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Published : 26 Aug 2025, 02:03 AM
More than four decades after serving as the Awami League’s headquarters, is the building now truly being turned into a research institute?
Following a shift in political power, the building was initially overtaken by a group of vagrants.
That control has since passed to another faction, identifying themselves as students.
In July this year, they announced the launch of a new research organisation inside the same premises.
At the main entrance, a large red banner now hangs -- a sight that may evoke memories of Syed Waliullah’s character Majid in Lalsalu.
But unlike the mystic in that novel, there is no spiritual leader named here. Instead, printed across the fabric is the title: “International Institute for the Study of Fascism and Genocide”.
Since the July Uprising that led to the fall of the Awami League government, the road outside the building has also changed names. Once known as Bangabandhu Avenue, it is now called Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue.
The 10 storey building at holding 23 on that road was completed in 2018. It has long been recognised as the Awami League’s central office.
Recently, cleaning activity has been observed inside for two days.
All signs of Awami League’s meetings or events have been removed.
Alongside the self-proclaimed students, some of the previous vagabond occupiers were also seen inside.
Police have no confirmed information about the current occupants.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Awami League's lease has not been cancelled, and no new lease has been issued.
The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has meanwhile said it has no association with any organisation named “International Institute for the Study of Fascism and Genocide.”
A TURNING POINT
On Aug 5, 2024, the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India amid a mass uprising.
That day, key sites including Ganabhaban, the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon, and even the parliament were looted and vandalised.
The Awami League’s main office was not spared. The building was ransacked and set on fire.
For months afterwards, the site remained abandoned. Vagrants used it to sleep, shelter, or relieve themselves. The space was a ruin.
Over time, banners bearing different names were hung at the site by a group calling themselves “July warriors”, according to a police officer.
Currently, apart from the red banner on the front gate, a large but crumpled banner also hangs from the third floor, its message unreadable from the street.
ABANDONED STATE
The building stands on a plot of land leased to the Awami League in the 1980s -- a 99 year lease for 0.13 hectares.
For more than 40 years, the party operated its central office from this location.
Now, those who have taken over claim it is being cleaned for a new purpose.
They say the work will be completed before the end of August. Only then will their activities become “visible”.
On Aug 12 and 14, bdnews24.com correspondents visited the building.
On the first visit, the main gate was covered with cloth.
No lock was visible. Inside, 13 plastic chairs were arranged in a corner. One chair held some items wrapped in polythene.
The interior was dark, but some areas had been cleared.
On the second floor, a small cot covered with a white sheet stood alongside three chairs. Scattered items suggested drug use. The third floor was filled with rubbish, creating a chilling atmosphere.
Two men were seen sitting downstairs. One of them introduced himself as Al-Amin, a cleaner.
He said the organisation is “not owned by anyone”, calling it a “public project”. He added, “I’m not part of them. I clean for pay.”
He said he had been working there for 15 days. The number of workers varies day to day, he said -- sometimes 10, sometimes six or seven. “We don’t come daily. We come when we’re paid.”
From outside, clothes could be seen hanging from the sixth floor, suggesting someone was living there. Amin said he stayed there at night.
A shopkeeper nearby, initially reluctant to talk, said: “They’re students. They stay here day and night. Every evening, they all go out together.”
When asked where they go or what they do, he refused to continue speaking.
Other shopkeepers refused to comment.
Amin suggested visiting in the afternoon when “senior brothers” would be present for more details.
SECOND VISIT
Returning on Aug 14, bdnews24.com correspondents spotted someone on the seventh floor rinsing his face.
Dressed in a vest and jeans, he was spitting out water into the open space inside the building’s core.
Inside, a man identifying himself as Noshu Sardar was found. Wearing a lungi and denim shirt, he said he sleeps there with four others.
He claimed to be the leader of the cleaning team, staying there since Aug 5.
Siam, who introduced himself as a student of Bangla at Kabi Nazrul Government College (2020–21 session), came with another young man named Habibur Rahman, who said he was an English student at the same college (2018–19 session). A third companion, Ansar Ali, joined them.
Noshu went on to give a full tour of the building. Siam advised the reporters not to go beyond the seventh floor, saying: “You’ll feel like throwing up.”
Up to the second floor, the space appeared fully cleaned. On the third floor, rubbish had been swept into a pile but not removed.
Above that, no sign of cleaning was visible. Bricks and debris from broken walls and sculptures lay scattered across the floors.
‘ROOM OF THE DICTATOR’
The seventh floor was relatively clean. It had been reserved for the Awami League’s treasurer. But the new occupants believe it belonged to Hasina herself, so they have claimed it as symbolic space.
In one small room, Noshu had made himself a bed. A box cot, thin blankets, and a makeshift pillow wrapped in newspaper.
A second room, its broken door shielded with a wooden board, had clothes hanging from ropes across the wall.
“This was where Hasina stayed,” Noshu said. “So we took the dictator’s room.”
Asked why he stays there, he replied: “I’ve been here since the 5th of August. From Ganabhaban to this Awami League office, I was part of the movement against the dictator.
“Many others are in jail now. I am here to look after the place.”
“Now I stay here, I clean, I move around with the big brothers. No one has asked me to leave,” he added.
When asked who the “big brothers” were, Noshu said: “One is Munna, there are many others, I don’t know all the names.”
He said someone named Sakhawat paid them for cleaning, identifying him as the “in-charge” who also lives there. Workers received Tk 700 a day, with no arrears.
