Bangladesh student protesters vandalised statues at Liberation War Memorial

DHAKA, Aug 13: The Bangladesh student protesters allegedly vandalised the statues at the 1971 Liberation War Memorial Complex in Mujibnagar depicting the surrender of the Pakistan Army, last week, it has been reported.

In a post on X on Monday, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor condemned the alleged “anarchic excess.” He appealed to Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim Government, to restore law and order. “Sad to see images like this of statues at the 1971 Shaheed Memorial Complex, Mujibnagar, destroyed by anti-India vandals,” he said in his post.

“This follows disgraceful attacks on the Indian cultural centre, temples and Hindu homes in several places," he said. Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban, which was the private residence of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), both at Dhanmondi in Dhaka, were among the assets of heritage vandalised by the quota protesters at the climax of renewed violence leading to the 'abdication' of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, early last week, whose residence in the city was also ransacked. Protestors had also brought down the iconic statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka. Besides, anti-Indian vandals also reportedly damaged four Hindu temples and targeted the minorities.

Tharoor shared pictures of statues at the Liberation War Memorial Complex. A statue in one of his pictures depicts the signing of the Instrument of Surrender between India and Pakistan to end the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Another picture shows some statues lying scattered on the floor. Tharoor claimed that those lying on the floor were destroyed by "anti-India vandals."

However, some Netizens, refuting the report, warned against sharing mistaken images.

Joining issue with Tharoor, one Neeraj Rajput posted on X that the picture showing statues lying on the floor is of sculptures depicting the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army during the liberation war and they are not statues destroyed during the protests as is being claimed by “journalists, veterans and ex-ministers.”

“Warning: Don’t fall into trap of fake narrative. The ‘71 war sculptor memorial at #Mujibnagar in Khulna distt of Bangladesh depicts people/statues lying as can be seen in my ‘18 tweet. Those are not destroyed statues. Many journalists, veterans and ex ministers are sharing it. May be it survived as its under the custody of Bangladesh Army. So, be cautious in sharing??,” the user said on X.

Rajput says he had visited Mujibnagar in 2016 and shared photos from that visit on social media as a “throwback” in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Chief Advisor to the Bangladesh Government, Muhammad Yunus, has termed the attacks on minorities and their properties as "heinous". He, in fact, has called upon the citizens to protect all Hindus, Buddhists and Christians.

Instrument of Surrender: The statue depicting the signing of a document on December 16, 1971, declaring surrender of Pakistani army to the Indian forces and Bangladesh's Mukti Bahini is also christened 'Instrument of Surrender'. Pakistan's Major-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi surrendered alongwith his 93,000 troops before Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India's Eastern Command, and AK Khandker, then Deputy Chief of Staff of Bangladesh Forces. It was the world's largest military surrender of personnel since World War II.