DHAKA: Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh’s founding leader as his daughter, ousted former PM Sheikh Hasina, called on her supporters to stand against the interim govt. The South Asian nation of 170 million people has struggled with political strife since Hasina was forced to flee to India in Aug 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 Wednesday.
The demolition continued into Thursday, 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. Similar cases of vandalism also took place at several other places, targeting Awami League leaders. At least two people, accused of being members of Awami League, were beaten by the crowd, witnesses said, reported AFP.
The protest rally was organised alongside a broader call, dubbed “Bulldozer Procession”, to disrupt Hasina’s scheduled online address on Wednesday. Protesters, many aligned with the “Students Against Discrimination” group, voiced fury over her speech they saw as a challenge to the newly formed interim govt.
A symbol of the country’s establishment, the house is where Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. He and most of his family were assassinated at the house in 1975. Hasina, who survived the attack, transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.
Hasina, in a slightly emotion-choked voice, said Pakistani troops too looted the house during the 1971 Liberation War but did not demolish or set it on fire. The residence of Hasina’s late husband Wajed Mian known as ‘Sudha Sadan’ on Road 5 in Dhanmondi was also set on fire by protesters.
The actions in Dhaka fuelled similar destructions in other parts of Bangladesh. Protesters demolished the home of her cousins – Sheikh Helal Uddin and Sheikh Salauddin Jewel – in Khulna City. Thousands of people gathered around the house, chanting “Delhi or Dhaka – Dhaka, Dhaka” and “Down with Mujibism”. Prothom Alo, the largest Bengali daily, reported crowds used govt-owned excavators to smash down the building. Protesters removed the name of Mujibur Rahman from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall of Dhaka University. They also vandalised several murals of Mujibur.
