Dispatch from Dhaka: It's no longer only about the quota

Editor’s note: Bangladesh has been burning through July. Peaceful protests on university campuses early in the month, by students opposing a quota system for government jobs, spiralled into unrest across the country after the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, insulted the protesters and dismissed their concerns. Violence exploded when the student and youth wings of the ruling Awami League attacked protesters, with police action following on. On 20 July the government deployed the army and imposed a country-wide curfew to try and maintain order. As protests have continued in the streets, large numbers of people have been reported killed and thousands have been injured. 

Shahidul Alam, a renowned photojournalist, educator and activist based in Dhaka, has been documenting the protests and the government’s brutal reprisal. Alam has managed to get his dispatches out to the media despite an internet shutdown imposed to try and contain the protests, which has since been partially lifted. Himal Southasian is republishing these dispatches, which offer a picture of the situation inside Bangladesh even as the internet shutdown has severely restricted the outflow of information.

The events and circumstances described in the dispatches have been changing rapidly and there have been several developments since Alam penned each of them. The curfew has been partially lifted and internet connectivity has been partially restored, although it remains patchy and communication with many parts of the country remains difficult. The dispatches reflect the extent of violence and repression unleashed by the Sheikh Hasina government against its people. They have been lightly edited for clarity. 

Click here to read all dispatches.

Alam sent his second dispatch on 21 July 2024.

The government has paraded several student leaders on TV, and multiple versions of the demands made by student coordinators of this leaderless movement, are in circulation.

The original list of demands was circulated in an underground press release yesterday. The signatory, Abdul Kader, has since been picked up. Another coordinator, Nahid Islam was disappeared by over 50 plainclothes people claiming to belong to the Detective Branch, a third coordinator Asif Mahmud is reportedly missing.