A violent mob vandalized and set fire to the residence of Bangladesh’s founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi 32 area on Wednesday.
According to The Dhaka Tribune, the attack occurred just one day after Hasina gave an online speech appealing to Awami League supporters to demonstrate against the interim government formed by Muhammad Yunus. Protesters came in bulldozers threatening to bulldoze the house, but actually smashed the gate of the residence and ransacked the building and set part of it on fire.
Protesters called the house a “symbol of authoritarianism and fascism,” promising to remove every trace of what they called “Mujibism” from the country. Several people broke into the second floor, wielding hammers, crowbars, and wooden planks to smash portraits of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other historical artifacts.
Chanting slogans demanding the execution of Sheikh Hasina, the violence from the mob demonstrated the strong political tension in Bangladesh. Hasina fled to India on August 5 last year after massive protests against the government resulted in her overthrow after a 15-year rule.
Hours before an expected protest by Awami League members, the government detained several from the party. The party had planned to choke Dhaka city by bringing its transport networks to a standstill nationwide on Thursday, including main highways.
Bangladesh’s first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and a liberating icon at the same time is still debated. He was closely associated with Hasina. His house was damaged last year in a student uprising, bringing his rule to an end. Now it is again at the center of Bangladesh’s political storm.
