It all started with just one word: “Razakar“

In Bangladesh, “Razakar” is a highly derogatory term. It means volunteer but it refers to those who supported the Pakistani military campaign to quell the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. For Bangladeshis, it is a heinous crime against the nation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, who resigned and fled the country in an army helicopter on Monday amid widespread unrest, is known for using the term “Razakar” to refer to anyone she considers a threat or dissident during her more than 15 years in power.

The daughter of the country's founding father, former President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina led the pro-democracy uprising that ousted the military ruler and then-President Hossain Mohammad Ershad from power in 1990.

Ms Hasina first became prime minister after her Awami League party won elections in 1996. She took power again in 2009, overseeing impressive economic growth but also an increasingly authoritarian government in Bangladesh, a country of 170 million people.

Critics say Ms Hasina has taken control to create and maintain a narrative against her opponents. Most of Bangladesh's mainstream media are owned by businesses with ties to the Awami League party.

Control of the media allowed Hasina to project an image of her supporters as the legitimate heirs to the country's independence legacy and achievements, while portraying dissidents and opposition members from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami (Bangladesh Muslim Council) as the remnants of anti-national and "extremist" factions.

Former Prime Minister and key opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia was imprisoned in 2018 on corruption charges, while a leading figure of Jamaat-e-Islami was executed in 2016.

However, Ms Hasina made a serious mistake when she called the student protesters demanding reform of job quotas “Razakars”. With that statement, she crossed the line.

Add fuel to the fire

During a press conference on July 14, Ms. Hasina was asked by a reporter about the student protests against state job quotas for families of independence heroes that have been going on for more than a week.

In response, Ms Hasina replied: “If the children of freedom fighters do not get welfare [quota], then who will? The grandchildren of the Razakars?”

Her comments sparked protests almost immediately. Students felt her remarks unfairly rebuffed their efforts to address an “unfair” quota system in state jobs, which reserved about 30% of positions for descendants of fighters who took part in the 1971 liberation movement.

Students began protesting within hours, marching through the Dhaka University campus, chanting provocative slogans: “Who are you? I am Razakar.”

Ms Hasina’s response was tough. This led to a day of violence on July 16, in which six people died. Over the next four days, more than 200 people were killed, mostly students and civilians, as police and BCL armed forces fired live ammunition into crowds.

Instead of condemning the violence, Ms Hasina focused on the damage to government property, such as the metro rail and the state television building.

This only fueled anger among students, who initially demanded a nine-point list of reforms, including an unconditional apology from Hasina and the removal of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and other ministers.

The protesters' demands eventually coalesced into one slogan: “Hasina must resign!”

Journey to the pinnacle of power

Born in 1947 in what was then East Pakistan, Hasina has been politically active since childhood. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known as the "Father of the Nation", led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971 and became the country's first president.

By that time, Ms. Hasina had made a name for herself as a prominent student leader at Dhaka University. The assassination of her father and most of her family in a military coup in 1975 left her and her sister as the only survivors, as they were abroad at the time.

After a period of exile in India, Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 and took over the leadership of the Awami League, the party founded by her father.

She played a key role in organizing pro-democracy protests against the military government of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad and quickly rose to national prominence.

Ms Hasina first became prime minister in 1996, gaining credit for reaching a water-sharing deal with India and a peace accord with tribal militant groups in southeastern Bangladesh.

However, her administration faced criticism for alleged corruption and bias towards India, which led to Hasina losing power to Begum Khaleda Zia, a former ally turned rival.

In 2008, Ms. Hasina was re-elected as Prime Minister with a resounding victory and led the government for the next 15 years.

Bangladeshi political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman told Al Jazeera that the most significant damage Hasina has done to the country is corruption.

Ms Hasina has previously said she would crack down on corruption, but critics say there is no evidence her administration is serious about tackling the problem.

Moreover, Ms Hasina has tarnished the legacy of Bangladesh's liberation war by distorting its story. "The protesting students were so angry that Hasina called them 'Razakars' that they started using the term as a form of protest against her divisive tactics," said Rahman.

“Ultimately, this contributed to her downfall,” said Zahed Ur Rahman.

Nguyen Khanh