BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, along with members of the party's standing committee, is scheduled to meet Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus this afternoon.

Shairul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP's media cell, said, "At the Chief Adviser's invitation, Mirza Fakhrul will visit his residence at 4:00pm.

"Standing Committee members will participate under Fakhrul's leadership," he added.

With a shift in political landscape, new groups are vying for control at some slums and footpaths in Dhaka.

These new groups, claiming allegiance to the BNP, are attempting to assert dominance over areas previously controlled by the Awami League. Their targets include shanties, shops, and AL-affiliated clubs and offices in the slums.

However, in some areas, the grabbers have pulled back after warnings from BNP high-ups and the government.

In many places, citizen groups, including students, have become active in thwarting extortionists.

Controlling the slums is crucial because these areas are often used by political parties to mobilise crowds for rallies and processions in exchange for money.

Besides, AL syndicates made crores of taka by operating in the slums, illegally supplying gas and electricity to residents with the help of corrupt city utility staff.

The Daily Star visited five slums in the capital and found that in most cases, the new groups are targeting the shanties and shops that were previously under the control of the then ruling party.

In Karail slum, the largest slum in Bangladesh located in the capital's Banani area, a new group has taken over several hundred shanties and shops that were previously controlled by pro-AL men.

They also vandalised some shanties and shops, looting valuables, locals said.

A local AL leader from Karail slum's Bou Bazar unit said he is a wholesale trader with a shop there but is currently in hiding.

"I heard they tried to break the locks of my shop but were unsuccessful. I engaged in politics to protect my business from extortion, but now I fear it might be looted any time," he said.

Another trader, who was previously associated with the AL Bou Bazar unit, said that pro-BNP men are now threatening him to leave the slum.

"I took a loan of Tk 16 lakh and built 10 shanties in the slum recently. About 10 years ago, I was involved with the Awami League. Because of this, they are now threatening my family to leave the shanties immediately," he said while in hiding.

A slum dweller said while the new group has been taking over shanties, offices, and shops primarily used by AL-affiliated men, the general public has not yet been targeted.

In Sattola slum in Mohakhali, this correspondent found that pro-BNP men had taken control of the area by driving out members of pro-AL units.

Md Momin, who claims to be the president of the Jubo Dal Sattola unit, and Saddam Hossain, a member of the Banani thana Jubo Dal unit, were seen inside the AL office in the slum.

Saddam told this correspondent that he was born in the slum but was driven out by pro-AL men in 2014.

"After 10 years, I was able to return, but I no longer found my home. So, I am living here in this office," he said.

Momin said they had expelled the AL members from the slum. He claimed that Billal Chowdhury of the Sattola unit AL used to control some shanties in the area, but they have now informed tenants that they no longer need to pay rent.

In Kalyanpur Pora Bosti, a man named Ripon, brother of a ward-level BNP leader, allegedly seized control of 100 shanties on August 6 and 7.

They also vandalised the AL-affiliated office and shanties controlled by AL men.

Ripon didn't respond to calls.

Contacted, Darussalam Thana BNP convener Syed Abu Bakkar Siddique Saju said he would take immediate action if such incidents occurred.

Two days later, this correspondent found that the new group returned many of the shanties to the slum dwellers.

In Abul's slum, also known as "Abuler Bosti," in the capital's Bhashantek, a new group has vandalised several shanties and shops that were under the control of AL members.

A slum dweller Rubina Begum, who has been living in the Bhasantek slum for 20 years, said the political leaders use them as pawns.

"If we want to stay here, we have to abide by those who come into power," she said.

SCENES FROM FOOTPATHS

Meanwhile, Dhaka's footpaths have experienced mixed changes: in some areas, hawkers are no longer paying any fees, while in others, extortion continues.

Milon Patwary, general secretary of the Karwan Bazar Pick-up Van Samity, said that they recently handed over three linemen [agents of local politicians] to students when they came asking for fees.

