Abdul Kader, one of the central coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has recently written on Facebook about the nine-point charter of demands, explaining how the movement had taken a different direction from its original aim of quota reform.
He said on Sunday that the movement had started with the aim of quota reform, but when the government complicated the situation, it took a different turn and led to the creation of the nine-point demand.
“We were conducting our programs peacefully. However, when Abu Sayed and six others were martyred on [July] 16, Tuesday, we held an online meeting at midnight with the frontline coordinators. The first agenda was, ‘In exchange for the six martyrs, is quota reform the only demand?’ Everyone agreed that quota reform alone was not enough to honour the six lives lost. After long discussions, more demands, including the resignation of the home minister, were raised. It is important to note that we had already organized various soft and hard programs like 'Bangla Blockade' and submitting a memorandum to the president. However, the government remained indifferent and inactive. It avoided dialogue and quietly watched, using the High Court to shield itself. But when the situation became critical, with six martyrs, the government started pushing for negotiations. However, we stood firm and rejected these calls for dialogue. Despite pressure from both internal and external sources, we did not engage in talks.”
Kader said the government had formally invited them for dialogue, but they had not formally clarified their position nor had the chance to do so. “On Wednesday, during the funeral prayer in absentia at Dhaka University, the police fired on us, and several, including myself, were injured. Hannan Masud was shot. To continue leading the movement and avoid arrest, we decided to take a strategic position. Although we had already drafted some demands on Tuesday night, we did not get the time to finalize them through broader discussion. On Thursday, we made our position clear by announcing a complete shutdown program.”
He continued: “On Thursday, Asif Bhai and I separated and went to different destinations. That night, the government shut down the internet. We were constantly moving to avoid arrest and keep the movement going, unable to communicate properly with others. In the early stages of the movement, Nahid Bhai had introduced me to a man with whom we later had several meetings. Later, I found out he was the student movement secretary of the Dhaka University branch of Shibir. However, at that time, direct communication had not been established with Shibir’s president and secretary.
“On Friday, while protesting in Jatrabari, Shibir’s DU secretary, Farhad Bhai, rang me up, saying, "Some coordinators are about to negotiate with the government ministers, betraying the blood of the martyrs. The movement will end. We must continue with some demands and not betray the people.’ I agreed. Our position had always been to continue the movement. Moreover, I still remembered some of the demands discussed on Tuesday night.
“There were no senior leaders left to continue leading the movement on the ground. Asif and Nahid Bhai had been taken away. Without overthinking, I decided to take the risk. On that day, a few people were martyred in Jatrabari right before my eyes. They were shot like birds, which I could not accept. I had been vocal against Hasina’s oppression for a long time, despite facing jail, torture and false cases. I could not imagine what my fate would be. Seeing people being killed in front of me, I did not have time to think about my own life. The long struggle against the Chhatra League and fascism had taught us to stay firm. I decided to take charge during this critical moment for the country.”
Kader went on to say: “Anyway, a while later, Shibir’s secretary called me again, saying, ‘We have drafted some demands; let us discuss them.’ Since we had already talked about several demands, we worked together to create the 9 points.
“He listed some common demands: the home minister's resignation, the suspension of police officers involved in the killings, bringing criminals to justice and the vice chancellor's resignation. We had already considered these after the Tuesday night meeting following the six deaths. People had also been demanding similar things on social media. Toward the end, Shibir’s secretary added a demand: ‘Banning student politics on campus.’ I did not agree with this. After a long discussion, I suggested, ‘We cannot ban all student politics; we can ban partisan student politics.’ That was agreed upon — to ban partisan student politics.’
“This is the story behind the creation of the nine-point charter of demands,” Kader said.
“Shibir played a crucial role in circulating the nine points. Since there was no internet, and amid shootings and a curfew, they took the risk of delivering them to different [media] houses and foreign journalists.”
Kader said: “They advised me to collect a new SIM card and mobile phone. I took a SIM from a student’s house and included that number in the press release with the nine points. That evening, I walked 4-5 kilometres from my home to call known journalists and inform them about the nine points. I was familiar with campus journalists due to my involvement in student politics. I sent the demands to them via text message, one by one, as the entire set could not be sent in a single text message. Some wrote them down as I dictated them over the phone, while others recorded them. Many called to confirm that the message had indeed come from me. I also had to confirm to foreign media that it was sent by me and that someone would deliver a pen drive to them. This continued until 11pm that night.
“Every night, I would leave the house and talk to journalists for 2-3 hours, confirming the details. I would return home after turning off my phone. Our senior leaders had been taken away, and with the internet down, it was impossible to contact the rest. That is how it went on. My house was right next to Jatrabari police station. Despite the fear of arrest, I had to stay at home. Initially, there was nowhere else to go. Some nights I spent in mosques, others partially outside or on the roof and then returned home late at night.”
“That is the story of the historic nine points, our nine points – the manifesto for freedom from fascist Hasina!”
When asked about Shibir's involvement in the movement, Mahim Sarkar, coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, said: "It's true that they have supported us in various ways. There's no denying that at this point. Their cooperation allowed us to execute our plans smoothly."
Dhaka Tribune confirmed that the post was from Kader's Facebook account but could not independently verify the accuracy of his statement.
Notably, from the beginning of July, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement had been staging various programs at Shahbagh, Dhaka, demanding quota reform. By mid-July, violence erupted across the country.
On July 19, the military was deployed nationwide to control the situation. However, the Awami League government eventually fell as Sheikh Hasina had to resign and flee in the face of a mass uprising on August 5.
