Bangladesh Seethes Again As Students Protest Against Yunus's Ban On Hiring Music, PT Teachers

Last Updated:November 13, 2025, 10:31 IST

Amid this eruption of anger, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Yunus of “crushing democracy” and serving as a “front man for extremists”.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. (Reuters)

Bangladesh is once again witnessing the fury of its student community — the same force that reshaped its political landscape only months ago. Campuses across the country, from Dhaka to Chittagong, have erupted in anger after the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus reportedly scrapped the posts of music and physical training teachers in schools, allegedly under pressure from Islamist groups.

Students, brandishing torches and chanting “You can silence music in schools, not in hearts," have taken to the streets in what many describe as a defence of Bangladesh’s cultural identity. Reports of explosions, street clashes, and a lockdown in parts of Dhaka have surfaced, adding to the growing sense of unrest. The protests are being viewed as not merely a response to one administrative decision but as a broader rejection of what students and cultural groups see as the creeping Islamisation of state policy under Yunus’s interim administration.

Yunus Crushing Democracy: Sheikh Hasina

Amid this eruption of anger, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Yunus of “crushing democracy" and serving as a “front man for extremists" in his government. Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18’s Manoj Gupta, Hasina said the international community was “slowly waking up" to the reality that Yunus’s global prestige as a Nobel-winning economist does not translate into democratic legitimacy. “He is not a symbol of democratic regime change, nor does he command any broad support," Hasina said, adding that Yunus was “an unelected head of state dismantling the constitution and failing to protect minorities."

According to Hasina, the current administration is being driven by sectarian and socially regressive forces that have infiltrated the interim government. “His cabinet includes radical extremists," she alleged, claiming that the government’s policies were systematically eroding Bangladesh’s pluralistic traditions. The recent education ministry decision appears, in the eyes of many, to validate her warning.

Ironically, the unrest now threatening the Yunus government mirrors the student uprising that toppled Hasina herself earlier this year. Then, it was students who mobilised against what they described as Hasina’s authoritarian tendencies, demanding reforms and accountability. Their movement gained nationwide traction, culminating in her ouster and the installation of Yunus as interim Chief Adviser — a move initially welcomed by the West and by sections of Bangladeshi civil society.

But the tables seemed to have turned on Yunus. As flames of protest flicker across Dhaka and beyond, the same youth who once demanded change from Hasina’s rule now appear to be turning against Yunus’s administration.

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News world Bangladesh Seethes Again As Students Protest Against Yunus's Ban On Hiring Music, PT Teachers

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