First Bangladesh, then Nepal & Venezuela, and now Iran...!
On 5th August 2024, Bangladesh witnessed a regime change consequent upon public unrest, loot, arson and unbridled attack on minorities of Bangladesh and the Awami League leaders and its cadres throughout the country. The democratically elected civilian rule in the country came to an abrupt end with the forced exit of its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who was given 45 minutes by the Army to resign and leave the country along with her sister, Sheikh Rehana.
Many observers believe that some foreign hands were deeply involved in the unrest in Bangladesh who wanted Sheikh Hasina to step down since she didn’t permit them their foothold in the Bay of Bengal. This has also been reiterated by Sheikh Hasina in her statements issued in her third exile in India. The government of India assured her safe exit from Dhaka and also allowed her to stay in India till she finally decides about her future plans of permanent stay, which of course haven’t been decided as yet by her.
Regime change in various parts of the world has become a political pastime for the world powers who want the world to dance as per their tune and whims. The US has been on the frontline in this campaign of regime-change in the world. The most deplorable thing happening in Bangladesh was the public desecration of the statues and images of the founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and the heroes of the liberation movement of 1971. Their statues and memorials at prominent public places were not only desecrated, pulled down and broken but also disrespected in the most heinous manner.
The statue of the writer of the national anthem of Bangladesh (amaar sonar bangla…), Rabindra Nath Tagore, was broken into pieces by the rampaging crowds. Looting and burning the business houses of the minority Hindu community by the public continues unabated till date. Bangladesh with an unelected government under Muhammad Yunus, who is believed to be a puppet of the western powers, has created a lot of tension with India after the change in the government.
During the year 2025, Nepal also experienced a lot of public disorder. Nepal emerged as the latest nation to get destroyed internally due to the orchestrated public anger against the government and the people in power. The political and other influences in Nepal from its neighbouring nation in the north, China, are well known. These influences have brought havoc in the socio-political scenario in Nepal for a long time now.
The utter failure of the governments led by the Nepali Congress and the Communist-Maoist parties over the last two decades post monarchy era is seen as a major cause of the public uprising in Nepal. Its connections with elements outside the country are also established who worked for a change in the establishment. The most tragic and deplorable act of attacking Pashupatinath Temple signalled towards the activity of the jehadi elements in Nepal and especially in Kathmandu. The new head of government has promised elections to the parliament in March this year.
The irony is that Nepal has seen a dozen Prime Ministers within a period of two decades coupled with change of governments so frequently. This scenario thus pushed the political and economic stability of the nation into a big quagmire of questions. However, the organisers and the protesters in Nepal squarely blamed the pampered and the specially treated kiths and kins of the politicians in the government for the public anger. They called this big band of sons, daughters and other kith & kin of politicians as Nepokids, who were and are nurtured on nepotism towards them.
In a bizarre action, the US commandos on 3rd January, 2026 entered Venezuelan territory and captured the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and his wife. They were then taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, where they remain incarcerated, with Maduro expected to be produced in a Manhattan court the next week. The ‘kidnapping’ of the head of the government of a sovereign nation along with his wife by the US is not only a deplorable act but it is a direct attack on the sovereignty of an independent nation. The world by and large kept silent on this issue and even China, which has the largest stake in Venezuela, criticized the action and said only that ‘it was an aggression against the sovereign republic’.
The US recently adopted a security related policy to bring to an end the competitiveness of the non-hemispheric actors in the western global hemisphere. In this connection, China is on a direct attack from the US. China has invested largely in Venezuela which has the biggest oil and gold reserves in the world. It developed a great defence and economic relationship with Venezuela over the last some years. China Development Bank has invested more than 50 billion dollars in the oil industry in Venezuela.
China also supplied a large air defence system to Venezuela which it (Venezuela) banked upon greatly. However, it didn’t serve any purpose when the commandos attacked the Presidential residence. The Chinese equipment met the same fate that we witnessed during Operation Sindoor when this very air defence system of China in Pakistan couldn’t make any difference to the fortune of Pakistan in the May 2025 four-day high-tech war with India. It met the same fate that Chinese goods and other equipment meet historically that has no guarantee to prove their worth when they are put to the real test.
Maduro has been accused of supplying drugs to the US illegal markets and faces almost the same kind of charges that Sadam Hussain of Iraq and Muamar Gaddafi of Libya faced and that the US could never prove till date. The US action in Venezuela hasn’t been taken due notice of by the international bodies including the UN or the Security Council the way they should have. This is a very serious issue for the rest of the world which is however in deep slumber on it.
For the last two weeks, Iran has been on the boil. Hundreds of thousands of people are on its streets at several places. As many as 40 people have been killed in the public protests. There is a background of this upheaval in the country and it had been brewing up over the last some years. The people of Iran want their identity, civilization and freedom back. Though the uprising is very much related to the economic issues in the oil rich country as well, the people especially women and young girls are agitating vociferously along with the other agitators. It is reminiscent of the 1979 Islamic revolution in the country.
It is believed that the US and a few other western powers are also putting their contributions in this national uprising against the tyrannical & despotic regime of Ali Khaminei, the Supreme leader of Iran. There had been agitations going on against the government control on women dresses particularly the Hijab, burqa and the hair related instructions for the women by the moral police in the country. The people want their “crown prince” Raza Pahlavi II to return to their country and he has also lent his support to the unrest in Iran.
This instability and regime change throughout hints towards a major upheaval globally in the days to come that suits the global powers. It will take time to unfold things but currently all eyes are on Iran interestingly.
Author is a senior BJP and KP leader, Human Rights Defender, author & columnist.
