Buried Beside A Legend: Why Controversial Student Leader Usman Hadi Was Laid To Rest Next To Bangladesh’s National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam | World News

Bangladesh Unrest: Dhaka University campus saw huge turnout on Saturday, December 20, as student leader Sharif Usman Hadi was laid to rest. Mohammed Yunus, chief advisor to the interim government, attended the funeral and emphasized the political and social importance of the event.

Bangladesh Unrest: Nearly 50 years after Bangladesh’s rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was buried near the Dhaka University mosque in 1976, another dissident figure, student leader Sharif Usman Hadi, was buried at the same place on Saturday, December 20. He was allegedly killed in a carefully planned assassination, and his funeral attracted a crowd of unprecedented proportions.

Millions of people filled the capital’s streets, while thousands more traveled from nearby towns and cities to attend the funeral, effectively filling the city with a sea of ​​mourners.

Hadi’s burial next to Kazi Nazrul Islam is a parallel that has sparked controversy in Bangladesh. While many observers see this connection as natural, as Nazrul’s poetry inspired Hadi’s activism, videos and viral clips on social media show Nazrul using the poet’s poems as a symbolic weapon.

Similarly, critics of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration began portraying her as a “Biplobi” (revolutionary) reflecting Nazrul’s legacy.

During his rallies, Hadi would often recite stanzas from Nazrul’s poetry: “I am the storm, I am the hurricane. I am the unstoppable Rudra (untamed power, rage and unstoppable energy), restless roar. The sky shatters with my laughter, the skies fly with my touch. I come like a flood, embracing the waves with my chest. I uproot trees, tear down roofs and play all kinds of horror games. I am the fire-spewing hurricane, the dance of death makes people swim in the water.” tremble, the city trembles and dust falls at my feet.

Hadi emerged as the self-proclaimed heir to Nazrul’s revolutionary spirit, especially after leading the anti-Hasina student movement under the banner of the Inquilab Manch political platform. He has been a vocal critic of Indian influence in Bangladesh and has often spoken against Hasina’s Awami League.

The 32-year-old actor was planning to contest the Dhaka-8 seat as an independent candidate in the country’s general elections to be held in February 2026.

He was shot by unidentified assailants while traveling in an electric rickshaw on December 12 and died later in a hospital in Singapore. The attack took place a day after the Bangladesh Election Commission announced that the country’s first general election after Hasina’s departure will be held on February 12, 2026.

The alleged attacker, Faisal Karim, reportedly told his girlfriend the night before, “Something will happen that will shake the whole of Bangladesh.”

Following Hadi’s death, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka. Allegedly, Islamist elements infiltrated the crowd and plunged the capital into violence and chaos. Cultural centers were destroyed and attacks targeted the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Indian diplomatic missions and media outlets, including ‘The Daily Star’ and ‘Prothom Alo’, which were critical of both the Hasina and Younis governments, faced attacks and arson.

The unrest occurred months before national elections in which an interim government allegedly backed by Islamist support was in power. While demonstrators shouted anti-Hasina and anti-Awami League slogans across Dhaka, security forces were also alerted.

Yunus personally attended Hadi’s funeral and made an emotional speech. “Dear Usman Hadi, we did not come to say goodbye to you. You live in our hearts and you will live in the hearts of every Bangladeshi as long as Bangladesh exists,” he said.

Authorities tightened security around the funeral, deploying police, Rapid Response Battalion (RAB), Ansar and military personnel. At Shahbagh Circle, crowds demanded justice for Hadi’s killers by chanting “Not Delhi, Dhaka. Dhaka-Dhaka” slogans that have become common in recent anti-India protests.

Inquilab Manch petitioned to rename Shahbagh Circle in honor of the slain student leader.

Debate over Hadi’s Burying Next to Nazrul

Dhaka University Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed confirmed that the decision was finalized in an emergency online meeting of the university union held after midnight. The decision came following two appeals filed by the Cabinet Department and Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU). The site was examined, vacant lands were mapped and final approval was given.

Since September, DUCSU has allegedly been under the influence of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. The administrative office of the chief advisor to the Cabinet Department, Mohammed Yunus, played an important role in this process.

According to The Daily Star, Inquilab Manch stated that Hadi’s family’s request to be buried next to Nazrul sparked intense debate.

Awami League supporter Mostofa Amin criticized the decision, saying Nazrul symbolizes tolerance and secularism; Hadi represented extremism and identity-based hatred. He described his burial next to Nazrul’s grave as a political act.

On the other hand, former Chattogram reporter A. Rahman Mitu hoped that Nazrul and Hadi’s graves would be on the same axis and described it as a blessing.

Online discussions on secular subreddits in Bangla revealed deeply divided opinions; some called this juxtaposition embarrassing.

Born in Jhalokathi district in 1993, Hadi moved to Dhaka and began his political journey at Dhaka University, which became the laboratory of his activism. The large turnout at her funeral reflects her widespread influence in post-Hasina Bangladesh.

He energized the youth by reciting Nazrul’s revolutionary poems during the July-August 2024 movement.