From protest to power: Former student activist-turned-politician Nahid Islam leads the push for a second republic in Bangladesh

Nahid Islam, the young leader of Bangladesh’s newest political party, has experienced firsthand the brutal tactics for which former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s security forces have become notorious.

The 27-year-old former student activist says he was arrested at a friend’s house, tortured and left unconscious by the country’s detective branch in the early hours of July 20 last year, at the height of the student-led protests and the government’s most violent crackdown.

He says around 25 plainclothes officers surrounded the house, handcuffed and blindfolded him, then took him to one of the country’s many secret detention centres — known as Ayanghor or the “House of Mirrors”.

“They asked me a lot of questions about the movement,” Nahid tells The New Arab.

“Who was funding it? Why were we doing it? Then they started beating me with a rod. I lost consciousness... I don’t know for how long, maybe 24 hours. After that, they took me away and dumped me by a roadside.”

Nahid believes his ordeal was meant as a warning: “They wanted to silence me; to remove me from the movement.”

But it didn’t end there. After making it back home, he was taken to the hospital, only to be abducted again. He was held for six days and forced to sign a statement declaring the protests over.  

Still, he remained undeterred. Alongside other Gen-Z protest leaders, he went on to issue a one-point demand: the removal of Sheikh Hasina from power.

'We want real, lasting change'

The protests started in early July as spontaneous and peaceful, with university students across Bangladesh calling for the abolition of quotas in civil service jobs — a third of which were reserved for relatives of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence against Pakistan.

They argued the system was discriminatory, but although their request was granted, the movement quickly evolved into an anti-government uprising, with tragic consequences.

At least 1,400 people were killed and many others injured, mostly at the hands of Sheikh Hasina's security forces.

Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule as leader of the ruling Awami League came to a dramatic end when she abruptly fled Bangladesh for India by helicopter.

“With the Awami League, there was no democratic process left,” Nahid says. “There was no opposition, no checks and balances. Oligarchs were empowered. Bangladesh had effectively become a mafia state. An uprising was the only way to remove them.”

Nahid, the son of two teachers who grew up in the suburbs of the capital, Dhaka, describes the events as “an experience of a lifetime” but says he’s had no time to bask in the victory. The fight, he insists, is far from over.

“It was a critical moment,” he says. “We suddenly had the responsibility of forming a government. We weren’t prepared. People had high expectations. At the same time, we had to begin holding Awami League members accountable for the brutalities they committed. I had to learn about the state mechanism, fast.”

It was a lot to navigate for the previously unknown Dhaka University sociology graduate. Virtually overnight, Nahid became part of the interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Then, in February this year, Nahid became the convener of the fledgling National Citizen Party, or NCP.

He faces a monumental task. In addition to building up his party’s support base, Nahid is focused on pushing for sweeping reforms across Bangladesh’s institutions, which he says have become dysfunctional over the past 15 years.

“Our movement isn’t against the Awami League or any other party. It’s against a corrupt, authoritarian system," Nahid tells The New Arab. 

"We want a new political framework and a new constitution — one that prevents authoritarianism from taking root. We want real, lasting change,” he adds, referring to accusations of oppression, human rights abuses, and a lack of freedom of speech that existed for decades, not just under the Awami League, but also when the country’s other main political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, was in power.  

Overcoming obstacles 

After gaining independence from Pakistan following a brutal nine-month war, Bangladesh experienced a period of one-party rule, followed by a military regime that lasted until 1991.

Since then, political power has alternated between the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, and the BNP, led by Khaleda Zia, widow of former military ruler Ziaur Rahman.

The religiously conservative Jamaat-e-Islami, historically the third-largest party, has also played a significant role. It has faced repeated bans over allegations of inciting violence, the most recent in 2024, later lifted by the interim government.

The question now is whether the NCP can break the decades-long political stranglehold.

Nahid describes his party as centrist and “post-ideological”, with a strong focus on education, climate change and youth empowerment. He says it is currently drafting its first manifesto and actively seeking funding — a crucial step if the NCP is to compete on an equal footing with the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

“We want to move beyond the traditional left-right divide,” he says. “Our focus is on nation-building, rooted in religion, culture and language. We’re not engaging in binary politics.”

“There is now a political vacuum,” he adds. “The Awami League leadership is gone. The uprising has given rise to a new political generation across the country — people who want a different kind of politics. There’s an entire generation that’s never voted because none of the existing parties speak to them.”

But Nahid may have overestimated the depth of his support among the new generation.

Both the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami still maintain large and active student wings, led by Nasir Uddin Nasir and Shadik Kayem, respectively — young men who also played prominent roles in the uprising.

With elections expected between this December and next June, both parties are widely anticipated to perform well at the polls, with a significant share of the votes likely coming from younger voters.

Nahid Islam’s party will also have to find its footing amid a host of challenges Bangladesh faces during this fragile transitional period.

Since Sheikh Hasina’s ousting, concerns have grown over the breakdown of law and order, the resurgence of extremist groups, a currency crisis, US President Donald Trump threatening steep tariffs, more than a million Rohingya refugees languishing in the south of the country, and tense relations with India.  

On the issue of disinformation and regional politics, Nahid is particularly outspoken. “The way India views Bangladesh — with a hegemonic, dominating attitude — needs to change,” he says.

“That’s India’s problem, not ours. The rise of Hindutva in India is part of a global issue. It promotes anti-Muslim and anti-Dalit sentiment. India needs to change itself. We want a balanced relationship, based on equality and dignity.”

Whatever obstacles lie ahead, Nahid remains optimistic. He believes they can be overcome if there is unity and the political will to build a fairer, more democratic future, rather than slipping back to the old system so many fear.

“Our party’s vision is to establish a second republic in Bangladesh. If we can’t change things today, we’ll try tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the next day," he says.

"We will keep fighting. We will carry forward what we began with the uprising. This is our dream.”

Shamim Chowdhury is a London-based freelance journalist and writer