Nahid, Asif make history

History was made yesterday when two university students in their mid-20s were sworn in as the youngest ever advisers to an interim government.
Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, both aged 26, are students of Dhaka University. They are also involved in student politics.
The two brave young men along with a few other determined students led the quota reform protests since July 1. The protests soon spread across the country and eventually turned into a mass upsurge. It forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as prime minister and flee the country on August 5.
However, continuing the movement was an uphill task for them as they had to endure torture after being picked up by law enforcers last month.
Nahid and Asif along with four other protest organisers were taken into custody by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. They started a hunger strike at the DB office on July 30 protesting their detention and the brutal crackdown on students nationwide.
The student movement soon resonated with the ordinary people and the protest ended the Awami League’s rule.
Nahid is a master’s student of sociology at Dhaka University. He is also the member secretary of Ganotantrik Chhatra Shakti, a group formed by breakaway members of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, led by Nurul Haque Nur, a former vice president of Ducsu.
Asif, another coordinator of the quota reform movement, is a master’s student of linguistics at the same university.
A friend of Nahid, Asif is the convener of Ganotantrik Chhatra Shakti.
After taking oath as advisers yesterday, both Nahid and Asif said they will now fight for the people’s voting rights and work for restoring democracy and eliminate discrimination and injustice from the society.
“People relied on the young people and took to the streets. The young people shed blood and the countrymen also did so. If the people think that the young citizens should take the top positions of the state, the young people would be ready to do so,” he said replying to a query.
Nahid said the interim government has been formed with representatives from the young and experienced people from all opinions.
“The participants of anti-discriminatory student movement will not only work in the government but will also remain on the streets. Together, we will lead the country to prosperity.
“The people of Bangladesh have been deprived of voting rights for a long time. The main objective of the interim government is restoring democracy by ensuring voting rights,” he said.
It is not possible to ensure a free and fair election unless reforms are made to the structure of the state as well as to the Election Commission, he observed.
Speaking to reporters, Asif said they are ready to take on the challenge to serve as the youngest advisers to an interim government.
“All the state institutions were made dysfunctional under the fascist Awami League government. We aim to eliminate fascism by reforming these institutions.”
Though the major political parties could not unseat the autocratic government in the last 17 years, the students managed to do so in just four days after announcing their one-point demand, he said.
“We will prove that the members of the younger generation can also serve the country with passion and patriotism,” Asif said.