By Poliar Wahid

DHAKA, July 27, 2025 (BSS) - Asad Bin Rony, a former student of Law department at Gono Bishwabidyalay, was one of the leading student organizers of the July Uprising. 

He served as a central coordinator and executive committee member of the anti-discrimination student movement and currently serves as the central organizer of the newly formed political party, the National Citizen Party (NCP).

Rony played an active role in the 2018 quota reform movement and the Safe Roads movement. He was the founding organizing secretary of the Dhaka South unit of the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, later becoming its president and eventually the organization's central vice-president.

Born on January 17, 1996, in Charmonai Union of Sadar Upazila, Barishal, he is currently engaged in the export-import business.

Over the years, Rony has been subjected to repeated harassment by the Awami League and its student wing, Chhatra League. In 2022, he was attacked by Chhatra League activists at a memorial gathering for Shaheed Abrar Fahad at the Raju sculpture. 

Later, he was arrested from the emergency unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and imprisoned for one and a half months under false charges.

In a recent interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Asad Bin Rony shared her experience, memory of participation and expectations from the July uprising.

BSS: Nearly a year has passed since the July Uprising. How vivid is those days of struggle to you?

Asad Bin Rony: To me, July uprising was a people's war against oppression. Those of us who fought on the front lines, we didn't have anything except sticks and bricks. We did not witness the Liberation War, but participating in the 2024 movement felt like a final struggle for freedom from tyranny.

As the number of martyrs increased day by day, we made a firm resolve: if needed, I too will embrace martyrdom, but I will not allow this oppression to continue. The memories of that fight will remain a source of inspiration in building a just and equitable state in the future.

BSS: What role did your university's students play in the movement?

Asad Bin Rony: I was a student at Gono Bishwabidyalay, located at Savar. Among universities outside Dhaka, we were the first to block the Manikganj-Savar highway, during the "Bangla Blockade" programme. Later, when Chhatra League attacked students at Jahangirnagar University on July 15 night, our students stood beside them as shields.

Gono Bishwabidyalay students played a key role in the Savar region's protests and built spontaneous resistance all the time. They made significant contributions to the July Uprising.

BSS: When did you first join the movement?

Asad Bin Rony: I was on a trip to Satkhira when the High Court verdict reinstated the quota system in government jobs. I immediately canceled my trip, bought a bus ticket that evening and rushed back to Dhaka. The next morning, I joined a protest at the Raju sculpture. 

That afternoon, we marched from the DU Library to the Central Shaheed Minar. From that point on, I remained fully engaged, strategizing, planning and organizing every step until our victory. 

I played a vital role in mobilizing private university students in events like the March to Press Club and March for Justice to implement our single-point demand.

BSS: How did the Chhatra League's attacks on protesters impact general students?

Asad Bin Rony: Footage of female students being assaulted at DU VC Chattar on July 15, the nighttime attacks at Jahangirnagar University and brutalities by Chhatra League at Cumilla universities, shook the nation's conscience. 

The people became infuriated, rose in solidarity. That's how a student movement transformed into a mass uprising.

BSS: Did you witness anyone to become a martyr during the movement?

Asad Bin Rony: Yes. On July 18, during the curfew-breaking protest at Paltan, a close younger brother standing next to me was shot in the hand. A moment later, another beside us was shot in the head. His brain was come out. I witnessed someone become a martyr right before my eyes.

I'm describing it calmly now, but those were horrifying moments. We walked on the streets carrying death bodies hanging over us every second.

BSS: Before announcing single-point demand, did you anticipate that Hasina would be fallen? 

Asad Bin Rony: By July 17, it became clear that Hasina could no longer hold on to power. Our idea was to ensure her arrest and expose her to trial for the killings, not executing her. We studied history: had Sheikh Mujib been brought to justice in 1974 instead of being assassinated, he would've likely faced the death penalty.

By killing him, the revolutionaries let him give opportunity to escape accountability and we had to endure another 15 years of tyranny. We didn't want to repeat that mistake. 

