Hasina's blockbuster memoir!

This article is a work of satire and is intended to be taken as such.

"When one door closes, another opens" – Sheikh Hasina, of course, knows the famous announcement made by the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.

Everybody knows the door for her to return to Bangladesh has closed soon after she fled the country to take refuge in India in the face of an unprecedented uprising and fury against her fascistic, iron-fisted rule built on hubris and misrepresentation of facts enveloped in fake nationalism and an unbelievably shameless entitlement. One thing is sure that this door will not open in the near future. But what is not so obvious is that another door has opened for Hasina.

She loves to be the centrepiece in her hall of mirrors.  So what is this new window of opportunity for her and how can she now make sure that the spotlight is on her to reach another new height in a few years?  

The answer lies in Hasina's own words she had written three decades ago in the introduction of a book titled "Birth of autocracy in Bangladesh". 

On the day of 23 January in 1993 when Sheikh Hasina wrote an article under the headline "Birth of autocracy in Bangladesh" she was living a busy life. She was then playing the role of the leader of the opposition in parliament to hold the then government of the day accountable as well as struggling to bring her party Awami League back to power.  

That article was published in a book in the following month's book fair under the same title "Birth of autocracy in Bangladesh". In the introduction of the book, Hasina expressed her desire to write about 'major political events' in detail if she got the time and opportunity in future.

"In Bangladesh, political changes come through movements. Many events take place during these movements. Some of them are published while many remain unpublished. People remain curious to know the unknown things," wrote Hasina. She expressed her willingness to write that unknown part of the story.

Three decades down the line it is a new version of Hasina having lots of memories, firsthand knowledge and insights of so many major political events that shaped and reshaped the political landscape as well as her personal life and political career over the decades.

Free Hasina

The fall of her regime sets her free, completely. She is free from the burden of the Herculean task of supervising everything under the sun in Bangladesh. She does not need to attend party programmes, be it addressing rallies or holding meetings. She does not need to hold a press conference in her former official residence Gonobhaban to reply to long-winded fawning 'questions' of journalists. She does not need to be accountable to the parliament in the prime minister's question & answer session. Files are not piling up on her desk. Luck does not favour everyone to enjoy such a free time in life!

She has been staying in India for more than two months. Her stay may linger further despite speculation that she may be sent to another country as India ponders future course of action regarding her stay.

But that is all in the future. Meanwhile, she is a 'guest' there and has abundant free time. Now is the time to deliver on her pledge she made three decades ago in the introduction of her book 'Birth of autocracy in Bangladesh.'

If she starts writing, we don't know for sure if she has already taken up the pen or keyboard, what could be the title of her memoir? Could it be the sequel to the previous title under the new name "Rebirth of autocracy in Bangladesh" or "Recipe to rig elections"or "How to become 'I am the state'" or "Secrets of my life"?

Her other book "Democracy in Distress Demeaned Humanity" published in 2003 on highlighting the events during the BNP government led by her archival Khaleda Zia could help her to finalise the title of her memoir. She could now switch the tack and write "Bangladesh on the highway of development and democracy".   

In the "Birth of autocracy in Bangladesh" Hasina described five "heinous deeds" done by General Ziaur Rahman and General HM Ershad to "legitimise" their unlawful takeover of the state powers.

She wrote that Gen Zia and Gen Ershad adopted various processes to rig the elections by denying people' fundamental rights and playing ducks and drakes with people's voting rights. They destroyed politics with widespread corruption and black money in politics. They fractionated the parties with money.

Filing 'false' cases to harass opposition leaders and activists, putting them behind bars and inflicting torture on them were the tools of autocracy, Hasina wrote.

It can be concluded that Hasina learned the lesson too well. Her 15-year-rule was marked by more than all those "heinous" deeds that she accused the past two presidents of in her book as reasons for the birth of autocracy in Bangladesh.

She therefore can divulge many insights of major events that changed the game in politics.

