Sunday, 21 December, 2025
Dhaka stood still on Saturday afternoon as Sharif Osman Hadi — a leading face of the July uprising — was laid to rest beside the grave of Bangladesh’s Rebel Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on the Dhaka University campus.
For a nation already wounded, the burial felt less like a farewell and more like the closing of a chapter written in blood, hope and heartbreak.
Hadi’s funeral prayer at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban drew an overwhelming crowd. Hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into surrounding roads, turning central Dhaka into a vast, grieving procession. Many wept openly. Others stood in silence, fists clenched, eyes fixed on the coffin. Grief and defiance flowed together, inseparable.
Slogans against fascism and political domination echoed along Manik Mia Avenue as mourners demanded justice for what they called a targeted political killing. For many, the pain was raw and deeply personal — a young life cut short, a promise violently interrupted.
Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a prominent leader of the July 2024 student-led uprising and spokesperson for the anti-Hasina platform Inqilab Moncho. He was shot on 12 December while travelling in a battery-run auto-rickshaw in Dhaka’s Purana Paltan area.
After days of desperate medical efforts, he died late Thursday night in a Singapore hospital, never regaining consciousness.
Most political parties, along with advisers to the interim government, view the brutal attack on Sharif Osman Hadi as a deliberate attempt to destabilise Bangladesh’s political landscape and derail the upcoming national election scheduled for 12 February next year.
His death — after six agonising days on life support — has reopened wounds that never truly healed after the July uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government. Once again, Bangladesh finds itself trembling between grief and unrest.
Despite heavy security deployments, violence erupted across parts of Dhaka following news of Hadi’s death. Cultural centres were vandalised, media offices attacked, and Indian diplomatic missions targeted amid a surge of anger and suspicion. Press bodies later condemned arson attacks on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, warning that the country’s fragile press freedom was under direct threat.
Yet amid the chaos, the burial itself carried a quiet, haunting symbolism.
In accordance with his family’s wishes, Hadi was laid to rest beside Kazi Nazrul Islam — the poet whose verses of rebellion once shook colonial authority and whose words Hadi often recited at rallies. A young voice of modern resistance now rests beside an immortal conscience of the nation.
But even as prayers were whispered into the winter air, Bangladesh remained gripped by fear, anger and unanswered questions. With national elections looming, the question pressing on the public mind is unavoidable: is Bangladesh reaching a breaking point?
Before the funeral prayer, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus addressed the mourners in a voice heavy with emotion. He urged the nation not to see Hadi’s death as an ending.
“We have not come to say goodbye,” Yunus said. “You live in our hearts. As long as Bangladesh exists, you will remain there.”
He framed the gathering as a solemn pledge — a promise that Hadi’s vision would not be buried with him, but carried forward by generations yet to come.
The janaza was led by Hadi’s elder brother, Mawlana Dr Abu Bakar Siddique. Religious Affairs Adviser A F M Khalid Hossain read out Hadi’s biography, while leaders of Inqilab Moncho spoke amid a crowd struggling to hold back tears.
Symbolism beyond the grave
Nearly five decades after Nazrul was laid to rest near the Dhaka University mosque, Hadi’s burial beside the “Bidrohi Kobi” has struck a deep emotional chord — especially among younger Bangladeshis who see in him a reflection of their own hopes and disillusionment.
Nazrul’s poetry, frequently quoted by Hadi and widely shared on social media during the July uprising, became a language of resistance for a new generation. In death, Hadi has been elevated by supporters to the status of a biplobi — a revolutionary whose life ended too soon, but whose memory refuses to fade.
But even as prayers were whispered into the winter air, Bangladesh remained gripped by fear, anger and unanswered questions. With national elections looming, the question pressing on the public mind is unavoidable: is Bangladesh reaching a breaking point?
Political fault lines laid bare
Hadi was preparing to contest the Dhaka-8 constituency as an independent candidate in the February 2026 general election — the first since Hasina’s ouster. A fierce critic of India’s influence in Bangladesh’s politics, he had accused New Delhi of propping up authoritarian rule during Hasina’s 17 years in power.
His killing has intensified already volatile tensions. Online claims that the attackers fled to India have spread rapidly, echoed by some youth leaders. Protests in Dhaka have carried strong anti-India slogans, reflecting a deeper sense of mistrust and historical grievance.
Most political parties, along with advisers to the interim government, view the brutal attack on Sharif Osman Hadi as a deliberate attempt to destabilise Bangladesh’s political landscape and derail the upcoming national election scheduled for 12 February next year.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has warned that the violence following Hadi’s death points to a deliberate attempt to plunge the country into chaos ahead of elections. Civil society groups have gone further, demanding the resignation of the home adviser, citing a collapse in law and order.
Against this backdrop, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has convened a high-level meeting with the chiefs of the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force on Sunday. The meeting is set to take place at 12:00 pm at Nirbachan Bhaban. The Election Commission has already rescheduled its previously planned law-and-order meeting from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm.
Later in the afternoon, the commission will hold a separate high-level meeting with senior representatives of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to assess the overall security situation ahead of the national election and referendum slated for 12 February 2026.
A nation at a crossroads
As earth was finally placed over Hadi’s grave beside Nazrul’s, the symbolism was unmistakable — but so was the uncertainty ahead. The interim government now faces immense pressure to uncover the truth behind the killing, restore public confidence, and prevent further bloodshed in an already polarised nation.
For many Bangladeshis, Sharif Osman Hadi’s death is no longer just a personal tragedy or a political crime. It has become a mirror held up to the nation’s conscience — a painful test of whether the ideals of the July uprising can survive grief, rage and fear.
Whether Bangladesh emerges from this moment broken or renewed remains an open, haunting question.
