Banned by the army-backed interim government, Bangladesh Chhatra League has called for a nationwide total hartal (strike) on November 10. The programme was announced in a notice signed by Central Executive Council President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan.
The notice states that the strike has been called to secure the liberation, relief, democracy and rights of the people of Bangladesh, and to ensure students’ right to education while establishing a quality education system.
Among the demands raised by Chhatra League are: cancellation of the illegal revenge tribunal and the farcical verdict against Sheikh Hasina, along with withdrawal of all false cases; lifting of the ban imposed on the Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Chhatra League; restoration of students’ right to education and cancellation of expulsion orders; reduction in the prices of electricity, oil, gas, water and fertiliser, and setting the minimum wage for garment workers at 30,000 taka; an end to harassment in the name of verification in government jobs and political screening; and increased allocation to the education sector while building educational institutions free from terrorism and extremism.
For the total strike on November 10, the organisation has urged that all educational institutions, buses, trucks, trains, launches, shops, industries and factories, government and private offices, banks and courts remain closed.
However, emergency services such as ambulances, the fire service and the media will be exempt. The general public and the student community have been called upon to support and actively participate in the nationwide total strike.
The call comes as ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly affirmed her intention to return to Bangladesh in December 2026 from exile in India.
Hasina has stated in multiple interviews (including with Reuters, AP and India Today) that she will return that month despite the risks of arrest, imprisonment, torture or death. She has described the return as her responsibility and said she would prefer to face whatever awaits her on Bangladeshi soil rather than remain abroad indefinitely.
Some observers see the November 10 strike as a show of strength by the Awami League-affiliated student organisation in the run-up to her planned homecoming.