New Delhi, Dec. 2 -- Bangladesh stands today in one of the most fragile moments of its political history, not because the country has never seen turmoil, but because the current uncertainty feels deeper, darker, and far less predictable than the cyclical unrest that used to define its past. What began months ago as factional squabbling among BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizens Party (NCP) has now collided with a far more explosive development. The death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in exile in India, for crimes against humanity would push the country's remaining political balance into turmoil and plunge the nation into a maze of fear, protest, and uncertainty.

For weeks, political actors behaved as...