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Imran H Sarkar

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Imran H Sarkar is a Bangladeshi physician, political activist, and spokesperson of the Gonojagoron Mancho, which led the 2013 Shahbagh protests demanding the trial of war criminals.[1][2][3] He faced internal disputes within the platform and tensions with pro-Awami League groups.[4][5] Sarker planned to launch a political party and was active in various movements, including protests against extrajudicial killings and the Digital Security Act. He was detained in 2018 and briefly barred from international travel for his stand on human rights and press freedom issues.

Early life

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Sarkar was born on 14 October 1983 in Kurigram District, Rangpur Division, Bangladesh.[6]

Career

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Imran was an activist of the Bangladesh Chhatra League while completing his MBBS at Rangpur Medical College.[5]

Sarkar was the spokesman of the Gonojagoron Manch which organized the 2013 Shahbag protests demanding the trial of war criminals from the Bangladesh Liberation War.[7][8][9] He claimed the platform was not connected with any political parties.[10] He administered an oath for the protestors, which said, "We pledge to keep on demanding trial under a special tribunal of those Razakars and Al-Badrs who were convicted and were under trial but freed after 1975".[11] There were rumours that his rise was patronized by the Awami League due to his association with the Bangladesh Chhatra League as a student.[12]

In 2014, fractional disputes took place at the Gonojagoron Mancho where a pro-Awami League fraction tried to remove Sarkar as the spokesman.[5] The pro-Awami League fraction was led by Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, who sought a nomination from Awami League for the January 2014 election.[5] A group of bloggers disowned him around the same time.[13] Bangladesh Chhatra League stopped attending events since March 2013 after Imran called for a march to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office demanding a ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami.[5] Other pro-Awami League governments, Gourab Ekattur and Muktijoddha Sangsad Sontan Command, started boycotting Imran since April 2013 and had clashes publicly with supporters of Sarkar.[5] Bappadittyo Basu, president of Biplobi Chhatra Moitree, described Sarkar's actions as "undemocratic" and “unethical”.[5] In April, an activist of Gonojagoran Manch and follower of Kamal Pasha, Shishir, was stabbed, he claimed by supporters of Sarkar.[14]

Sarkar was the convenor of the Bloggers and Online Activists Network.[15] A number of secular bloggers were killed by Islamists as part of the attacks by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh.[16][17] He was the member secretary of the Bijoy 2013 celebration committee and a member of Youth for Peace and Democracy.[18][6] In January 2014, bombs were thrown at his rally in Bogra injuring two.[19] He condemned the detention of Journalist Probir Sikdar for allegedly defaming Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, under the Information and Communication Technology Act.[20] He criticized Stephen Rapp, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, who said that political parties should be tried for war crimes and the focus should remain on individuals.[21] He also condemned Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Minister of Home Affairs of Pakistan, for speaking against the war crimes trial.[22] In June 2015, Ansarullah Bangla Team issued a death threat against 25 individuals, including Sarkar.[23] The other threatened individuals were Hasanul Haque Inu, Minister of Information; Abed Khan, journalist; Shahriar Kabir, human rights activist; AAMS Arefin Siddique, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dhaka (DU); and Syed Anwar Hossain, DU professor; Siddique Nazmul Alam, Chhatra League General Secretary; bloggers Kaniz Aklima Sultana, and FM Shahin; Mohammad A. Arafat; and Sangeeta Imam, cultural activist.[23] Theatre activists Ramendu Majumdar and Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, along with cultural activist Syed Hasan Imam, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, writerMofidul Hoque, Gonojagoron Mancho activists Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, Mahmudul Haque Munshi, and Bappaditya Basu.[23] The list also included journalists Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Boishakhi Television CEO; Shyamal Dutta, Daily Bhorer Kagoj editor; Munni Saha, ATN News head of news; Shaheen Reza Nur, Nobonita Chowdhury, and Anjan Roy.[23]

