Indigenous and queer peoples rights remain pivotal in Bangladesh’s social and political realities. In the aftermath of the uprising, several incidents mark a sharp rise in attacks against, violations of and threats to indigenous and queer communities.
However, as with any movement here, queer and indigenous participation in the July uprising went unnoticed. Many students, activists and protesters from these marginalized communities joined the movement in hopes for a change of regime. In our interviews, we tried to document their roles in the uprising and their understanding of this massive movement that shook Bangladesh in 2024.
One participant, Sumon (pseodunym), described the garment workers’ protest that he joined in and noticed how their participation was not honored by the media.
Another interviewee, Ishan (pseudonym) mentions the significance of participating in the movement as a queer person.
Another interviewee, Ishan (pseudonym), who took part in various protests in the July movement despite transphobic encounters, told us that congregations in Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University was a major point of motivation for him. The attack on students was a tipping point and as a result he joined the mass mobilization on those campuses.”
Droho Jatra, a gathering of protesters who marched from the National Press Club to Shaheed Minar at the Dhaka University on 2nd August, was a demand for an end to mass arrests, trials for the killings, the release of detained students and protesters, lifting of ongoing curfew, and regular attendance at educational institutions.
Ishan expressed fears of being raped as a trans man during the protesters but he recalls, that many queer people like him, were determined to stay on the streets to take a stand against the massacre. He also noted that he was given access to many of these spaces where protesters were organizing because he is a man.
On 3rd August, protesters declared a nationwide Total Non-Cooperation Movement and their one point demand for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. Mass killings were ongoing in the campuses and pockets of protesters all over the country.
On 4th August, protesters carried the bodies of those killed to Shaheed Minar at Dhaka University, continuing their one point demand.
Ishan also mentions
Another participant, Jahan (pseudonym) from Shonir Akhra recalled the day mobile data was slowed down, and the situation had already gravely escalated in several areas of Dhaka. Hanif Flyover toll plaza at Jatrabari was set on fire on 17th July by protesters. In the following days of the uprising, several areas saw roadblocks and clashes near and in Jatrabari.
After Jummah prayers on Friday, 19th July, clashes between police and protesters erupted at the Chashara intersection and men from BCL with weapons joined the clashes soon after that forced a significant number of protesters to retreat. Jahan remembers the internet to be fully shut down that same day and initially thought it was unavailable only in Jatrabari. VPNs could be used to access the internet but at very low speeds.
Between 19th and 24th July, Jahan could not leave the Jatrabari area. On the 19th, army officers had been deployed and blockades were set up at major roads. That day at least 66 protesters were killed amidst clashes with the police. A crowd of angry protesters stormed the jail in central Narshingdi and freed nearly 900 inmates alongside looting 80 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. On the first day of the curfew on 20th July, another 21 protesters died while leaders of the then opposition party, BNP, were detained.
Jahan expresses (Jakaria 15.32-16.16) that this uprising did not have a particular vision; strategies to collectivize was not planned but when it unfolded, it opened doors to imagine many political possibilities after the fall of an authoritarian government. They have observed that various political blocks that have existed during the AL regime and continued to operate after the uprising found new motivations to be engaged politically. The uprising made ways for these political factions to function again.
Sumon
Similar to Jahan’s observations, Ishan points out that this uprising, that escalated rapidly into a country wide movement, quickly politicized a large number of youth who were ready to take to the streets everyday. That momentum which gathered responses across different classes and identities was absurdly powerful to Ishan. (Nirnoy 34.08-35.00)
On 16th July, Ishan was at a private university campus where he teaches with some colleagues to intervene in what became some serious clashes between BCL and the students. As a teacher he was concerned whether or not he would be answerable to the university authority for showing up for his students. A quote by him clarifies this further, “These private universities have a history of expelling students who are too ‘political’ and hold the mindset that the ideal teacher will not be involved in politics.” Ishan’s other colleagues from various departments came together to express solidarity despite restrictions from the institutions and plans were being made anonymously to move as a single teacher body. Some members from several private institutions were also reporting to campus newspapers about teachers from Ishan’s university uniting, making this process difficult to navigate as they wanted to move only as a teacher body in order to keep their students safe.
Jahan notes mass mobilization of private and public university students from Jatrabari on 2nd and 3rd August. On 4th August, March to Dhaka was announced. Due to internet slowdown on that day, Jahan was not sure if people were accumulating on 5th August, but when they arrived at a big main road in the Jatrabari area, the number of people gathering and entering Dhaka was shocking. Shortly after
