Unofficial manifesto of the July mass uprising

If a manifesto expresses a person’s ideological stance, provides a theoretical analysis of how to solve a problem, or outlines a roadmap for progress based on the will or aspirations of the people or the time, then do the words of Abu Saeed (2001–16 July 2024) not embody the very spirit of a manifesto? Let us see what Abu Saeed, a student of the English department at Begum Rokeya University, wrote. Addressing Shaheed Shamsuzzoha (1934–1969), martyr of the 1969 mass uprising, Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed wrote in a status: “Sir! We need you desperately right now, Sir! Everyone from your time is dead, but you remain immortal even in death. Your grave is our inspiration. We are illuminated by your spirit.”

The slain Abu Sayeed was a member of the university's Quota Movement Coordination Committee. Visiting his Facebook profile, one finds that a day before his death (July 15, 2024), he posted a status quoting Adnan Abir, coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. He wrote, “If I become a martyr today, then leave my lifeless body on the street. When the student community returns home in a victory march, then declare me a victor too, and bury me. The corpse of a defeated person is never accepted by their parents.”

On Monday (July 15, 2024) at 12:37pm, Abu Sayeed posted another status. The image attached to the status contained a famous remark by Shaheed Shamsuzzoha during the mass uprising. The comment was: “Today I am stained with the blood of students. If there are more bullets, let them strike me before they strike my students.”

How many teachers have such conviction and involvement in student movements? Across various universities, we have seen reflections of Shaheed Shamsuzzoha in a few brave and time-conscious teachers, although there was no well-organised or long-term political preparation for this revolution. Still, driven by conscience, they played roles as comrades of the student masses.

“Mother, pray for me. If I die, leave my body on the street. Bury me only when our demands are fulfilled and the country is at peace.” –Fahmin Zafar.

These were the last words said to his mother by Sheikh Fahmin Zafar, a science student of Tongi Government College, before he left home for the anti-quota movement in Uttara, Dhaka, where he was killed on July 18, 2024. “Bury me only when our demands are fulfilled and the country is at peace. If many like me die, all of our bodies will remain on the streets. Many mothers will support you, don’t worry”. That was the last exchange between mother and son.

Shafik Uddin Ahmed Ahnaf (2007 –August 4, 2024) was 17 years old. He used to tell his family members that he would grow up to do something that would make them proud. On August 4, Ahnaf was shot dead during the movement in the Mirpur 10 area of the capital. Ahnaf was an eleventh-grade student at BAF Shaheen College in Dhaka. He used to tell his mother and aunt, “Because of cowardly mothers and aunts like you, the boys and girls can’t join the movement. If people like you were around in 1971, this country would never have gained independence.”

Inside this 17-year-old boy Ahnaf lay the spirit of the Liberation War, an expression of his political aspirations. War demands blood, life must be wagered to reach a specific goal. That goal itself becomes an unwritten manifesto. There was no theorisation or intellectual platform here. But a goal worked subconsciously among the youth: even at the cost of life, the demands must be achieved. The essence was that the seed of struggle had been sown among the youth—that the fall of the long-standing fascist regime was inevitable. This movement began in early July with slogans against discrimination: “The core of the Liberation War—equality of opportunity / The core of the Constitution—equality of opportunity.”

They began the movement invoking the spirit of the Liberation War, keeping its context in front, as seen in their slogans: “In the land of the Liberation War, there is no place for discrimination.”

Looking at the characteristics and pace of the movement, it is seen that the equality movement regarding “quota” took a turn through Bangla Blockade on July 7, 2024. On July 10, the movement became sharper, turning into a full blockade. At that time, the slogans also took a different direction. The protesters brought forth slogans echoing the spirit of the '69 mass movement: “No compromise but struggle, struggle, struggle.”

Later began morning and evening Bangla blockades and railway blockades across the country. In the movement, police and government-backed student organisation Chhatra League attacked the general students. As a result, the protesters incorporated the words “attack” and “police” into their slogans. That is, it can be said that through their repression, the state apparatus helped further unify the students. The students added to their slogans: “The movement can’t be stopped with police / Not treachery but the streets, the streets, the streets.”

The courage, sacrifice, endurance, strategic approach of the students, their unity in struggle, and ability to unify the masses—without seeing these deeply held aspirations firsthand, one cannot imagine them from the outside, because they defy even the finest imaginations. Herein lies the uncompromising unwritten manifesto. We witnessed an unarmed teenager stand with chest bare before armed forces. Despite so many tear shells, sound grenades, and bullets, the students broke through police barricades. We saw that in terms of unity, the student masses had become much stronger and more organised than the fascist government's police force. They stood for justice, for the fall of the tyrant, for policies without discrimination. Their struggle has become a rare event in the world and will remain in history forever.

In protest of the mass killing and mass arrests began the “March for Justice” and “Remembrance of the Heroes” programmes for the students and masses who had lost their lives. Afterwards, we saw the entire movement transformed into a single demand. The course of the movement changed direction and joined the “Long March to Dhaka”. In protest by hundreds, thousands, and millions, the fascist tyranny fell in a sea of blood on July 36.

On August 5, during the “March to Dhaka” programme, at around 11:30am in the capital’s Chankharpul area, 16-year-9-month-old Shahariar Khan Anas was shot and killed. On August 5, around 9:30am, Shahariar left home without telling anyone. He had left a letter at home for his mother.

“Ma, I am going to the rally. I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. Sorry Abbujaan, I left disobeying you. I can’t stay at home selfishly. Our brothers are wrapping their heads with shrouds and fighting for our future generations. If a disabled teenager, a 7-year-old child, a lame man can join the struggle, then why should I stay at home? We all have to die one day. So instead of sitting selfishly at home in fear of death, it is better to join the struggle and die a martyr’s death. He who gives his life for others is the true human being. If I do not return alive, then be proud, not sad. I ask forgiveness for every mistake in my life. – Anas.”

This letter speaks of heroism, of a life without selfishness, of sacrifice, of struggle, of the streets, of a specific movement, and of the masses. This 16-year-old boy, through his letter-like manifesto, made the entire people of Bangladesh stakeholders in the movement. Although a manifesto is usually finalised through a long process where multiple stakeholders contribute their views, this letter will remain across generations not just in Bangladesh but the whole world, as a blood-stained document, a letter-like manifesto.

Bakul Ashraf: Poet and essayis