The Deyal Likhon: A Brief Analysis

Kazuyo Minamide

The murals dramatically document the movement from the perspectives of those involved in it and reflect their sense of nationalism and global justice.

Of the 1,166 murals documented here, 694 used Bengali text, 209 usedEnglish text,99 useda mixture of Bengali and English, and 154 used only imageswith no words. Among those photographed, 4 murals were in Arabic, 2 in Hindi, 2 in Japanese, and 1 in French.Similar images were depicted in numerous Deyal Likhon across differentareas of Dhaka and in Jamalpur, indicating that they were likely derivedfrom a photo posted on a news website and shared on social media.

• Before Deyal Likhon: Graffiti

The exhibition includessome of the graffiti drawn during the movement. These graffiti were almost exclusively of protest slogans against former Prime Minister Hasina, such as “Killer Hasina”and “Step Down Hasina”or demand slogans such as “One point, One demand,” which was a call for Hasina’s resignation.

• The Documentation/Storytelling of the Deyal Likhon

We cantrace/read the protest movement, or the“July Revolution,” through theDeyal Likhon. Murals of calendars from the beginning of July, when the “Quota System Reform Movement” started, to August 5, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, mark the major events. In these calendars, August 5 is marked as July 36, and several murals refer to this month as “Bloody July.” The major events throughout the month are represented.

• Thekilling of Abu Sayeed was acatalyst that transformed theprotest from a movement to reform the quota system to a movement that demanded larger political change. Abu Sayeed was a student at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur and had also been involved intheprotest movements of 2013 and 2018. As the coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, he was a leader of the July Movement.
• When student protests began to spread in reaction to Prime Minister Hasina’s “Razakar Statement” on July 14, the government deployed police to suppress the students on July 15.Sayeed was shot and killed on July 16 during a clash between police and student protesters in front of hisuniversity. When local media reported his photo, it was widely shared on social media.
• His image is painted in countlessDeyal Likhonacross Dhaka, as hebecame a Shaheed, or martyr. The students and citizens who lost their lives in the intensifying repression were all designated asShaheed, and the lists of martyrs were also drawn in the murals.
• The murals document not only the proactive students like Abu Sayeed who took on the resistance, but also ordinary citizens who were victimized in the movement. The expression “Panilagbepani?” (Anyone need water?), which appeared in the murals throughout the city, refers to a random attack on an unarmed protester, Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, who was killed by police while distributing water to injured students. He has been also named a martyr.
• On July 18, Internet access in Bangladesh wasblocked. As internet is nowthe lifeline that connects not only the digitally native generation,but also all people in urban and rural areas, particularly those whose families live abroad, the shutdown spread the movement not only within Bangladesh, but also among Bangladeshis living worldwide. Although it was obvious that the Internet blockage was implemented by the government to suppress the protest movement, the government initially gave a fake excuse that it was caused by rain that had disruptedthe satellite system. This was depicted in the murals as a parody.
• Soon after the Internet was shut down, a curfew was imposed from the night of the July 19.The police went house to house in Dhaka City to take away the students participating in the protest movement. Murals depicting a woman desperately tryingto stop her brothers from being taken away were scattered around the city.
• During the curfew, there was also indiscriminate repression of civilians on the streets. One mural depictsa girl who went out on her balcony to see a helicopter patrolling in the sky and was struck and killed by a bullet that was fired from it.
• In onemural, the positioning of the military Army is represented, depicting the composition of “the army protecting unarmed protest students from attacks by the armed police and the ChattraLeague.”
• Finally, the March for Justice on July 31 and the Long March to Dhaka on August 5 were drawn in murals. People walk toward the Shaheed Minar and the Prime Minister’s residenceenmasse.
• For the students, who had finally concentrated their demand on just one point—the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina—August 5, when she fled to India, is considered the day of the victory. As noted on the calendar, the date is mentioned“July 36,” and there are so many murals honoring that day.
• The cleanup activities of movement participants after August 5are also depicted.

