In the span of a few days in December, Bangladesh slipped into a spiral of unrest that exposed a far deeper political design than the street violence suggested. The killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a 32-year-old activist and spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, became the immediate trigger. Yet, the speed with which protests turned into anti-India riots, attacks on the press, and brutal violence against Hindus reveals a pattern that cannot be explained as spontaneous outrage. What unfolded looks increasingly like a calibrated strategy to keep Bangladesh in a state of permanent agitation ahead of the February 2026 parliamentary elections, a situation that directly benefits the interim dispensation led by Muhammad Yunus and Islamist forces waiting in the wings.

Hadi was not a marginal figure. He emerged as a visible face of the July 2024 uprising that forced Sheikh Hasina to step down after years of authoritarian consolidation. Known for his aggressive rhetoric against India and his radical populist positioning, Hadi was campaigning as an independent candidate when masked gunmen shot him on December 12. He was flown to Singapore for advanced medical care but died on December 18 after spending six days on life support. His death was tragic and demanded a credible investigation. Instead, it became fuel for a politics of destabilisation.

Within hours of confirmation of his death, protests erupted in Dhaka, Chittagong, Mymensingh, and several district towns. Justice for Hadi was the formal slogan. In practice, the streets rang with anti-India chants. Demonstrators accused New Delhi of sheltering the assassins, despite Bangladeshi police stating that there was no evidence to support such claims. The protests quickly took on an unmistakable ideological colour. Offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, the country’s two most influential English and Bengali language newspapers, were vandalised and set on fire. Journalists were trapped inside their offices as mobs accused the papers of being pro-India and agents of foreign influence. It was one of the gravest assaults on press freedom Bangladesh has witnessed since the fall of Hasina.

Almost simultaneously, a far more chilling incident unfolded away from the capital. In Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district, a young Hindu factory worker named Dipu Chandra Das was lynched on the night of December 18. Accused of blasphemy during a workplace cultural programme, he was beaten by a mob, tied to a tree, and set on fire with........

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