July Mass Uprising Day

July Mass Uprising Day
Also called	36 July
Observed by	Bangladesh
Type	National Day
Significance	Resignation of Sheikh Hasina and fall of her government following the July Revolution
Celebrations	Video sharing, floral tributes at district memorials, victory rallies, air shows, concerts, documentary screenings, drone shows
Date	August 5
Frequency	Annual
First time	5 August 2025 (2025-08-05)
Started by	Directorate of July Mass Uprising

July Mass Uprising Day (Bengali: জুলাই গণ-অভ্যুত্থান দিবস, romanized: Julai Gono-Obhutthan Dibos) is a national day in Bangladesh that will be celebrated on 5 August annually from 2025.

Background

On 1 July 2024, Students Against Discrimination, a non-partisan student platform, initiated the nationwide quota reform movement. During the movement, due to violent attacks on activists, a call for a non-cooperation movement demanding the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina of the then Awami League-led government was made. As part of this, people from various parts of the country began marching in the capital Dhaka on 5 August 2024. Consequently, Hasina was forced to resign and flee to India with her sister Sheikh Rehana, marking the end of her party's 15-year long rule. Considering the ongoing situation, the Ministry of Public Administration declared a public holiday from 5 to 7 August. After the incident, the day began to be referred to by the protesters as 36 July. On 9 August 2024, Bangladesh Chhatra Pakkha declared 5 August as the "Second Republic Day" during a press conference at their central office. On 20 August 2024, Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, called for the day to be acknowledged as a national day. On 16 October 2024, Nahid Islam, advisor to the interim government’s Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Information and Broadcasting, stated that a date related to the July Revolution would be recognized as national holiday, and discussions were ongoing in the government for that. That same day, online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya proposed declaring the day as a public holiday named "Anti-Fascism Day" or "Great Escape Day". The following day, a source from the Cabinet Division reported that the day might be officially declared a public holiday, and its name would be finalized in a cabinet meeting. The allocation of business proposal for forming the Directorate of July Mass Uprising under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs included provisions for commemorating the day, and the proposal was approved in a meeting of the Secretary Committee on Administrative Development on 6 January 2025. On 29 April 2025, during an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Faruk-e-Azam, advisor to the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, it was decided to recommend the day as a 'Category A' holiday and to send the proposal to the Cabinet Division. On 16 June 2025, Inqilab Mancha compared the day to the country's Independence and Victory Day, demanding it be declared "National Liberation Day". On 19 June 2025, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, advisor to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, confirmed the decision to observe the day as an annual public holiday from that year. On the same day, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party formed a committee to observe the day as the political party. On 24 June 2025, the government announced a 26-day 'July Memorial Celebration Program' from 1 July to 5 August in observance of the one-year anniversary of the uprising, which included 36 July as a key date. On the next day, the proposed holiday was declared as "July Mass Uprising Day" by the government officially and categorized as Category A holiday.