Dhaka Protests Hasina’s Comments, Calls Them “Hostile” to India-Bangladesh Ties
New Delhi, 7th February 2025: Diplomatic tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi have intensified once again, with Bangladesh summoning India’s acting High Commissioner, Pawan Badhe, on Thursday to formally protest against what it called “fabricated and provocative” remarks made by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina, who fled to India following a violent regime change in August last year, addressed the public via a Facebook Live session on Wednesday. In her speech, she accused Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government, of taking power by “walking over dead bodies.” Her remarks came after a mob torched and demolished a residence-turned-memorial dedicated to her father and the country’s founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In its official protest note to Badhe, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “deep concern, disappointment, and serious reservations” over Hasina’s remarks, stating that such “hostile” statements were detrimental to the Dhaka-Delhi relationship.
India, in response, “strongly condemned” the destruction of Mujib’s memorial, describing it as an “act of vandalism.” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asserted that “all those who respect the freedom struggle that shaped Bangladesh’s national identity recognize the significance of this residence in the country’s historical consciousness.”
Bangladesh has urged the Indian government to take immediate and necessary measures to prevent Hasina from spreading “false and inflammatory” statements through social media and other platforms while residing in India.
Dhaka also denounced Hasina’s statement, where she remarked, “They can destroy a building, but not history… yet history has its way of taking revenge,” labeling it a “hostile act” and accusing her of “instigating instability” within Bangladesh.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain addressed the media, stating, “We will closely monitor India’s response to this matter.”
The unrest escalated on Wednesday evening as protesters gathered outside Mujib’s former residence in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, which had been converted into a memorial. This site holds historical significance, as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife, and three brothers were assassinated there in August 1975. The demonstration was reportedly fueled by a viral social media call for a “bulldozer procession” ahead of Hasina’s scheduled virtual address from exile in India.
During the unrest, the memorial house was set on fire, with additional incidents of arson reported across various locations. An adjacent building housing offices affiliated with the Awami League was also destroyed. Protesters vandalized murals of Mujibur Rahman, and the residence of Hasina’s late husband, Wajed Mian, also in Dhanmondi, was torched by demonstrators.
In a rare display of political unity, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) condemned the destruction, warning that such actions were intended to “undermine democracy” and could plunge the nation into further turmoil, hindering its democratic progress.