BSS: Where were you on August 5 and how did you react when you heard about Hasina's escaping?

Asad Bin Rony: I was at Shahbagh that day, trying to help coordinate the protests with other central organizers. We were ensuring the angry masses didn't resort to damaging public property.

Around 1:00 pm, news came that Sheikh Hasina had fled. We were filled with rage, not because she escaped death, but because we missed the chance to bring her to justice.

BSS: What role did the administration and police play in suppressing the movement?

Asad Bin Rony: Most police officers acted like the Razakars of 1971, loyal servants of a party. Though funded by public taxes, they turned their guns against the people and sided with a fascist ruler. At the end, they participated in genocide.

Years of partisan recruitment meant that even within the civil administration, no one resisted the repression of students.

BSS: What kind of threats did you face during the uprising?

Asad Bin Rony: From the July 16 onward, the list of martyrs kept growing every day. At that point, dying for the cause became my only goal. Honestly, I didn't fear any threats. 

Police raided my house several times, but I no longer stayed there. I lived in a warehouse for some time, until even that was raided. I kept shifting my location daily. I stood face-to-face with bullets every day. I still carry dozens of shotgun pellets in my body.

BSS: Tell us about organizing private university students and the Rampura Blockade.

Asad Bin Rony: I was involved in the movement from the very beginning. When the blockade programs were announced, seven colleges in Dhaka, along with Jagannath University and every other university, began mobilizing separately with their own banners to successfully carry out the protests. 

But private university students were joining individually, they had no collective identity. So I gathered private university protesters from DU and Shahbagh, created a WhatsApp group and organized them under a joint platform. On July 10, we successfully executed the "Bangla Blockade" at Rampura.
After Dhaka University halls were shut down on July 17 to sabotage the March to Bangabhaban, we mobilized private university students to build resistance citywide on July 18.

Later, we organized March to Press Club, March for Justice and other protests with the help of this network. Until 36 July, I worked to organize protests in Mirpur, Uttara, Badda, Rampura, and Natun Bazar. We eventually formed coordination committees across 23 private universities to prepare for a protracted struggle.

BSS: Share a memory from the uprising that you've never revealed before.

Asad Bin Rony: The July mass uprising holds countless memories. One of the most notable was the time after meeting with Law Minister Anisul Haque, the eight-point demand was announced and the movement was called off. At that time, curfews and internet shutdowns were happening simultaneously, making it very difficult to communicate with anyone.

I was in hiding in a warehouse. To maintain morale and prevent discouragement, I composed a message and sent it to every activist's phone. 

It read: "Special announcement of the movement- Dear revolutionary children of the motherland. Due to the ongoing repression, arrests and killings, our country has turned into a land of fear, terror and corpses. The quota reform movement has now become a people's uprising. The people demanded justice for the student killings, the resignation of those responsible. We urge everyone to take to the streets with whatever they have. The blood of our martyrs must not be in vain. 

That's how we tried to keep the struggle alive amidst a communication blackout.

BSS: Has the dream of the uprising been realized at the university or national level?

Asad Bin Rony: The state is an institution that controls everything within it. But it's tragic that the goal of structural reform, for which students and citizens shed blood and sacrificed their eyes and limbs, is now being undermined by the greed of opportunistic political actors.

History will not forgive those who stand on the way of realizing the martyrs' dream.

BSS: What is your vision for a post-autocratic Bangladesh?

Asad Bin Rony: We envision a just, egalitarian, welfare-oriented, corruption-free Bangladesh where the rule of law and human dignity will prevail.
Unfortunately, the post-uprising political divisions and the show of brute strength like monkeys fighting over bread, have disappointed us once again.

BSS: There's been an attempt to pit July against 1971. What's your take?

Asad Bin Rony: I don't see July as standing opposite to 1971. On the contrary, I see it as a continuation. Without 1971, July would not have been possible. But it happened because the aspirations of the Liberation War weren't fulfilled. So we had to endure such a blood-stained July.

If the dreams of this July are also crushed, the freedom-seeking people of this country will not hesitate to rise again for another struggle.