He said previously, they paid Tk 1,200 per month for each vehicle, along with a one-time payment of Tk 10,000-15,000. However, this practice has ceased for a week.

Some traders mentioned that trucks are still paying Tk 200-300 each night for market entry.

A lineman in the CNG Stand area of Karwan Bazar said that they still collect Tk 6,000-7,000 from footpath vendors in the area.

Belal Hossain, a cloth seller in Farmgate, said they had to pay the local councilor's men, but this practice has stopped for a week.

"A few days ago, pro-BNP activists came, distributed leaflets, and instructed us not to pay any fees," he said.

Arif Chowdhury, president of the Jatiya Hawkers' Federation, said they have directed their units not to pay any money to anyone. If anyone attempts to collect fees, they have been instructed to hand them over to students or the army.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, held a meeting with senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) today at the party chairperson's office in Gulshan.

The meeting commenced at 4:00pm, said Shairul Kabir Khan, a member of BNP's media cell.

BNP leaders present at the meeting included Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Salauddin Ahmed, Vice Chairman Nitai Roy Chowdhury, and Shama Obaid, a member of the party's foreign affairs advisory committee.

This is the first formal meeting between Indian officials and BNP leaders since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.

The BNP appears to be apprehensive about the sudden controversy over the resignation letter of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The party, which had been on the receiving end of severe persecution by the Awami League during its 15-year rule, is keeping a close watch on the developments surrounding the issue that has arisen two and a half months after the interim government took over.

"We are worried that the interim government might find itself in a precarious situation, potentially allowing a third party to take advantage," said a senior leader of the BNP, wishing not to be named.

The controversy arose after Manab Zamin's Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury met President Mohammed Shahabuddin, and the daily's political magazine Janatar Chokh on Sunday ran their conversation where the president claimed he did not have a copy of the prime minister's resignation.

This claim runs contrary to what the president had said in his address to the nation after the fall of Awami League government in the face of a mass uprising. In his August 5 speech, he said the prime minister had tendered her resignation.

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BNP senior leaders said they suspect a move is afoot to remove the president and it may create a constitutional vacuum.

The party believes any constitutional crisis regarding the issue should be avoided at this moment, the senior leaders said.

The senior BNP leaders held a virtual meeting on Tuesday night and decided to make the party's position clear to the interim government.

Accordingly, a three-member delegation went to meet the chief adviser yesterday. There, the BNP spoke of its stance on the issue of calling for the president's resignation, said party sources.

At the party forum on Tuesday, BNP leaders discussed elaborately how things unfolded in the last few days.

They said the question over the former PM's resignation letter; then the demand for the president's resignation, and laying siege to the Bangabhaban are suspicious and there may be a conspiracy behind these.

Three senior leaders wishing not to be named told The Daily Star that they wonder whether this sudden move is an attempt to extend the term of the interim government.

They said the country's constitution was not suspended after the change of government following the uprising. The president administered oath to the members of the interim government. So, they argued, there is no question of going beyond the constitution now.

They said they are trying to figure out why the president claimed he did not have the resignation letter of Hasina.

"Almost all the senior leaders agree that removing the president won't be the right thing to do now," one of the standing committee members said.

After yesterday's meeting, Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the BNP standing committee, said his party's delegation had urged the government to make sure that it does not give rise to a constitutional vacuum or crisis.

Salahuddin Ahmed, another standing committee member, said the president's is a constitutional post, and a sudden resignation will lead to a  crisis.

The student-public uprising of July-August 2024 in Bangladesh, which culminated in the ousting of Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian government, defies the conventional narratives surrounding democratic movements. Unlike classic political revolutions, this uprising did not forge a new collective language centered on ideals like democracy or pluralism. Instead, it was propelled by a singular and organically emerging objective: removing an increasingly authoritarian regime. The movement's success hinged not on a visionary articulation of a shared future but on a pragmatic alignment of political, social, and civic forces around a common goal.