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Dhaka stood still on Saturday afternoon as Sharif Osman Hadi — a leading face of the July uprising — was laid to rest beside the grave of Bangladesh’s Rebel Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on the Dhaka University campus.
For a nation already wounded, the burial felt less like a farewell and more like the closing of a chapter written in blood, hope and heartbreak.
Hadi’s funeral prayer at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban drew an overwhelming crowd. Hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into surrounding roads, turning central Dhaka into a vast, grieving procession. Many wept openly. Others stood in silence, fists clenched, eyes fixed on the coffin. Grief and defiance flowed together, inseparable.
Slogans against fascism and political domination echoed along Manik Mia Avenue as mourners demanded justice for what they called a targeted political killing. For many, the pain was raw and deeply personal — a young life cut short, a promise violently interrupted.
Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a prominent leader of the July 2024 student-led uprising and spokesperson for the anti-Hasina platform Inqilab Moncho. He was shot on 12 December while travelling in a battery-run auto-rickshaw in Dhaka’s Purana Paltan area.
After days of desperate medical efforts, he died late Thursday night in a Singapore hospital, never regaining consciousness.
Most political parties, along with advisers to the interim government, view the brutal attack on Sharif Osman Hadi as a deliberate attempt to destabilise Bangladesh’s political landscape and derail the upcoming national election scheduled for 12 February next year.
His death — after six agonising days on life support — has reopened wounds that never truly healed after the July uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government. Once again, Bangladesh finds itself trembling between grief and unrest.
Despite heavy security deployments, violence erupted across parts of Dhaka following news of Hadi’s death. Cultural centres were vandalised, media offices attacked, and Indian diplomatic missions targeted amid a surge of anger and suspicion. Press bodies later condemned arson attacks on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, warning that the country’s fragile press freedom was under direct threat.
Yet amid the chaos, the burial itself carried a quiet, haunting symbolism.
In accordance with his family’s wishes, Hadi was laid to rest beside Kazi Nazrul Islam — the poet whose verses of rebellion once shook colonial authority and whose words Hadi often recited at rallies. A young voice of modern resistance now rests beside an immortal conscience of the nation.
But even as prayers were whispered into the winter air, Bangladesh remained gripped by fear, anger and unanswered questions. With national elections looming, the question pressing on the public mind is unavoidable: is Bangladesh reaching a breaking point?
Before the funeral prayer, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus addressed the mourners in a voice heavy with emotion. He urged the nation not to see Hadi’s death as an ending.
“We have not come to say goodbye,” Yunus said. “You live in our hearts. As long as Bangladesh exists, you will remain there.”
He framed the gathering as a solemn pledge — a promise that Hadi’s vision would not be buried with him, but carried forward by generations yet to come.
The janaza was led by Hadi’s elder brother, Mawlana Dr Abu Bakar Siddique. Religious Affairs Adviser A F M Khalid Hossain read out Hadi’s biography, while leaders of Inqilab Moncho spoke amid a crowd struggling to hold back tears.
Symbolism beyond the grave
Nearly five decades after Nazrul was laid to rest near the Dhaka University mosque, Hadi’s burial beside the “Bidrohi Kobi” has struck a deep emotional chord — especially among younger Bangladeshis who see in him a reflection of their own hopes and disillusionment.
Nazrul’s poetry, frequently quoted by Hadi and widely shared on social media during the July uprising, became a language of resistance for a new generation. In death, Hadi has been elevated by supporters to the status of a biplobi — a revolutionary whose life ended too soon, but whose memory refuses to fade.
But even as prayers were whispered into the winter air, Bangladesh remained gripped by fear, anger and unanswered questions. With national elections looming, the question pressing on the public mind is unavoidable: is Bangladesh reaching a breaking point?
Political fault lines laid bare
Hadi was preparing to contest the Dhaka-8 constituency as an independent candidate in the February 2026 general election — the first since Hasina’s ouster. A fierce critic of India’s influence in Bangladesh’s politics, he had accused New Delhi of propping up authoritarian rule during Hasina’s 17 years in power.
His killing has intensified already volatile tensions. Online claims that the attackers fled to India have spread rapidly, echoed by some youth leaders. Protests in Dhaka have carried strong anti-India slogans, reflecting a deeper sense of mistrust and historical grievance.
Most political parties, along with advisers to the interim government, view the brutal attack on Sharif Osman Hadi as a deliberate attempt to destabilise Bangladesh’s political landscape and derail the upcoming national election scheduled for 12 February next year.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has warned that the violence following Hadi’s death points to a deliberate attempt to plunge the country into chaos ahead of elections. Civil society groups have gone further, demanding the resignation of the home adviser, citing a collapse in law and order.
Against this backdrop, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has convened a high-level meeting with the chiefs of the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force on Sunday. The meeting is set to take place at 12:00 pm at Nirbachan Bhaban. The Election Commission has already rescheduled its previously planned law-and-order meeting from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm.
Later in the afternoon, the commission will hold a separate high-level meeting with senior representatives of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to assess the overall security situation ahead of the national election and referendum slated for 12 February 2026.
A nation at a crossroads
As earth was finally placed over Hadi’s grave beside Nazrul’s, the symbolism was unmistakable — but so was the uncertainty ahead. The interim government now faces immense pressure to uncover the truth behind the killing, restore public confidence, and prevent further bloodshed in an already polarised nation.
For many Bangladeshis, Sharif Osman Hadi’s death is no longer just a personal tragedy or a political crime. It has become a mirror held up to the nation’s conscience — a painful test of whether the ideals of the July uprising can survive grief, rage and fear.
Whether Bangladesh emerges from this moment broken or renewed remains an open, haunting question.
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