Bangladesh protesters torch house of ex-PM Hasina’s father
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Protesters set fire to the Dhanmondi-32 residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the ousted PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Feb 5.
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DHAKA – Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh's founding leader as his daughter, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, called on her supporters to stand against the interim government.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people has struggled with political strife since Ms Hasina was forced to flee to neighbouring India in August 2024, following weeks of protests against her rule in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
Witnesses said several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks, hammers and other tools, gathered around the historic house and independence monument while others brought a crane and excavator to demolish the building late on Feb 5.
The demolition continued into Feb 6, with much of the front of the house destroyed. Many people were seen breaking into it and taking steel and wooden items and books from inside.
The protest rally was organised alongside a broader call, dubbed “Bulldozer Procession”, to disrupt Ms Hasina’s scheduled online address on the evening of Feb 5.
Protesters, many aligned with the “Students Against Discrimination” group, voiced fury over Ms Hasina’s speech, which they saw as a challenge to the newly formed interim government.
Led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the government has struggled to maintain law and order as protests and unrest continued. Demonstrators have attacked symbols of Ms Hasina’s government, including the house of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which was first set ablaze in August 2024.
A symbol of the country’s establishment, the house was where Mr Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. He and most of his family were assassinated in the house in 1975. Ms Hasina, who survived the attack, transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.
“They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge,” Ms Hasina said in her speech on Feb 5. She urged the people of Bangladesh to defy the interim government, accusing it of seizing power in an unconstitutional manner.
Protesters use an excavator to demolish the Dhanmondi-32 residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the ousted PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Yunus’ press office said the protesters’ attack on Mr Mujibur Rahman’s residence was “unintended and unwanted”, calling it a response to Ms Hasina’s “violent behaviour”.
“Sheikh Hasina has insulted and humiliated those who sacrificed themselves in the July uprising,” it said in a statement. “Sheikh Hasina has threatened to create instability in the country.”
Analysts said those who rose up against Ms Hasina in 2024 remained worried that their movement could be undermined if she returns and her Awami League party revives.
Little has changed in Bangladesh despite the interim government’s promise of reform, said Associate Professor Shakil Ahmed, an expert in government and politics at Jahangirnagar University.
He said the government was only “managing politics, not the economy and society” even though the recent unrest was rooted in economic and social hardships.
REUTERS
