assassinated in 1981 and his successor Abdus Sattar was ousted in a coup in 1982. Army chief HM Ershad took control but was forced to resign in 1990 due to massive unrest. This was followed by the governments of General Ziaur Rahman (1991-96 and 2001-06), Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001). Meanwhile, a coup attempt was made in 1996.