Private university students made Sheikh Hasina tremble on July 18: Nasir

After the brutal attack on Dhaka University on July 17, fascist teachers forced students to leave their residence halls by closing down the halls and threatening to cut off food, water, and electricity. This created doubts about the future of the movement.
During our discussions with the coordinators about the next program that day, some expressed disappointment that the movement would slow down. Others were optimistic that the movement would intensify. Everyone was worried about how it would work on an empty campus.
Today, July 18, is a historic day. On this day last year, private university students threw themselves into the movement with all their might. Many were martyred in police firing. But they did not give up. Due to the resistance of private universities, public university students regained their morale. On July 18, private university students made Sheikh Hasina tremble. Due to their fierce movement in Rampura, Badda, and Bashundhara areas, the movement spread from the campus to the streets. The workers' brothers joined and turned the student movement into a mass movement.
The massacre of private university students also angered the middle and upper-middle class people of Dhaka and took to the streets. Due to the strong movement of private university students, the quota reform movement moved towards an anti-fascist mass uprising.
On the other hand, madrasa students played a brave role in isolating Dhaka by blocking the entrances to Dhaka. Even in various places including Shanir Akhra, Kajla, Jatrabari, Mohammadpur, Uttara, the police, RAB, and BGB could not remove the madrasa students.
The history of the mass uprising could have been different if private university students and madrasa students had not taken over the streets on July 18, ignoring the death march. If they had not jumped into the battlefield at the right time, our story of victory could have been delayed much further.

Nasir Uddin Nasir
General Secretary, Bangladesh Nationalist Chhatra Dal, Central Parliament