Meet Nahid Islam, who led student protests to oust Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
Nahid Islam, a sociology student at Dhaka University, known for wearing a Bangladeshi flag tied across his forehead, played a leading role in the nationwide protests that resulted ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years in Bangladesh. The protests, initially calling for reforms to the quota system for government jobs, quickly escalated into a broader anti-government movement demanding Hasina's resignation.
As a prominent human rights defender, Islam serves as one of the national coordinators for the 'Students Against Discrimination' movement. This student-led initiative demanded reforms to the quota system for government jobs in Bangladesh. The movement emerged after the Supreme Court of Bangladesh reinstated a 30 percent quota for descendants of war veterans and freedom fighters in June 2024. The protesters argue that the quota is discriminatory and politically manipulated, restricting access to government jobs.
Islam, 26, has been a fierce critic of Sheikh Hasina's party, the Awami League, labelling them as "terrorists" operating on the streets. In a previous address to protesters at Shahbagh, he declared that students had "picked up sticks today" and were prepared to "take up arms" if necessary.
His national prominence surged in mid-July when he and several other Dhaka University students were arrested by police as the protests turned violent.
Nakib Islam, Nahid’s younger brother, told Reuters that Nahid had always advocated for change in the country and recounted the brutality he suffered at the hands of the police. “He was picked up by the police, tortured until he was unconscious, and then dumped on the road. Despite all this, he continues to fight. We have confidence that he will not give up. Proud of him," Nakib stated.
He vowed to prevent Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million, from reverting to what he described as "fascist rule" and urged fellow students to protect the Hindu minority and their places of worship, as reported by Reuters.
Islam has declared that students will not accept any government led or supported by the army and has proposed that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus be appointed as the chief adviser.
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ACB case against Sisodia, Jain a political move to pressurise them: AAP
New Delhi (PTI): The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said the ACB's case against its leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain was registered to "pressurise and scare" them as they were recently appointed as incharge and co-incharge of Punjab party unit.
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has filed a case against former deputy CM and education minister Sisodia, and ex-PWD minister Jain, over alleged corruption in the construction of government schools.
The scam is pegged at around Rs 2,000 crore and involved awarding contracts at highly inflated rates with classrooms reportedly built at Rs 24.86 lakh each, nearly five times the usual cost, the ACB added in a statement.
Reacting to the development, the BJP said there was corruption in the construction of schools in Delhi under the previous AAP government.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda in a press conference dismissed the charges and said the case was a "political" move to "pressurise and scare" Sisodia and Jain.
"The way cases are being registered against Sisodia and other leaders, I feel there could soon be cases against him for occupying the minister's seat, for forgetting to put a comma or a full stop in a document," Dhanda said.
Dhanda added that the BJP government does no work, instead it files cases against AAP leaders on every matter.
"It can not be a mere coincidence that earlier a case was registered against party leader Durgesh Pathak when he became co-incharge of Gujarat. Now, a case has been registered against Sisodia and Satyendar Jain who are in charge and co-incharge of the Punjab unit of AAP," Dhanda stated.
Earlier in March, the AAP appointed Sisodia as in-charge and former minister Jain as co-in-charge of the Punjab unit of the party.
"The BJP should understand it well that AAP leaders are not scared by their agencies like ED and CBI or such empty threats," Dhanda added.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva demanded the ACB to probe the role of then chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged scam.
"This is a decisive moment in the fight against corruption of AAP and its previous government in Delhi," he said.
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