Nahid Islam, often seen in public with a Bangladeshi flag tied on his forehead, is a soft-spoken sociology student who led the protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after 15 consecutive years in power.
Islam, 26, was the coordinator of a student movement against reservation in government jobs that later turned into the ‘Remove Hasina’ campaign. He gained national prominence in mid-July when police detained him and several other Dhaka University students as the protests turned deadly.
Weeks of violence across the country left nearly 300 people dead, many of them college and university students. The violence eased on Monday when Hasina resigned and fled to neighboring India.
Islam and other student leaders were scheduled to meet army chief Gen. Waqar-uz-Zaman on Tuesday afternoon (0600 GMT), after he announced Hasina’s resignation and said an interim government would be formed.
Islam, who has spoken in public with little emotion but is firm, has said the students will not accept any government led or supported by the military and has proposed that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus be made chief adviser.
“No other government will be accepted than the one we have recommended,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“We will not retaliate for the bloodshed of those who were martyred for our cause,” the bearded and burly Islam told reporters on Monday along with other student leaders.
“We will build a new democratic Bangladesh through our promise of security of life, social justice and a new political landscape.”
He vowed to ensure that the country of 170 million never returns to “fascist rule”, and asked his fellow students to protect the Hindu minority and their places of worship.
Islam, who was born in Dhaka in 1998, is married and has a younger brother, Naqib. His father is a teacher and his mother is a housewife.
“They have incredible resilience and have always said the country needs to change,” geography student Naqib Islam told Reuters. “They were captured by the police, tortured until they fainted and then thrown out on the street. Despite all this, they continued to struggle. We are confident they will not give up. We are proud of them.”
Sabrina Karim, an associate professor of government at Cornell University who specializes in the study of political violence, called Monday a historic day for Bangladesh.
“This will likely be the first successful revolution led by Generation Z,” he said.
“There is perhaps some optimism toward a democratic transition, even if the process involves the military.”