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A protest march titled "March for Justice" set out from Shahbagh in Dhaka on January 6, demanding accountability for the killing of 32-year-old activist, writer and teacher Sharif Osman Hadi. The march, led by the youth- platform Inqilab Mancha, wound its way through key intersections in the capital, from Science Lab to Mohammadpur, Mirpur-10, Uttara, Bashundhara, Badda, Rampura, and Jatrabari, with protesters on foot and on pickup trucks, chanting that Hadi's blood must not be shed in vain and vowing to escalate their campaign if justice is delayed further.

Their four core demands include the swift trial of all those involved in the killing within 24 days, the cancellation of work permits for all Indian nationals in Bangladesh, the filing of a case at the International Court of Justice if the two suspects accused of fleeing Bangladesh are not returned, and action against those they accuse of collaborating with killers within intelligence and military agencies. The mobilisation comes after weeks of blockades and sit-ins at Shahbagh, which protesters have declared "Shaheed Hadi Square," symbolically honouring those they view as martyrs to state repression.

From July Uprising to "March for Justice"
Hadi emerged from the 2024 "July Revolution" as one of the most visible faces of a new, insurgent youth politics in Bangladesh. As co-founder and spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, he was instrumental in transforming street anger over authoritarian rule, corruption and protest killings into a wider moral narrative about fascism, accountability and the dignity of those he called the "July martyrs." He repeatedly warned that the gains of the uprising could be reversed if youth movements were captured by established parties, insisting on an independent, bottom-up mobilisation that refused both state repression and traditional patronage politics.

Hadi was campaigning as an independent parliamentary candidate in the Dhaka-8 constituency when he was shot in the head at a rally in the Paltan area on December 12, 2025. He was airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical treatment, where he died on December 18, six days after the shooting, sparking nationwide protests and a cycle of blockades focused on Shahbagh. Student and cultural groups have since framed him as a shahid (martyr), arguing that his killing is part of a broader project to silence anti-fascist cultural voices and intimidate youth organisers ahead of the coming elections.

In response, the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted a charge sheet on January 7, 2026, implicating 17 people in the murder. The police identified Taijul Islam Chowdhury (Bappi), a former ward councillor and organisational secretary of Dhaka North Jubo League, as the alleged mastermind who ordered the killing. Faisal Karim Masud, identified as the shooter, is a former Chhatra League member, while alleged accomplice Alamgir Sheikh is reportedly affiliated with the Adabar Thana Jubo League. As of early January, police had arrested 12 suspects, though the three main accused, Bappi, Faisal, and Alamgir, remained at large.

Bangladesh police have alleged that Faisal Karim and Alamgir Sheikh fled across the border into India via Meghalaya. However, Indian and Meghalaya authorities have categorically denied these claims, with official statements describing them as "baseless," and one source has reported that Faisal is in fact located in Dubai. The allegation of cross-border flight by suspects remains disputed and unverified. This contested claim of harbouring fugitives has nonetheless become central to Inqilab Mancha's broader indictment of what they characterize as Indian interference and protection of anti-Bangladesh forces.

Writing Against Hegemony and "Cultural Fascism"
Beyond the streets, Hadi's influence rested on his work as a writer and public intellectual, where he linked questions of democracy, foreign policy and culture into a single critique of domination. His essays, social media posts and speeches portrayed the July 2024 protests as a turning point in political imagination, arguing that young people needed new narratives that rejected both authoritarianism and clientelist opposition politics. Central to this was his sustained critique of what he termed "Indian hegemony" in Bangladesh, an asymmetry he identified across multiple domains: trade relationships that favour Indian interests, security dependencies, and particularly in the cultural sphere.

Regarding cultural dynamics, Hadi pointed to structural imbalances: Indian television channels and cinema have significant market presence in Bangladesh, while Bangladeshi media faces restrictions when seeking access to Indian audiences. The tension intensified visibly in May 2025 when India geo-blocked four Bangladeshi television channels on YouTube citing national security concerns.

Hadi's language was often sharp and experimental, blending religious references, liberation-war imagery and street vernacular in a way that resonated deeply with disillusioned youth. He developed a distinctive concept he called "cultural fascism", not abstract political rhetoric but what he argued was a lived structure in which culture becomes a weapon to normalise inequality and external dominance. From border killings and contested river waters to everyday media consumption patterns, Hadi framed these phenomena as interconnected manifestations of power imbalance. Through Inqilab Mancha he sought to turn these ideas into songs, slogans and visual symbols, helping young Bangladeshis name their anger and see themselves as agents in a longer struggle against both domestic authoritarianism and regional power hierarchies.

The conceptual work mattered as much as the street mobilisation. By linking cultural suppression to questions of sovereignty and resource distribution, Hadi articulated grievances that resonated beyond student circles to encompass older concerns about border security, water-sharing treaties, and media access that had simmered in Bangladeshi politics for decades.

Legacy and Risks for Cultural Dissent
The "March for Justice" underscores how Hadi's killing has become a flashpoint for broader debates about democracy, sovereignty and artistic and cultural freedom in Bangladesh. For many of those now filling Shahbagh and surrounding areas, defending his memory means defending a space where writers, cultural activists and youth organisers can articulate uncompromising critiques of power without paying with their lives.

The investigation's progress, with charges filed and arrests made, suggests that Bangladesh's interim government has moved to address the killing seriously. Yet from Inqilab Mancha's perspective, these measures are insufficient. The movement's demands reflect a conviction that the killing was not an isolated criminal act but the product of institutional failures and deeper conspiracies that arrest of mid-level perpetrators cannot resolve. Their insistence on identifying "planners and collaborators" and their escalating rhetoric about cross-border protection of suspects suggests they view the case as emblematic of larger governance failures.

This dynamic between state action (investigation, charges, arrests) and movement scepticism (demands for broader accountability, threats of escalation) will likely define Bangladesh's political trajectory in the coming months. The February 2026 elections, originally scheduled to proceed, now occur against the backdrop of unresolved grief, unmet demands for justice, and deeper questions about artistic freedom and political voice in a post-authoritarian Bangladesh still negotiating its regional relationships and domestic power structures.

In Dhaka, the youth-led platform Inqilab Mancha has launched a “March for Justice” from Shahbagh, demanding accountability for the killing of activist, writer and teacher Sharif Osman Hadi.

Hadi emerged from the July 2024 uprising as a key voice for a new, bottom‑up youth politics that challenged authoritarianism, patronage and what he called Indian “cultural fascism.” His assassination, and the disputed cross‑border trail of key suspects, has turned Shahbagh, symbolically renamed “Shaheed Hadi Square”, into a national focal point for debates on democracy, sovereignty and artistic freedom.

Hadi’s legacy raises uncomfortable questions: Can youth movements speak truth to power without lethal consequences, and what does regional hegemony look like when it is enforced not only by arms and trade, but by culture itself?

#Bangladesh #SharifOsmanHadi #MarchForJustice #ArtisticFreedom #CulturalFascism #HumanRights #YouthMovements #Democracy #IndianHegemony #FreedomOfExpression

“March for Justice”: Youth Movement Demands Accountability for Sharif Osman Hadi's Killing

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