Bangladesh buried the young, firebrand politician Sharif Osman Hadi on Saturday (December 20) following a nationally-televised funeral attended by head of interim government Muhammad Yunus. Hadi, a 32-year old radical right-winger, who made anti-Indianism the central plank of his campaign, was laid to rest at Dhaka University, next to the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Even though Hadi came to prominence only in the past year or so, his funeral prayers attracted tens of thousands of people in Dhaka and prayers at mosques all across the country. “We have not come here to say farewell to you Hadi, we have come here to make our pledge to fulfil what you have said,” Yunus told the gathering. Hadi was shot in the head on December 12 in Dhaka and pronounced dead in a Singapore hospital on Thursday (December 18). In the intervening six days, the alleged killer and his accomplice were identified as leaders of Chhatro League, the student front of the Awami League. Both are alleged to have fled to India. People offer funeral prayers for leading Bangladeshi activist Sharif Osman Hadi, who died from gunshot wounds sustained in an attack in Dhaka earlier this month, outside the nation’s Parliament complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. Photo: AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu.While Hadi was being buried, several hundred protesters gathered in a square next to the campus, demanding justice for the slain activist and chanting slogans against what they called Indian “hegemonism.” The protesters held India responsible for sheltering Hadi’s assassins and called on the government to arrest the killers and their enablers “within 24 hours.” Hadi, who was educated in a Madarsa, espoused a form of Muslim nationalism that he argued was the only way to protect Bangladesh’s sovereignty against Indian “hegemony.” His message, delivered in colloquial language in lively television talkshows, made him an iconic figure, especially among the youth, in a short span of time. “Many people differed with Hadi’s views, or his language and the manner of his delivery. But even they felt Hadi was genuine, he was honest, courageous and a patriot,” wrote political analyst and academic Dr. Zahed ur-Rahman. Over the past year or so, Hadi and his platform, the Inqilab Moncho, had led a vociferous campaign which held India responsible for all the ills that had befallen Bangladesh under the authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. While Hadi’s funeral and burial created the impression of a nation united in grief, tension and apprehension continued to bubble underneath the superficial calm. The assassination has unleashed events that now threaten to upend preparations for next year’s elections. Leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are concerned. They have been routinely warning against what they term as “conspiracies” to derail or delay the elections, with many seeing these as legitimate concerns in light of the past week’s developments. Senior BNP leaders feel the killing of Hadi could provide an “excuse” to cause mischief. “There has always been a conspiracy against holding the elections,” Zahir Uddin Swapon, an adviser to the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia told this reporter in an interview. “Everyone understands that the BNP would win a free and fair election. There are those who cannot accept such a possibility, but they have not been able to provide a justification.” However Swapon, a former member of parliament, said he did not see how the government or the Election Commission could reverse the journey to the polls. “The Election Commission has already reached an advanced stage, and there is no acceptable ground or even possibility to alter the election schedule,” Swapon said. People stage a protest over the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the key leaders in the Bangladesh student uprising, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Photo: PTIThe emotional outpouring surrounding Hadi’s death seemed to provide the perfect cover for radical groups to push through old agendas. The attacks on two of the country’s biggest newspapers – the Bangla-language Prothom Alo and English-language Daily Star – on Thursday night appeared to shock everyone and produced profuse apologies and pledges to “do better” from the interim government. But the impunity with which several hundred activists shouting Islamist and anti-India slogans were able to trash and burn the two buildings for several hours has further darkened the shadow over the country’s media. “Not even during Hasina’s rule was it possible to inject this level of intimidation and terror into the hearts of journalists,” wrote Nazmul Ahasan, a Dhaka-based journalist in a Facebook post. “Hasina was evil, but a rational actor. Her redlines were specific and clear, we could not cross them. But there is no way to reason with those now attacking. Their redlines are not clear at all.” The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were known for their stringent defence of free speech and liberal, secular values. But their opposition to religious extremism and championing of the Bangladeshi liberation war of 1971 made them a target for Islamists. “A lot of anger towards these two papers in particular has been whipped up by certain political elements in and outside Bangladesh, particularly those from the islamic ‘revolutionary’ right,” British journalist David Bergman told me in an interview. Bergman has been