Sheikh Abdul Hafiz is 25 years old. On August 13, as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) “School Thik Karo (fix the schools)” campaign, he walked into the government primary school in Karisunda that he had once attended and asked to inspect it for the most basic of amenities. Hours later, his family was attacked at home. Eight have been arrested, including a BJP leader. His father, Sheikh Mohammad Mafik, died of his injuries on August 15. When the government offered compensation, Abdul Hafiz turned it down, asking instead for a school in his father’s name. Abdul Hafiz spoke to The Wire from Bankura, where he is currently staying. The Wire sent him the questions, to which he responded with voice notes. His voice messages in Bengali have been transcribed and translated.You have lost your father and have been attacked yourself. I must ask you the question on everyone’s minds – what are you feeling right now and where does the courage to keep going come from?I am not made of stone either. I have lost my father and I was attacked myself. But physical strength is not always what it takes to stand against injustice. Being clear before your own conscience is the greatest strength there is.I am not doing this for any personal gain. I want the boys and girls of my village to get a good education, I want public institutions to work properly, and I want ordinary people to be able to question things that concern their own rights. That belief is what keeps me going.You were at the Jantar Mantar protests in New Delhi, where you travelled to, before returning to your village. What first drew you to education and to youth activism?For a lot of children, a government school is the only option there is. So, I think it is perfectly natural to ask what is happening inside that school. Are the teachers present? What is the standard of teaching? Is public money being spent properly?That is how I ended up in movements around education, and how I ended up at Jantar Mantar. Thousands of young people had gathered there demanding better education. After seeing that, I understood that sitting at home and criticising is not enough. You have to go out, identify the problem, and then demand a solution.Young people in this country should not be seen only as jobseekers. The question is whether we also have the right to ask about the country’s future.Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, with supporters, celebrate after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Photo: PTI/Arun Sharma.Are you satisfied with the investigation and with the state government’s response?Not entirely. That an investigation is happening is certainly a good thing. Whether it is being conducted on the basis of reason, evidence and facts is a separate question.And this is not only a personal matter for me. If a person questions how a government school is run, should their safety not be guaranteed? I do not want this question to stay confined to one individual. I do not want revenge. I want the truth to come out.You refused the government’s offer of compensation. Take me through your thinking at that moment.Can money bring a person back? It cannot. I do not want any compensation for myself.Instead of that money going to our family alone, it should be used for something that also helps ordinary people in places far from here. We are demanding an educational institution in our state in my father’s name. Modern technology, laboratories, proper facilities. An institution where even a poor child has the chance at the best education available in this country.Why was it important to demand a structural, intergenerational change rather than personal financial relief?The loss our family suffered has already happened. No government and no amount of money can make up for it. But if we can turn this into an opportunity for wider social change, then it carries some meaning.I have always believed the country comes before the individual. For as long as I live, I want to work for this country and its people. If education falls behind, the future cannot be secured. So instead of personal compensation, I want a whole generation’s future to be built.I will never get my father back. But if his death can change the lives of thousands of children, I will bear that pain. Working for the country asks for personal sacrifice, and I do not want to retreat from it. However difficult things get from here, I want this country’s education system to improve and the children of ordinary people to get equal opportunities. To me that matters far more than compensation.Abdul Hafiz’s grandmother with CJP volunteers. Photo: Video screengrab.Your grandmother has been a source of strength, and raised the slogan Inquilab Zindabad after the attack. How does that shape your resolve to carry on?My family has given me a great deal of strength, my grandmother most of all. After losing my father, I looked at her and realised that it was no longer possible for me to step back. Not under any circumstances.How do you hope your father will be remembered, in the village and in the wider movement?What matters much more to me than compensation is that successive generations should be able to study at that institution free of cost, and that no child in this country should be deprived of an education.A good school can change the future of many generations. My father is never coming back to me. So, I want his name attached to a place that builds people’s futures.To me that would be the greatest honour to his memory, and the most meaningful way to pay tribute to him.