Though Yunus was initially reluctant, the student protestors had persuaded him to provide leadership at this critical juncture. A 17-member interim government led by Yunus was sworn in on August 8.

It took almost a week for the violence against minorities and looting to be controlled as police personnel — who had abandoned their duty fearing reprisal attacks — rejoined duty at police stations after appeals by the newly appointed police chief, Mainul Islam.

Still, the blame game continues. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul accused the Awami League of being behind the attacks on minorities and claimed the chaos near the India-Bangladesh border to cross over to India was staged by the party.

Challenges ahead

The interim regime embodies the aspirations of many who want to see real change in Bangladesh. But the last two weeks reflect the interim government’s inability to stop the vandalism and harassment of political workers of Awami League as they are made to bear the brunt of Hasina’s decision.

Yunus is working hard to bring back a semblance of order. He visited Dhakeshwari temple and met leaders of the minority Hindu community to assure them of his government’s commitment to protect them. In a heartening gesture, students also attempted to protect places of worship belonging to minorities after the initial attacks.

On Friday, president Shahabuddin Ahmed administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the four new members as advisors to the interim government: economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumdar, retired power secretary Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan and Lt Gen (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. Several political appointees have vacated their positions which will help the interim regime to clean up politicised institutions.

There is an expectation that the interim regime will investigate corruption, and excesses of Hasina’s regime and look into several cases of disappearances and politically motivated arrests. Syed Refaat Ahmed, the senior most high court judge, has already taken over as the new chief justice along with new judges. Some ambassadors and other foreign service officials posted abroad are also recalled back to Bangladesh, including Mohammad Imran, ambassador to the US; Kamrul Hasan, ambassador to Russia; and Javed Patwary, ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Despite the overhaul in government, financial woes loom. Ahsan H Mansur, the newly appointed Bangladesh bank governor stated that the economy is not doing well, particularly acknowledging the country's foreign exchange reserves crunch. Private banks have almost collapsed due to unpaid loans.

The life of this interim regime is not yet fixed. Electoral reforms would be an essential first step. But whether such reforms would endure to establish a healthy democratic culture is doubtful. After all, the previous military-backed caretaker regime in power between 2007 and 2008 undertook reforms with little consequence.

The roadmap to restore democracy through election has not yet been announced. The interim regime however embodies the hope of the new generation that they can engender a transformative democratic change.

Second Liberation?

While Yunus has termed the ouster of Hasina as the second liberation, the law-and-order situation in the country had deteriorated, with killings and plundering soon after the army chief announced the former PM’s resignation.

On the day of Hasina's ouster, widespread arson attacks and looting were prevalent in Dhaka and elsewhere, and calls for help flooded social media. Not only Sheikh Mujib’s statue was dismantled, but his Dhanmondi 32 memorial was burnt and statues of seven other bir protiks (Idols of courage) who had valiantly fought the 1971 liberation war were defaced, raising several questions on the identity of the people who were behind these attacks.

The situation has reversed in a matter of a week. The BNP is organising rallies as the AL supporters are hiding. Murder and genocide cases have been filed against Hasina and her cabinet colleagues with the United Nations set to send a fact-finding team next week to probe atrocities committed during the student-led protests in July and early this month.

The interim government cancelled August 15 which is observed as national mourning day as a holiday. It needs to be noted after Hasina’s fall, 326 people were killed in just two days between August 4-6, in attacks by miscreants belonging to political parties as part of revenge killing.

It appears nothing has changed in Bangladesh’s political culture after the second "liberation". Despite positive signs due to the overhaul in Bangladesh's government, the worrying trend of reprisal attacks and the killing of previous regime supporters continues.

Smruti S Pattanaik, is research fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (MP-IDSA). The views expressed are personal