---
title: "Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina's father's home"
description: "DHAKA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh's founding leader, as his daughter, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a fiery social media speech calling on her supporters to stand against the interim government."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Bulldozer Procession"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-06-bangladesh-protesters-torch-ousted-pm-hasinas-fathers-home/"
published: "2025-02-06T12:42:36"
updated: "2025-02-06T12:42:38"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 285
---

# Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina's father's home

> DHAKA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh's founding leader, as his daughter, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a fiery social media speech calling on her supporters to stand against the interim government.

By Reuters · Published 6 February 2025, 14:42 SAST · Updated 6 February 2025, 14:42 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic clash of history and modern politics, thousands of protesters armed with tools and fury converged on Bangladesh's independence monument, intent on bulldozing the past while the interim government struggles to keep its grip amid escalating chaos and a defiant Prime Minister Hasina warning that "history takes its revenge."
- Thousands of protesters, some armed, gathered in Dhaka to disrupt Prime Minister Hasina's online address, calling their action the "Bulldozer Procession."
- The protests, led by the "Students Against Discrimination" group, stem from anger over Hasina's perceived challenge to the interim government.
- Tensions have escalated since August 2024, when mass protests forced Hasina to flee to India, leading to unrest under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus's interim government.
- Hasina condemned the attacks on her father's historic home, asserting that while buildings can be destroyed, history endures and takes its revenge.

## Content

Witnesses said several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks, hammers, and other tools, gathered around the historic house and independence monument, while others brought a crane and excavator to demolish the building.

The rally was organised alongside a broader call, dubbed "Bulldozer Procession", to disrupt Hasina's scheduled 9 p.m. online address on Wednesday.

Protesters, many aligned with the "Students Against Discrimination" group, had expressed their fury over Hasina's speech, which they viewed as a challenge to the newly formed interim government.

Tensions have been escalating in Bangladesh since August 2024, when mass protests forced Hasina to flee to neighbouring India.

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has struggled to maintain control as protests and unrest have continued. Demonstrators have attacked symbols of Hasina’s government, including the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which was first set ablaze in August.

A symbol of the country's establishment, the house is where Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), as he is popularly known, declared Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

A few years later it became the site of a national tragedy. Mujibur Rahman and most of his family were assassinated at the house in 1975. Hasina, who survived the attack, later transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father's legacy.

"They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge," Hasina said in her speech on Wednesday.

She urged the people of Bangladesh to stand against the interim government, accusing them of seizing power in an unconstitutional manner.

The student-led movement behind the protests has voiced plans to dismantle the country's 1972 Constitution, which they argue embodies the legacy of her father's rule.

(Reporting by Reuters Dhaka bureau; Editing by Saad Sayeed)