Students burn BNP leader’s portrait over ‘son of razakar’ remark

Angry students set fire to a portrait of BNP leader Fazlur Rahman at Dhaka University’s TSC Raju Monument on Wednesday, protesting his remarks on a talk show where he labelled a student representative “son of a razakar” and “son of Al-Badr.” 

The demonstrators demanded his immediate arrest and called on the BNP to take disciplinary action against him.  

The incident stems from an episode of the online talk show Face the People, where Fazlur Rahman insulted student representative Minhaj Uddin, calling him “son of a razakar” and “son of Al-Badr”—terms tied to collaborators and war criminals from Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War. Clips of the show went viral on social media Tuesday night, sparking widespread outrage.  

On Wednesday afternoon, participants in a 21-day sit-in—demanding a ban on the Awami League and its allies—burned Rahman’s image in response. 

Protesters drew parallels to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s past labelling of students as “granddaughters of razakars,” a remark blamed for inciting the July 2024 massacre. “Calling us ‘sons of razakars’ reopens the wounds of those martyrs,” they said.  

Galib Ihsan, Assistant Member Secretary of the National Revolutionary Council, addressed the crowd: “We’re burning Fazlur Rahman’s photo because he mocks the freedom we won after August 5. He speaks with a fascist tone, ridiculing revolutionaries. On that talk show, he echoed Sheikh Hasina’s rhetoric, which triggered the July massacre before she fled to India. We warn everyone, including Rahman: in independent Bangladesh, labelling students as ‘children of razakars’ will not be tolerated. Neo-fascists have no place in our politics.”  

Abdul Wahed, Convener of the Revolutionary Students’ Council, demanded Fazlur Rahman’s arrest and a public apology to students for his “son of a razakar” comment.

Fazlur Rahman, the council’s Member Secretary (unrelated to the BNP leader), added, “Sheikh Hasina’s shadow looms over him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare insult a student this way after August 5.”