Bangladesh is once again on fire following the death of a radical Islamist leader who gained prominence during the 2024 student uprising that led to the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina. Violent protests over the death of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman bin Hadi continue to spiral in Dhaka and other parts of the country, with the mob targeting leading media houses and premises associated with Bangladesh's secular history.
After a night of violence where offices of leading dailies like Daily Star and Prothom Alo were targeted, protestors vented their ire at the partially demolished home of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Protestors were seen attempting to tear down the remaining portion of the house at Dhanmondi 32, where Bangabandhu lived and died.
The building, which functioned as a museum, had already suffered extensive damage and arson in two separate attacks after August 5 last year and had been left largely in ruins. Last night, an angry mob again carried out vandalism at the site, witnesses said.
Quoting police sources, the Bangladeshi publication Business Standard reported that demonstrators used heavy machinery, including an excavator, during the act of destruction, further damaging the structure.
They were also seen setting fire to a poster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Rahman's daughter, who was ousted last year following the July uprising.
Angry protesters later also vandalised the office of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party in Dhaka. According to Bangladeshi media, slogans of "Boycott India" were also raised by demonstrators.
Legacy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's House
Rahman has spent most of the last decade and a half of his life in the house at Dhanmondi 32, whenever he was not in prison. It doubled as his headquarters, from where he led the movement against Pakistan, demanding autonomy for East Pakistan.
According to the website of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, "The house was the centre of all of Bangabandhu's political activities, including planning activities, exchanging views with leaders and activists, and listening to the grievances of the people."
Under Rehman's leadership and with India's help, East Pakistan won the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against West Pakistan, culminating in the creation of independent Bangladesh.
Anti-India Sentiment On Rise
Hadi, a leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha, was an outspoken critic of India. He was shot on the streets of Dhaka last Friday while riding on a rickshaw. Two men on a motorbike followed Hadi, and one shot him before they fled the scene.
Authorities have said they identified the suspects and that the shooter had most probably fled to India – remarks that sparked a new diplomatic squabble with India and prompted New Delhi this week to summon Bangladesh's envoy to express its condemnation.
Bangladesh also summoned the Indian envoy to Dhaka and sought clarification.
Hadi was a fierce critic of both India and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose 15-year rule of Bangladesh ended in last year's uprising. The Inqilab Moncho group, formed after the ouster of Hasina last year, has been organising street protests and campaigns denouncing Hasina and India. The country's Islamists and other Hasina opponents have blamed her government for being subservient to India during her rule.
Hadi had planned to run as an independent candidate in a major constituency in Dhaka in the next national elections, which the country's interim government has announced for February.
Since Hasina's ouster, the Inqilab Moncho group has promoted anti-Indian sentiment in the Muslim-majority country. Hasina now lives in self-imposed exile in India.
It was not clear why the protesters attacked the newspapers whose editors are known to be closely connected with the country's interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Protests were organised in recent months outside the offices of the dailies by Islamists who blamed the newspapers for their alleged link with India.
