In the middle of July summer, Nahid Islam, a 26-year-old sociology student at Dhaka University, emerged as a major player in the protests that led to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepping down after 15 years. His leadership was nationally recognized and together with his colleagues they were arrested by police during these demonstrations against the government which caused his popularity surge.
These started out as job quota-related demonstrations but ended up calling for Hasina to step down. The violence left almost 300 dead, mostly students from colleges and universities; it was only after her voluntary resignation and leaving for India on Monday that there was calm.
On Tuesday, Islam and other student leaders are set to hold talks with army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman who announced Hasina’s demise and formation of an interim government.
Islam has been unyielding in his insistence that the students will not accept any regime led or backed by the military; he proposed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as chief adviser. “We will not accept any other government,” he wrote on Facebook.
Who is Nahid Islam?
Islam was born in Dhaka in 1998 and is married with a younger brother called Nakib. His father is a teacher while his mother is a housewife. Commenting on this, Nakib Islam who studies geography said “he is so dogged and always said he wanted change for our country. They found him unconscious having been beaten up by police before being abandoned on the road side. But despite everything, he still fights back. We know that he will not stop trying. Very proud.”
Nahid has promised to create a new Bangladesh based on democracy where citizens feel safe; social justice can prevail; politics can be refurbished afresh. He also swore never again would it become what he called ‘Fascist rule’ but told fellow students to be vigilant concerning Hindu minority community members and their places of worship too.
