Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister who’s been living in India since she fled in August 2024, has now formally asked for a new Bangladeshi passport and national identity card. Her lawyers sent a letter on Monday to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi. That’s the first time she’s done anything like this since she left.
The letter, from London-based Matrix Chambers, is addressed to the acting high commissioner Preeti Rahman. It basically says that because the interim government reportedly cancelled her old passport and NID, she needs new ones. They want the process done quickly, citing her Bangladeshi nationality and international human rights rules. Reuters saw the letter and broke the story. Hasina’s side has confirmed it too.
This is the clearest sign yet that she’s serious about going back in December. She’s been saying for a while that she wants to return and face the courts. Her aides are now saying the exact date will be announced once the paperwork is sorted. She’s told people she plans to surrender before a court. That’s a big shift from just sitting in exile.
Remember the background. Student-led protests in 2024 forced her out after years in power. She crossed into India. Since then her Awami League party has been banned. A war-crimes court sentenced her to death in her absence last year for the crackdown on those protests. She’s always denied the charges. Now she’s talking about going back anyway, even with that hanging over her.
People close to her say having a proper passport gives her more control over how she returns. Land border versus airport, that kind of thing. Without documents it gets messy. Bangladesh officials, though, have been clear they want her handed over under the extradition treaty with India. A junior foreign minister said recently they won’t just issue her a new passport to make travel easy. Law minister has also talked about legal steps to bring her back that way.
So far the embassy in Delhi and the current government in Dhaka haven’t commented on this latest letter. That’s typical. Silence while they figure out the next move.
Hasina is 78 or 79 now. She’s been in India for over two years. Earlier this year she told interviewers she knows the risks – arrest, prison, even worse – but still wants to go because “my people are calling me.” Whether that’s true or political talk, the passport request makes the December plan feel more real.
This could stir things up again in Bangladesh. The country has been through a lot since she left. New government, banned party, ongoing cases. Her return, if it happens, won’t be quiet. Supporters will mobilise. Opponents will push back. Courts will get busy. India will have to handle the diplomatic side carefully.
For now it’s just a letter. But letters like this don’t get sent unless someone is preparing to move. Hasina’s team is putting the pieces in place. Whether the High Commission issues the documents or not will tell us a lot about how this plays out. December is only a few weeks away. People on both sides are watching closely.
Sources: Reuters exclusive report, The Print, Hindustan Times, Economic Times, Dawn, National Herald, TBS News, statements from Hasina’s aides and Awami League, comments from Bangladesh foreign and law ministry officials.
@Rohit Manral
