Denigration of our Liberation War will never be acceptable

It was 6:14pm on Friday, July 19, 2024. Two Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were advancing into Banasree G Block in Dhaka.

As the nation observed the first anniversary of the July uprising yesterday, the family of slain student Abu Sayed remained cloaked in quiet resilience -- still grieving, yet hopeful that his ultimate sacrifice will not go in vain.

The programme will feature recitations of protest poetry from July 2024, an open discussion session, and the third staging of Mime Art’s powerful production “Rokte Agun Legechhe” (“The Blood is on Fire”), written, directed, and performed by the troupe’s founder, Nithor Mahbub.

Eleven singers from Saimum Shilpigosthi opened the programme at 12:11pm

The year 2024 shall forever remain etched in our hearts as a season of mixed emotions. On one hand, we look back at those tumultuous days with joy. On the other hand, we remain apprehensive about what lies ahead.

July is the month of pride and triumph against tyranny, and yet July is the month of irreparable trauma for the whole nation.

Reminiscing on the historic August 5 is filmmaker and activist Ashfaque Nipun, who was actively involved throughout the entire uprising and has been a participant in the anti-fascist movement for the past 17 years.

A desire for power, intolerance for dissent, and failure to see the writing on the wall undid Hasina's iron-fisted rule

It has been a year since Bangladesh freed itself from the murderous clutches of a tyrannical regime that had made corruption the rule of business, extreme arrogance of power the norm, and brutal repression its operational style.

The heat of power draws opportunists, “millions of bees,” as it were, who arrive not to pollinate progress but to bask in its heat, building a suffocating cloud of illusion around the leader.

While the July Uprising was sparked by economic problems, political repression, and a desire for democracy, it found a strong and surprising voice in a new form of music for Bangladesh: rap. Two songs, “Kotha Ko” (Speak Up) and “Awaz Utha” (Raise Your Voice), came to represent the sentiment of the movement in July.

In commemoration of the July Uprising, on 29 July, 2025, The Daily Star hosted an art camp titled “The Rebel Within You,” inviting 11 young artists who lived through the chaos, fear, and fire of 2024’s student-led mass movement.

OHCHR alone cannot prevent atrocities anywhere when there is systematic denial by the concerned state or any authority of its duties, and a failure of the international community to act.

They seek reform, not empty promises.

There have been positive developments in connectivity between the two nations, including the revival of rail and road links, the utilisation of ports, and growing energy cooperation.

Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has said that most of the decisions made to suppress the July uprising came from political high-ups, including the prime minister herself.

At the height of the July uprising, many hospitals turned their backs -- some out of fear, others silenced or forced into complicity. State forces roamed halls of healing, seizing CCTV footage, erasing patient records, and threatening doctors not to treat the wounded.

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.

With clenched fists and fierce voices, a group of fearless women stood before the locked gates of their residential halls on the night of July 14, 2024. There were no commands, no central leader -- only rage and a deep sense of injustice. They broke through the gates and poured into the streets.