Nationalism Borrowed from 1971

• The most common word in the murals isShadhin (Freedom, Independence). Many of the murals declare “We brought freedom” from the students’ point of view. The words Freedom, Victory, Democracy, and Civilization are attached to the words Nation and Bangladesh in many murals.
• The strongest representationof nationalismis the borrowing from the1971 independence movement, with many murals relativizing 1971 and 2024with the sloganslike “We haven’t seen 1971, but we saw 2024” or “We haven’t seen 1952, but we saw 2024(Student demonstrators were killed during the 1952 Bangla Language Movement, which was a precursor to the independence movement of 1971).”
• The murals use many passages from well-known poems of Kazi Nazrul Islam, a leading poet of Bangladesh (East Bengal). For example, the opening lines of “Bidrohi” (The Rebel):“Say, O brave one, my nation is eternally exalted,”or a sentence from “Karar Oi LouhoKopat” (Those Iron Gates of Prison): “Destroy those iron gates of prison, demolish the blood-stained stony altars of chain worshipping!”are often used in the Deyal Likhon. The portrait of Abu Sayeed is also accompanied by a poem by Kazi Nazrul Islam.
• Slogansabout religious diversity are common in the murals, such as “Bengal Hindu, Bengal Muslim, Bengal Buddhu, Bengal Christian, we are all Bengali, this country is for all”or“Religion is for the individual, the country belongs to all.” Those slogans are clearly borrowed from the 1971 War of Independence.
• While Bengali Muslims constitute the majority of the population, a great number of murals also advocate human rights for indigenous peopleswho are considered minorities. The Adivasi human rights activist andfeminist Kalpana Chakma, who disappeared in 1996 after being taken away by the military, appears frequently in the murals, too.
• In addition, many murals can be seenas protests against the de facto restrictions on speech that the Hasina regime had imposed under its autocratic politics, and as critiques of the regime’scorruption.

The murals reflect how the movement shifted away from the “quota reform”alone and broadened to address dissatisfaction with and criticism of the regime.“Freedom from the life difficulties” was emphasized asaform of independence through representations of the independence slogans of 1971. Ironically, Sheikh Hasina, a daughter of Mujibur Rahman, the 1971 independence icon, became the target of “freedom in 2024.”Caricaturesof the former Prime Minister frequentlyappear in the murals.

A Sense of Global Justice

• The students’ arguments carrya desire fora type of global justice that almost no one would deny in today’s global society. They defend the human rights of minorityreligions and indigenous peoples and, above all, the lives of the students who intensified the movement. Slogans like “Knowledge is Power” and “The Pen is stronger than the Sword” emphasize the power of nonviolent resistance and the power of education. Some murals also includedmessages about animal welfare and environmental protection.
• In addition, many muralsincludethe Palestinian flag to support the freedom of Palestine.

Identification as “GenZ”

• The students’ strong sense of globalism is also reflected in the way they refer to themselves as “Gen Z.” Gen Z is the key word in the movement. The murals include such slogans as “For Revolution, Call GenZ.” Immediately after the political “victory,” the students basked in their exuberance, saying, “This is New Bangladesh made by Gen Z”and they have celebrated their achievements. In Bangladeshi society, with its large differences in socioeconomic stratification, previous generations have seldomrepresented themselves as a certain generation. In this respect, the current university students have a cohesive identity as Generation Z, which seems to have been the driving force behind this movement.
• Many of the murals also include Gen Z culture. The most common example is animation, with the frequent appearance of Japanese cartoons. In addition, their “lingo,” such as the mixed Bangla and English phrase: “Oi, Mama, na please (Hey men, please don’t),” is emphasized.
• Along with “borrowed nationalism” using verses from Kazi Nazrul Islam, passages from songs by contemporary Bangladeshi band groups arealso used. The most popular song in theDeyal Likhonwas Shunno’s“Shonomohajon” (Listen, lender), with the lyrics“Listen, O merchant, we are many”and “You judge me, who will judge you?” Both can be understood as protesting the regime. Other verses from the local bands Artcell and Hannan were also used.