On 5 August 2024, after the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

of the

Bangladeshi Prime Minister The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

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 ...

following the

Student–People's uprising The July Revolution, also known as the Student–People's uprising, was a pro-democracy mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024. It began as a quota reform movement in early June 2024, led by the Students Against Discrimination, after the Bang ...

, a large golden statue of

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 ...

, country's first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and Hasina's father, at the ''Mrityunjayee Prangan'' in

Bijoy Sarani Bijoy Sarani is a main road in Dhaka city in Bangladesh. Between Farmgate and Old Airport, Sonny Rangs Building has connected Farm House to Rokeya Sarani crosswise. The busy road, the mural Vijay Sarani fountain at one end and a militant airstri ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

was destroyed and toppled down by the protesters. The event received global media coverage and live broadcast, wherein it came to symbolise the end of

's 15-year rule and Sheikh Mujib's cult of personality in Bangladesh.

Background

The ''Mrityunjayee Prangan'' was inaugurated in 2023 by Sheikh Hasina. Sculptures were displayed in

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parades in 2021 and 2022. The sculpture was erected under the supervision of the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

. There was a central sculpture of former president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in this premises. His contribution to the

Bengali language movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

to the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

struggle and various incidents of the language movement and freedom struggle are highlighted in the murals of the sculpture.

Destruction

On the day of Sheikh Hasina's resignation, protesters climbed up and vandalized the golden statue of Sheikh Mujib at the ''Mrityunjayee Prangan''. Over 1,500 sculptures of Sheikh Mujib were destroyed till 7 August. The statue was fully demolished by the afternoon. The toppling of the statue was compared with that of Saddam Hussain's statue in Baghdad on 2003.

Reactions

The toppling of the statue perceived to many people as the fall of the state-sponsored

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

around Sheikh Mujibur Rahman & Awami League authoritarianism. Bangladesh Khilafat Andolon supported the events as iconography is prohibited in Islam. ''

BBC Bangla BBC Bangla () is the Bengali language service of the BBC World Service, inaugurated in 1941 for Bengali audiences worldwide especially the ones in the Bengal region, which includes the sovereign state of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West ...

'' showed it in parallel with the toppling of many other authoritarian regimes' statues. However, liberals and cultural organisations like

Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi () is the largest cultural organisation in Bangladesh. The organisation's goal is the struggle to build what it deems a just, free, and equal society. History Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi was organised in Ea ...

opposed it. BNP general secretary

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (born 26 January 1948) is a Bangladeshi politician. He has been the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 2016. He was a member of the Jatiya Sangsad, parliament for Thakurgaon-1 constituen ...

expressed his concerns, blaming Sheikh Hasina for the consequences.

References

External links

* {{Commons-inline Memorials to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 2023 sculptures Destroyed sculptures Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's cult of personality

Background

Destruction

Reactions

See also

References

External links