The non-cooperation movement, also known as the one-point movement, was a disinvestment movement and a mass uprising against the Awami League-led government of Bangladesh, initiated within the framework of the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement. The sole demand of this movement was the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet. It was the final stage of the wider movement known as the July Uprising. Although the movement was initially limited to the goal of reforming quotas in government jobs, it snowballed into a mass anti-government uprising after the mass killings of civilians. The movement was also fueled by ongoing socio-economic and political issues, including the government's mismanagement of the national economy, rampant corruption by government officials, human rights violations, allegations of undermining the country's sovereignty by Sheikh Hasina, and increasing authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.
On 3 August 2024, coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination announced a one-point demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister and her cabinet and called for "comprehensive non-cooperation". The following day, violent clashes broke out, resulting in the deaths of 97 people, including students. The coordinators called for a long march to Dhaka to force Hasina out of power on 5 August. That day, a large crowd of protesters made its way through the capital. At around 3:00 p.m. (UTC+6), Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India. Widespread celebrations and violence occurred following her removal, while the military and President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced the formation of an Interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Background
During the quota reform movement in 2024, participants particularly students faced resistance, mass arrests, and massacre and severe injuries at the hands of police and other security forces. Six coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination, who were leading the initial quota reform movement, were also detained and were forcefully made to announce the conclusion of the protests by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). These events and authoritarianism fuelled people's anger against the government. On the morning of 3 August, one of the movement coordinators, Asif Mahmud, stated in a Facebook post that they would start a "non-cooperation movement" against the government, saying that it would be similar to that of "Non-cooperation movement (1971)". In the afternoon, Prime Minister Hasina proposed talks with the protesters, saying that "The doors of Ganabhaban are open".
The Students Against Discrimination previously called for day-long protest programmes on 3 August. After day-long protests, students and ordinary people gathered at the central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka area with protest marches from different parts of Dhaka. At around 5:30 p.m., Nahid Islam, one of the coordinators, addressed the assembled crowd at Shaheed Minar and announced that the movement's exclusive demand was the resignation of Hasina and her cabinet. He also called for a comprehensive non-cooperation movement starting from 4 August and announced that they had no plans to negotiate with the government. He added that "we were forcefully offered to sit in talks with the Prime Minister. But we protested against this proposal by going on a hunger strike in DB custody."
Activities
Directions of non-cooperation were outlined by the Students Against Discrimination coordinators on 3 August:
- No taxes or duties will be paid.
- No bills, including electricity, gas, and water bills, will be paid.
- All government and private institutions, offices, courts, and mills will remain closed; no one will go to work.
- All educational institutions will remain closed.
- Expatriates will not send remittance through banking channels.
- All government meetings, seminars, and events will be boycotted.
- Port workers will not attend work; no product will be processed.
- All factories will remain closed; garment workers will not go to work.
- Mass transportation will remain closed.
- Banks will be open every Sunday only for urgent personal transactions.
- Police will not perform protocol duty, riot duty, or any special duty other than routine duty. Only station police will perform routine work.
- All offshore transactions will be halted to prevent any money from being smuggled out.
- Forces other than the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Navy will not perform duty outside the cantonment. The BGB and the Navy will remain in barracks and coastal areas.
- Bureaucrats will not go to the secretariat, and district commissioners or Upazila Nirbahi Officers will not go to their respective offices.
- Luxury stores, showrooms, shops, hotels, and restaurants will remain closed. However, hospitals, pharmacies, medicine and medical equipment transportation services, ambulance services, fire services, mass media, transportation of daily necessities, emergency internet services, emergency relief assistance, and transportation services for officials and employees in these sectors will continue. Grocery stores will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
History
On 4 August, thousands of protesters gathered at the Shahbagh intersection in the morning, obstructing it as a form of civil disobedience to demand the government's resignation.
At least 97 people died nationwide in confrontations, shootings, and pursuits related to the Non-cooperation movement. Fourteen police officers were killed across the country, with 13 deaths occurring at the Enayetpur police station in Sirajganj. Another officer was killed in Eliotganj, Comilla. Twenty-seven police facilities were attacked and vandalized, and a hundred policemen were injured in these incidents, according to an official statement by the Bangladesh Police.
In Dhaka, unidentified individuals set fire to and damaged various vehicles, including cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and buses, at the Bangladesh Medical University during the protests. Around 4.30 p.m., 11th-grade student Golam Nafiz was shot by the police in Dhaka Farmgate area, whose photo of being taken to the hospital on rickshaw went viral on internet, creating high outrage by netizens. By 12:00 p.m., users across the country reported internet inaccessibility. The government ordered the closure of Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and all other Meta-owned services, directing internet service providers to comply after 1:00 p.m. Later, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A. Arafat confirmed that some social media platforms were temporarily blocked to prevent the spread of rumors amid protests. An indefinite nationwide curfew was imposed starting at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, all courts were also ordered to close indefinitely.
