How the 2018 Road Safety Movement gave birth to the 2024 July Revolution
It was during the 2018 Road Safety Protests, veterans of which also participated in the July Revolution, that students learned the art of engaging and including masses, gathering for demonstrations, and managing traffic
Sadia Nowrin, a young professional who graduated from the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Sylhet, actively participated in the quota reform movement that later turned into a popular uprising against the Hasina regime.
Every day, in preparation for the grim reality that her return was never certain, she would hand over her credit card, bank details, and important documents at home before heading out.
However, this courage and spirit did not develop overnight; in fact it was the 2018 Road Safety Movement that shaped Sadia.
Six years ago, on 29 July, two high-school students in Dhaka were run over by a bus, sparking protests. The protests went on from late July to mid-August, coincidentally the same period as the quota protests this year.
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That movement was the defining moment for the political awareness of the Bangladeshi youth, who are generally believed to have a strong disinterest in politics.
A setup had already been established from the previous protest. As a result, organising everything this time was easier. For instance, in Uttara, the BNS Center and House Building were our meeting points. This time, there was no need to think about a new place; it was as if everyone already knew where they should gather
But during the 2018 protests, the youth proved their ability to engage and include the masses when it comes to public interest like road safety. It has only been replicated this time for quotas in government jobs.
Sadia was a first year student back then. It was the first mass movement she participated in. But little did she know that it would change her thinking toward politics forever.
"Since the road safety movement, I see everything through a political lens. I believe almost everything is connected to politics in some way — it shapes our basic human rights and defines our way of life. That movement was also not limited to demands for road safety alone — it was, in a sense, a fight against overall inequality. Everyone knew that the chances of getting justice for the two deceased school students were slim, especially given the government-backed syndicates in sectors like transportation," she said.
"I learned that nothing will come free of cost — we must fight for our rights. Whenever I get a call to stand for human rights, I'm always ready to act," she added.
Sadia has carried out the same spirit throughout the past five years. She stood up for justice in 2022 during the protest for the resignation of the autocratic vice-chancellor of her university. It started with demands for better facilities in the female students' residential halls and turned into a one-point demand after police fired inside the campus.
Syed Kinkel, a final year university student who actively participated in both 2018 and 2024 protests, added more interesting perspectives.
"At the time of the road safety movement, I had just finished my HSC exams. We primarily protested in Uttara. During that time, students from grades nine to college were on the streets. The mindset that school and college students also have a role to play in such movements was developed during the 2018 protests. This time, we saw school and college students take to the streets out of their own initiative. They had no personal stake in the quota issue, at least not now, and they might not relate to it much," he said.
"Another thing is that a setup had already been established from the previous protest. As a result, organising everything this time was easier. For instance, in Uttara, the BNS Center and House Building were our meeting points. This time, there was no need to think about a new place; it was as if everyone already knew where they should gather," he added.
A common theme for both movements is, although they sparked from specific events, long-standing accumulated anger towards various injustices over the years added fuel to the fire.
If we look at this year, it is surprising how a simple quota reform movement turned into a demand for Sheikh Hasina's resignation. As death tolls continued to rise, she was quickly labelled a dictator, and slogans calling for her resignation emerged. It was not a single event that labelled her a dictator — it was 15 years in the making.
The secret to the courage and leadership of the quota reform movement's key coordinators was also their active involvement in the 2018 movements, whether it was the quota reform or the road safety protests.
Consider Nusrat Tabassum for instance. She has been involved in everything from declaring daily activities to enduring days in Detective Branch custody.
"I was an activist during the Road Safety Movement. That was my first experience of a protest. I was a college student then. I was present when the protesters were brutally attacked in Jigatala. The experience has been seared into my memory forever," Nusrat recalled.
Nusrat was a resident of the Shamsunnahar Hall of Dhaka University, where she said she was tortured by Chhatra League activists. She became a rebel and decided to speak up. During the 2019 Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) election, she joined Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad. Later she joined its faction organisation 'Democratic Student Front', where Nahid Islam (the current ICT and information advisor to the interim government and a key coordinator of the quota movement) was the member secretary.
This sense of responsibility was not limited to protests only.
After Hasina stepped down on 5 August, police officers throughout the country abstained from work for over a week.
It was again the students who took to the streets and managed traffic — a deja vu of the 2018 Road Safety Movement when students made special lanes for ambulances, checked the licences of every driver, managed traffic, and cleaned up the streets.
