2024 in Bangladesh explained

The following is a list of scheduled and expected events for the year 2024 in Bangladesh. It will follow 1430 and 1431 Baṅgābda (Bengali Year).The year 2024 is the 53rd year of the independence of Bangladesh.

Incumbents

National government

Photo	Post	Name
	President of Bangladesh	Mohammed Shahabuddin (Age)
	Prime Minister of Bangladesh	Sheikh Hasina (fled the country on 5 August) (Age)
	Chief Adviser of Bangladesh	Muhammad Yunus (since 8 August) (Age)
	Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad	Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury (until 6 August) (Age)
	Chief Justice of Bangladesh	Obaidul Hassan (until 10 August) (Age) Syed Refaat Ahmed (since 10 August) (Age)
	Cabinet Secretary of Bangladesh	Md. Mahbub Hossain (Age)
	Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh	Kazi Habibul Awal (Age)
	Jatiya Sangsad	12th Jatiya Sangsad (until 6 August)

Events

January

• 1 January — Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is convicted for violating the country's labour laws.^[1] He and three others from Grameen Telecom are each sentenced to six-months in jail by Dhaka's labour court; and subsequently given one-month bail on the condition of appealing against the verdict. Following an appeal, the convictions are overturned on 7 August.^[2]
• 5 January – Five people are killed in a suspected arson attack on the Benapole Express train in the Gopibagh area of Dhaka.^[3]
• 7 January :
  • 2024 Bangladeshi general election: The Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wins a fourth term in government amid a boycott from opposition parties.^[4]
  • A fire in the Kutupalong refugee camp destroys hundreds of shelters and facilities and displaces nearly 4,000 Rohingya refugees.^[5]

February

• 5 February: A resident of Bandarban district is killed by cross-border shelling in a spillover effect of the Myanmar Civil War that also sees the entry of an armed Burmese faction into Bangladesh.^{[6] [7]}
• 29 February: At least 43 people are killed in a building fire in Dhaka.^[8]

March

• 15 March: The Bangladesh ship MV Abdullah along with its crew is captured and held hostage by Somali pirates.^[9]

April

• 10 April: Fifty-five Kuki-Chin National Front militants are arrested by Bangladesh Police in Bandarban.^[10]
• 15 April: The MV Abdullah and its crew is released by Somali pirates after 32 days in captivity.^[11]

May

• 16 May: Nine Bangladeshi youths are named in the prestigious "Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list" an award for young entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators under the age of 30.^[12]
• 22 May: Awami League MP Md. Anwarul Azim Anar is found killed in Kolkata, India after being reported missing since 13 May. Three Bangladeshis are arrested in connection with his death.^[13]
• 26 May: Seven people are reported killed and two others reported missing across the country due to Cyclone Remal.^[14]

June

• 6 June: The 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement begins.^[15]
• 19 June: Eight people are killed in mudslides in Cox’s Bazar.^[16]

July

• 2-6 July: Eight people are killed in floods caused by heavy rains across the country.^[17]
• 5 July: The completion ceremony of the Padma Bridge is held.^[18]
• 9 July: Twenty-six people are charged with environmental crimes for the felling of 560 acres of the Sonadia coastal forest for commercial purposes.^[19]
• 15 July: 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement: At least 25 people are killed and at least 100 others are injured in nationwide clashes between protesters demanding an end to a quota system in the civil service believed to favor supporters of the government and the Chhatra League of the ruling Awami League and the security forces.^{[20] [21]}
• 16 July: Start of July massacre.^[22]
• 18 July: 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement: Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the state broadcaster Bangladesh Television in Dhaka.^[23]
• 19 July: Police in Dhaka ban all public rallies and protests in the city and impose a nationwide curfew, one day after protestors set fire to government buildings in the city.^[24]
• 21 July:
  • The Supreme Court of Bangladesh orders an overhaul to the quota reservation system at the heart of the quota reform protests, increasing merit appointments in the civil service to 93% and reducing slots allotted for descendants of veterans of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War to 5%, with the remainder going to ethnic minorities, the disabled and transgender people.^[25]
  • A court in the United Arab Emirates sentences 57 Bangladeshis to prison, including three life sentences, for holding protests against the Bangladesh government in the UAE, where protesting is illegal.^[26]

