By Obaidur Rahman

 

DHAKA, July 4, 2025 (BSS) – Nazmul Hasan, a central coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said that the student protests quickly evolved into a broader campaign aimed at toppling autocratic ruler Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

 In an exclusive interview with the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Nazmul described how years of repression, attacks, and violence under the Awami League government led him and fellow activists to envision a movement that extended far beyond the quota reform issue.

“A firm desire of her downfall had been taking shape since our early days on campus. By the time the July movement began, we were already drawing up the blueprint to bring down Sheikh Hasina,” he said.

A student of Mathematics at Dhaka College and the current General Secretary of the Bangladesh Student Rights Council, Nazmul was a prominent figure in the 2018 quota reform movement and has played a key role in several major student protests since then. His political activism has come at a high cost—facing arrests, lawsuits, and brutal attacks, including a 183-day imprisonment in 2021 for opposing political interference of a neighboring  country.  

In this detailed interview, Nazmul shared his political journey, the inner workings of the July uprising, and how the movement evolved into a mass call for systemic change in Bangladesh. The following is the full interview… 

BSS: How did you get involved in the movement?

Nazmul Hasan: I was part of the 2018 quota reform movement led by the Bangladesh General Students' Rights Protection Council. In October 2018, the quota in government job recruitment was abolished, but suddenly, on June 5, 2024, it was reinstated. As soon as we heard this, we organized a procession under the banner of the Bangladesh Student Rights Council, marching from Doel Chattar to TSC with Dhaka University students.

On June 9, I led the first protest by students of the seven affiliated colleges at Nilkhet. We started there, moved through Dhaka College and Science Lab, and returned to Nilkhet. The protests continued to gain momentum from that point on. 

BSS: July 4 was the deadline of your ultimatum. What happened that day?

Nazmul Hasan: Under my leadership, we brought out a blockade at Science Lab with students from Dhaka College and Eden College starting at 10 am. The idea was to shift the momentum away from Shahbagh and create a parallel pressure point at Science Lab, a major Dhaka intersection.

Around noon, news broke that the High Court had declared “Not Today” regarding our demands. We immediately rejected the verdict and the Chief Justice’s comments, calling it a betrayal of student sentiment. We urged the judiciary to uphold the 2018 circular immediately instead of showing distrust in the student community.

 BSS: What about the protests on July 11?

Nazmul Hasan: While preparing for the day’s programmme, we learned that students at Comilla University were attacked by police and ruling party cadres, with the proctor present. Over 50 students were injured. In response, we started a procession from Dhaka College and attempted to reach Science Lab, but police from Ramna, New Market, and Dhanmondi zones blocked our way. We eventually held our programme from Science Lab to Nilkhet.

 
BSS : Why did you submit a memorandum to the President?

Nazmul Hasan : The 2018 movement led to the abolition of quotas, but their sudden return in 2024 reignited public outrage. We feared Hasina could reinstate them anytime. So we appealed to the President, as the head of state, to intervene and issue a permanent solution through a directive. We also demanded to formulate a law in the parliament abolishing the quota system.

That day, the entire city of Dhaka had transformed into a city of students. In every alley and street, their presence was unmistakable. From Dhaka College alone, we mobilized four to five thousand students and led a procession from Science Lab to join the memorandum submission programme.

 BSS  : On July 14, Sheikh Hasina labeled students as “Razakars” in a press conference. How did you respond?

Nazmul Hasan : We saw Sheikh Hasina label the protesting students as ‘Rrazakars’. In response, we chanted slogans: “Who are you, who am I?,  Razakar, razakar! Who said it? Who said it? Dictator! Dictator!” Everyone who participated in this movement was born after 1971—none of us were Razakars. We’ve seen this before: whenever there’s a just and rational movement, the government tries to delegitimize it by calling protesters Razakars or tagging them with other labels. Our protest that day was a direct challenge to that toxic narrative—we were determined to break that taboo.

BSS: What happened on July 15 at Dhaka University?

Nazmul Hasan: As part of the ongoing movement, we gathered at Dhaka College on July 15. That’s when armed Chhatra League cadres occupied the campus. Soon, we received news that Eden College students had been barricaded inside their campus by Chhatra League members. We rushed to their aid, freed them, and marched with them to TSC by noon.

Upon reaching at Raju Memorial sculpture, we heard that some of our fellow students had been cornered in the dormitory area of Dhaka University. When we went to free them, Chhatra League goons launched an attack in the hall area.

Later, as we moved toward the VC Chattar, members of Chhatra League from Dhaka College and the organization’s north and south metropolitan units ambushed us. They dragged us to the streets and beat us mercilessly. They even attacked students at the hospital. Female students weren’t spared either. I, too, was injured in that heinous attacks. 

BSS: How did you continue the movement after being injured?

Nazmul Hasan: I was hospitalized for nearly three to four days after being injured in the attack on the 15th. During that time, I continued advising on how to effectively block Science Lab and how to mobilize more students to join the movement. On July 16, Chhatra League killed a Dhaka College student and tried to blame the protesters for the incident. While I was still in the hospital, I was named as an accused in that case. Meanwhile, my family began receiving various threats, and Chhatra League started intimidating other participating students in multiple ways.

