Hasina had first insisted protests were the work of opposition parties, then blamed terrorists, and she and her family called on security forces to prevent her ouster.
But underlying youth unemployment saw protests about a job-reservation scheme morph into a direct demand for her removal.
This is how Bangladesh`s protests evolved.
From job reservation to anti-PM protests
The `Students Against Discrimination` group, which was at the forefront of last month`s job quota protests also led the demonstrations calling for Hasina to step down.
The protests to reform the quota system paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on 21 July. Protesters, however, returned last week demanding a public apology from Hasina for the violence, the restoration of internet connections, the reopening of college and university campuses, and release of those arrested.
READ | Bangladesh top court scraps most job quotas that triggered deadly protests
By the weekend, the demonstrations spiralled into a campaign seeking Hasina`s ouster as demonstrators demanded justice for people killed last month.
The students` group called for a nationwide non-cooperation movement starting Sunday with a single-point agenda: Hasina must resign.
The protesters blamed Hasina`s government for the violence during the protests in July. Hasina`s critics and rights groups have accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge the government denies.
From blaming the opposition to blaming `terrorists`
Hasina and her government initially said students were not involved in the violence during the quota protests and blamed the Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the clashes and arson.
But after violence erupted again on Sunday, Hasina said that `those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation`.
The students group has declined Hasina`s offer for talks to resolve the crisis.
A half-century-old quota system
The contentious quota system was introduced in 1972 after Bangladesh gained independence, with the stated intention of redressing past imbalances.
Around half of all government jobs were subject to o the quotas, with 10% going to women, 10% to people from disadvantaged districts, and 5% to ethnic minorities.
But a third of the quota jobs were reserved for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters.
Youth unemployment
Demonstrations started at university campuses in June after the High Court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, overturning a 2018 decision by Hasina`s government to scrap it.
The Supreme Court suspended the high court order after the government`s appeal and then dismissed the lower court order last month, directing that 93% of jobs should be open to candidates on merit.
But the underlying cause of the unrest, experts said, was stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying regular wage hikes and privileges, very attractive.
The quotas sparked anger among students grappling with high youth unemployment, as nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education in a population of 170 million.
The flagging economy, once among the world`s fastest growing on the back of the country`s booming garments sector, has stagnated. Inflation hovers around 10% per annum and dollar reserves are shrinking.