The 2025 Bulldozer March started on 5 February 2025 with the goal to vandalize and fully

demolish Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...

the

Bangabandhu Memorial Museum Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or Dhanmondi 32, was a museum located in Dhanmondi Thana, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh, which was once the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first p ...

at Dhanmondi 32, Dhaka, along with any other structures owned by

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, and its members in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It started as a response to a

live stream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...

initiated by the former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

, in exile from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The live stream followed months after her ouster through a mass uprising.

Motive

The motive behind the destruction was a press conference which was attended by former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, while exiled in India. This conference sparked widespread unrest amongst the general public and deemed the speech to be

anti-state Anti-statism is an approach to Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic or political philosophy that opposes the influence of the State (polity), state over society. It emerged in reaction to the formation of modern sovereign state ...

. As a result, online activists called for the vandalization of Dhanmondi 32 no. house, which was

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

's former residence. One of the many coordinators of the

Anti-discrimination Students Movement Students Against Discrimination () is a platform of student activists in Bangladesh formed in 2024 during the nationwide student-led quota reform movement. The group was involved in the ousting of the country's former prime minister Sheikh H ...

, Hasnat Abdullah, said in a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

post:

Methods

Some type of construction vehicles, most notably Bulldozers were used during the destruction process. Cranes were used to lift broken parts and walls to allow bulldozers to turn any remains into rubble.

Excavators Excavators are heavy equipment (construction), heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a backhoe, boom, dipper (or stick), Bucket (machine part), bucket, and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The modern excavator's ...

were used to tear apart the top part of the 3-story residence and rip down trees. Protestors used various construction rods,

hammers A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

jackhammers A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady King ...

for further vandalization. Protestors also tore apart various parts of the structure with bare hands. At one point, the residence was set ablaze.

Aftermath

The

was completely demolished on 6 February. According to protesters, the vandalization was the "end of fascism in Bangladesh". The residence of

Meher Afroz Shaon Meher Afroz Shaon (born 12 October 1981) is a Bangladeshi actress, director, dancer and playback singer. She won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her performance in the film ''Krishnopokkho (film), Krishnopokkho'' ...

was vandalized by protestors and she was detained by the

Detective Branch The Detective Branch (; abbreviated as DB) is a specialized unit of the Bangladesh Police. It mostly deals with investigative activities and special operations in sensitive cases and places. The main task of the detectives of this unit is to colle ...

on suspicion of

seditious conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a crime in various jurisdictions of Conspiracy (criminal), conspiring against the authority or legitimacy of the state. As a form of sedition, it has been described as a serious but lesser counterpart to treason, targeting ...

on 6 February 2025. She was released the next day following interrogation. The residence of

Obaidul Quader Obaidul Quader (born 1 February 1952) is a Bangladeshi politician. He has served as the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Awami League since October 2016. Quader was previously the Minister of Road Transport and Bridges from 2011–2024 and ...

Noakhali Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

, was vandalized and set ablaze as part of the march. Protestors also attacked other residencies owned by former Awami League members.

References

{{Asia-poli-stub February 2025 in Bangladesh Attacks on buildings and structures in 2025 History of the Awami League Bulldozers Political history of Bangladesh Anti-discrimination Students Movement