By Obaidur Rahman

DHAKA, July 19, 2025 (BSS) - Md Rakib Hossen, a frontline activist of the July uprising, became involved in student politics soon after being enrolled in Dhaka College. 

Known for his presence on the frontlines of student protests, he served as the organizational secretary of the Dhaka College unit of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad and was also a central coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement. Currently, he is working as an organizer of the National Citizen Party. 

Born and raised in Ramgati upazila of Lakshmipur, Rakib completed his SSC from Ramgati and HSC from Feni City College before entering the Chemistry department at Dhaka College. He was always at the forefront of any student-led movement. 

During a memorial event for slain BUET student Abrar Fahad, Rakib was injured in a Chhatra League attack and later jailed for two months.

From the very first day of the July uprising, Rakib mobilized students from Dhaka College, Eden College and neighboring institutions to launch fierce protests in the Science Lab and Nilkhet area, significantly accelerating the momentum of the movement.

In an exclusive interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Rakib shared his memories of July uprising.

BSS: How did you become involved in the quota reform movement?
Rakib: When the High Court annulled the 2018 circular following a writ filed by Chhatra League and Muktijuddho Mancha leader Mamun, quotas were reinstated. At that time, I was serving as the organizing secretary of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad's Dhaka College unit. 

After discussing it in our party office, we organized a protest march from Madhur Canteen at Dhaka University around 7 pm and ended the programme with a short rally at the Raju Sculpture. 

Nationwide protests were declared the next day, demanding the reinstatement of the 2018 circular. From July 1, demonstrations began under the banner of the anti-discrimination student movement. 

I not only got involved personally but also brought in students like Nazim from East West University and Asaduzzaman Roni from Gono Bishwabidyalay into the field and connected them with the central movement. I also contacted students from Eden College, Begum Badrunnesa College, and other affiliated colleges to ensure their participation from the very beginning.

When did you first face resistance during the movement?
Rakib: On June 9, students of the seven affiliated colleges launched a protest at Nilkhet. That very day, the president of the banned Home Economics College unit of Chhatra League tried to stop us. Still, we managed to hold a procession around Science Lab and Dhaka College before concluding the day’s programme at Nilkhet.

Around this time, Chhatra League operatives began spreading vicious rumors on social media, labeling me and our coordinator Nazmul Bhai as paid agents of BNP-Jamaat. They misrepresented our slogans and manipulated them to discredit us.

The movement appeared under various names over time. How were these decided?
Rakib: The “Bangla Blockade” that started on July 7 was the most prominent. It was followed by initiatives like “March for Justice,” “Complete Shutdown,” “March for Remembering Our Heroes,” red profile picture campaigns, protest songs and more.

The names and programmes came from the core team of coordinators, in which I was actively involved.

Tell us more about the “Bangla Blockade.”
Rakib: It began on July 7. Initially, participation from Dhaka College was low due to ongoing exam schedule. Since July 1, Chhatra League activists at Dhaka College were warning residential students not to join the protests. Still, some students defied those orders and joined us.

Eden College students joined in large numbers. City College, Ideal College and other nearby institutions also gradually came aboard. We would march from Dhaka College to Eden College, gather everyone and begin the programme together. 

Unlike other parts of the city, our protests started before noon and ended late, while Shahbagh protests typically started around 3 pm. 

Given the strategic importance of the Science Lab–Nilkhet area, we conducted the blockade there for three straight days—July 7 to 9. While police didn’t initially intervene, student leaders faced harassment from both law enforcement agency and Chhatra League.

Tell us about the day you submitted a memorandum to the President.
Rakib: From the beginning, one of our primary demands was to reinstate the 2018 circular. As part of it, on July 14, we organized a programme to submit a memorandum to the President, urging his intervention.
Students from every campus began assembling at DU’s Central Library. When we from Dhaka College and Eden tried to join from Nilkhet, police tried to block us. Despite that, we arrived at DU in small processions. Eventually, tens of thousands of students joined us.

By 11 am, students from Jagannath University, Eden College, Dhaka College and others had gathered at the DU library. We then marched through Shahbagh, Matsya Bhaban and the High Court area toward the Secretariat. We were blocked again near Zero Point, but the pressure of the crowd forced authorities to let us proceed toward Bangabhaban, where a team finally submitted the memorandum despite heavy rain.

How did you react when Sheikh Hasina labeled protesters as ‘Razakars’?
Rakib: That evening, in a press conference, Sheikh Hasina said that if the grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t get quotas, should the children of Razakars get them instead? That comment infuriated the student community.

Around 10-20 of us gathered at the Raju Sculpture that night and chanted slogans like, “Tumi Ke, Ami Ke? Razakar, Razakar!”, “Ke Boleche, Ke Boleche?, Shoirachar, Shoirachar”, “Ceyecilam Odhikar, Hoye Gelam Razakar.” 

As we were leaving for Palashi, we heard that Eden College students had broken their dormitory gates in protest. They too chanted slogans and marched from the VC Chattar to Palashi before returning to their halls. Dhaka College students ensured their safety.

On July 15, there was a major attack on DU students. Did Dhaka College and Eden College students protested that day?
Rakib: Like other days, we began our protests at Science Lab in the morning. Around 1 pm, we marched to the Raju Sculpture. We heard that students were being held inside DU halls by Chhatra League. We rushed to the halls, and as we reached Bijoy Ekattor Hall, they attacked us.

We engaged in 15-20 minutes of chase and counter-chase before retreating to the VC Chattar. Soon after, we heard that a weaponized group from Dhaka College Chhatra League was entering the university via Nilkhet, while another group gathered at Madhur Canteen.

