Shamsuddoza Sajen

On August 3, 2024, the anti-discrimination movement in Bangladesh reached a new peak as protesters rejected prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s offer for dialogue and instead placed a singular, uncompromising demand before the nation: the resignation of the prime minister and her entire cabinet.

After nearly two weeks of tense calm, Bangladesh once again plunged into violence on August 2, 2024, as widespread clashes broke out between protesters and police -- often aided by ruling party activists -- across multiple districts.

The day marked a turning point in Bangladesh’s deepening political crisis, as the government officially banned Jamaat-e-Islami and all its affiliated organisations, including Islami Chhatra Shibir.

As the sun rose on July 31, 2024, thousands of students, teachers, and citizens across Bangladesh prepared to join the March for Justice, a countrywide programme organised by Students Against Discrimination.

Amid continued mourning and mounting outrage, July 30 marked a powerful day of nationwide protests and symbolic resistance, as students, teachers, guardians, and citizens rallied across Bangladesh demanding justice for the lives lost during the quota reform movement.

On July 29, 2024, the Awami League-led 14-party alliance recommended that the government ban Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, citing their alleged involvement in anti-state activities.

By July 28, more than 2.13 lakh people—most of them unnamed—had been accused in nearly 200 cases filed with police stations across the capital in connection with the recent violence centring the quota reform movement.

City residents, still reeling from the trauma of deaths and destruction during the quota reform protests, felt a renewed wave of fear. Each day, particularly after sundown, convoys of vehicles carrying law enforcers reached neighbourhoods across Dhaka.

As Bangladesh reeled from days of unrest, the government intensified its crackdown. By 6:00pm on July 26, 2024, at least 738 more people had been arrested in the capital and several other districts in connection with the ongoing violence.

On July 25, 2024, two more individuals -- Zaman Mia, 19, a garment worker from Narsingdi, and Zakir Hossain, 29, a tailor shop employee from Rayerbagh --succumbed to their bullet wounds at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, according to hospital sources and their families.

At least 787 more people were arrested in the capital and other districts in the 36 hours leading up to 6:00pm on July 24, in connection with cases filed over violence across the country.

On July 23, 2024, the government issued a circular radically overhauling the quota system in public service recruitment. According to the new directive, 93 percent of civil service positions would now be filled through merit-based recruitment, up from the previous 44 percent, while the remaining 7 percent would be reserved under various quotas.

On July 22, 2024, the nation witnessed a fragile calm after nearly a week of violent unrest. While capital Dhaka saw no fresh clashes on the third day of a strict nationwide curfew, the country continued to grapple with the aftermath.

At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in sporadic clashes between law enforcers and protesters in Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Narsingdi on July 21, 2024 -- the second day of a nationwide curfew.

The first day of the nationwide curfew, imposed late on the night of July 19, was marked by widespread unrest and violence that left at least 21 people dead and scores injured across Dhaka and other parts of the country.

By July 19, 2024, Bangladesh stood at the brink of collapse as the quota reform movement spiralled into its deadliest phase.

On one of the deadliest days in Bangladesh’s recent history, at least 29 people, including 11 students and a journalist, were killed and over 3,000 injured in violent clashes across the country, as the quota reform protest intensified into a full-scale nationwide uprising on July 18, 2024.

On the public holiday marking Ashura, Dhaka and other parts of the country witnessed unrelenting student protests, road and highway blockades, symbolic funeral prayers, coffin processions, and repeated clashes with police and pro-government activists.

July 16, 2024, marked a grim escalation in the quota reform protests as violence swept across Bangladesh, leaving at least six people dead, including three students, and hundreds injured in fierce clashes involving protesters, Chhatra League activists, and police..In Chattogram, three peop

Brutal violence descended on July 15, 2024, as activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League launched coordinated attacks on students protesting for reforms in the public service quota system.