Sarkar announced plans to form a political party around students, which was opposed by Chhatra League (JSD), Chhatra Moitree, Chhatra Andolon, Chhatra Oikko Forum, and Chhatra Samiti.[24] He condemned the murder of Avijit Roy by Islamic extremists and demanded justice for him.[25] In July 2015, the Appellate Division sought information about him from the Attorney General Mahbubey Alam following his comments on the war crimes trials.[26] He demanded justice for the Murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu as the spokesman of a fraction of the Gonojagoron Manch in 2016.[27] He condemned the arrest of journalist Shafik Rehman, which was criticized by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Facebook.[28][29] Joy said, "I have lost all respect for him. He needs to retract his statement and apologize to our government.".[28]

Golam Rabbani, leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League filed a defamation case in May 2017 against Sarkar for raising slogans against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for removing the statue of justice following the Bangladesh Statue of Justice controversy.[30] Metropolitan Magistrate SM Masud Zaman summoned him over the case.[31] Sumon Ahmed Shanto Babu, Jubo League Joint Convenor for Gazipur, filed another defamation case against him over the same issue.[32] Bangladesh Chhatra League announced a ban on Sarkar entering the University of Dhaka.[33] On 16 July 2017, Sarkar was given bail in a defamation case filed over his comments about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[34] Following their bail, they were egged by supporters of the Awami League government.[35] In August 2017, Sarkar and his activists were attacked twice in Shahbagh in two days while trying to raise funds for flood victims and denied permission by Bangladesh Police to hold a rally.[36][37] First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sheikh Chhamidul Islam issued an arrest warrant against him in the defamation case.[38] In September, he threatened to lay seige to the Embassy of Myanmar, demanding the country stop the Rohingya genocide.[39][40]

Sarkar was critical of the Digital Security Act, 2018, referring to it as a gag on the free press and will take Bangladesh back to the medieval age.[41][42] Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan accused Gonojagoron Manch and Sarkar of spreading fake information regarding the deaths of protestors in police action during the 2018 Bangladesh quota reform movement.[43] Imran was detained in June 2018 by the Rapid Action Battalion from a rally of the Gonojahoron Manch protesting extrajudicial killings by law enforcement during the 2018–2019 Bangladesh drug war.[30] He was released after seven hours. according to Lieutenant Colonel Emranul Hasan, commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion-3, who suggested Gonojagoron Manch take permission before holding events.[44] In July, he was prevented from travelling to the United States to attend an event of the United States Department of State and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.[45] Justices Tariq ul Hakim and Md Shohrowardi passed a ruling ordering the government to not prevent Sarkar from travelling abroad.[45] He led protests following the stabbing of professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal by Islamic extremists.[46]

Deputy Commissioner Sultana Parvin, the Kurigram returning officer, rejected the candidacy of Sarkar for Kurigram-4 as an independence candidate for the 11th general election.[47][48] He filed an appeal with the High Court Division against the cancellation of his candidature, and his appeal was rejected in December 2018.[49] In October 2021, he accused the Awami League government of patrinizing religious extremists and pointed out the government had changed textbooks following demands raised by Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.[50]

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, Gazi MH Tamim filed a genocide case against 19 accused over the police action against 2013 Shapla Square protests by Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.[51] The accused in the case included, aside from Sarkar, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and historian Muntasir Mamun.[51] Arrest warrants were issued against him in March 2025.[52]

Personal life

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Sarkar married Nadia Nandita Islam, daughter of former Minister of Education Nurul Islam Nahid, in 2016, but separated the next year.[2][6]