August

• 1 August: The government bans the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, its student wing, the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir and its associated bodies on terrorism grounds following their involvement in the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement.^[27]
• 4 August: At least 91 people are killed in violent clashes between anti-government protesters and police units nationwide.^[28]
• 5 August:
  • Non-cooperation movement (2024)

Sheikh Hasina resigns as Prime Minister and flees to India while her official residence is stormed by protesters. The Bangladesh Armed Forces announces that an interim government would be created,^[29] while hundreds are killed in related violence nationwide.^[30]

• • Imprisoned former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chair Khaleda Zia is ordered released by President Mohammed Shahabuddin.^[31]
• 6 August:
  • President Shahabuddin dissolves the Jatiya Sangsad^[32] and names Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus as the head of the interim government.^[33]
  • Two boats carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar capsize off the coast of Teknaf, killing at least 26 people.^[34]
• 8 August: Muhammad Yunus is inaugurated as head of the interim government.^[35]
• 9 August: Hundreds of people protest in Dhaka against violence targeting the Hindu minority.^[36]
• 10 August: Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigns after an ultimatum from protesters.^[37] He is succeeded by Syed Refaat Ahmed.^[38]
• 13 August: A murder complaint is filed at a court in Dhaka against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and six other government officials, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former Transport and Bridges Minister and concurrent Awami League secretary-general Obaidul Quader, regarding the killing of a grocer during the quota reform movement protests on 19 July.^{[39] [40]}
• 14 August: A genocide complaint is filed at the International Crimes Tribunal against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and nine other government officials, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former Transport and Bridges Minister and concurrent Awami League secretary-general Obaidul Quader, regarding the killings of protesters during the quota reform and non-cooperation movement.^[41]
• 22 August: At least five people are reported killed in flooding in the east and south of the country.^[42]

Deaths

• 6 January: Zahirul Haque, 89, footballer (Police AC, Mohammedan SC, Pakistan national team).^[43]
• 16 January: Rezwan Hossain Siddiqui, 71, journalist, director general of Press Institute of Bangladesh.^[44]
• 23 January: Mohammad Rais Uddin, 35, paramilitary officer (Border Guard Bangladesh).^[45]
• 5 July: Ziaur Rahman, 50, chess grandmaster.^[46]
• 16 July: Abu Sayed, student activist.^[47]

