The mural of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the wall of the Museum of Independence in Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan has been vandalised.
Eyewitnesses reported that on Thursday evening, a protest march entered Suhrawardy Udyan chanting various anti-Awami League slogans and vandalised the section of the mural containing Sheikh Mujib’s image.
This vandalism occurred on the same day that the banned Awami League announced its Dhaka “lockdown” programme. Leaders of the party, whose activities are currently banned, have been campaigning in favour of this programme online from various countries around the world.
Over the past few days, incidents like cocktail explosions and burning vehicles have been occurring in various parts of Dhaka, with members of the police and other law enforcement agencies claiming that the Awami League is behind these incidents.
Amid this, news arrived of the vandalism of Sheikh Mujib’s mural.
An Ansar member on security duty near Suhrawardy Udyan told TIMES of Bangladesh, “A procession of at least 150 to 200 people moved towards that installation, and after a while, they left the Udyan through the Chhobir Haat Gate.”
He stated that this installation was not under the responsibility of Ansar members and declined to say more on the matter.
Another eyewitness gave a similar account. He said, “A procession arrived chanting various slogans. Then they vandalised the sculpture and quickly left the area.”
On the same day, in the afternoon, a sculpture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the “Prerona 71” premises in Jhenaidah’s Chuadanga bus stand was also demolished with a bulldozer. Present at the time were Saifur Rahman, former member secretary of the Jhenaidah district unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and other leaders and activists of the movement.
In the over a year since the government’s fall in the July mass uprising, numerous sculptures, murals, and installations related to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Liberation War have been vandalised across the country.
As early as August of last year, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s old house on Road 32 in Dhanmondi was vandalised. The house was operating as the “Bangabandhu Museum” during the Awami League’s rule.
After the fall of the Awami League government, almost the entire house was demolished, and all the contents inside were looted. People were even seen breaking the brick walls and pulling out rods from inside.
