The National Sports Council on Saturday announced the renaming of Bangabandhu National Stadium as National Stadium, dropping the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from it, a move seen as a step taken by the interim government to end the legacy of Bangladesh’s Founding Father.
The interim government has made a policy decision to remove any associations with that family from the names of sports facilities, reported Dhaka Tribune.
A circular signed by NSC Secretary Md Aminul Islam on Saturday was quoted as saying by bdnews24: “In light of the above subject, all relevant parties are hereby informed that the names of the following sports facilities constructed by the National Sports Council have been determined as follows by order.”
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the father of Bangladesh’s former and ousted PM Sheikh Hasina.
Built in 1954, the stadium was originally known as Dhaka Stadium.
The stadium is the only venue worldwide to have hosted the inaugural home fixtures for two Test nations: Pakistan and Bangladesh.
India was the opponent in both matches.
The stadium is well known for hosting a high-profile international friendly football match between Argentina and Nigeria in 2011.
A proposal was made in 1996 to rename the stadium after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
It was granted in 1998.
Political turmoil in Bangladesh
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina-led government was toppled amid severe protests against her regime over a job quota row on August 5.
Hasina fled to India.
An interim government, under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took charge of the country following Hasina’s exit.
The country has witnessed a spike in attacks on members and leaders of Sheikh Hasina-led political outfit Awami League since then.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence set on fire
Recently, a mob vandalised and set ablaze the residence of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka.
The vandalization took place after Hasina appealed to Awami League workers in a virtual address to protest against the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Protesters arrived at the Dhanmondi 32 area with bulldozers and threatened to raze the house.
However, they decided against demolishing the house and instead broke the main gate, as well as vandalised it before setting fire to the property, The Dhaka Tribune reported.
The attackers said the house was a symbol of “authoritarianism and fascism” and vowed to remove traces of what they called ‘Mujibism’ in the country.
While carrying out the attack, the mob chanted slogans and demanded the execution of Sheikh Hasina.