References

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  1. ^ গণজাগরণ মঞ্চের সেই ডা. ইমরান কোথায় হারালেন?. Dhaka Times 24 (in Bengali). Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  2. ^ a b "Imran H Sarkar ties the knot". Risingbd.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12. He became a household name after the Ganajagaran Mancha movement started in February, 2013, to demand capital punishment for war criminals.
  3. ^ "'Joy Bangla' rocks Shahbagh again". The Daily Star. 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  4. ^ "The paradox of student activism". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Gonojagoron Mancha feud reaches peak". The Daily Star. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  6. ^ a b c "Ganajagaran's Imran H Sarker gunning for Kurigram-4 parliamentary seat". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  7. ^ "Shahbagh youths take up series of programmes". The Daily Star. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  8. ^ "Activities at grassroots level suggested". The Daily Star. 2013-05-04. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  9. ^ "Concert for Freedom at Suhrawardy Udyan". The Daily Star. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  10. ^ "Blogger brutally killed". The Daily Star. 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  11. ^ "Youths rekindle spirit of '71". The Daily Star. 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  12. ^ "What went wrong with Gonojagoron Moncho?". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  13. ^ "Bloggers 'disown' Sarker". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  14. ^ "Gonojagoron Mancha man stabbed in capital". The Daily Star. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  15. ^ "Cheers from Shahbagh". The Daily Star. 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  16. ^ "Bangladesh blogger Niloy Neel hacked to death in Dhaka". BBC News. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  17. ^ Izadi, Elahe (2015-08-07). "Fourth blogger this year is hacked to death in Bangladesh". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  18. ^ "Sing the national anthem together". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  19. ^ "Bombs hurled at Gonojagoron rally in Bogra". The Daily Star. 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  20. ^ "Journo Probir sent to jail". The Daily Star. 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  21. ^ "Gonojagoron protests Rapp's remark". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  22. ^ "Moncho condemns Pakistan minister's remarks". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  23. ^ a b c d "Ansarullah threatens citizens again". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  24. ^ "Don't form political party, student bodies to Imran". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  25. ^ "24-hr ultimatum to arrest Avijit killers". The Daily Star. 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  26. ^ "SC seeks information about Imran H Sarkar". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  27. ^ "Voice for justice gets louder". The Daily Star. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  28. ^ a b "My freedom of expression probably threatened: Imran H Sarker". Daily Sun. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  29. ^ "Stop following opportunist Ganajagaran Mancha's Imran Sarker: Joy". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  30. ^ a b "Rab picks up Imran, frees him after 7hrs". The Daily Star. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  31. ^ "Imran summoned for derogatory remark on PM". The Daily Star. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  32. ^ "Court dismisses case against Khushi Kabir for allegedly 'slandering' PM". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  33. ^ "Chhatra League bans two Ganajagaran Mancha activists from DU, Shahbagh". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  34. ^ "'Derogatory remarks' on PM: Imran gets bail". The Daily Star. 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  35. ^ "Imran gets egged, Gonojagoron Moncho protests". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  36. ^ "Gonojagoron mancha spokesperson Imran 'attacked'". The Daily Star. 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  37. ^ "Imran H Sarkar 'attacked again'". The Daily Star. 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  38. ^ "Arrest warrant against Imran for derogatory remark on PM". The Daily Star. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  39. ^ "Buddhists reach out to Myanmar embassy". The Daily Star. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  40. ^ "Gonojagoron Mancha to besiege Myanmar embassy". The Daily Star. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  41. ^ "Digital Security Act to gag media: Imran". The Daily Star. 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  42. ^ "Imran Sarkar: New digital security act will take the nation back to medieval period". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  43. ^ "'Govt identifying people behind spreading fake news'". The Daily Star. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  44. ^ "Imran H Sarker detained". Prothom Alo. 2018-06-06. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  45. ^ a b "HC clears way for Imran H Sarker to go abroad". The Daily Star. 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  46. ^ "Zafar Iqbal attacked". The Daily Star. 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  47. ^ "Imran H Sarker's candidacy rejected". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  48. ^ "Imran H Sarker collects nomination form for Kurigram 4". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  49. ^ "Imran Sarker's appeal rejected". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  50. ^ "Imran H Sarker: Government patronises communal powers". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  51. ^ a b "Hasina, Shahriar Kabir, Imran H Sarker accused of 'genocide' at Shapla Chattar in 2013". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  52. ^ "Arrest warrants issued against Hasina, Imran H Sarkar and 9 others". Barta24. 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
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