Nahid Islam, a sociology student known for wearing a flag across his forehead, spearheaded the protests that led to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after 15 years in power.

Islam, 26, coordinated a student movement against quotas in government jobs, which evolved into a campaign to remove Hasina. He gained national attention in mid-July after he and other Dhaka University students were detained by police as the protests turned violent.

Nearly 300 people, many of them college and university students, were killed during weeks of violence across the country. The violence only subsided when Hasina resigned and fled on Monday.

Islam and other student leaders were scheduled to meet with army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman on Tuesday. Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation and said an interim government would be formed.

Islam, who speaks calmly but firmly, stated that the students would not accept any government led or supported by the military and proposed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the chief advisor.    

“Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted,” he said in a Facebook post early Tuesday.

On Monday, surrounded by other student leaders, the bearded and stocky Islam told reporters: “We won’t betray the blood shed by the martyrs for our cause.

“We will create a new democratic Bangladesh through our promise of security of life, social justice and a new political landscape.”

He vowed to ensure the country of 170 million never returns to what he called “Fascist rule” and asked fellow students to protect its Hindu minority and their places of worship.

Islam, born in Dhaka in 1998, is married and has a younger brother, Nakib. His father is a teacher and his mother is a homemaker.

“He has incredible stamina and always said the country needed to change,” Nakib Islam, a geography student, told Reuters. “He was picked up by the police, tortured until he was unconscious, and then dumped on the road. Despite all this, he continues to fight. We have confidence that he will not give up. Proud of him.”

Sabrina Karim, associate professor of government at Cornell University who specializes in studying , called Monday a historic day for Bangladesh.

“This might very well be the first successful Gen Z-led revolution,” she said. “There is perhaps some optimism for a democratic transition even if the military is involved in the process.”