SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: July 17, 2024

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances | Imprisonment

Institution(s):Dhaka University

Region & Country:Southern Asia | Bangladesh

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On July 17, 2024, students affiliated with the quota reform movement clashed with police at several locations around Dhaka University’s campus.

Around midday, several hundred students gathered at the Raj Memorial Sculpture to hold a public funeral for six students killed during protests the previous day. The funeral ended with a procession to Shahbagh intersection, the location of an entrance to Dhaka University’s campus. Police stopped the procession soon after it started, using sound grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Students dispersed, but later clashed with police again at several locations on Dhaka University’s campus.

Among those injured was a journalist at whom police threw a sound grenade when he approached them to report on the situation. Police reportedly detained two protesters.

Following the clashes, Dhaka University closed indefinitely.

The violence occurred against the backdrop of the quota reform movement, a set of widespread student protests that began on the campus of the University of Dhaka, after a June 5, 2024 ruling by the High Court of Bangladesh reinstating a quota system – previously abolished in 2018 – which allocated government jobs to certain favored groups. Under the system, 30% of government positions went to people who had fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan and their family members, creating a shortage of sought-after positions for others. The protests ultimately led to the resignation of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the establishment of a new interim government.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the use of force during a student protest. While state authorities have the responsibility to maintain order and prevent disruption, they must refrain from the disproportionate use of force and endangerment of civilians and must respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. Students and members of the public must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and also respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. Such actions, beyond harming the immediate victims, have a chilling effect on academic freedom.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/dwydjyar2n
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/education/352380/du-closed-indefinitely-students-asked-to-vacate
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/182421/du-students-call-off-shahbagh-intersection-protest
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2024/07/17/bangladesh-students-mourn-classmates-killed-in-job-quota-protests
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/most-students-leave-du-campus-after-clashes-3659341