• Source:JND
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A book has revealed sensational details about how a last-minute phone call from India saved the life of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, moments before a furious mob stormed her official residence, Ganabhaban, in Dhaka.

Titled ‘Inshallah Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution’, the book is authored by Deep Halder, Jaideep Mazumdar, and Sahidul Hasan Khokon, and published by Juggernaut Books. The gripping account sheds new light on the final hours of Hasina’s rule and the frantic decisions that led to her escape from Bangladesh.

Phone Call That Changed Everything

August 5, 2024, began as a tense day in Dhaka. Youth-led protests against Hasina’s government had spiralled into violent demonstrations, with mobs advancing toward the heavily guarded Ganabhaban.

According to the book, by early afternoon, the situation had reached breaking point. Around 1:30 p.m., the crowd was less than two kilometres away from the Prime Minister’s residence. Despite repeated pleas from top military officials, including Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, Hasina refused to leave. “I will rather die than flee my country,” she reportedly said.

At that critical moment, Hasina received a call from “a top Indian official she knew well.” The conversation, described as brief but decisive, carried a blunt warning, it was too late to wait any longer, and if she didn’t leave immediately, she would be killed. The caller advised her to “live to fight another day.”

Within the next half hour, Hasina made the fateful decision to flee. She was escorted to a waiting helicopter by her sister Sheikh Rehana, carrying just two suitcases.

Daring Escape From Ganabhaban

The book claims at 2:23 p.m., the helicopter lifted off from Ganabhaban and landed at Tejgaon Air Base twelve minutes later. By 2:42 p.m., a C-17 aircraft took off for India under overcast skies, as rain briefly fell over Dhaka.

The aircraft entered Indian airspace over Malda in West Bengal after about twenty minutes. Later that evening, it landed at Hindon Air Base near Delhi, where India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval personally received Hasina and escorted her to a secure, undisclosed location.

The book also cites explosive claims from Hasina’s former home minister, who alleges that her ouster was the result of “a perfect CIA plot.” He accuses the then Bangladesh Army Chief, Waker-uz-Zaman, of betraying Hasina and “being in the CIA’s pocket.”

These revelations come nearly a year after Hasina’s fall from power and subsequent exile in India. The authors suggest the events of that day were not just a collapse of leadership but a meticulously coordinated transfer of power.

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Moment That Altered South Asian Politics

The revelations in Inshallah Bangladesh are expected to reignite debate across South Asia. The book not only chronicles a dramatic escape but also highlights the deep diplomatic backchannels between Dhaka and New Delhi during one of the most volatile periods in Bangladesh’s history.

ALSO READ: Did ‘Perfect CIA Plot’ Overthrow Sheikh Hasina? Former Bangladesh Minister Drops Explosive Coup Allegation 

Thus for many, the story of that one phone call remains a chilling reminder of how a few words can alter the course of a nation’s destiny.

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