In her past book she strongly denounced the two martial law rulers for holding 'Yes-No' vote seeking people's mandate on their legitimacy.

Hasina became more adroit than the dictators 

Hasina has many more things to tell as she became supremely adept at those "heinous deeds" she condemned the two military regimes of doing.

Her memoir could be divided into some chapters having different titles unveiling secrets, facts and conversation that occurred behind the doors on the major issues.

She could first tell how and when she had conceived the idea to kill the non-partisan caretaker government system which was introduced following vigorous street agitations for years spearheaded by none other than Hasina herself.

How did she convince the then chief justice who, in May 2011, authored the lead verdict declaring the caretaker government system illegal paving the way for Hasina to trash the system by amending the constitution?  Was it a deal made before making him the chief justice by superseding two other senior judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court?

Hasina can now teach her ways to future fascist dictators how to become all-powerful on the shoulders of the judiciary to gain political mileage.  

Hasina's new recipes

Hasina used to suggest new recipes whenever there was a crisis in the kitchen market. Thus the people learned how to use pumpkin to make beguni, jackfruits to substitute for meat, stocking eggs in the fridge to fend against future crises, onion-free dishes etc. If she discloses the recipe how she and her aides ensured uncontested elections to 153 parliamentary seats in the January 2014 election held amid a boycott by the BNP and other opposition parties, this would be a great help for others worldwide who want to apply it.

If she honestly revisits her plan, how and when was the plan conceived to rig 2018 election on the midnight before the election day, that would be helpful for future leaders who want to do the same.

She was more innovative in the 2024 election. She showed the world how to make an election competitive even after a boycott by opposition parties. How did she make the 2024 election competitive by allowing her party leaders to contest the polls as independent candidates?

What were her secrets to retain full control over parliament, judiciary, civil administration, defence forces as well as the law enforcement agencies? If she tells the secrets in her book, it must be a masterpiece for sure. She can let the world know the story of a leader who struggled for people's voting rights and democracy and ultimately emerged as an authoritarian ruler and faced a disgraceful ouster. 

Highway to corruption

She must write a huge chapter on Bangladesh on the highway of corruption. As everyone wants to become millionaire, they have indomitable curiosity to know the secrets how to rob banks by taking over them, how to rob the stock market, how to swindle money, and how to live with dignity and influence even after being a defaulter of thousands of crores of taka in bank loans.

Does she know everything in detail? She most certainly does as nothing moved without her nod in Bangladesh during her times. If needed she may take help from her aides who can help her regain lost memories.   

She had become the greatest mastermind to engineer three consecutive elections and established a Kleptocratic rule. There are numerous anecdotes to leave readers spellbound and she can go on to make a bestseller sequel. The upcoming February book fair will gain a new feather in its cap if Hasina's new book hits the stalls.

Literary rewards await 

Like presidential memoirs of ex-US presidents, the memoir of Hasina may offer insights of every major event from politics to economics, from bank robbery to syphoned off billions of dollars, from enforced disappearances to destroying opposition parties. Everyone wants to know about the playbook of Hasina. She has numerous firsthand knowledge of so many things that happened during her rule. By leading Awami League for more than four decades since her return to home from exile in May 1981 she has set an unprecedented record in Bangladesh politics. She knows secrets about how to run a party as family property–indeed she publicly claimed ownership of the whole country itself–calling it 'my father's country', an expression that has a special connotation in Bangla phraseology.

The other chapter in her memoir may focus on the weaknesses that brought an end to her road.  The weaknesses will warn others beforehand to overcome the hurdles. People are curious to know the secrets of her unprecedented success.

Her new book therefore has immense potential to be a masterpiece if she is honest and sincere in writing her memoir without concealing anything. This book will gain readers beyond the border of Bangladesh and even bring her an international accolade in the form of numerous literary awards. This memoir, once read widely all over the world, may also bring new opportunities for her to build an amazing career in the speech circuit as a global consultant for those who want to emerge as all powerful leaders of the state to claim "I am the state."