Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh was a personalised despotism redolent of rajahs and sultans of a bygone era, where former prime ministers and Nobel laureates were not safe from her packed courts, where journalists and politicians, and ordinary people, would be killed, tortured, or illegally abducted.

With opposition parties boycotting the election and mass arrests, Bangladesh's turn towards a dictatorship under Sheikh Hasina is set to continue with the third consecutive one-sided election.

There is every reason to fear that Bangladesh may witness the age-old tactic of communal violence ahead of the upcoming election. 

The history of elections under Sheikh Hasina shows that the next one, scheduled for January 2024, is unlikely to be free or fair. Both realpolitik and ideals make the case for India taking a strong stance on restoring democracy in Bangladesh.