Bangabandhu Memorial Museum[lower-alpha 1], also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or simply as Dhanmondi 32 was the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman alias Bangabandhu, the founding father and president of Bangladesh.[1] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated with most members of his family in this residence. Located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka,[2] it is now a museum. The museum was also declared a national heritage site by RAJUK in 2009.[3]

Bangabandhu Memorial Museum
বঙ্গবন্ধু স্মৃতি জাদুঘর
Front gate of the museum
General information
Status	Open
Type	Residence (1961–1975) Museum (1994–present)
Address	House 10, Road 11, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
Country	Bangladesh
Coordinates	23°45′06″N 90°22′35″E
Construction started	1960
Completed	1966
Client	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Owner	Bangabandhu Memorial Trust
Technical details
Floor count	3
Website
bangabandhumuseum.org.bd

History

1956–1961

In 1956, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then industry minister of East Pakistan, applied to the government through his private secretary to be allotted a plot in the Dhanmondi residential project situated in Dhaka, the administrative capital. A year later, the government sanction a plot for him in Dhanmondi for Rs. 6,000. Until 12 October 1958, Bangabandhu and his family lived in a government building in Shegunbagicha, Dhaka. In 1958 General Ayub Khan suspended the constitution and imposed martial law.[4] Bangabandhu’s family rented a house in Siddheshwari, Dhaka when his family was evicted from the building after his arrest.[5] As a result of government threats, the family had to vacate the house, and moved to a rented one in Segunbagicha. Sufia Kamal helped them rent the house. Mujib was imprisoned till 1960. After being released from prison, he undertook the construction of a one-storeyed house there.[6] He began living in the unfinished house with his family, having secured a loan from House Building Finance Corporation from 1 August 1961. At the time, he had to pay Rs. 1,000 advance to get the plot. The one-storey house built by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had two rooms.[7]

1961–1975

Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Mujib, was born in this house on 18 October 1964.[8] In 1966 the house was upgraded to two storeys, and became a complete residential building. The house witnessed many important events in the political history of Pakistan such as the six point movement, 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising, 1970 Pakistani general election, etc. It was the center of political activities of Pakistan Awami League and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[7] On the night between 25 and 26 March 1971, Sheikh Mujib proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh from this house just before he was arrested by the Pakistani army.[9][10] After the house, damaged during the 1971 war, was repaired and Mujib returned from Pakistan, he and his family began living in this house again from February 1972 to August 1975.[11] On 15 August 1975, some disgruntled army officers carried out the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. His wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, and Sheikh Russel were also killed in the attack on their residence.[lower-alpha 2][12][13]

1975–1994

The military government acquired the house after it came to power on 15 August 1975. The Sheikh–Wazed family was forbidden to enter the house. That is why Sheikh Hasina was not allowed to enter the house after she returned to her motherland on 17 May 1981. On 10 June, 1981, Sheikh Hasina obtained ownership of the house when she paid a loan installment, when it was put up for auction due to non-payment of installments of the loan given for construction of the building.[7] On 12 June 1981, the house was officially handed over to the surviving family members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Hasina found Sheikh Mujib's diaries in the building after the handover and they were later published in the form of memoirs.[14] Even though Sheikh Hasina continued to live in a government quarter in Mohakhali with her husband after obtaining ownership of her father's house, she used it for political reasons. It became the center of Sheikh Hasina's political activities then.[7]

Museum

Conversion

After Sheikh Hasina obtained the ownership of the residence, she announced the conversion of the house into museum. When Hasina was arrested after she attended a political program during the 1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh, she conceived the idea of turning the house into a museum. Sufia Kamal, Baby Maudud, Gaziul Haque, Pavel Rahman and many others helped convert the house into a museum.[7] The museum was inaugurated on 14 August 1994. Bangabandhu Memorial Trust was handed the house to turn it into a museum on 6 September 1994.[15] To achieve this oal, the trust selected Ehsan Khan, Ishtiaque Jahir and Iqbal Habib from an architectural design competition.[16] While turning it into a museum, the trust preserved the original structure of the house.[17] On 20 August 2011, the museum was extended by building a new six-storey structure adjacent to the house.[7]

Memorandum of understanding

The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum signed a memorandum of understanding with National Museum, New Delhi on 17 December 2020. One of seven MoUs signed following the virtual summit between India and Bangladesh, it was aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing between the two museums on techniques related to the conservation of fabrics, the curation of exhibits and training.[18]

Description

The ground floor of the house has a drawing room, reading room and kitchen. The drawing room was used for political discussions, and since the house became a museum, it houses a gallery.[19] Going up to the second floor, Sheikh Hasina's bed room comes first. Also on the second floor are the bed rooms of Mujib, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Rehana. Adjacent to his bed room is a room where Mujib used to watch television and eat meals with his family.[20] The museum houses Sheikh Russel's possessions such as balls, aquariums, toys and watches. There is also a souvenir shop.[21] It has a virtual section that can guide visitors on a virtual tour of the house. This virtual section also has a showcase that contains several important and historical documents.[22] The new section of the museum has a gallery named 'Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and Sheikh Sayera Khatun Gallery', after the parents of Bangabandhu.[19] There is a library and a research center in the extended part.[8] There was a room here which Sheikh Mujib used as a salon where he often meet visitors and guests. A cyclostyle was installed here after 7 March 1971 which was used by Mujib. There is a personal library room too, from which Bangabandhu declared the independence of Bangladesh by wireless. This room with a telephone was damaged by Pakistani army firing on 25 March 1971. At the entrance to the building is a reception hall on the ground floor which was used for official purposes. While other rooms of the museum are open for visitors, Sheikh Hasina's bed room, store room and waiting room are closed.[8]

Notable visitors

• Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 21 February 2015.[23]
• Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, on 6 June 2015.[24]
• Ravi Shastri, Director of the Indian Cricket Squad, on 16 June 2015.[25]
• John Kerry, 68th United States Secretary of State, on 29 August 2016.[26]
• Jim Yong Kim, 12th President of World Bank Group, on 17 October 2016.[27]
• Angelina Jolie, American film actress, on 6 February 2019.[28]
• Júlio César, Brazilian former professional footballer, on 23 January 2020.[29]
• Stephen Biegun, 20th United States Deputy Secretary of State, on 15 October 2020.[30]
• Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal, on 23 March 2021.[31]
• Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan, on 23 March 2021.[32]
• Manoj Mukund Naravane, 28th Chief of the Indian Army Staff, on 9 April 2021.[33]
• Volkan Bozkır, President of Seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, on 25 May 2021.[34]
• Faisal Naseem, Vice President of Maldives, on 22 November 2021.[35]
• Ram Nath Kovind, 14th President of India, on 15 December 2021.[36]
• Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of China, on 6 August 2022.[37]
• Michelle Bachelet, 7th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on 15 August 2022.[38]

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

• Bangabandhu Memorial Museum: Beautiful Bangladesh
• Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Memorial Museum: Dhaka District (in Bengali)
• "Bangabandhu Memorial Museum". Tripadvisor.