36 Days That Shook The Heart
Suvra Kanti Das, Debashish Chakrabarty, Dipu Malakar, Joyeeta Roy, Md. Raihanur Rahman (Rabbe), Mohammad Jubair, Rahat Karim, Sony Ramany, Abhijit Shuvo, Jaheen Faruque Amin
The historic Bangladesh July Uprising revived an old Arabic phrase: “Demolish the entire structure of oppression.” From the anti-colonial Sufi reformer Shah Waliullah Dehlawi to Maulana Bhashani, it now returns in the graffiti and slogans of July, declaring that liberation demands a united struggle against tyranny. Tested, broken, and reforged through time, this understanding has bound together a revolutionary solidarity that transcends language, nation, race, and gender. From Colombo to Dhaka to Kathmandu, the patterns of recent uprisings across South Asia reveal the same tremor. The old world is collapsing before our eyes – and in the dust and glare of its fall, a new one waits to be born. At this historical threshold, we must say it again with conviction: the July Uprising belongs not only to Bangladesh. It belongs to all who desire freedom.
July-August 2024. Bangladesh was turbulent, outraged, and yet full of hope. Once again, it was the students – rallying under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement – who took to the streets to protest the discriminatory quota system in government jobs. Within days, their protest transformed into a people’s uprising. With life itself in their hands, people gathered on streets, campuses, and corners, their eyes filled with both fear and the fierce certainty that this time, change must come. When Abu Saeed stood tall before the barrel of a gun, it felt as though he placed the entire nation in the witness stand. On August 5, 2024, shattering all fear, students, workers, and the masses merged into a sea of protest. The fascist government fled. Nearly 1,500 people were killed – among them, heartbreakingly, 12–13% were children. Through their sacrifice, a fifteen-year regime of authoritarianism finally came to an end.
Yet the uprising was not born in a single month. It was rooted in fifteen years of struggle, led by opposition parties and democratic forces against fascism. A year later, as we look back, the demands that once ignited the streets – equality, justice, human dignity – still remain unresolved. The long shadow of inequality and humiliation had suffocated citizens until they could no longer breathe. The images gathered here bear witness to those moments of rupture and courage.
This photo-journal seeks to establish a living connection between art and people in struggle. Each work bears witness – on canvas, screen, and walls – leaving marks of resistance and outlines of a possible future. These works are not mere reflections of the movement, but deliberate acts of understanding, feeling, and remembrance. The photographs are collected from the Visual Media Society, an alliance of artists, filmmakers, photographers, theatre practitioners, musicians, and activists born during the July days. On the first anniversary of the uprising, the Society organized a solidarity exhibition under the same title. We have also included photographs from the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute’s anniversary exhibition, contributed by participants who stood shoulder to shoulder in memory and resistance.
This is a cultural document, where art and resistance cannot be separated. One is incomplete without the other. These works will remain relevant not only for this time but for years to come. The sound of history does not die – it reverberates through the same streets, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in thunder.
Taslima Akhter
Jaheen Faruque Amin
(22.10.2025, Dhaka, Bangladesh)