The peace that had begun to grow uneasier by the day still held on July 6, 2024, but the atmosphere over much of the country had changed palpably.
An unfavourable Supreme Court verdict on July 4 had super-charged the students' anti-quota movement.
In the lead-up to the national election just six months previous, which now seems like from another timeline, words like hartals and blockades had seemed academic from opposition parties rendered toothless by the AL government.
But now, the words "Bangla Blockade" seemed more serious due to the sheer force of the number of students on the streets. The phrase would soon become part of the common lexicon.
The SC ruling, which effectively upheld a June 5 High Court order that declared illegal the 2018 cancellation of quotas in government jobs, had led to the students becoming more coordinated and stepping up their game.
"Merit, merit, not quotas" rang out with even greater fervour and volume as thousands took to the streets all over the country.
The students' movement announced an indefinite strike from that day, demanding reinstatement of the 2018 cancellation.
Nahid Islam, then known just as a Dhaka University student and a key organiser, announced that from then on, the Bangla Blockade would begin at 3:00 pm.
He told a rally the previous day that they would not return to the classrooms till the demands were met.
Shahbagh was blocked by students marching through the streets from Eden College, Buet, DU, chanting anti-quota slogans, and carrying colourful and innovative placards.
Jagannath University Students blocked the Tanti Bazar intersection, and the scenes were similar in population centres around the country.
What began as a loosely coordinated protest had become concerted. Students in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and other districts and population centres all took to the streets with the demand to abolish quotas.
Political parties like the BNP also expressed moral support and said the movement was rooted in justice, and not party politics.
By the sixth continuous day of protest, there was some discontent among the general public because of the sufferings of commuters caused by blocked roads and intersections.
But there was also a growing sense that this was not like 2018, this was something different. There was a general acknowledgement of the discrimination inherent in 30% of government jobs being reserved for descendants of freedom fighters in a country where the youth were suffering from a lack of economic opportunity.
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