By: Nava ThakuriaIn a much-anticipated press conference by ousted Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi that drove relations between the two countries to a new low, Hasina reiterated that she intends to return to Bangladesh in December but did not disclose a specific date or travel plan, avoiding spelling out a roadmap. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, joined the briefing from the United States and acknowledged India’s continued support for his mother since she left Dhaka two years earlier, following the student-led uprising that ended the Awami League government.Dhaka expressed dismay over Hasina’s appearance, charging that New Delhi had allowed a convicted individual to address journalists. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry objected to what it described as an opportunity for Hasina and her allies to attack the state and people of Bangladesh. The ministry said the event was an affront to Bangladesh’s sovereignty and an insult to those killed during the July Revolution, while adding that Bangladesh still sought a constructive and forward-looking relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference and national dignity.New Delhi responded that the event had been organized by an independent press club made up of journalists from Indian and international media organizations, and that the Indian government neither organized the briefing nor endorsed the views expressed. A foreign ministry spokesperson said India had no role in the program and added that, even if Hasina had been granted shelter, she was not permitted to conduct political activity from Indian soil against another sovereign state. New Delhi is not expected to press Hasina to leave India unless it receives assurances from Dhaka that she would be treated in accordance with due legal process after her return.Hasina, 78, has lived in New Delhi in self-imposed exile since August 2024. In what was billed as her first public media interaction in two years, she repeated comments already reported, saying that “whatever fate awaits” her, she would return home. Recalling the struggles of her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, during the 1971 liberation war and the sacrifices of the Muktijoddhas, or freedom fighters, Hasina said fear for her life would not determine whether she returned. She said December was an appropriate month because Bangladesh marks Victory Day on 16 December, commemorating the 1971 surrender of Pakistani forces.Referring to the July-August 2024 unrest, Hasina alleged that organized groups had infiltrated the job-quota reform movement and transformed it into a campaign demanding her resignation. She said what began as a peaceful protest turned violent, with demonstrators attacking public infrastructure and law-enforcement personnel. Hasina argued that the escalation forced her to leave Bangladesh but did not sever her connection with the people. She also claimed that the February national election was stage-managed because the Awami League was barred from participating, leaving citizens, in her words, under fear, repression and economic hardship.The government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus took charge in August 2024, after Hasina fled shortly before a mob entered the prime minister’s residence. Eighteen months later, the caretaker administration sponsored a general election in which Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party emerged victorious and BNP chief Tarique Rahman became prime minister. Since then, Hasina has faced numerous penalties in absentia, including a death sentence from Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over alleged crimes against humanity during the July-August uprising. The Awami League has also been restricted from political activity and from contesting elections.The interim administration demanded Hasina’s repatriation from India to face trial in Dhaka, and the BNP government has repeatedly asked New Delhi to extradite her under the bilateral treaty between the two countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Tarique Rahman before he took office, but New Delhi has remained non-committal on Hasina’s extradition. That cautious posture appeared to be reflected in Rahman’s recent first overseas visit, which included Malaysia and China but not India. He has been invited to New Delhi for the BRICS summit on 12-13 September, though Dhaka has reportedly not confirmed his attendance.In Dhaka the same day, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the July Uprising Memorial Museum, converted from the vandalized Ganabhaban complex at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, in the presence of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Yunus. Yunus said the museum would honor the courage and sacrifice of those killed in the 2024 revolution, now widely described by its supporters as a struggle for democracy in Bangladesh. He urged citizens to visit the museum and reflect on the vision of a new nation that rejects authoritarianism.Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen also backed Hasina’s stated intention to return, saying after the audio address that the former prime minister should be guaranteed an impartial and internationally credible judicial process. Nasreen said she understood the pain of exile, having lived outside Bangladesh for more than three decades, and wished Hasina success in the next phase of her political life. She criticized the government’s restrictions on media coverage of Hasina’s New Delhi event as undemocratic and called for the ban on the Awami League to be lifted. At the same time, she reminded Hasina that, during her 15 years in power, she had not allowed Nasreen to return home because of opposition from radical Islamist groups—a position Nasreen said had later turned against Hasina herself.