Wednesday, 16 July, 2025
On July 16 last year, Bangladesh witnessed one of its most harrowing days in recent history, as the streets turned into battlegrounds. Fierce clashes erupted across the country between protesters of the anti-discrimination student movement, the ruling party’s now-banned student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), and the police. At least six people, including Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed, were killed in what many have since described as a state-orchestrated crackdown.
The government responded with overwhelming force—deploying Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in six districts and declaring the indefinite closure of all educational institutions. HSC and equivalent exams scheduled for July 18 were suspended. University students were ordered to vacate halls immediately.
What began as a protest against BCL’s brutal assault on Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University students on July 15 escalated into a nationwide uprising the following day. As students rallied in anger and defiance, BCL members and police again attacked protesters throughout the country.
In Rangpur, the resistance was led by Abu Sayeed, an English student at Begum Rokeya University and a key coordinator of the movement. According to Amnesty International, police fired tear gas and charged protesters near the campus. But Sayeed stood his ground—arms wide open in an act of peaceful defiance. From a mere 15 metres away, two police officers fired 12-gauge shotguns at him. He collapsed instantly.
The video of his killing went viral, galvanising students, workers, and ordinary citizens across the nation. What began as a quota reform protest transformed into a broader mass uprising against state violence and authoritarian rule.
That same day, two more people were killed in Dhaka during protests near Dhaka College and the Science Lab area. One was Md Shajahan, a 24-year-old hawker. The other, Sabuj Ali, was a 25-year-old from Nilphamari. Both were caught in the chaos and lost their lives amid indiscriminate attacks by BCL men.
Protests spread like wildfire. Students from private universities and colleges poured into the streets. Major intersections in Dhaka—Jatrabari, Science Lab, Shantinagar, Badda, Motijheel, Uttara, and more—were blocked. Railway lines were cut off. Highways linking Dhaka to Chattogram, Sylhet, Tangail, Mymensingh, and Cox’s Bazar came to a standstill.
Despite separate rallies being held peacefully at Dhaka University, surrounding areas were engulfed in violence as protesters fiercely resisted BCL attacks.
Clashes also broke out in Bhatara between BCL activists and students from Dhaka International University, United International University, and American International University-Bangladesh. In Chattogram, three more people were killed—Wasim Akram, a JCD leader and student of Chittagong College; Faisal Ahmed, a management student of MES College; and Faruk, a 32-year-old furniture shop employee.
Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the student movement, condemned the carnage as “state-sponsored violence.” Another leader, Asif Mahmud, called for a coffin procession and a symbolic funeral prayer (gayebana janaza) at the Raju Memorial Sculpture on July 17.
As tensions escalated, the government deployed BGB to Dhaka, Chattogram, Bogura, Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Gazipur. Schools and colleges were closed indefinitely. That night, the University Grants Commission ordered the closure of all universities and affiliated colleges, asking students to vacate halls without delay.
Simultaneously, Awami League leaders and activists were instructed to take positions at their respective unit offices, indicating the ruling party’s intent to confront the student uprising politically.
Meanwhile, the government filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division, seeking to overturn the High Court verdict on the quota system. The Attorney General's office argued that quota provisions were a policy matter, beyond judicial oversight.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir urged all political parties and the public to stand with the protesting students. BNP’s student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), expressed full solidarity and pledged to remain on the streets.
In a rare move, several Chhatra League leaders resigned, condemning the attacks on students.
On July 16, five rights organisations—including Amnesty International South Asia and Transparency International Bangladesh—issued statements denouncing the violence. So did 114 prominent citizens and leaders of the 1990 Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and the All-Party Student Alliance, who vowed to stand beside the students.
The bloodshed of July 16 left a nation shaken, a generation traumatised, and a government deeply questioned. Yet, in the face of brutality, it also sparked a powerful moment of unity, defiance, and demand for justice that has not yet faded from the public conscience.
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On July 16 last year, Bangladesh witnessed one of its most harrowing days in recent history, as the streets turned into battlegrounds. Fierce clashes erupted across the country between protesters of the anti-discrimination student movement, the ruling party’s now-banned student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), and the police. At least six people, including Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed, were killed in what many have since described as a state-orchestrated crackdown.
The government responded with overwhelming force—deploying Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in six districts and declaring the indefinite closure of all educational institutions. HSC and equivalent exams scheduled for July 18 were suspended. University students were ordered to vacate halls immediately.
What began as a protest against BCL’s brutal assault on Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University students on July 15 escalated into a nationwide uprising the following day. As students rallied in anger and defiance, BCL members and police again attacked protesters throughout the country.
In Rangpur, the resistance was led by Abu Sayeed, an English student at Begum Rokeya University and a key coordinator of the movement. According to Amnesty International, police fired tear gas and charged protesters near the campus. But Sayeed stood his ground—arms wide open in an act of peaceful defiance. From a mere 15 metres away, two police officers fired 12-gauge shotguns at him. He collapsed instantly.
The video of his killing went viral, galvanising students, workers, and ordinary citizens across the nation. What began as a quota reform protest transformed into a broader mass uprising against state violence and authoritarian rule.
That same day, two more people were killed in Dhaka during protests near Dhaka College and the Science Lab area. One was Md Shajahan, a 24-year-old hawker. The other, Sabuj Ali, was a 25-year-old from Nilphamari. Both were caught in the chaos and lost their lives amid indiscriminate attacks by BCL men.
Protests spread like wildfire. Students from private universities and colleges poured into the streets. Major intersections in Dhaka—Jatrabari, Science Lab, Shantinagar, Badda, Motijheel, Uttara, and more—were blocked. Railway lines were cut off. Highways linking Dhaka to Chattogram, Sylhet, Tangail, Mymensingh, and Cox’s Bazar came to a standstill.
Despite separate rallies being held peacefully at Dhaka University, surrounding areas were engulfed in violence as protesters fiercely resisted BCL attacks.
Clashes also broke out in Bhatara between BCL activists and students from Dhaka International University, United International University, and American International University-Bangladesh. In Chattogram, three more people were killed—Wasim Akram, a JCD leader and student of Chittagong College; Faisal Ahmed, a management student of MES College; and Faruk, a 32-year-old furniture shop employee.
Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the student movement, condemned the carnage as “state-sponsored violence.” Another leader, Asif Mahmud, called for a coffin procession and a symbolic funeral prayer (gayebana janaza) at the Raju Memorial Sculpture on July 17.
As tensions escalated, the government deployed BGB to Dhaka, Chattogram, Bogura, Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Gazipur. Schools and colleges were closed indefinitely. That night, the University Grants Commission ordered the closure of all universities and affiliated colleges, asking students to vacate halls without delay.
Simultaneously, Awami League leaders and activists were instructed to take positions at their respective unit offices, indicating the ruling party’s intent to confront the student uprising politically.
Meanwhile, the government filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division, seeking to overturn the High Court verdict on the quota system. The Attorney General's office argued that quota provisions were a policy matter, beyond judicial oversight.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir urged all political parties and the public to stand with the protesting students. BNP’s student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), expressed full solidarity and pledged to remain on the streets.
In a rare move, several Chhatra League leaders resigned, condemning the attacks on students.
On July 16, five rights organisations—including Amnesty International South Asia and Transparency International Bangladesh—issued statements denouncing the violence. So did 114 prominent citizens and leaders of the 1990 Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and the All-Party Student Alliance, who vowed to stand beside the students.
The bloodshed of July 16 left a nation shaken, a generation traumatised, and a government deeply questioned. Yet, in the face of brutality, it also sparked a powerful moment of unity, defiance, and demand for justice that has not yet faded from the public conscience.
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