Mob Vandalises And Sets Fire To Bangladesh Founder Mujibur Rahman’s Historic Residence In Dhaka; Hasina Says ‘History Cannot Be Wiped Out’

The historic residence of Bangladesh’s founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka was vandalised and set ablaze by a violent mob on Wednesday (5 February).

His daughter and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an emotional message, said that while the structure might be erased, her family's history could never be wiped out, NDTV reported.

Since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 following a student-led protest that ended her 16-year rule, Hasina has been residing in India.

She made her remarks during a virtual audio address shared on the Awami League party’s Facebook page.

"Why do they fear a house? We live for those memories of Dhanmondi... Last time they set this house on fire, now they are destroying it. Have I not done anything for this country? Then why such disrespect? The only memory that both my sister and I have clung to is being wiped out... I want to ask my people who is behind this. I want justice... A structure can be erased, but history cannot be wiped out," said Hasina in a voice heavy with emotion, .

The ousted Bangladeshi PM warned that the opponents must remember that history takes its revenge.

A large group of protesters vandalised and set on fire to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence in Dhaka on Wednesday during Hasina's live online address organised by the Awami League's now-disbanded student wing Chhatra League.

Thousands gathered outside the Dhanmondi residence from early evening, responding to a social media call for a "Bulldozer Procession" ahead of Hasina’s scheduled 9 pm (BST) address.

The house held historical significance as the base from which Mujibur led Bangladesh’s pre-independence autonomy movement for decades.

Hasina noted that she and her only surviving sibling had donated their ancestral home to a trust as public property, converting it into the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

Sheikh Mujib, affectionately known as "Bangabandhu" or "Friend of Bengal," had been at the forefront of the autonomy movement against Pakistan since the late 1960s, which culminated in mass upheaval by 1969.

This was not the first attack on Sheikh Mujib's residence.

On 5 August last year, the residence was also set ablaze following the downfall of Hasina’s nearly 16-year rule.

That same night, she and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, fled to India on a Bangladesh Air Force flight.

During her address, Hasina also called upon the countrymen to organise a resistance against the current regime.

"They are yet to have the strength to destroy the national flag, the constitution and the independence that we earned at the cost of the lives of millions of martyrs with a bulldozer," Hasina said, taking an indirect swipe at the regime of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who was installed by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement.

The student-led movement had previously vowed to abolish Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution, which they called the "Mujibist constitution," while certain Islamist factions advocated for altering the national anthem adopted under Sheikh Mujib’s post-independence government.

Reflecting on past assassination attempts, Hasina stated, "If Allah has kept me alive through all this, there must be some work left for me. Otherwise, how could I have escaped death so many times?"

Directly accusing the current regime, Hasina alleged that Muhammad Yunus-led interim government had orchestrated a plan to eliminate her and her family.

"The meticulous plan by Muhammad Yunus this time was to kill me and my sister," she said.

Criticising Yunus further, Hasina said that under her government, Yunus' Grameen Bank and its ventures had received 400 crore Bangladeshi taka in funding.

"But the entire amount was laundered. Bangladesh is suffering due to one man's personal ambitions," she claimed.

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