Exactly two years ago, on this day in 2024, tens of thousands of people gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka. Nahid Islam, one of the movement’s organisers, stood before the crowd and rejected then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s offer for dialogue. “The movement now had only one demand: the resignation of Hasina and her entire cabinet.” By evening, torn Awami League banners lay scattered near TSC, where protesters had renamed the area “Terror-Free TSC”. The same day, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, speaking at a programme at Army Headquarters, directed troops to protect people’s lives, property and state institutions under all circumstances.