"Attempt To Erase Legacy": Sheikh Hasina On Father's House Being Vandalised

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister, who is currently residing in New Delhi, believes the destruction of her father's house - Dhanmondi 32 - was an attempt to eradicate the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War or the Bangladesh War of Independence.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul, Sheikh Hasina spoke about her father's legacy and said, "The destruction of my father's historic residence was a barbaric attempt to erase the legacy of our hard-fought battle for independence from Bangladesh's history. Those in power want to eradicate the spirit of our Liberation War. This is an absolute insult to the memories of those who gave their lives for our future."

However, Hasina also showed belief and trust in the people of Bangladesh, who, she thinks, will never let her father's legacy be forgotten.

"This legacy lies not in places or physical objects, but in the values, they embodied: democracy, equality, secularism and economic emancipation. These cannot be extinguished from Bangladesh's soul."

A large group of protesters vandalised and set Dhanmondi 32, the house of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on fire on the night of February 5. A social media call for a 'bulldozer procession' led to the vandalism as Rahman's daughter, Hasina, gave a speech of resistance against the government.

Following the incident, Hasina, in an emotional message to her supporters, said her opponents can erase the structure, but can't wipe out the history of her family. 

"Why do they fear a house? We live for those memories of Dhanmondi... Last time they set this house on fire, now they are destroying it. Have I not done anything for this country? Then why such disrespect?" she asked during a virtual audio address posted on her Awami League party's Facebook account.

"The only memory that both my sister and I have clung to is being wiped out... I want to ask my people who is behind this. I want justice... A structure can be erased, but history cannot be wiped out," an emotional Hasina, who sounded like she was in tears, said.

Hasina's father and other family members were assassinated during a military coup in August 1975. Hasina and her sister were in Europe and thus survived the massacre. Upon her return to Bangladesh in 1981, Hasina saved the house from being auctioned and donated the ancestral property to a trust. The house was turned into the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, as Sheikh Mujib was fondly called "Bangabandhu" or "Friend of Bengal".

Dhanmondi 32 was also set on fire on August 5 last year when Hasina's nearly 16-year Awami League regime was toppled and she secretly left the country along with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana for India on a Bangladesh Air Force flight.