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The interim government has declared Aug 5, the day the Awami League government was toppled by a student-led mass protest last year, as a national holiday and designated it as ‘July Mass Uprising Day’.
At the same time, the government has revoked an earlier decision to observe Aug 8, the day the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration took office, as ‘New Bangladesh Day’.
A new circular issued on Wednesday annulled the previous decision amid a public outcry, reports bdnews24.com.
The government also declared Jul 16, the day university student Abu Sayed was killed in Rangpur during last year’s quota reform protests, as ‘July Martyrs’ Day’.
The Cabinet Division announced the decisions in separate circulars on Wednesday.
Ministries, departments, and relevant government agencies have been instructed to ensure the annual observance of these new commemorative days with appropriate respect and arrangements.
According to the circular, Aug 5 has been classified as a Category A observance, meaning a full public holiday, while July 16 will be observed as Category B.
One of the circulars noted that the Advisory Council had decided not to proceed with the earlier plan to observe New Bangladesh Day on Aug 8.
The status of Jul 16 has also been updated. It was previously designated ‘Shaheed Abu Sayed Day’, but will now be observed more broadly as July Martyrs’ Day, reflecting the broader significance of that date in the course of the anti-government movement.
The student-led protests that began in mid-2024 demanding reforms to Bangladesh’s public service quota system rapidly escalated into a full-fledged anti-government movement, culminating in the collapse of Hasina’s administration after more than 15 and a half years in power.
Initially centred at Dhaka University, the movement soon spread like wildfire to campuses nationwide.
The government responded with force—bullets, tear gas, batons—and sought to suppress mobilisation by shutting down Facebook, then the entire internet, but this only deepened public rage.
On Jul 16, Sayed, an English department student at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, was shot dead by police, becoming the first fatality of the movement and subsequently hailed as its first martyr.
Within 20 days of his death, a cascade of violence and public pressure forced Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet into exile.
A government gazette published after the Uprising listed 834 people as having died in the revolt.
A United Nations fact-finding report, however, estimated that over 1,400 individuals may have been killed between Jul 1 and Aug 5, pointing to possible large-scale human rights violations during the upheaval.