Remembering the Red July: Despite the crackdown, the flames of uprising kept burning brightly

"They blindfolded me. I was given anaesthesia as I refused to do what they asked. Whenever I regained consciousness over the last four to five days, they injected something. I passed out," posted Asif Mahmud, a key coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), in a Facebook post following his release. 

In the predawn hours of 28 July 2024, seven key coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination, the student-led body spearheading the quota reform movement, were picked up in quick succession by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. 

Among those detained was Nusrat Tabassum, a postgraduate student at Dhaka University, who was taken from her relative's home in Mirpur. Arif Sohel, another central coordinator and a student of Jahangirnagar University, was also picked up by the DB. They joined Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Abu Baker Majumdar, Sarjis Alam, and Hasnat Abdullah, who had already been detained. 

By morning, all seven were in DB custody at the infamous Mintoo Road office, under the pretext of "ensuring their security." But the students had vanished. 

For the next 48 hours, the country buzzed with rumours. Then, on 28 July evening, a video message appeared on social media. The six detained coordinators, seated and subdued, read out a statement announcing the withdrawal of all protest programmes. The seventh one, Arif, however was not brought to read the statement.

"Our main demand was the logical reform of the quota... it has already been fulfilled by the government. We are withdrawing all our programmes from this moment," said Nahid, in a monotone. 

To many, it was a chilling moment, the apparent end of a student uprising that had just begun to shake the foundations of the 16-year-long Hasina regime.

But the country knew better.

Instead of ending the movement, the video had the opposite effect. Almost instantly, other coordinators – Abdul Qader, Mahin Sarker, and Abdul Hannan Masud – came forward with a rejection.

"The detained coordinators were forced to read out the statement written by the intelligence agencies, and we reject it. Our movement will continue until our nine-point demands, including the resignation of the home minister, are met. We urge the nation not to be misled," said Abdul Qader.

Within hours, protest programmes were reignited across eight locations in Dhaka – from Science Lab to Mirpur-10 – as if the movement had never paused. The decentralised leadership, which the students had built months earlier, rose to the occasion and was now proving its power. 

This wasn't a coincidence. It was strategic. 

Leadership that survived the crackdown 

From the start, the SAD had rejected hierarchical leadership. When protests began in early June, following the High Court's verdict reinstating quotas in government jobs, students knew they would face intense suppression. So, they built a structure to outlive arrests.

On 8 July, the group formed a 65-member coordination body, later expanded to 158, with 49 coordinators and 109 co-coordinators.

"Any coordinator can take the lead. We don't have a specific spokesperson; this is how we've survived every crackdown," said Nahid.

The group held online meetings at night to decide protest locations and assign local leadership. In effect, they turned every member into a potential organiser. So when the top six were taken, others simply stepped in. 

"We don't want individual-centric leadership. We want the movement to have a democratic character," added Arif.

What the government hadn't foreseen was how the public, not just students, would interpret the abduction of the six as a personal assault. 

And why wouldn't they? 

The crackdown on protesters had already turned deadly. On 18 and 19 July, law enforcement and ruling party groups launched a nationwide offensive. Abu Sayeed, a student at Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead. By then, universities had been shut down, and dormitories emptied.

Meanwhile, coordinators were disappearing. Nahid, first picked up on 19 July, was found dumped in Purbachal the next day, bruised and traumatised. Asif Mahmud and Abu Baker were also abducted and released days later.

"When I refused to oblige, they pushed an injection and made me senseless. As soon as I regained consciousness, they pushed one more", Asif later wrote on Facebook.

All three were receiving treatment at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital when DB picked them up again on 26 July. Then came Sarjis, Hasnat, and Nusrat.

From 26 to 28 July, the top six effectively disappeared - not produced in court, not charged.

The detained coordinators were forced to read out the statement written by the intelligence agencies, and we reject it. Our movement will continue until our nine-point demands, including the resignation of the home minister, are met. We urge the nation not to be misled.

ABDUL QADER, A KEY COORDINATOR OF STUDENTS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION (SAD)

Their families were frantic. A group of 12 university teachers even went to the DB office to inquire about their condition. However, they were denied a meeting with the DB chief.

But the public as well as the world was watching. Thirteen embassies and the European Union issued a joint letter condemning the excessive use of force. They demanded accountability for the deaths and detentions.

Inside the country, protests reignited. The Bangla Blockade, which began on 7 July and had brought Dhaka to a standstill, returned with renewed force.

On 29 July, the six coordinators were finally released. No charges, no explanations. Families were summoned to the DB office and told to pick them up.

"I got a call early in the morning... I am taking my son home now," said Badrul Islam, father of Nahid.

By then, it was too late. The public had moved past quota reform. The slogan had shifted from quota reform to one-point demand - "Hasina must go."

Nationwide uprising

From Dhaka to Chattogram, from Rajshahi to Barishal, students and citizens poured into the streets. In Chattogram, protesters were beaten by Chhatra League and handed over to the police.

In Barishal University, 15 students were injured in a BCL attack. Rajshahi University students blocked the highway. Sylhet, Noakhali, Mymensingh, and Cumilla – all witnessed confrontations.

Law enforcers arrested at least 80 protesters on 28 July alone. By then, the total number of arrests since 17 July had climbed to 9,121.

But the fire had already spread.

"It felt like our movement might be coming to a halt. However, private university students coming out to the streets the next day was unexpected. That was a turning point," said Sarjis Alam.

They didn't just show up – they took hits, got arrested, and many lost their lives.

"The indiscriminate shooting of unarmed, innocent people ultimately fuelled public anger and strengthened the movement," Sarjis added.

Even after the government issued a revised quota circular on 23 July, the protesters pressed on. The demand had shifted from policy to accountability because of the bloodshed.

On 3 August, at a massive rally at Shaheed Minar, Nahid Islam, flanked by dozens of fellow organisers, made the penultimate announcement. 

They would not join any dialogue.

They demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The next day, chants grew louder: "Next destination – Ganabhaban." 

On 4 August, that call was made official. On 5 August, the Hasina government fell.

Epilogue of the July Uprising 

The July Uprising was not the result of one leader's charisma or the aftermath of a single event. It was a people's movement, built on years of frustration and weeks of decentralised strategy.

The government tried everything - internet blackouts, campus closures, abductions, and media control. They tortured young people, extracted statements under duress, and claimed they were ensuring security while denying due process. 

But the movement survived.

Because leadership had been delegated. Because the nation could see through the lies. Because the protesters had built something that couldn't be picked off – a just cause. 

"We were not following one leader. We were following an idea. You can't arrest that," said Zerin Reza, a student protester from Khulna. 

And that, in the end, is what turned the night of abduction into the dawn of revolution.