July 31, 2025
DHAKA – The July uprising had lit a fire across Bangladesh. It sprang from the spark lit by the Students Against Discrimination (SAD).
It was their call that brought thousands of students on to the streets, from Teknaf to Tetulia.
Their leadership gave shape to a scattered frustration.
For a moment, it felt like a new chapter was being written. A chapter led by youth, driven by justice, and grounded in moral clarity.
SAD didn’t just represent students. It represented hope.
It gave the young a voice. It gave the country a reason to believe.
Now, that belief is cracking under the weight of betrayal.
The arrest of several SAD leaders on extortion charges has stunned the country.
Cheques worth Tk 2.25 crore were recovered from a leader’s home.
The same leader had alleged demanded Tk 50 lakh from a former MP’s family. There are allegations of threats, coercion, and manipulation in the name of activism.
And it’s not just shocking. It’s sad.
One can hardly ignore the tragically fitting irony. It was indeed very SAD.
The platform that once marched on ideals is now tainted by accusations that sound like they have turned into the same old political beasts they had vowed to resist.
Yes, the organisation responded quickly, expelling the accused and suspending all local committees. But such measures would hardly treat this rot that appears to have reached down to the marrow.
This isn’t about a few rogue leaders. It’s about a thousands betrayed by those they marched behind.
It was not that this platform sat on the sidelines in July. It was the face of the uprising. A face that has now been stained. And with that, the entire campaign feels compromised. Everything it had strived to achieve is under the threat of being undone.
To be fair, SAD leaders are not the only quarters getting their hands dirty.
Extortion is rising across Bangladesh.
In Old Dhaka, businessman Md Sohag was murdered for refusing to pay up. In Teknaf, kidnappings follow unpaid demands. In Jhenaidah, Habiganj, Sylhet—individuals posing as “activists” are threatening families and traders. The language of civic action is being hijacked by greed.
But since it is from the leaders of the uprising, it weighs heavier on the heart. The sense of betrayal is that much stronger. Because they promised more and we believed them.
When student movements start echoing the corruption they were formed to fight, the loss is not political. It is generational. It is emotional. The soul of activism is what’s at stake.
But the story isn’t over. This can still be a reckoning.
The July uprising was not about money. It was about truth. And that truth must return — louder, clearer, cleaner.
SAD must rebuild. With transparency, with humility, and above all, with integrity.
Students must demand more. Citizens must stay vigilant. And the media must keep asking hard questions—even of those who were once deemed untouchable.
Let us remember July not just for the fire it lit — but for what we chose when that fire flickered.
Let this be the moment we said: The movement is bigger than its mistakes.