A memorial monument at the lakeshore in front of the museum
Bangabandhu Memorial Museum,[a] also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or Dhanmondi 32, located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh,[1] was the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was also called Bangabandhu, the founding leader and president of Bangladesh.[2] Mujib was assassinated with most members of his family in this residence. The museum was listed as a national heritage site in 2009 by RAJUK and was largely damaged in a mob violence in 2024.[3][4]
History
1956–1961
In 1956, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the industry minister of East Pakistan, applied to the government through his private secretary to be allotted a plot in the Dhanmondi residential project in Dhaka, the administrative capital. A year later, the government allotted him a plot in Dhanmondi for Rs. 6,000. Until 12 October 1958, Sheikh Rahman and his family lived in a government building in Shegunbagicha, Dhaka.[citation needed]Martial law had been declared a few days earlier, and on 11 October Sheikh Rahman was arrested.[5] His family were evicted from the property, after which they rented a house in Siddheshwari, Dhaka.[citation needed]
As a result of government threats, the family had to vacate the house in Siddheshwari and move to a rented one in Segunbagicha with help from Sufia Kamal. Sheikh Rahman was imprisoned until 1960; after his release, he constructed a one-storey house there.[6] He began living in the two-room, unfinished house with his family, having secured a loan from House Building Finance Corporation, from 1 August 1961. Sheikh Rahman had to pay Rs. 1,000 advance to get the plot.[7]
The military government acquired the house after it came to power on 15 August 1975. The Sheikh–Wazed family was forbidden to enter the house so Sheikh Hasina was not allowed inside after she returned to Bangladesh on 17 May 1981. On 10 June that year, Sheikh Hasina obtained ownership of the house when she paid a loan installment; the house was put up for auction due to non-payment of installments of the loan given for construction of the building.[7] On 12 June 1981, the house was officially handed to the surviving family members of Sheikh Rahman's family; Hasina later found Sheikh Rahman's diaries in the building and they were later published in the form of memoirs.[14] Sheikh Hasina continued to live in the government quarter in Mohakhali with her husband after obtaining ownership of her father's house, after which she used it for political purposes.[7]
1994–present
Conversion to a museum
After Sheikh Hasina obtained ownership of the residence, she announced it would be converted into a museum, having had the idea after she was arrested for attending a political program during the 1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh. Sufia Kamal, Baby Maudud, Gaziul Haque, Pavel Rahman and many others helped convert the house into a museum.[7] The museum was inaugurated on 14 August 1994, and it was handed to Bangabandhu Memorial Trust to turn it into a museum on 6 September 1994.[15] The trust selected architects Ehsan Khan, Ishtiaque Jahir and Iqbal Habib from an architectural design competition.[16] During the conversion, the trust preserved the original structure of the house.[17] On 20 August 2011, the museum was extended by building a new six-storey structure adjacent to the house.[7]
Memorandum of understanding
The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Museum, New Delhi, on 17 December 2020 following a virtual summit between India and Bangladesh, aimed at facilitating knowledge-sharing between the two museums on training, the conservation of fabrics and the curation of exhibits.[18]
Description
The ground floor of the house has a drawing room, a reading room and a kitchen. The drawing room was used for political discussions and has housed a gallery since the house became a museum.[19] On the second floor is Sheikh Hasina's bedroom, and those of Sheikh Rahman, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Rehana. Adjacent to Sheikh Rahman's bedroom is a room where he used to watch television and eat meals with his family.[20] It has a virtual section that can guide visitors on a virtual tour of the house. This virtual section also has a showcase that contains several important and historical documents.[21]
The new section of the museum houses the Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and Sheikh Sayera Khatun Gallery', which is after the parents of Bangabandhu.[19] There is also a library and a research centre.[8] At the entrance to the building is a reception hall on the ground floor that was used for official purposes. While other rooms of the museum are open for visitors, Sheikh Hasina's bedroom, store room and waiting room were closed.[8]
Former collections
Exhibitions on the second floor
Clothing worn by Mujib and his family members during their assassination
Including these, most of the items of the museum were looted and destroyed during the 2024 mob violence.
Among the former collections, the museum sheltered Sheikh Russel's possessions such as balls, aquariums, toys and watches. There was also a souvenir shop,[22] In a room Sheikh Rahman used as a salon where he often meet visitors and guests, a cyclostyle was installed after 7 March 1971 which was used by Sheikh Rahman. There was also a personal library, from which he declared the independence of Bangladesh by wireless. A telephone in this room was damaged by the Pakistani army firing on 25 March 1971.[8]
Gallery
The corridor of the museum
The staircase where Mujib was assassinated
Balcony on the second floor, from where Mujib used to address the crowd
A 1986 Memorial portrait of Mujib at the ground floor
Vandalisms
1971 attack and occupation
After the declaration of independence of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib was arrested by the Pakistani army at 1:30 am, the first hour of 26 March, and detained first in Dhaka Cantonment and then in Miwanwali Jail in Pakistan's Punjab. The Mujib family was kept under house arrest in house 26 of road 18 in Dhanmondi. The house was occupied by the Pakistani army until the war-victory of Bangladesh. The building was damaged by firing by the Pakistani forces. After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned home in 1972, when the repair work of the house was completed, he continued to live in this house with his family from the last week of February.[7]
1975 assassination and loot
On August 15, 1975, after the
Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family, the house was looted.[23] On 30 April 2001, 12 military officers were sentenced to death in the assassination case.[24]
1989 attack
On the night of 10 August 1989, a group of 15/20 armed men fired gunshots targeting the building and hurled grenades to assassinate Sheikh Hasina, when she was staying at the building. Meanwhile, the security guards fired back and when Awami League leaders and activists chased them, the gunmen shouted slogans in favor of the Bangladesh Freedom Party and fled towards Dhanmondi 26. Two separate cases were filed in Dhanmondi police station in this incident. On 29 October 2017, 11 members of the Freedom Party were sentenced.[25]
The library on the ground floor, was looted and destroyed by fire.
On 5 August 2024, the museum was set on fire by mobs during the Non-cooperation movementanti-government protests against the government of Mujib's daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The interior of the museum was looted and largely gutted by the fire.[26] The fire also set to nearby buildings, causing severe damage. The modern extension of the museum complex, which housed a library, auditorium, and photo gallery, was also completely destroyed. An adjacent restaurant was burned as well.[4] Later, four charred bodies of unidentified persons were recovered from the premises.[27][28]
Graffiti work by students on the ruined monument.
On the next day, the building was surrounded by crowds. Numerous people visited the residence, took photos and painted protest graffiti on the wall.[4] Army personnel tried to control the situation, were also joined by students. The students and troops blocked several attempts to steal or loot from the site.[4] Many books rescued from the library were sent to the public library.[4] The students also conducted a clean-up operation and the building’s security was entirely given under the military control.[29]
"I should have died before watching the way they destroyed and burned the house at Road 32... This destruction done today will be a dark chapter in the history of Bengalis."[30]
On 15 August 2024, on the anniversary of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman some people attempted to visit the site to pay respect were attacked by a mob with sticks.[31] The attack caused death of one and over a hundred reported to be hospitalised.[32][33] Actress Rokeya Prachy was assaulted at the site when she went to pay her respects and the car of Kader Siddique was vandalized.[34][35] The roads leading to the site were blocked by mobs who danced to music.[31] They prevent journalists from taking photos of the assaults.[36]
^Its official name is Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum but is commonly referred to as Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
^বঙ্গবন্ধু ভবনের ইতিহাস [Building History]. Bangabandhumuseum.org.bd (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
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