AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It has been a week for a lot of people. But take a moment to consider one of Bangladesh's most prominent citizens, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. At the outset of this week, he was in Paris for the Olympics and also potentially facing jail time at home. Within days, he was leading the country. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports on Bangladesh's new leader.
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DIAA HADID, BYLINE: The ceremony was brief.
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MOHAMMED SHAHABUDDIN: (Speaking Bangla).
HADID: Bangladesh's president administered the oath to Muhammad Yunus to his role as chief advisor in the new interim government.
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HADID: Its formation was announced after Sheikh Hasina fled the country on Monday as tens of thousands of citizens overran her residence.
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HADID: It followed a deadly crackdown she oversaw in protesting students. And the students who led the protests wanted one man to lead them out of the crisis, Muhammad Yunus. He and his colleagues won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their pioneering work on microlending to the impoverished. He's earned dozens of other honors since. His supporters include the Obamas and the Clintons. He oversees a vast network that includes banks, a mobile company, a dairy company, that are engineered to try create opportunities for impoverished people. And he's a man famous enough to be on...
HADID: ..."The Simpsons."
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MUHAMMAD YUNUS: (As himself) I'm Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank. And oh, yeah, I'm also the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
HADID: But Yunus also earned the Ire of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, likely because he briefly considered forming a political party at a time when a military-backed government had imprisoned her. During her subsequent 15 years of rule, cases were filed against Yunus. In June, he was indicted in an embezzlement case worth over $2 million. Yunus appealed and was free to travel and speak out.
YUNUS: These are political harassment.
HADID: That's Yunus speaking to NPR last month, a few days before Sheikh Hasina's loyalists violently cracked down on students. In that interview, he accused Sheikh Hasina of weaponizing the judiciary against him.
YUNUS: She thinks I'm a political threat to her because I'm so popular in the country.
HADID: A political threat because I am so popular - he was in Paris as an honorary guest for the Olympics when student leaders called on him Wednesday to lead Bangladeshi's interim government.
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HADID: In less than 24 hours, he landed back in the capital, Dhaka, and he urged Bangladeshis to unite.
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YUNUS: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: "We're a family," he says. "Let's work together." Many Bangladeshis welcomed his return, like Mina Sultana Neelu, a 54-year-old housewife.
MINA SULTANA NEELU: (Speaking Bangla).
HADID: She says, "Yunus is Bangladesh's proud son. If our country can move forward holding his hand, I think it will transform into something beautiful." But much rests on Yunus' shoulders.
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HADID: It includes rebuilding the police force, which collapsed after Sheikh Hasina fled Monday. There are concerns for the safety of Bangladesh's Hindus. Many banks are shuttered. School's out. Courts aren't operating. One of the students who led the protest, Thamid al-Mudassar Chowdhury says, I don't know how much of our expectations Yunus can fulfill.
THAMID AL-MUDASSAR CHOWDHURY: (Speaking Bangla).
HADID: But, he says, Yunus has to. He says, if Yunus can't pull off deep-seated systemic change, the next government and prime minister might be just as autocratic as the one they toppled.
CHOWDHURY: (Speaking Bangla).
HADID: And, Chowdhury says, "we don't want another Sheikh Hasina." Diaa Hadid, NPR News, New Delhi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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