On August 2 last year, the skies poured, but so did the people.
Thousands took to the streets across Bangladesh, defiant, drenched, and determined. In Dhaka and beyond, they marched, shouted, and grieved, protesting not just a policy but a series of killings, detentions, and what many saw as a betrayal of their democratic rights. The spark: a student-led, anti-discrimination movement that had grown beyond its original cause of quota reform and into a national call for justice.
What began as a movement demanding reformation in the quota system for government jobs evolved into a protest against state violence. It became a symbol of resistance, culminating in a declaration on August 2 of a nationwide demonstration and a non-cooperation movement.
The instruction was clear
Mahin Sarker, one of the movement's coordinators, issued a WhatsApp message late that night, urging citizens from all walks of life to join the protests. Fellow leaders Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and Abdul Hannan amplified the call. Hannan, through a Facebook Live broadcast, declared that the people would engage in an all-out non-cooperation movement starting from August 4. No taxes. No utility bills. A complete boycott of government and private offices. The prime minister's residence, Gonobhaban, and the president's residence, Bangabhaban, were to be rendered symbolically inaccessible.
"Let this be the moment the government realises it can no longer rule in denial," Hannan proclaimed.
Earlier that day, six movement leaders —Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Asif Mahmud, Nusrat Tabassum, and Abu Baker Mojumder —released from the custody of the DB a day ago, rejected the police's claims of "protective custody" and described their detention as unconstitutional and coercive. They spoke of a hunger strike launched in secret, of staged dining scenes, and of a forced public statement about withdrawing the movement, made not of their own volition.
Clashes continue, so do protests
Despite rain and fear of further repression, the public responded in overwhelming numbers. From the capital's Shahbagh and Mirpur to Sylhet, Khulna, and Noakhali, people swarmed the streets. The demonstrations were both fierce and symbolic, with students, teachers, artists, and activists marching side by side.
But the state responded with force.
Clashes broke out across several districts. In Habiganj, a labourer was killed. In Khulna, police said a constable died after being assaulted by protesters.
At least 150 people were injured nationwide, including three struck by rubber bullets in Dhaka's Uttara-11 area. Protesters alleged that ruling party activists joined the police in attacking peaceful processions.
"Bullets may hit, but we won't quit," read a placard held aloft during a rally dubbed Droho Jatra, a march of rebellion, led by students, academics, civil society members, and cultural groups. The procession began at the Jatiya Press Club and wound its way to the Central Shaheed Minar, growing larger with each step.
Anu Muhammad, a professor at Jahangirnagar University, addressed the crowd, saying, "What we are witnessing is not merely a political crisis, but a moral one. This government has lost its right to govern."
The protesters' demands were sharp and unified- an end to arrests, justice for the "July massacre," the reopening of educational institutions, the lifting of curfew, and, most resoundingly, the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Elsewhere in Dhaka, authors, poets, and urban planners rallied under the banner Poets and Writers against Countrywide Arrests and Oppression. Doctors and medical students also joined, as did Pratibad Mancha, a platform of teachers and rights activists. BRAC University faculty stood in solidarity, with 626 members publicly backing the protests.
UNICEF condemns child deaths in protest crackdown
International voices, too, took notice. Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, issued a statement expressing "deep concern" over the state's violent crackdown. Referring to media reports, UNICEF confirmed the deaths of at least 32 children during the July protests and emphasised the gravity of the loss.
"UNICEF condemns all acts of violence. Children must be protected—not killed in the streets for raising their voices," Wijesekera said.
Repression in response
Between July 16 and July 21, Bangladesh descended into one of its most violent crackdowns in recent history. Over 10,000 people were arrested in what authorities called a "combing operation," targeting not just student leaders but also political opponents and ordinary citizens.
In response, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader accused a "vested quarter" of manipulating the protests for political gain, despite the government's prior move to reform the quota system.
But protesters rejected this narrative, insisting that the movement had outgrown its original demand; it had become a cry for accountability, dignity, and change.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the nationwide mass movement of students and the general public reflected the country's united stance against the "murderous and autocratic" Awami League government.
"Braving natural and governmental adversities, the spontaneous mass mobilisation of lakhs of people, including students, teachers, and guardians, proves that the entire nation is united against the treasonous, murderous, and authoritarian regime," he said.
Whether the movement achieved all its aims or not, it succeeded in doing something rare: it unified a generation. And in doing so, it reminded the nation that democracy is not a gift handed down from power, but a right fought for by the people, in the streets, under the rain.
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