As the government was trying to ignore the students’ movement demanding reinstatement of the 2018 government circular that cancelled quota system in government jobs, saying it was a matter of court, the protesters announced new programme identifying as ‘Bangla Blockade’ on July 6 to realize their demand.<\/p>\n
“Our programmes until July 6 were protest processions only. The ‘Bangla Blockade’ was observed on July 7 as the court was prolonging process,” Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, one of the key coordinators of the anti-discrimination student platform, wrote in his book titled ‘July: Matribhumi Othoba Mrityu’.<\/p>\n
The hearing on the High Court order slated for July 4 was postponed and the movement and the students’ opinions were being ignored and looked down upon, said Asif, now an advisor of the interim government.<\/p>\n
Students felt their opinions were being disregarded. While they were staging demonstrations blocking the Shahbagh intersection, many vehicles were simply bypassing them, which dampened the intended impact of the protest.<\/p>\n
“(As by that time) students from other educational institutions in Dhaka had already joined the movement . . . the ‘Bangla Blockade’ programme was announced with the idea of holding a movement on a larger scale,” Asif recalled.<\/p>\n
On the same day, students from different universities across the country declared a boycott of classes and examinations expressing solidarity with the movement.<\/p>\n