BSS: What if key coordinators couldn’t continue?

Nazmul Hasan:  Our plan was that if anyone stepped back, expressed a different opinion, got injured, or was killed, others would step up to lead. Under no circumstances was there an opportunity to end the movement. Everyone supported us during that time. While Nahid Bhai was in the hospital, a nurse helped deliver a message from him saying, “Our movement will continue, and we must move forward by consulting those who are still on the ground.”

During those days, I regularly discussed strategies with Hannan Masud and Rifat Rashid, and later Abdul Kader made the key decisions.
 
BSS: On July 21, quotas were abolished again. Did you consider ending the movement?

Nazmul Hasan: We witnessed how Nahid Islam and others were brutally tortured. By then, the entire country had seen hundreds of bodies. As a result, the movement was no longer just about quota reform; it had transformed into a struggle for systemic state reform. This movement was about both quota reform and broader state reform because corruption had penetrated every corner of the government. People from all walks of life joined the movement—parents, rickshaw pullers, street vendors, garment workers, and many others. From the very beginning, we had been planning Sheikh Hasina’s downfall; we were just waiting for the right moment. On the night of July 19, Nur Bhai called me from an unknown number and said, “You should now shift the movement’s focus from quota reform to state reform and call for Sheikh Hasina’s downfall. Even if other coordinators disagree, you must lead the call for her removal.”
 

BSS: Why didn’t you end the movement after the official gazette on July 23?

Nazmul Hasan: Our demand was for quota reform. Instead, we were labeled as Rrazakars and branded as drug addicts. The Chhatra League, Jubo League, and law enforcement agencies resorted to killing students and suppressing the movement through false cases and persecution. 

In response, we rejected that government order outright and began pushing forward with a new set of demands.

BSS: Hasina visited the metro rail and cried despite so many student deaths. Your thoughts?

Nazmul Hasan: Her every word fired us up. While students died, she mourned over infrastructure like metros and buildings. She would speak of grief but ordered police to kill protesters. Even Abu Sayeed, unarmed, was executed at close range on her orders.
 

BSS  : How did you communicate during the internet shutdown?

Nazmul Hasan: We used button phones and borrowed SIMs. We coded our messages: ‘G’ meant government, ‘P’ meant police. Every moment outside felt like 1971. The Chhatra League acted like Razakars, and the police like occupation forces.

BSS: On July 28, six coordinators declared the movement ended. Why did you reject it?

Nazmul Hasan: DB Harun abducted them and forced the declaration. We stated no announcement made under duress would end the movement.  

BSS : What was the idea behind red profile pictures and March for Justice?

Nazmul Hasan: We wore red on our Facebook profiles and tied red cloths around our faces as a tribute to the martyrs of the movement. The “March for Justice” programme was organized primarily to gain international recognition for the movement. It aimed to make the world aware of how a fascist regime under Sheikh Hasina was brutally suppressing the student uprising.

BSS: What happened on August 3, when the one-point demand was announced at Shaheed Minar?

Nazmul Hasan: Students from Dhaka College and nearby areas led the march from Science Lab. The  Dhaka University area echoed with slogans. The crowd demanded one demand—Hasina’s resignation. We then marched to Shahbagh and held programs until evening.

BSS : Tell us about August 5—Hasina’s downfall and your arrest.

Nazmul Hasan : On August 5, during the curfew, I failed to enter Science Lab and instead took a detour through Hazaribagh to Nilkhet. From there, I set out toward the Shaheed Minar with a few of my fellow activists in a rickshaw. But at the intersection between Dhaka Medical and Bakshibazar, I was arrested along with Redwan from the Islami Shantantro Andolon’s Dhaka College unit.

They transported us in a police van through TSC to Shahbagh Police Station. It was around 9 in the morning, and all we could hear from the Dhaka University area were the sounds of blank gunshots. As soon as we were brought into the station, they threw us onto the floor and began beating us mercilessly—punching and kicking every part of our bodies. They shattered my glasses. They kicked me with their boots while hurling vile abuse:

“You coordinators think you're too big now! We had our eyes on six of you. Sheikh Hasina is still showing you mercy, despite all her development work, and yet you're revolting against her?”

The beating went on for over five minutes. Later, around noon, the then-OC(Officer-in-charge) (Operations) of Shahbagh Police Station, Arshad, threatened to kill me in a staged ‘crossfire’. Shortly afterward, we were taken to the CTTC office on Minto Road.

I was tormented—not just physically, but emotionally. I kept thinking about how every previous movement had been crushed in the same brutal way. Countless mothers and sisters had stood with us during the protests—bringing us water, shielding us during attacks, standing as our protectors. Was their sacrifice going to be in vain once again? That thought alone was unbearable.

They struck my chest too. I repeatedly asked them to take us to a hospital, but they remained aggressive and violent. Since that morning, they hadn’t even given us a sip of water. It wasn’t until around 4:30 in the afternoon that their behavior began to soften. A short while later, they released us and even began apologizing.

By then, the CTTC office had mostly emptied of police personnel. Once outside, we spoke with the crowd of agitated protesters, urging them not to launch any attack. We tried to calm the situation and prevent any escalation. After that, I contacted my family and fellow comrades. Later, I headed to the Channel 24 office to attend a press conference.