Bangladesh: Former Uprising Allies Clash on Anniversary, Testing BNP's Peace Pledge

Two years after a mass uprising forced Sheikh Hasina to flee the country, Bangladesh's campuses and streets are once again witnessing political violence. But this time, the clashes are not between the ousted Awami League and its opponents; they are among the very parties and student groups that led the movement against her.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who leads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), had pledged during February's election campaign to end the pattern of state-backed violence that marked Ms. Hasina's rule before her ouster in the 2024 uprising. Six months into BNP-led rule, that promise is being tested on campuses nationwide, with rights groups blaming political rivalries, weak law enforcement and a culture of impunity for the continuing bloodshed.

The anniversary week itself has been marked by a fresh wave of clashes between the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal (JCD), the BNP's student wing, and the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami. On Wednesday, at least 30 activists of the two organisations were injured in confrontations in several areas, including Barishal University and Govt. Tolaram College. A day earlier, clashes between the two groups left more than 100 people injured across at least three institutions in the capital, including Jagannath University and Dhaka College.

Within two days, the violence spread from Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur to different universities and colleges in the capital, prompting university authorities to launch investigations and deploy additional police. A clash at Begum Rokeya University two days earlier had set off the chain of confrontations.

Political analysts say the clashes underline a deepening fracture within the coalition of parties, student groups and activists that came together to remove Ms. Hasina in August 2024. Control of campuses, rather than ideology alone, has become the central battleground as Bangladesh marks two years since the uprising that reshaped its politics.

The most serious flashpoint was Jagannath University in Dhaka, where trouble began during an official event to mark July Mass Uprising Day 2026, attended by University Grants Commission chairman Professor Mamun Ahmed as the chief guest. Student leaders of Chhatra Shibir tried to display placards listing their demands before the chairman. Two rounds of clashes followed, the first on the campus and the next outside the National Medical College Hospital where the injured had been taken.

Both the JCD and the Shibir claimed that more than 30 of their activists and students, including the university students union's vice-president, general secretary and assistant general secretary, were hurt. JCD activists were also seen entering the hospital's emergency ward to assault the injured undergoing treatment. Accompanied by BNP loyalists, they also attacked activists of the Chhatra Shakti, the student wing of the National Citizen Party (NCP), and those of the Socialist Students' Front at Jagannath University. The JCD and the Shibir have accused each other of instigating the violence.

The unrest also spilled over into an official state function at the China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Centre, where Bangladesh Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad was the chief guest at a programme marking the anniversary of the July uprising. The event was attended by senior government officials, diplomats and political leaders. A controversy erupted after a documentary screened during the programme reportedly credited BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman with announcing the uprising's one-point demand for Sheikh Hasina's resignation. Student leaders objected to the portrayal, maintaining that it was Mr. Nahid Islam, convener of the NCP, who had announced that demand during the uprising.

The disagreement led to heated exchanges and further highlighted the sensitivity around the ownership of the uprising's leadership. As the anniversary passed, the violence has raised serious questions about the BNP-led government's ability to maintain law and order and fulfil its promise of a peaceful transition. Observers note that unless the government addresses the root causes of campus rivalries and ensures accountability for violence, the cycle of clashes may continue, further straining the already fragile unity of the anti-Hasina coalition.