Notes and References

1. News: Beaumont . Peter . 1 January 2024 . Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus convicted of violating Bangladesh's labour laws . . 2 January 2024.
2. Web site: 2024-08-07 . Dr Yunus acquitted, sentence overturned in labour law case. 2024-08-07 . Dhaka Tribune . en.
3. News: Five killed as packed train catches fire in Bangladesh. The Economic Times . 6 January 2024 .
4. News: Bangladesh election: PM Sheikh Hasina wins fourth term in controversial vote . 6 August 2024 . BBC . 7 January 2024 . en.
5. Web site: Blaze at Bangladesh refugee camp leaves thousands of Rohingya homeless . 6 August 2024 . Al Jazeera. en.
6. Web site: Fighting in Myanmar: Blood spills on this side of border . 6 February 2024 .
7. Web site: Hasina asks Border Guard Bangladesh to be patient amid Myanmar fighting .
8. News: 2024-02-29 . Bangladesh fire: At least 43 dead in Dhaka building blaze . 2024-02-29 . BBC News.
9. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/341885/location-of-hijacked-bangladeshi-ship-being
10. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/343816/knf-associate-held-in-bandarban
11. News: 2024-04-15 . Bangladeshi ship seized off Somali coast is freed after more than a month . 2024-04-15 . Associated Press.
12. Web site: 9 Bangladeshis named in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list . 16 May 2024 .
13. News: 22 May 2024 . Missing Bangladesh governing party's MP found murdered in India: Minister . 22 May 2024 . Al Jazeera.
14. Web site: 2024-05-27. Cyclone floods coastal villages and cuts power in Bangladesh, where 800,000 had evacuated . 2024-05-27 . Associated Press . en .
15. Web site: 2024-07-10 . কোটা আন্দোলন: মুক্তিযোদ্ধা কোটা বহাল করে হাইকোর্টের রায়ে স্থিতাবস্থা আপিল বিভাগের . 2024-07-14 . BBC News বাংলা . bn.
16. Web site: Landslides kill at least 15, displace millions, in Bangladesh and India . 19 June 2024 . Al Jazeera .
17. News: Eight dead, two million affected by Bangladesh floods . 2024-07-06 . France 24.
18. Web site: Padma Bridge's closing ceremony today .
19. News: Bangladesh charges 26 for destruction of vast mangrove forest . 2024-07-11 . France 24.
20. News: At least six killed in Bangladesh student anti-quota protests . 2024-07-17 . Al Jazeera.
21. News: 19 more die in Bangladesh clashes as student protesters try to impose a 'complete shutdown' . 2024-07-18 . Associated Press.
22. News: ‘জুলাই গণহত্যায়’ নিহতদের প্রকৃত সংখ্যা কবে জানা যাবে?. bn. 17 August 2024. BBC.
23. Web site: 2024-07-18 . State TV HQ set ablaze, death toll rises as student protests roil Bangladesh . 2024-07-18 . France 24 . en.
24. Web site: Photos: Bangladesh bans rallies as violent protests spiral out of control . 2024-07-20 . Al Jazeera . en.
25. Web site: Bangladesh top court scraps most quotas that caused deadly unrest . 2024-07-21 . Al Jazeera . en.
26. Web site: UAE jails 57 Bangladeshis over protests against own government . 2024-07-22 . www.bbc.com . en-GB.
27. News: Bangladesh bans Jamaat-e-Islami party following violent protests that left more than 200 dead . 1 August 2024 . Associated Press.
28. Web site: At least 90 killed as Bangladesh protesters renew call for Hasina to quit . 2024-08-04 . Al Jazeera . en.
29. Web site: 5 August 2024 . Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns and leaves country as protesters storm palace . 5 August 2024 . France 24 . en.
30. News: Bangladesh's interim government will take oath on Thursday, says the military chief . 7 August 2024 . Associated Press News . 7 August 2024 .
31. Web site: Bangladesh president orders release of ex-PM Khaleda Zia . 2024-08-06 . Al Jazeera . en.
32. Web site: Bangladesh parliament dissolved, president's office says . 2024-08-06 . Al Arabiya . en.
33. Web site: Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus to head interim government . 2024-08-07 . dw.com . en.
34. Web site: 17 more Rohingya bodies recovered from Naf River . 2024-08-07 . Dhaka Tribune . en.
35. Web site: Muhammad Yunus takes oath as head of Bangladesh's interim government . 2024-08-09 . Al Jazeera . en .
36. Web site: August 9, 2024 . Hundreds protest in Dhaka over violence against Hindus in Bangladesh . .
37. Web site: 2024-08-10 . Bangladesh's chief justice resigns under pressure as Yunus-led interim government starts working . 2024-08-10 . AP News . en.
38. Web site: 2024-08-10 . Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed appointed chief justice . 2024-08-10 . The Daily Star . en.
39. Web site: Bangladesh's ex-PM investigated for murder . 13 August 2024. BBC.
40. Web site: Bangladesh court orders probe in murder case against ex-PM Sheikh Hasina . 13 August 2024. Al Jazeera.
41. Web site: 2024-08-15 . Probe starts against Hasina, 9 others for genocide, crimes against humanity . 2024-08-15 . Dhaka Tribune . en .
42. Web site: 2024-08-22 . Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests . 2024-08-22 . France 24 . en .
43. Web site: প্রতিবেদক . ক্রীড়া . 2024-01-06 . ফুটবল অঙ্গন ভুলেই গেছে জহিরুল হককে, নীরব বিদায় মোহামেডান কিংবদন্তির . 2024-01-23 . Prothomalo . bn.
44. Web site: 2024-01-17 . Journalist Rezwan Siddiqui no more . 2024-01-23 . The Daily Star . en.
45. Web site: 2024-01-23 . BGB member killed in BSF firing at Benapole border . 2024-01-23 . The Business Standard . en.
46. Web site: Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman dies while playing chess. 2024-07-05 . The Daily Observer.
47. Web site: Student in Rangpur killed during clash between police and protesters . The Daily Star . 16 July 2024 . 17 July 2024 . 16 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240716185320/https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/student-rangpur-killed-during-clash-between-police-and-protesters-3658216 . live .