BNP's role in July Uprising

The movement that culminated in the July Uprising began on July 1, 2024, as a student-led campaign demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs. Initially confined to university campuses, the protests centred solely on quota reform. Awami League government's hardline response, marked by violent clashes, casualties and mass arrests, transformed the agitation into a nationwide anti-government uprising. By August 5, the movement had expanded beyond students to include citizens, eventually leading to the fall of the Awami League government.

At the outset, no political party formally led or organised the movement. It was spearheaded by students from public and private universities. As the protests intensified, opposition parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), publicly expressed solidarity with the students. 

Within days of the students' movement, the BNP officially expressed its support. At a press conference on July 6, party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir described the demand for quota reform as "fair, logical and democratic". He urged the government to respond positively to the students' demands without resorting to force.

After violence erupted during the movement, the Awami League and the government accused the BNP of infiltrating the protests. They alleged that BNP leaders and activists, along with members of its affiliated organisations, had been involved in violence, arson and sabotage, describing the incidents as part of an anti-state conspiracy.

In a recent interview with BBC Bangla, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the BNP deliberately chose not to participate under the party banner at the outset so that the movement would remain under student leadership. He added that the party remained in regular contact with student leaders throughout the movement.

He also claimed that a large number of BNP leaders and activists were arrested during the protests, including about 3,500 in Dhaka alone. According to him, these arrests demonstrate that the BNP was actively involved in the movement.

According to BNP, 422 of its leaders and activists were killed and around 9,000 were arrested during the July Uprising. Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that had the BNP not been involved in the movement, he himself would not have been arrested on July 19.

Rizvi argued that the July Uprising was not an isolated event but the culmination of the BNP's continuous 17-year struggle for the restoration of democracy, voting rights and resistance to one-party rule.

The BNP's associate body, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, claims that its leaders and activists participated in nearly every major programme of the movement between July 16 and August 5 under central directives. According to the organisation, 142 of its leaders and activists were killed, while many others were injured or arrested.

Swechchhasebak Dal, meanwhile, claimed that more than 100 of its leaders and activists were arrested and over 200 were injured. The organisation said its activists played an active role in ensuring student security, participating in rallies and processions, and carrying out various organisational activities.

According to political analysts, although the movement began as a student-led campaign, it later evolved into a broader mass uprising with the participation of political parties, professionals, civil society and the general public. As a result, debate over the role of different political actors and competing political narratives surrounding the movement remains ongoing.