Dhaka: The anti-discrimination student movement demanding the reinstatement of the 2018 circular that abolished the quota system in government jobs gained significant momentum on July 3, spreading rapidly to educational institutions across the country.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, following the Eid-ul-Azha vacation, university campuses and other educational institutions became hotbeds of protest. This wave of demonstrations, dubbed the “July Uprising,” was spontaneously supported by students and citizens, marking a significant challenge to the nearly 16-year rule of the Awami League.
In a notable escalation, students from Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh disrupted railway services by blocking a key railway track. Concurrently, Jahangirnagar University students obstructed the Dhaka-Aricha Highway, while their counterparts from Chattogram University and Barishal University blocked the Chattogram-Khagrachhari and Barishal-Kuakata Highways, respectively.
In the capital, protestors took over the Shahbagh intersection for ninety minutes. Students gathered at Dhaka University Central Library before marching through the campus and eventually converging at Shahbagh, causing major traffic disruptions. Participants included students from Dhaka University, affiliated colleges, and institutions under the National University.
The protest march, organized under the ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’, was marked by the singing of protest songs and the chanting of slogans demanding merit-based recruitment. Nahid Islam, a key coordinator, expressed hope for a favorable court verdict on the quota abolition circular scheduled for review the next day.
In Puran Dhaka, Jagannath University students blockaded the Tatibazar intersection, while Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University students occupied the Agargaon-Khamarbari road after a protest procession on campus.
Barishal University students staged a symbolic protest wearing funeral shrouds, which resulted in a two-hour traffic jam on the Barishal-Kuakata Highway. Meanwhile, students at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet held an anti-quota procession, and Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur called for reforms to the quota system while retaining the 2018 circular.