Anti-Indian sentiment reaches unprecedented levels in Bangladesh after the martyrdom of July Revolution leader

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in the streets of Dhaka following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a July Revolution leader known for his anti-India stance, at a hospital in Singapore.

Hadi, a young politician who emerged as one of the most influential leaders of the July Revolution that ousted dictator Hasina’s 16-year fascist rule, was shot in the head in Dhaka on Friday by an unidentified pro-Indian and Awami League terrorist. According to some sources, the perpetrator fled Bangladesh and is currently residing in India.

Efforts to silence anti-Indian voices in Bangladesh are neither new nor uncommon. In an earlier incident, university student Abrar Fahad was brutally beaten to death by Awami League terrorists after he criticized India and denounced ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina’s pro-India foreign policy on social media.

Several Bangladeshi army officers were also abducted by Hasina’s government for their anti-India stance—most notably former Brigadier General Abdullahil Aman Azmi and former Lieutenant Colonel Hasinur Rahman—who spent eight and two years, respectively, in secret detention centers and endured unimaginable horrors, brutality, and torture.

Widespread outrage toward India’s hegemonic policies became even more visible in the aftermath of Hadi’s martyrdom.

Shortly after the shooting, several developments unfolded:

🔻 On Sunday, Bangladesh summoned India’s envoy in Dhaka to express concern over reports that fugitive Hasina was being allowed to operate from Indian territory to undermine next February’s national elections.

🔻 Abu Shadik Kayem, Vice-President of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and one of the July Revolution’s key leaders, demanded on Monday that the home, law, and foreign affairs advisers resign if the government fails to arrest all those directly involved in Hadi’s shooting and to restore law and order.

🔻 Another July Revolution leader, Hasnat Abdullah, wrote on Facebook: “India: The safe house of terrorists, vote riggers, mafias, and killers.” He also threatened to “cut off the Seven Sisters (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura) from India.”

🔻 A massive crowd protested in front of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

🔻 Enraged demonstrators torched the offices of the Daily Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, accusing the outlets of advancing Indian interests and justifying Hasina’s 16-year dictatorship through pro-Indian narratives.

🔻 At Dhanmondi 32, protesters attacked and vandalized the residence of Hasina’s father, Mujibur Rahman, using cranes. They referred to the site as “the shrine of fascism in Bangladesh.”

🔻 Dhaka University's Bangabandhu Hall has been renamed 'Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall' in honor of the martyred leader; protesters have declared Shahbagh Square—infamously the site where Hasina's fascist regime took root during the 2013 protests—'Martyr Hadi Square' to reclaim its legacy from oppression.