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Showing posts from February, 2025

The storied history of Dhanmondi 32, Mujibur Rahman’s Dhaka house now burnt down by ultra Islamists

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Dhanmondi 32, the famous house-turned-museum in Dhaka, had a special place in Bangladesh’s politics. It served as founding father Mujibur Rahman’s house and was the centre of all his political activities until he died in 1975. But now, it has been reduced to ruins after vandals set fire to it and then destroyed it with hammers and shovels People watch as others take away the metals and electric wirings from Dhanmondi 32, the vandalised residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP August 5, 2024, marked a turning point in Bangladesh’s political landscape, as students’ protests led to the downfall and eventual ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On that day, her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house, Dhanmondi 32, was attacked, vandalised, and set on fire by angry mobs. Now, almost six months later, the historic house at  Dhaka’s Dhanmondi 32  has once again been a...

Our lives don’t matter’: Bangladeshi Hindus under attack after Hasina exit [aljazeera]

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  Bangladeshi Hindus – seen as allies of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina – face mounting threats, amid anti-India sentiments. An India-based disinformation campaign isn’t helping them. Krishna Das, a small-scale farmer from Monglargaon village in Sunamganj, stands outside his ruined home  and recalls the mayhem caused by a Muslim mob following an alleged blasphemy incident. His family was  forced to flee in fear [Mehedi Hasan Marof/Al Jazeera] Dhaka, Bangladesh –  Krishna Das had never imagined that his peaceful life in Sunamganj, a northeastern district of Bangladesh, would come crashing down on a seemingly ordinary Tuesday evening last week. The trigger was an allegation of blasphemy. A young Hindu man, Akash Das, had allegedly posted an insulting comment about the Quran on Facebook. The comment quickly spread across social media, igniting protests and escalating tensions, particularly in the predominantly Muslim community of Dowarabazar, about 270km (168 miles) from the n...