‘Left, Shahbagi groups, Chhayanaut and Udichi must be dismantled’

The secretary of the Jahangirnagar University (JU) unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, Mostafizur Rahman, has said that "the left, Shahbagi groups, Chhayanaut and Udichi must be dismantled – only then will Bangladesh's true independence be achieved."

He made the remark on Thursday night while addressing a rally at the university's Shaheed Minar, following a protest march over the death of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

The protest march began around 11:00pm from the Bottola area of the campus. Leaders and activists of Chhatra Shibir, Jucsu, Chhatra Shakti, the Adhipattyabirodhi Moncho, and general students of the university took part in the procession.

At the rally, Mostafizur said true independence could not be achieved through political struggle alone and claimed that the struggle must begin through what he described as a cultural movement from Shaheed Osman Hadi's Inqilab Moncho.

"Even after killing thousands of innocent young Bangladeshis, the bloodlust of Sheikh Hasina's party has not been satisfied. From abroad, they are still plotting to kill revolutionaries," he said.

He also demanded that diplomatic relations with India be severed, calling for all Indians legally or illegally working in Bangladesh to be sent back within 24 hours.

He further said there should be no relationship with India until former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the alleged killer of Sharif Osman Hadi are handed over to Bangladesh.

After a video of the speech circulated on Facebook drew criticism, Mostafizur issued a clarification in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon. He said his comments referred to a struggle against what he termed "cultural and narrative hegemony" and not to physical destruction.

Later in the evening, in another post, he clarified the use of the word "tochhnoch" (dismantle), saying it did not mean vandalism. Instead, he said, it referred to building alternative structures through systematic and institutional means and confronting what he described as fascist narratives.

He added that his choice of words had been hasty given the overall situation, but maintained that Islami Chhatra Shibir intended to continue its activities through what he described as lawful and systematic means.