July’s demand for meritocracy cannot be satisfied by replacing one patronage network with another. If the BNP treats its electoral mandate as a licence to reward loyalists, it risks recreating the same broken social contract that turned frustrated achievers into political challengers.

When Bangladesh’s government collapsed on August 5, 2024—nicknamed July 36—it wasn’t institutions but ordinary citizens, especially Gen Z, who stepped up. Amid chaos, solidarity emerged, revealing unexpected resilience in a generation once dismissed as apolitical.

The government has declared August 5 a public holiday in honour of those who sacrificed their lives during the July uprising last year.

The interim government yesterday declared August 5 as “July Mass Uprising Day” to commemorate the student-led protests that toppled the Sheikh Hasina regime that day last year.

The government has decided to declare August 5 a public holiday, to be observed as Student-People Uprising Day.

Why should we use this symbol of destruction to remember the movement?

While such initiatives are commendable, they, of course, don’t offer a proper solution to the primary problems at hand.

It is time for us to be vigilant on all fronts, it’s so much harder to protect freedom than to achieve it.

"We urge everyone to stay vigilant and work together to protect and support each other."