Cities like Dhaka and Chittagong have been shaken by violent protests following the death of 32-year-old youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a figure many young Bangladeshis saw as the face of resistance and hope. Hadi died on December 19, 2025, days after being shot in the head by two assailants on a motorcycle while riding in an auto-rickshaw in Dhaka. Despite emergency treatment in Bangladesh and later in Singapore, he did not survive.
For many, his death is not just another killing, it is a symbol. A symbol of how dangerous it has become to challenge power, and especially to challenge foreign influence, which Hadi openly did.
Hadi was a spokesperson for Inqalab Mancha (Platform for Revolution) and was preparing to contest the February 2026 parliamentary elections as an independent candidate from Dhaka. He had emerged from the 2024 student uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina, whose government was widely seen as obedient to India. Young, articulate, and fearless, Hadi spoke bluntly about what many Bangladeshis quietly believed that their country’s sovereignty had been compromised.
Students, workers, ordinary citizens, and political activists poured into the streets demanding justice. Many........

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