TDS Desk

The government has announced a 16-member committee, the third one in the last three months, for setting up the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum by converting the Ganabhaban.

People anxious about preserving the memory of those who made huge sacrifices to oust the autocratic Awami League regime led by Sheikh Hasina have expressed concerns about completion of the museum, as the work has remained stuck at committee formation stage for months.

According to a notification published in this regard on 27 January, the latest committee was an update of the previous committee formed on 8 January this year to set up the museum under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. There are some changes in the new committee, but Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki continues to be its president.

Scanning the two notifications of the cultural affairs ministry it was found that Jagannath University Fine Arts Department teacher Muhammad Jahidul Haque Sabuj, National University Anthropology Department teacher Dr Nurul Momen Bhuiyan, writer and researcher Sohul Ahmed Munna and Student Representative Tuhin Ahammed Projonmo were dropped from the committee.

At the same time, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Director Abdul Halim Chanchal and Student Representative Md Saidul Alam Khan (Sayeed Khan Sagor) have been included in the new committee.

Other members of the committee are – architect Marina Tabassum, writer and filmmaker Dr Ebadur Rahman, writer and human rights activist Mustain Billah, architect Tanzim Hasan Selim of Design Works Group, architect Bayezid Mahbub Khandaker, the chief engineer of Public Works Department, the director general of Department of Archaeology, the director general of the Department of Archives and Library, the director general of Bangladesh National Museum, the chief architect of Department of Architecture, Department of Architecture’s additional chief architect Md Asifur Rahman Bhuiyan, director of Research and Publication Department of Shilpakala Academy Tanzim Wahab, and the president or representative of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh.

After assuming office, the interim government decided to transform the Ganabhaban, formerly the residence of the country’s prime minister, into a museum to commemorate the mass uprising of 2024. It also declared a 17-member committee with writer and filmmaker Dr Ebadur Rahman as its convener on 2 November last year to set up the museum.

Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Nahid Islam announced the committee at a press briefing in front of the Ganabhaban. The chief adviser’s former special assistant, now an adviser to the government, Mahfuj Alam was kept as the joint convener of the committee.

According to that announcement, the other members of the committee were writer and human rights activist Mustain Billah, Jagannath University Fine Arts Department teacher Muhammad Jahidul Haque Sabuj, National University Anthropology Department teacher Dr Nurul Momen Bhuiyan, photographer, teacher and Director of Research and Publication Department of Shilpakala Academy Tanzim Wahab, writer and researcher Sahul Ahmed Munna, architect Marina Tabassum, the director general of Bangladesh National Museum, Department of Archaeology DG, chief engineer of Public Works Department, Department of Architecture Additional Chief Architect Md Asifur Rahman Bhuiyan, president or representative of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, architect Bayezid Mahbub Khandaker and architect Tanzim Hasan Selim of Design Works Group.

Nahid also announced that one or two student representatives would be inducted into the committee later.

Then the government formed the 18-member committee on the July Memorial Museum under the Cultural Affairs Ministry with Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki as its president and the government published a gazette in this regard on 8 January this year.

Writer and filmmaker Dr Ebadur Rahman was kept as a member in this committee.

Meanwhile, a number of members of the committee contacted by this correspondentdo not know about the progress of the work. Some of them did not even know that they were kept in the committee and the reason for their later exclusion from it.

They said no formal meeting has been held in this regard yet, so they have no information about the work. They were totally in the dark and a little bit confused about the whole matter.

While talking to this correspondentabout the progress of the work, Jahidul Haque Sabuj said, “Actually we are not informed of the progress of the work. A convening committee was formed and it was reported in the newspaper. Dr Ebadur Rahman was the convener of the committee and Adviser Mahfuj Alam was the joint convener. There was no further discussion with that convening committee.

The committee member also said, “I asked Dr Ebadur Rahman about the new committee – whether he knows about the committee. He told me that he (Ebadur Rahman) does not know about the committee and no one discussed it with him.”

Regarding the latest committee, Sabuj said, “I don’t know why they kept me in the committee and later dropped from it.”

Meanwhile, another member of the committee, Tanzim Wahab, told this correspondent, “The work of the museum has not yet started. Its responsibility has just been transferred to the National Museum under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. No committee meeting has been held yet.”

Another committee member, architect Bayezid Mahbub Khandaker, said, “I have not received any letter from the committee and no meeting has been held yet. I was just informed that I have been kept on the committee.”

“Even I have not seen the cultural ministry’s notification yet. If you (this correspondent) have seen it, could you please send it to me in my WhatsApp inbox?” he added.

This correspondentcould not obtain Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s comments regarding the matter despite making calls and sending messages to his mobile phone.