Nusrat Tabassum: 'I want to be the voice of the masses'

It was a cool night at Dhaka University. I met Nusrat Tabassum outside the TSC gate in front of the Sanjeeb Choudhury graffiti. We picked up cups of tea from a nearby tong and strolled inside the gate.  

Sitting on the open field, we began to speak about Nusrat's life – now a person of interest, as one of the six key coordinators of the Quota Reform Movement. She was among those who were picked up by the Detective Branch on 28 July citing "safety concerns" and released on 1 August.  

Nusrat, and for good reason, has become a national household name after her fiery leadership and subsequent imprisonment in July during the student-led movement which captured the country's imagination. 

At first sight, she seems like any other young university student. But within, a revolutionary grit has been compelling her to fight for democracy for years. 

"I was someone whom you can call a natural leader. I knew I could lead people," Nusrat said, "I took part in all kinds of club activities. I was a debater, an organiser and a student representative of my locality. 

As I grew up, my passion for politics increased. But I never thought of joining any particular party. I always wanted to be a people's representative," recounted Nusrat, sitting on TSC's grass.    

She continued about her political journey, "I was very moved by the 2009 Pilkhana tragedy [BDR Mutiny]," said Nusrat, "even though I was a very young child, I felt that such a massacre was wrong. I, like many others, felt vulnerable. 

I wanted to understand how such a heinous massacre was carried out." 

Her interest increased during the 2013 Shahbag Protests and its counter-Hefajot-e-Islam's Shapla Square Movement in the same year when she realised the power of a united mass. 

"It fascinated me to no end!" she said, "Then I felt — I should become an activist." 

Nusrat's political consciousness started to grow in her college years. She worked for the safety of women and newborn children in her neighbourhood. She was involved in a local project to counter post-natal mother's death. 

When she was preparing herself for the Dhaka University Admission Test, she witnessed the Quota Reform Movement in April 2018. At that moment, she was fascinated by the courage of the students. 

"I was so inspired to see students standing up to the ruling party and their Chhatra League goons. It made me think — I want to be one of them. I too want to stand up to the oppression of the Chhatra League." 

And then came the 2018 Road Safety Movement, the defining moment of political consciousness for the Gen-Zs of Bangladesh. "I was an activist during the Road Safety Movement," she said, "that was my first protest experience. I was a college student then. I was present when the protesters were brutally attacked in Jigatola. The experience was seared into my memory forever." 

Nusrat was a resident of the Shamsunnahar Hall of Dhaka University, where she was tortured by the Chhatra League activists. She became a rebel and decided to speak up. 

During the 2019 Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) Election, she got to know Nurul Haque Nur and his comrades. Their organisation, the Bangladesh Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad, was active then. She found their cause attractive. 

"And then I decided to join them." 

Then, the DU students started a protest for the cancellation of the affiliation of seven colleges with the university. That was her first leadership role. 

"You know, we, the first and second-year students, were the leaders of that movement," she laughed, looking at me, a fellow movement coordinator from that time. 

The movement cemented her name as a firebrand leader among her batchmates at DU. Soon, she became a member of the first Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad committee. Later, she was one of the primary organisers of the movement protesting the killing of Abrar Fahad in BUET. 

"I learnt how to organise the students and mobilise them first-hand. I was also active in the establishment of the Abrar Fahad Monument," she added. 

On 17 March 2021, she was elected as a secretary in the Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad committee. In 2023, she ran for the post of General Secretary but lost by a small margin. She became the Assistant General Secretary. She was also the Joint Secretary of the Dhaka University chapter of Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad for six months. 

Later, she started to think that Nurul Haque Nur had been deviating from the original goal of student welfare on campuses. So, she, along with Akhtar Hossain, a former social services secretary of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union, and the entirety of the DU chapter, stepped down from the parent organisation. 

Since then, she has concentrated her efforts on DU. 

When the Democratic Student Force (DSF) was formed under Akhtar Hossain, she became the Joint Student Secretary. 

Fast forward to the 2024 Quota Reform Movement in 2024. Nusrat was active from the very beginning. She has been one of the six main coordinators of the movement. 

"We were determined to stay on the streets till the Quota System was reformed. We were angry at the government for their whimsical decisions and the loose talk of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

How could she insult us like that, by calling us rajakars?" 

From then on, there was no turning back. The movement, a small ripple, created a tsunami of mass uprising. Nusrat was picked up, detained and mentally tortured by the Detective Branch (DB). Yet she did not give up. 

And now, she has become a symbol of free Bangladesh. 

What is your future plan? "I want to build a career in politics," she said, "but I am in no hurry. I have returned from a revolution. Now, it is time to make the revolution permanent. I want to be the voice of the masses." 

"When I was a revolutionary, I was fiery, zealous, relentless," she spoke with an air of solemnity, "now I am calm, steady, cautious. There is a lot to rebuild. A lot to clean up. Our hard-won freedom must be preserved."

As we walked out of TSC, it was in the early hours on Saturday. There were still students on the campus, enjoying the night. 

Behind us were the reminders of a fascist regime, which tore the country apart. But, in Nusrat's eyes, there was unwavering conviction to rebuild the country for the people, by the people.