An opinion article by Rezaul Karim, published in Amar Desh on August 5, 2026, recounts the role of private university students in the July uprising. It says the movement expanded beyond a quota-related demand after Abu Sayed was killed on July 16, becoming a broader call for justice, equality, freedom of expression and the right to live. After public universities closed and Dhaka University residential halls were emptied on July 17, students from private institutions became active.

The article says students from North South, BRAC, East West, IUB, AIUB, UIU, Daffodil, Stamford and Southeast universities, among others, took to streets across Dhaka on July 18. According to the writer, many had no prior political or protest experience. It describes students helping injured people, offering water, tearing clothing to dress wounds, donating blood and seeking medical assistance as examples of solidarity.

The piece also links the August 5 celebrations with the absence of those killed or missing. It says students later tried to restore order on roads, painted visions of a new country on walls and guarded temples and important sites. While noting logistical and other support from Islami Chhatra Shibir and others, the writer argues that support should not be equated with leadership, describing ordinary students as the movement’s central force.