When the student-led quota reform movement first erupted in Bangladesh, it appeared to be a spontaneous outpouring of frustration against decades of systemic inequality and political corruption. It was hailed as a “people’s revolution", an uprising of the young against entrenched political elites. Students, teachers, labourers, and professionals alike rallied under the banner of anti-discrimination. The movement was, in the public eye, a noble crusade to ensure meritocracy and fair governance.

Yet, beneath this apparent unity and non-violence, something far darker brewed. The movement that began as a demand for fairness evolved into a vehicle for ideological extremism and armed insurrection. As post-victory confessions and leaked footage now reveal, the so-called “non-violent" protest was anything but peaceful.

The Myth Of Non-Violence

Public perception initially held that the protesters were unarmed citizens bravely resisting state repression. But recent admissions by student leaders have torn apart that narrative.

King Sojol, one of the coordinators, openly bragged on national television about leading an armed assault on Setu Bhaban. “Even after the police entered, I continued the assault," he said, while proudly showing footage of the attack on RTV and 71 Television. Another leader, Hasib Al Islam, went further: “If we hadn’t set fire to the metro rail, if we hadn’t killed police officers, this revolution would not have been achieved so easily."

Such confessions shatter the moral pedestal upon which the movement was built. They expose how a movement, ostensibly rooted in non-violence, became a tool of violent coercion driven by political and ideological goals that went far beyond the demands of fair elections.

The third and perhaps most telling confession came from Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuiyan, now an advisor to the interim government. In an interview published by Janakantha on March 21, 2025, he admitted that had the movement failed on August 5, the leadership was prepared to take up arms. “Nahid Bhai had even prepared a video message," he said, proof that violence was not an accident of circumstance but a premeditated strategy.

A People’s Struggle Hijacked

The initial movement attracted support from nearly every stratum of Bangladeshi society. Housewives, rickshaw pullers, university professors, and businessmen joined in the call for........

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