Nearly a month later anti-quota protests swept across Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Her resignation came in the face of countrywide demonstrations led by a student leader ‘Nahid Islam’.
Who is Nahid Islam?
- He was born in Dhaka in 1998. His father is a teacher, and his mother is a homemaker.
- He’s a Dhaka University student studying Sociology. Nahid’s name made headlines after police detained him in July and some other Dhaka University students as the protests turned deadly, according to a Reuters report.
- “He has incredible stamina and always said the country needed to change,” Nakib Islam, a geography student, told Reuters. “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.”
- According to reports, Nahid is the coordinator for the ‘Students Against Discrimination’ movement.
- “Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted,” Nahid had posted on a social media page.
- According to media reports, Nahid was kidnapped a second time on 26 July 2024 from Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital in Dhanmondi. Individuals claiming to be from various intelligence agencies, including the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch, took him away. However, the police have denied any involvement.