covering Bangladesh for two decades and had been a vocal critic of Hasina’s rule in the past. He believes that these two papers along with some others have now been thrust into the forefront of a new ideological battle. “These papers along with a number of other less influential media – having been through a struggle to remain alive and independent during the Awami League government – are in effect, whether they like it or not, at the forefront of an ideological struggle within the country about what Bangladesh is and what it will become,” he said. Even before the attacks on the two papers, journalists known to be close to the Awami League or being critical of the current government faced the prospect of jail. Four senior journalists have been in jail without trial for over a year, while hundreds of media people have been named in murder cases. Most recently, senior journalist Anis Alamgir was picked up by detectives for questioning. Later, he was arrested under the country’s anti-terrorism laws that Human Rights Watch recently described as “draconian.” The media in Bangladesh, like most other sectors of the country, have been holding their breath for the past year and half. The hopes of freedom that came with the fall of Hasina have long given way to apprehension, as new actors emerged to put different kinds of shackles on the media. During the Awami League rule, the country’s main spy agency, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence or DGFI, was the stick Hasina used to keep the media in line. Since Yunus took charge, the DGFI has taken a back seat and editors and reporters no longer receive their calls. But editors in Dhaka speak of a new fear – the fear of the mob. These mobs style themselves as “warriors of the July revolution.” The fear is so palpable that editors and reporters refuse to talk publicly. Privately, editors also speak of intense scrutiny from the Chief Adviser’s press department, some of which they see as tantamount to pressure.In one of the most publicised incidents, three TV channels sacked three reporters on the same day, after “July warriors” threatened to march on the stations unless the reporters were fired. Their crime? During a press conference by the culture minister, these reporters framed questions in a way that challenged the government’s narrative on Hasina. The Yunus government’s suppression of Awami League is not limited to the party itself, which has been banned from conducting any activities including participation in elections scheduled for February 12. The government labels people who supported the League in the past as “lackeys of fascism.” This line of attack has been widened over time. In recent times, not just known associates of the Awami League, but those championing the cause of the 1971 liberation war have been arbitrarily incarcerated. “We are in a terrifying situation right now in terms of human rights,” journalist and podcaster Monjurul Alam Panna said. Panna and a dozen others were recently picked up from a seminar, ostensibly for their own safety, but later slapped with a case under the anti-terrorism law and kept in jail for weeks. The seminar, which was about the 1971 war, was disrupted by a mob who physically assaulted the participants in an effort to shut it down. When the police came, they ignored the attackers and took away the 16 participants, all of whom had cases filed against them while in custody. “The attorney general alleged that we were planning an armed insurrection to topple the government. This is a farcical allegation,” Panna said. Human rights activists and lawyers have been alarmed by the widespread use of the legal system to slap false cases against thousands of people. Hundreds, including over 100 former ministers and MPs, are languishing in jail without trial. Some see these as punishing an entire segment of the population. “Clearly, there are very good reasons to investigate the Awami League politicians in relation to their role in July/August killings and in enforced disappearances, major corruption etc, but the government has gone down a much wider path of criminalising membership or support for the party,” Bergman said. According to the health ministry, at least 832 people were killed during the protests which brought down Hasina last year. A UN report said the death toll may have been as high as 1,400.While the interim government grapples with the fall-out from the killing of Osman Hadi and the demand for justice, the public is patiently waiting to see whether the election train would safely reach its destination next February. Much of the doubts and concerns were dispelled when the Election Commission announced the schedule. Now the party that stands to gain most from a peaceful and credible election, the BNP, feels Yunus has little choice but to deliver on his promise. “If Professor Yunus reneges on his election promise, it will be at the cost of his image at home and abroad. This is a compulsion for him,” Zahir Uddin Swapon said. The big question that remains is whether there is a way back in for the Awami League. Under current circumstances, especially after Hadi’s killing for which the Awami League has been squarely blamed, the door appears firmly shut. Yunus’s international backers such as the UK and EU would prefer to see the Awami League participate in the polls, but as Bergman says, “they also appreciate the difficulties in doing so, and will live without them being involved.”Sabir Mustafa is former Head, BBC Bangla and former Managing Editor, VOA Bangla.