In a dramatic turn of events, Nobel laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, for whom global figures last year called on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stop "persecution", has now emerged as the head of the country within 72 hours of unseating the Awami League government.
On Thursday night, the lone Nobel laureate of the country took oath as the head of the interim government in line with the aspirations of the student leaders who led the mass upsurge that toppled the 15-year-long regime of Awami League supremo Sheikh Hasina.
Dr Yunus, internationally renowned for his microlending concepts, faced severe challenges since the Hasina government came to power in 2009.
In January this year, Prof Yunus was sentenced to six months in jail for violating labour laws, a verdict that many critics of the Awami League believed was politically motivated.
He was released on bail in March, but his legal battles continued as over 100 additional charges were filed against him, seemingly at the insistence of the Hasina government.
These cases were related to labour law violations and alleged corruption. On Wednesday, a Dhaka court overturned the conviction in the case.
In 2011, Hasina government removed Dr Yunus from Grameen Bank, the micro-lending institution he founded and made famous.
The accusation was that Dr Yunus treated the institution as his "personal property" and was not legally eligible to be the managing director of the bank.
Yunus faced further legal challenges. In 2013, he was tried for violating foreign currency rules and also prosecuted in relation to the companies he founded.
However, his popularity grew as the "legal harassment" drew global attention. In 2023, more than 170 global figures, including former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, signed a petition urging Sheikh Hasina to cease what they described as the "persecution" of Yunus.
Meanwhile, while under "persecution", Dr Yunus issued a statement urging the international community to pressure the Hasina government to stop its repression of student protesters.
Many believed that Hasina always considered him a potential threat to her regime. In 2007, he was offered the position of chief adviser by the military-backed caretaker government.
Both Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia were under house arrest at that time.
Later, in 2008, Dr Yunus hinted at the possibility of forming a political party but ultimately decided against it.
"So, people kept coming to me, saying that I should join politics... And they put pressure on me, and finally, I said, 'Okay, I'll join politics and I'll create a party'... Within two months I announced that 'No, I'm not going to create a party'. That's all - I never created a party," Yunus told The New York Times in 2012.
But he believes Hasina misread his intentions. Asked about his relationship with Hasina, he told the NYT, "She never explained, so I don't understand what went on, just speculation in the press. One is that she feels I'm a political threat... This is again speculation. She never said that I'm a political threat... We've never had a face-to-face meeting, although I've tried to seek her appointment so I could see her, but it never happened."
In an interview with TIME earlier this year, when asked about the reasons behind Hasina's determined campaign against him, Yunus said, "Nobody can really answer; it doesn't make sense to anyone. But it goes on."
After Hasina's downfall, Yunus told the Washington Post, "We're all rejoicing-the monster who was on top of us has left. Today we are free," adding that he expected his "fake cases" to be dropped.
Looking to the future, he also told the Post, "We had an imaginary election in the past. Now we need a real election."
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com