A large group of protesters on Wednesday vandalised and set on fire the residence of Bangladesh’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka during a live online address by his daughter, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The mob targeted the memorial and residence of Sheikh Hasina’s father, located at Dhanmondi 32 in Bangladesh, demanding a ban on the Awami League, the party he founded. The attackers broke open the gate, entered the premises, and began a destructive rampage.

The protesters were seen destroying the structure and setting fire to the top floor of the building. Hasina delivered her speech, organized by the Awami League’s now-disbanded student wing, Chhatra League, urging the people of Bangladesh to resist the current regime.

“They are yet to have the strength to destroy the national flag, the constitution, and the independence that we earned at the cost of the lives of millions of martyrs with a bulldozer,” Hasina said, seemingly referring to Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’s regime, installed by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement.

She added, “They can demolish a building, but not the history… but they must also remember that the history takes its revenge.”

The student movement had previously promised to abolish Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution and erase the “Mujibist constitution.” Some far-right groups have also suggested changing the national anthem adopted by the Sheikh Mujib-led government post-Independence.

The Dhanmondi 32 residence has become an iconic symbol in Bangladesh’s history. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the pre-Independence autonomy movement from this house, and it was later turned into a museum during Awami League rule. It was visited by foreign heads of state and dignitaries as part of state protocol.

On August 5 last year, the house was set on fire after Sheikh Hasina’s nearly 16-year Awami League regime was toppled, and she secretly left the country with her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, for India.

Hasina stated that she and her sister donated their ancestral home to a trust, turning it into the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known as “Bangabandhu” (Friend of Bengal), led the autonomy movement in the late 1960s.

This is the second attack on Rahman’s house by a mob in Bangladesh. The first occurred after Hasina resigned from her post as Prime Minister and fled the country.

The protesters forcibly entered the premises, declaring the house a symbol of authoritarianism and fascism. They expressed their intentions to erase all traces of “Mujibism” and fascism from the country.

In her online speech, Sheikh Hasina expressed regret over the incident, saying the agitators were destroying her childhood memories but would never succeed in erasing her family’s history.

With tears in her eyes, Hasina said, “We sisters live for those memories of Dhanmondi, now they are destroying that house. Last time they set this house on fire, now they are breaking it. They can break this house but they will not be successful in removing history.”

Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year when she fled Bangladesh after a massive student-led protest toppled her Awami League’s 16-year regime.