The Advisory Council has officially decided not to observe August 8 as a special commemorative day. Instead, it has confirmed that July 16 will be observed as "July Martyrs’ Day," and August 5 will be marked as "July Mass Uprising Day."
The decision comes in the context of last year’s student-led uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5.
Three days later, on August 8, a caretaker government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Previously, on June 25, a cabinet division circular had declared August 5 as "July Mass Uprising Day" and August 8 as "New Bangladesh Day."
The same circular also declared July 16 as “Shaheed Abu Sayeed Day,” in remembrance of Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University’s English department, who was fatally shot during protests demanding quota reform in government jobs. His death on July 16 marked the beginning of the July uprising.
However, the decision to observe August 8 as a national day sparked objections from several senior leaders of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), including Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and Akhtar Hossain.
Following these objections, the Advisory Council has decided not to observe August 8 as a commemorative day and will instead maintain focus on July 16 and August 5.
