When kingdoms fall, the castle gates tend to fling open. And monarchs run away, mob people come. This was what happened in Dhaka where protesters thronged into Ganabhaban in August 2024, the residence of the Bangladesh Prime Minister when Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled into exile as demonstrations continued.
Inside the Dramatic Public Takeover of Sheikh Hasina’s Residence
Bangladesh is not the only one. The same scenes were witnessed in Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Afghanistan where regimes collapsed, and the commoners took possession of the extravagant homes of their leaders.
In August 2024, the Dhaka people wrote their version of this story by storming her home Hasina, as a forceful claim to their newfound strength.
The essence of the moment was captured by one of the viral videos, a man relaxing on a bed in the house of the Prime Minister, chatting with people with a nonchalant attitude. Gonobhobon is ours, he said, and lying down as though he was the master of it.
Jubilant people in Dhaka, Bangladesh have taken over the Prime Minister’s official residence (Gano Bhaban). pic.twitter.com/tjeXOOTLEF
— Sami (@ZulkarnainSaer) August 5, 2024
Historic Public Takeover in Dhaka
It was also observed that looters were taking away all items including television sets and kitchen appliances. Their kitchens were looted with protesters feasting on fish and biryani with others making away with goats and even ducks.
A giant-sized imitation of a fish, probably a Hilsa, the national fish in Bangladesh, was a spontaneous souvenir, which spread throughout social media.
Food and furniture were not the only things that were looted. Protestors even stormed into the personal effects of Hasina with some even stealing her sarees and a Dior suitcase. Among the stranger images was that of a looter who was taking pictures with the female lingeries discovered in the house and this was a twist to the hectic scene.
This brother wore Hasina’s saree 😂 pic.twitter.com/MZE5QneVS6
— Unfiltered Muslim (@muslimbants) August 5, 2024
The radicals ransacked the residence of Sheikh Hasina with bra, fish, saree, blouse, even dustbins. One rioter even wore a saree.
It is not the first time that the house of a leader became a child playground. In 2022, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and his palace was occupied by protesters in Sri Lanka.
The huge house, including a big dining room, comfortable lounges, and even a personal swimming pool, turned out to be the climate of the carnival of people. Videos depicted the protesters lying on the bed of the President, waving the Presidential flag, and even dipping into the pool.
The same has been witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2022, Baghdad protesters ransacked the presidential palace after the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced his departure in politics.
The pool in the palace turned into an improvised safe haven of the winning mob, despite the fatal confrontation with the security agencies going on the outside.
In Afghanistan, the Afghan Presidential palace was taken over by the Taliban in 2021 to a less spectacular but no less symbolic effect. One could also see armed Taliban fighters sitting on the chair of President Ashraf Ghani, who had fled the country. They would walk about the palace halls even allowing journalists a tour which was chilling to see their new powers.
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