Bangladesh funeral draws hundreds of thousands as election tensions rise
Hundreds attend the funeral of activist Sharif Osman Hadi as diplomatic frictions with India flare and Bangladesh heads toward February elections.
Hundreds of thousands gathered in Dhaka on Saturday for the funeral of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent Bangladeshi activist who died from gunshot wounds sustained in a Dec. 12 attack in Dhaka. The ceremony occurred as political tensions rose ahead of the next national elections.
Hadi died Thursday in a Singapore hospital after being shot in Dhaka. Police said they had identified suspects and that the shooter probably fled to India, where Prime Minister Hasina has been in exile since August 2024.
Security was tight in Dhaka as funeral prayers were held outside the Parliament complex. Hadi's body had returned to Bangladesh Friday, and Saturday was declared a national mourning day. He was to be buried on the Dhaka University campus beside the country’s national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Mourners carried Bangladesh flags and chanted slogans, including “We will be Hadi, we will be fighting decades after decades,” and “We will not let Hadi's blood go in vain.” The gathering followed days of violence in which protesters attacked and torched offices of two leading national dailies.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus urged calm as a political transition unfolds in Bangladesh ahead of elections. Hadi was a spokesman for the Inqilab Moncho culture group and took part in last year’s uprising that culminated in the end of Hasina's 15-year rule. He had planned to run as an independent candidate in a major constituency in Dhaka in the February national elections.
Bangladesh remains in a politically charged transition under Yunus, with Hasina's Awami League and Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party as the two dominant parties. Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, leads an alliance seeking greater political space in the absence of Hasina's party.
Hasina has been in exile since August 2024, a fact cited by supporters and opponents alike as a major factor shaping the electoral landscape and diplomatic dynamics in the region.
The February elections are widely viewed as a watershed for Bangladesh's democracy, with security, diplomacy, and leadership under intense scrutiny as the country navigates a turbulent path toward a more open political contest.