On the morning of August 4, 2024, Khulna woke to a silence that felt like the calm before a storm.
By nightfall, the city had erupted into one of the most dramatic chapters of the Monsoon Revolution - a student-led uprising that reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape and forced the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina just a day later.
What began as a peaceful procession at Shibbari intersection quickly fractured into chaos across the city.
Protesters, galvanized by weeks of police crackdowns and the death of a fellow student in Gallamari, took control of key intersections - Moylapota, Picture Palace, Dakbanglo, Hadis Park - where over 30 motorcycles were torched and clashes intensified.
The Awami League’s presence had all but vanished from the streets.
Spark before the blaze
Two days earlier, on August 2, a mass rally organized by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) had turned violent in Gallamari.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets; students responded with chants, barricades, and defiance.
A constable, Suman Gharami, was killed. More than a hundred protesters were injured. The city braced for escalation.
“The police went hard on us from July 31,” recalled Zahirul Tanvir, Khulna Metropolitan unit member secretary of ADSM.
“August 2 was brutal. Over a hundred students were shot. But by August 4, we sensed victory.”
That day, Khulna’s police force was conspicuously absent.
Protesters surged forward, targeting symbols of state and party power.
The Khulna Metropolitan and District Awami League offices in Shankha Market were vandalized and set ablaze.
The residence of MP Sheikh Jewel was torched. Even the Khulna Press Club was not spared.
A city unleashed
At Picture Palace intersection, a handful of Awami League loyalists attempted to hold ground.
But as protesters approached, cocktails exploded and gunfire rang out.
The crowd regrouped and stormed the party office, dragging leaders into the street.
Metropolitan Chhatra League President Sheikh Shahjalal Hossain Sujan was beaten.
District Awami League President Parvez Howlader and senior leaders like MDA Babul Rana and BM Abdus Salam were injured.
Hotel Grand Placid at Moylapota was vandalized.
A Jamuna TV reporter’s car was set on fire. The Zilla Parishad office front was engulfed in flames. The uprising had become a full-scale non-cooperation movement.
“Khulna became free on August 4,” said Nusrat Faria, divisional representative of the National Citizen Party.
“We spread the joy of liberation on the streets of Dhaka the next day.”
March from campus
Khulna University students had begun their procession at 11am, singing protest songs and waving banners.
Their route to Shibbari was blocked by police at Gallamari, triggering yet another clash.
Tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber bullets turned the area into a battlefield.
Sajidul Islam Bappi, district unit member secretary of the student movement, described the retreat of Awami League, Jubo League, Chhatra League, and police forces as “a turning point.”
“They had conducted raids on July 31 and August 2. But on August 4, they were gone.”
