The death sentence pronounced on Sheikh Hasina has pushed Bangladesh into a moment of profound reckoning — one that is inseparable from the long, troubled arc of its political history. The verdict is not merely a legal culmination; it is a seismic political event in a nation that has struggled for half a century to find the difficult equilibrium between democratic aspiration and political antagonism. For India too, this moment carries the weight of uncomfortable dilemmas that demand sobriety, patience, and a rare measure of restraint.

Hasina’s story is inseparable from the idea of Bangladesh itself. She has never been only a political leader; she is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — the towering figure who willed East Pakistan into a sovereign nation. Her life has unfolded at the intersection of immense personal tragedy and unusual political endurance. The conviction for crimes against humanity arising from the brutal suppression of the 2024 student protests is therefore an event of exceptional gravity. The ferocity of those months — hundreds killed, families left without answers — inflicted a wound on the country’s moral fabric. Many were astonished that Hasina, with her long tenure and political acumen, allowed such excesses. That the legal process has now assigned responsibility may offer solace to some. Yet, the speed and opacity of the trial have raised their own difficult questions. Justice in fragile democracies often walks a tightrope — swift action can appear selective; hesitation is read as weakness. Bangladesh stands precisely on that knife-edge.

This crisis also forces a reckoning with the more disquieting........

© Indian Express