For years, Bangladesh's political landscape had been dominated by the toxic binaries of "pro-Liberation" versus "anti-Liberation" forces, a narrative deftly deployed by the ruling Awami League to marginalise opposition parties. The anti-discrimination student movement that spearheaded this summer's protests managed to challenge and neutralise this binary opposition. Their slogan, "Who are you? Who am I? Razakar! Razakar! Who said so? Who said so? Dictator! Dictator!"—with 'razakars' referring to collaborators with the Pakistani army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War—served as a powerful tool to dismantle the Awami League's divisive rhetoric. This seemingly simple yet powerful slogan created a rare public space where individuals from various political backgrounds, including those previously silenced or stigmatised, could voice their grievances.

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Yet, despite this, it would be a mistake to overemphasise the role of language or slogans in the success of the uprising. The real driver of the movement was bound by the urgent, shared goal of toppling an oppressive regime that had, for over a decade and a half, used state power to repress political dissent, co-opt civil society, and silence opposition. The deaths of more than 400 Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists during the protests signalled the high stakes of the movement, but their involvement was notably subdued. Their participation was largely concealed under the broader banner of student-led protests.

This raises a critical question: why did the student-public uprising succeed where established political parties like the BNP failed, despite their shared goal of regime change? The answer lies in a deep-seated political distrust that had taken root among the Bangladeshi public. For years, parties like the BNP had struggled to build movements capable of galvanising widespread support. Their language of democracy and pluralism rang hollow in a society that had become disillusioned with the very notion of political integrity. The public's willingness to engage with traditional parties had been eroded by decades of political corruption, entrenched narratives of division, and the government's effective use of the 'development' discourse to mask civic disenfranchisement.

The student movement, in contrast, benefited from its lack of established political identity. It was not weighed down by a history of electoral losses, internal corruption, or failed attempts at coalition-building. By leading a protest against discrimination in government recruitment—an issue that resonated deeply with young people frustrated by the lack of opportunities—the students managed to unify disparate groups. The movement's strength was its ability to articulate the public's growing discontent with an authoritarian regime that had long disrespected its citizens, masked by claims of national development.

The fall of Sheikh Hasina's government was the ultimate, if unspoken, objective that united both political actors and non-political participants in the movement. While the initial demands focused on reforming the civil service quota system, the government's brutal response to peaceful protests quickly expanded the movement's scope to shift focus from from social reform to outright regime change. By early August, the call for Sheikh Hasina's resignation had become the movement's de facto singular objective, even though this demand was formally declared only weeks after the protests began.

Rather than a shared aspiration for democracy or pluralism, the movement's true collective language was the common desire to end authoritarian rule. It was not a vision of a future democratic state that unified protesters; it was a rejection of the present authoritarian regime and the repressive tactics it employed.

Ironically, the student movement's success in crafting a public space where diverse political actors could rally under a common banner also sowed the seeds of future divisions. Without a shared understanding of what should follow Sheikh Hasina's removal, ideological divisions re-emerged and triggered internal conflicts within the movement. This is not unusual in movements focused primarily on opposition to a common enemy rather than a shared vision of governance.

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The post-uprising disunity highlights an essential truth about political revolutions: the language that unites a movement in opposition is often insufficient to sustain it in power. The lack of a deeper, collective vision for Bangladesh's future beyond the remarkable fall of Sheikh Hasina reflects the fact that the student movement, despite its success, did not generate a new political language for the country. 

After Sheikh Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh faces a critical juncture: developing an inclusive political language to tackle corruption, civic disenfranchisement, and social inequality. While the student movement toppled the regime, it did not—and perhaps could not—lay the foundation for a democratic future, which requires a broader reimagining of the political landscape.

In sum, the July-August 2024 uprising in Bangladesh shows that a clear and simple goal—removing an authoritarian regime—can unite diverse actors, but the real challenge ahead is building a sustainable and inclusive political future, for which the country still seeks its collective language.

Dr Kazi A S M Nurul Huda is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Dhaka.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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