Shortly after, combined groups from DU and Dhaka College Chhatra League launched a brutal attack on students at VC Chattar. They wielded sticks, hockey sticks, and local weapons with them to frighten us and create panic. Even female students weren’t spared.

Injured protesters were denied passage into the hospital. Even they were attacked at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s emergency wing. I was injured and treated there myself. Clashes continued near Shahidullah Hall until the Esha prayer.

On July 16, a Dhaka College Chhatra League member named Sabuj died. What happened?
Rakib: On July 16, unarmed Abu Sayed was shot dead in Rangpur. While we were protesting his death around 3 pm in Science Lab area, Dhaka College Chhatra League took an aggressive stance near the college. 

Later, while trying to negotiate, they assaulted some of our fellow fighters trapped inside the Teachers' Training College. Around dusk, Chhatra League killed one of their own members, Sabuj, near the petrol pump outside the college and tried to put the blame on us. 

This scared some protesters, but by midnight, it became widely known that Chhatra League leaders had killed Sabuj. That same night, due to pressure from residential students, those leaders fled the halls of Dhaka College.

Tell us about the ‘Complete Shutdown’ programme.
Rakib: After July 16, the situation worsened. We kept hearing about more deaths. The government cut off the internet and imposed curfews. In response, we launched the “Complete Shutdown” movement. Around this time, we also came up with our nine-point charter of demands.

On July 19 around 11 pm, Nurul Haque Nur, president of Gono Odhikar Parishad, called me to discuss the movement’s direction and offered financial assistance. I later learned he was arrested that same night. 

After that, I changed my phone number and left my Azimpur flat for Lalbagh. I stayed at different friends’ houses and joined protests cautiously, checking road conditions before stepping out. I remained in contact with coordinators Hannaan Masud and Rifat Rashid.

Even after the some coordinators announced the end of the movement, you continued. Why?
Rakib: On July 28, we heard that Sarjis and Nahid Bhai had declared the movement over. I immediately rejected that decision. Social media erupted, with many saying we wouldn't accept a decision dictated by the DB (Detective Branch).

People personally messaged me asking whether the movement was really over and urged me to convince the coordinators to continue. I told them to wait for the central decision. Our movement had multiple layers. Hannaan Masud once told me: “Even if we disappear, there’s another group ready to carry it on.”

What about “March for Justice” and the red profile campaign?
Rakib: After the curfew, state repression intensified on teachers, students and protesters. We launched “March for Justice” to push back against injustice. “Remembering Our Heroes” was another programme, dedicated to the martyrs of the quota movement.

On August 2, artists held a symbolic “March of Rebellion” to honor the fallen. Between July 16 and 30, over 500 lives were lost to police shootings and Chhatra League violence. Even after such carnage, the state acted inhumanely. The government then tried to divert attention by declaring July 30 as a day of mourning.

In defiance, we announced our own programme tying red cloths over our mouth and changing our profile pictures to red to mourn the martyrs. That day, the public visibly stood with the students. 

How did you operate movement during the final days?
Rakib: I stayed at my Azimpur mess from the start, but after July 19, police began raiding the area. I moved to a friend’s place in Lalbagh. Those days were full of fear and anxiety. Witnessing the nationwide bloodshed, I couldn’t sleep. Not even once until August 5.

I used to go to the rooftop and pray at night. In the early hours, I’d get a bit of sleep. I joined protests at Science Lab through Hazaribagh. I lost contact with my family for nearly 10 days after the 19th.

Tell us about the formal “One-Point Demand” announcement.
Rakib: Though the movement had shifted to a one-point demand that is Hasina’s resignation after July 30, formal announcement came from a mass gathering at the central Shaheed Minar on the Dhaka University on August 3. That day, students were told to gather at the Shaheed Minar.

I led a large group from Dhaka College. After 2 pm, Nahid Islam, coordinator of the student platform that led the quota reform protests, arrived and in a commanding voice officially declared the one-point demand: the resignation of fascist ruler Sheikh Hasina. We then marched to Shahbagh and stayed there until 5 pm.

What happened on August 5, the day of the uprising's final victory?
Rakib: The morning of “36 July” or August 5 was suffocating. The memory still gives me chilling experience. I stayed at a friend’s place in Lalbagh the night before but couldn’t sleep. We discussed the next day’s plans with anxiety. 

Around 8 am, journalist Sagar Bhai from Face the People messaged me for updates. By morning, ten of us gathered near Nilkhet and tried to reach Shaheed Minar in pairs via rickshaw. I was with Fahad and Nazmul Bhai.

From a distance, I saw police detaining Nazmul Bhai and others. I quickly entered the new building of Dhaka Medical College for safety. From inside, I reached the Chankharpul area and saw crowds swelling.
Dhaka Medical became the epicenter. Around 1,500–2,000 protesters had gathered. Along with Chhatra Dal’s Abid Bhai, we tried to unite everyone. Police clashes continued for about an hour. Around 11:30 am, they began firing, though the source wasn’t clear.

Soon, people started falling. I saw two people collapse next to me. Some died in my arms. I saw bodies arrive from Jatrabari and elsewhere. By 12 noon, I had seen at least 20 corpses, none recognizable. They were all part of the freedom-seeking masses.

When mobile data returned, I had a strange feeling that fascist Sheikh Hasina had fled. People nearby confirmed the rumor. Then we heard the army chief was going to address the nation. I thanked Almighty Allah. We marched to Shahbagh, where I noticed that police had vanished from the streets.

That morning of “36 July” was the longest day of my life. Time stood still. Gunshots echoed the streets, and people fell here and there. Even now, when I close my eyes, I see those scenes. It feels like this is not just my mere memory but a collective scar of our generation … that will remain in our mind forever.