Half a Century Since August 15: The Dark Chapter of the Assassination of Bangladesh’s Founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and His Family — Even the Memory-Laden House at 32 Dhanmondi Destroyed

 On February 5, Bangabandhu’s 32 Dhanmondi Was Demolished, Adding a New Wound to the Pain of August 15

Dhaka, August 15, 2025:
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his entire family. But this year, alongside the sorrow, there is an added blow. On the night of February 5, the house at 32 Dhanmondi, where Bangabandhu and his family were brutally murdered on August 15, 1975, was demolished.

That house was not just bricks and mortar; it was a living memory of Bangladesh’s history. Every wall, room, and veranda held traces of the struggle for liberation, love, family moments, and the marks of solitary grief. Today, it no longer exists. Local residents say, “With the walls gone, a part of Bangladesh’s history has also been erased.”

The horror of the night when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed and the memories of his family’s last breaths in that house now survive only in photographs, written reports, and the collective memory of the nation. The room of young Sheikh Russell, the final moments of Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib—everything has now merged with the soil.

The government has canceled the official state mourning ceremony. Previously, people would pay tribute in the morning by laying wreaths at his statue. Ordinary citizens, political leaders, and the younger generation, who have only read about it in history books, all used to remember that terrifying night with tears in their eyes.

Even fifty years later, followers of Bangabandhu are not only commemorating his assassination; they are feeling the pain of losing history itself. The demolition of 32 Dhanmondi serves as a stark reminder: the life and sacrifice of the father of the nation can never be forgotten.