Like many protest movements, the July Uprising was initially led by public university students. However, the movement gained its unyielding momentum when the urban middle class, including school and college students, joined in force.
Looking into the recent traditions of the country, many were left to wonder why the apolitical urban middle class had suddenly chosen to leave the safety of their homes, voluntarily stepping out and getting involved in the deadly movement.
Several private university students said a significant portion of urban middle-class families, who are headed by public university graduates, now send their children to private universities. As a result, this demographic became more connected to the cause.
Shyamoli Sultana, who studies BBA at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, said, "When I joined the movement in Mohammadpur area, my father accompanied me to ensure security. This is how urban middle class people started joining the movement."
However, key members of the Private University Student Alliance Bangladesh (PUSAB) shared a different perspective.
Tanjil Mahmud, one of the key members of PUSAB, was forced to flee the country on July 28 last year.
He said: "Attachment to their own children is always a reason. But this is not the main reason behind the changes. The brutal attack on BRAC University students on July 18 resulted in the involvement of the urban middle class. Police fired a shotgun from point-blank range on a student. That incident was the spark."
It had two impacts, he explained.
Firstly, as students and the institution came under attack from police, current and former BRAC University students and their parents began posting pictures, videos and other evidence to the PUSAB's Facebook page.
"They just flooded our inbox. They started using the hashtag 'BRACunderattack', which gained huge attention from the urban middle class and forced them to think over security for students from private universities. The provocative thought led them out to the roads," he said.
"The other part is, there was an iconic scene in a video where police were attacking. At one point, some of the students started a counter-chase. This caused the police to back off. The video got numerous shares and showed them that the police could be forced back as well," said PUSAB Founder Abdullah Mahfuz Zakaria.
Tanjil added that when the news of attacking Brac spread around, students from nearby universities like East West University, North South University and United International University rushed to spot.
This was the first time during the movement when private university students banded together to employ a zone defence. Later, more zones, such as Uttara, Notun Bazar and Rampura, were maintained, he added.
One-party centric, weak government have formed
Providing their observations on the interim government, Tanjil and Zakaria both agreed that the country needed a government that included highly experienced politicians, efficient administrators, and protestors who could catch the pulse of the streets, especially after such a lethal movement.
"But, this government lacks all of that, except for Dr Yunus," Tanjil, who is also a joint-convener of National Citizen Party, said.
He also criticised the formation process for the interim government, saying it excluded private university students. "The inclusion of students from one group made it a one-party centric, weak government," he said.
He also criticised the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami for not taking bolder actions while the interim government was being formed.
A dictator may emerge again
One year since the fall of Sheikh Hasina, the two believed that the country has yet to undertake significant measures that could bar a dictator from rising again.
One year after the successful movement, it can be said that the expected changes are yet to be ensured, Tanjil said.
He said some fundamental changes were needed so that no party could control the administration. These include reforms to policing, ensuring the independence of the judiciary and creating a system where armed forces would never work for the benefit of a single party.
He expressed frustration, saying the current situation suggests that the interim government has already made a compromise when it came to the trial process of Sheikh Hasina and her allies.
The elected government will make more compromises with them -- maybe for votes or in exchange of money. So, ensuring punishment of the dictator is far away from reality.
Tanjil warned that if Bangladesh can not ensure trial and punishment for the dictator, she will definitely make a return and exact brutal vengeance.
"All the reforms to the administration and judicial sectors are yet to be visible. In these circumstances, anybody can become another Hasina (dictator). That's what we are afraid of."
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