Liberation war memorial: 3 murals of Sheikh Mujib demolished in Lalmonirhat

Three murals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Liberation War Memorial in Lalmonirhat were demolished on Sunday afternoon.

The demolition work was carried out by two workers, who, seeking anonymity, told journalists at the scene that the action was taken on the instruction of the District Council authorities.

However, Rajib Ahsan, chief executive deputy director (additional charge) of Lalmonirhat District Council, told The Daily Star, "I'm not aware of any decision to demolish the murals at the Liberation War Memorial." He declined to provide further details.

The Liberation War Memorial, constructed in 2015, is located in front of the BGB camp on College Road in Lalmonirhat. It was built by the Lalmonirhat District Council at a cost of Tk 32.75 lakh.

The original state of the murals, Photo: S Dilip Roy

The memorial features murals of or related to the 1952 Language Movement, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's March 7 speech, the formation of the Mujibnagar government, the reading of the Liberation War declaration, a rising sun, the 1971 genocide, commander-in-chief of the Mukti Bahini MAG Osmani, freedom fighters celebrating after the war, people holding the Bangladesh flag, the Seven Birshresthos, and the surrender of the Pakistani army.

On last year's Victory Day (December 16) and this year's Independence Day (March 26), the district administration covered the murals with a piece of cloth. According to it, this was done following demands of the July uprising activists and because the murals were deemed "incompatible with the July uprising".

When news of the murals being covered was reported, Transparency International Bangladesh and the Conscious Citizens Committee protested the act. Additionally, the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) and National Citizen Party had scheduled press conferences on March 29 to also protest the covering of the murals.

the murals covered with a cloth on Independence Day (March 26), Photo: S Dilip Roy

The NCP's press conference was later postponed.

At SAD's press conference, held at the Liberation War Memorial, Hamidur Rahman, member secretary of the platform's Lalmonirhat unit, stated, "We didn't demand the covering of any mural on Independence Day." However, he then called for the removal of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's murals, arguing, "The murals at the memorial were created with discrimination. There should be no mural of a dictator in this memorial."

The following day, the workers were seen demolishing three murals of Sheikh Mujib. No representatives from the Zila Parishad or SAD were present at the scene.