'History cannot be wiped out': Sheikh Hasina after attack on father's home

A group of people set fire to former PM Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence in Dhaka on Wednesday, following Hasina's online appeal to Awami League supporters to protest against the interim government

Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina strongly criticised the recent attack on her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence in Dhaka, after protesters set fire to the house. She said, “A structure can be erased, but history cannot be wiped out.”

 

Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 following a large student-led protest that ousted her Awami League government after 16 years, made these remarks during a virtual address posted on her party’s social media.

 

She questioned the reason behind the attack on the 32 Dhanmondi residence, which is a key symbol in Bangladesh’s fight for independence. “Why fear a house? I seek justice from the people of Bangladesh. Have I not done anything for my country? Then, why such disrespect? The only memory that both my sister and I have clung to is being wiped out. A structure can be erased, but history cannot be wiped out,” she said. 

  “They must also remember that history takes its revenge,” she warned.

 

On Wednesday night, a large group vandalised and set fire to the house, following Hasina’s online appeal to Awami League supporters to protest against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. The residence, which became an iconic site for Bangladesh’s independence movement, had been transformed into a museum under Hasina’s rule and was a place visited by foreign dignitaries. 

 

During her speech, Hasina reflected on previous assassination attempts and remarked, “If Allah has kept me alive through all these attacks, there must be some work left for me. Otherwise, how could I have escaped death so many times?”

 

She also accused Yunus of orchestrating a plan to eliminate her and her family, saying, “The meticulous plan by Muhammad Yunus this time was to kill me and my sister.”

 

Further criticising Yunus, she claimed that she had supported his Grameen Bank with funding of 4,000 million Bangladeshi taka, but that the money had been misused. “But the entire amount was laundered. Bangladesh is suffering due to one man’s personal ambitions,” she alleged.

 

Hasina urged students to withdraw from the ongoing protests, suggesting that they had been misled by political groups. She acknowledged that young people were more vulnerable to manipulation, adding, “At this age, it is easy to be manipulated.”

 

  She further said that true students were not involved in the violence following the quota movement and cautioned against letting "terrorists" take control of educational institutions, particularly pointing to changes at Dhaka University.

 

Bangladesh clash: Concerns over governance

Hasina also expressed concern over the state of governance since her departure, particularly disruptions in the education system. Under her leadership, textbooks were provided on time, but that is no longer the case, she claimed.

 

The former prime minister condemned the violence against police and Awami League supporters, describing it as an attack on law and order. She warned that such actions were destabilising the country and undermining democratic governance.

 

In her address, Hasina stressed that she views herself as a survivor of several assassination attempts, believes in a conspiracy against her, and urges the people of Bangladesh to resist efforts to erase her legacy, which dates back to the 1971 Liberation War.

 

The Yunus-led government has repeatedly called on India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has extended her visa. Hasina is currently facing multiple legal cases, including charges related to crimes against humanity.

 

[With agency inputs]