Conflict in Bangladesh is between those wanting to move forward and those wanting to move backward, says Taslima Nasrin | World News

Flames engulf the office of the Prothom Alo newspaper after it was torched protesters in Dhaka. (AP)

Exiled Bangladeshi writer and activ Taslima Nasrin has claimed that the current political developments in her home country are the result of a discontent that has been burning for a long time.

‘Burning in the fire of discontent’

According to Nasrin, who has been living in India since 2004, the conflict in Bangladesh is not between the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party or between ousted prime miner Sheikh Hasina and the head of the interim government Muhammad Yunus.

“The country has long been burning in the fire of discontent, but this is not because of the conflict between the Awami League and the BNP, not because of the conflict between Hasina and Yunus, not because of the conflict between Chhayanaut/Udichi and miscreants, and not because of a conflict between Hindus and Muslims,” Nasrin said in a post on X.

A protester holds a placard and shouts slogans during a protest following overnight attacks and vandalism after the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. (AP Photo)

Conflict between two ideologies

Nasrin pointed out that Bangladesh was seeing the conflict between those who want to move forward and those who want to move backward, an apparent reference to a growing pro-Pakan shift in the country, which in 1971 fought a bloody war to gain independence from Islamabad.

“The true conflict is between two ideologies—between secularism and religious fanaticism; it is a struggle between rationalism and fundamentalism, between truth and falsehood, between light and darkness, between progressivism and reactionism, between intelligence and ignorance, between civilization and barbarism, between humanity and savagery, between free thought and blindness,” Nasrin said.Story continues below this ad

“It is a conflict between two kinds of people: those who want to move forward and those who want to move backward.”

The country has long been burning in the fire of discontent, but this is not because of the conflict between the Awami League and the BNP, not because of the conflict between Hasina and Yunus, not because of the conflict between Chhayanaut/Udichi and miscreants, and not because…— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) December 24, 2025

The interim government, led Yunus, which came to power in August 2024 after the student-led protests forced Hasina to flee the country, has been accused of getting closer to Pakan.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks via a televised address to the nation after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, late Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Source: PTI Photo)

The interim government, however, says it is pursuing a “balanced foreign policy” aimed at regional stability and economic necessity rather than favouring any specific nation.