The government declared a three-day general holiday starting from 5 August, during which banks will also remain closed. The Students Against Discrimination have confirmed their intention to march towards Dhaka on 6 August to demand the Prime Minister's resignation. The Bangladesh University Teachers' Network proposed a framework for an interim government, suggesting it be composed of teachers, judges, lawyers, and representatives from civil society, reflecting the views of various civil and political groups for a democratic transition.
Long March to Dhaka
Asif Mahmud, a coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination, announced that their march to Dhaka had been rescheduled to 5 August, instead of 6 August. He called on protesters and civilians nationwide to march toward the capital and participate in civil disobedience.
Several former Bangladesh Army officers, including former chief of staff Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, held a press briefing urging soldiers to return to camps and refrain from getting involved in the political crisis or being used against civilians.
Retired Brigadier general M. Sakhawat Hossain stated that there was significant unease among the troops, which likely pressured the chief of army staff as soldiers were deployed and witnessing the events. Retired officers, including Brigadier general Mohammad Shahedul Anam Khan, defied the curfew on Monday and took to the streets, with Khan noting that the army did not intervene. In response to calls for a march to Dhaka, DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman warned of zero tolerance, stating that legal action would be taken against curfew violators.
The Students Against Discrimination rejected the curfew and encouraged everyone to march towards the Ganabhaban and Prime minister's office.
Reports indicated Sheikh Hasina had been moved to a secure location. On the same day, up to 135 people, including 24 police officers, were killed during protests.
Same day, at around 3:00 p.m. (UTC+6), Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India. Widespread celebrations and violence occurred following her removal, while the military and President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced the formation of an Interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Outcome
Resignation of Sheikh Hasina
On 5 August 2024, at around 3:00 p.m., Prime Minister Hasina resigned and fled the country on a helicopter with her sister, Sheikh Rehana, to India, arriving in Delhi via Agartala. Although she intended to record a speech, she did not have the opportunity to do so. Reports indicated that in a meeting with security officials on 4 August, Hasina insisted on staying in power by using force against what she called "terrorists". However, military leaders warned her that the country would be approaching a civil war if they fired on the protesters. As she was determined to stay, the military leaders met her again on the next morning and concluded that her safety could no longer be guaranteed as protesters were soon to reach the Ganabhaban. Senior police officers had also warned her that their forces were running out of ammunition. She finally agreed to resign after talking to her close relatives. Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, later said that his mother had begun considering resignation as early as 3 August but was only convinced to do so by close relatives who had been approached by senior military and police officials, according to media reports.
Storming of Ganabhaban
Shortly after Sheikh Hasina's departure, at around 3:00 p.m., protesters reached the gates of the Ganabhaban and entered the Prime Minister's residence looting, vandalizing, and destroying numerous items, including furniture. They rummaged office files and sat on her bed as well as her chair to take selfies. Some protesters ate food and stole live animals, while others looted Hasina's luxury Dior suitcase and her sarees.
Sheikh Hasina's escape
Reports indicated that Hasina, along with her sister Sheikh Rehana, fled Ganabhaban aboard a military helicopter before transferring to a C-130 Hercules aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force. An internet blackout was enforced to hinder the tracking of her movements. Initial reports suggested Hasina's flight, carrying the callsign AJAX1431, would land in Agartala, in the Indian state of Tripura. AJAX1431 switched off its transponder at around 17:00 local time over Lucknow, rendering the aircraft untraceable. Shortly, she was reported to have landed at the Hindan Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of the Indian capital New Delhi, and was reportedly received by the Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval at the base. Her arrival in Delhi was subsequently confirmed by Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar. Sheikh Hasina is living in a secret location within India under tight security.
Flightradar24 reported that her flight was, at one point, the most tracked flight worldwide, with other civilian aircraft traveling into and out of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka also being highly tracked. She is expected to proceed to London for her safe passage and seek political asylum in the United Kingdom, where Rehana's eldest daughter, Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq was Economic Secretary to the Treasury under the incumbent Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while her youngest daughter Azmina Siddiq works for Control Risks as a global risk analysis editor. However, such plans are believed to be on hold due to indications from the UK government that she would not receive legal protection from investigations into the violence in Bangladesh.
Arrest of Awami League leaders
In addition to Sheikh Hasina, several figures associated with her administration and the Awami League fled or attempted to flee Bangladesh. This group included Hasan Mahmud, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the former Minister of state for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, and Ziaul Ahsan, the former Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre. All were detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on 6 August. On 7 August, two more Awami League leaders were arrested near the Darshana border checkpoint while trying to flee abroad. On 13 August, Salman F Rahman, former Adviser for Private Industry and Investment to the Prime Minister, and Anisul Huq, former Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs, were arrested while attempting to flee by boat at Sadarghat. On 28 August, former Minister of Commerce Tipu Munshi was arrested after a murder case was filed against him over the death of a protester in Rangpur. On September 10, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the former Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser to Hasina, was arrested by the DB in the Gulshan area.