When asked if the Awami League was secretly behind this, Noshu brushed aside the claim. “If you say you are Awami League, your mobile will be checked, your Facebook will be searched.
“If you are proven to be Awami League, you will be arrested. If not, nothing will happen,” he said.
According to Nasu, between 100 and 200 people had already been arrested this way.
“They came here to take photos, we checked their phones, then handed them to the authorities,” he added.
He denied any physical assault. “Why would we beat them?” he asked.
Noshu insisted the occupiers were led by “students”, not the Awami League supporters.
AN ENROACHER WHO ‘DID INTERMEDIATE AT ULAB’
On the way down from the upper floors, correspondents encountered Siam again on the second floor -- the young man who earlier introduced himself as a student.
“I’ve been staying here for 18 days now,” Siam said. “Under the banner of the International Institute for the Study of Fascism and Genocide, we’ve started cleaning operations.
“After that, we’ll begin rehabilitation for those injured in July’s protests, so they can find some way to earn a living.”
He described an ambitious vision for the building. “There will be an orphanage here. Each floor will serve a different sector. One will be for the orphanage, another will be a mosque. Then a cultural hub, a library. Each floor will house a separate department.”
Asked how they planned to implement these ideas and if they had permission from the government, Siam replied: “Yes, we’ve applied to the government. But we haven’t received any clear information yet.”
Which department they applied to, he couldn’t say. “That’s something the seniors are handling,” he said.
Where would the funding come from? Siam said, “We want to hand the building over to the government. That way, they can take the initiative and implement the rehabilitation of the July victims as soon as possible. Whether it takes six months or a year -- however long it takes.”
How many students are involved? “Quite a few,” he said. “The cleaning staff are currently working. And many of us are staying here too. I don’t know the exact number.”
Asked again about his own background, Siam claimed to be a student of Kabi Nazrul Government College and said he was “in charge of supervision”.
When asked where he studied at the intermediate level, he replied “ULAB,” naming the private university.
“Realising the mistake”, as ULAB does not offer college-level education, he quickly excused himself and left in a hurry.
His companion, Habibur said: “My college was local.” Pressed to clarify which area, he said: “Cumilla.”
When asked where in Cumilla, he smiled and dodged the question: “If I tell you, you might recognise me.”
‘IN-CHARGE RECENTLY BACK FROM MALAYSIA’
In discussions with Noshu and others, one name has emerged as the in-charge of the International Institute for the Study of Fascism and Genocide: Shah Alam.
He reportedly studied at a university in Malaysia and has no affiliation with any political party.
bdnews24.com contacted Alam through a mobile number obtained from the residents of the Awami League office.
He identified himself as the field in-charge of the institute.
“We are currently continuing the cleaning process of the building. It must be understood that such work is not possible without support or funding. We are doing as much as we can from our own finances,” he said.
Asked if the funding is self-provided or comes from elsewhere, he said: “No crowdfunding has been done yet. Those involved are contributing from their own salaries or from their business earnings.
“Some have given voluntarily, others from their business.”
When asked about his personal role, Alam said: “My brother runs a small online business.” On his education, he added, “I studied in Malaysia.”
Asked whether an application had been submitted to the government to use the building, he said: “The process is ongoing. The application has been submitted.”
When asked which department it was submitted to, he replied: “That is ongoing. The process for approval is moving slowly.”
Pressed again, he said: “I told you, my seniors are handling it. They are doing it as best as they can.”
On the plans for the building, Alam said: “The goal is to completely reform it. The intention is to establish an office for our work on international genocide and fascism, alongside other cultural offices.
“For example, one office will be allocated for small ethnic groups. Arrangements will be made for those who were injured, those whose families were killed, and other marginalised people in the area, to provide employment opportunities.”
Asked if he is the head of the organisation, he said, “No, I am the field in-charge. There are seniors, including several businessmen. They are the ones in discussion with the government.”
Alam declined to name any of the “seniors” involved.
WHAT GOVT OFFICES SAY
Efforts to reach Nazrul Islam, secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, for clarification on whether the Awami League's lease for the building had been cancelled were unsuccessful.
A senior official at the ministry, however, said no one had applied to use the office space formerly occupied by the Awami League.
“The lease to the Awami League has not been revoked, so no new allocation has been made,” he added.
Asked whether there was any initiative to establish a research institute in the building, Harun-or-Rashid, joint secretary of the Department of Archaeology and Museums under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, said: “I have no information suggesting anything of that sort is happening.”
A police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said since Aug 5, 2024, several banners under the name “July warriors” had appeared at the site at different times.
“We’ve identified seven different groups so far who have used different banners and names while occupying the site,” he said. “We've also heard of internal disputes between them.”
The official, however, could not confirm the names or political affiliations of these groups.
He said that since there had been no formal complaints and because the occupiers were seen as linked to the July movement, police had not investigated the matter in-depth.
Regarding the current occupiers operating under the banner of the “International Institute for the Study of Fascism and Genocide,” police say they do not have any specific information.
“We know as much as you do,” said Md Shahriar Ali, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Motijheel Division. “We do not have concrete information about who they are.”
As for Noshu’s claim that around 200 people had been handed over to police for being suspected Awami League affiliates -- allegedly after their phones were checked and interrogated by the occupiers -- police firmly denied the allegation.
“No one has been detained and handed over to us from that building,” said Shahriar. “Also, who are they to search people’s phones or question them? That is not their responsibility -- it is police’s.”
HOW AL OFFICE MOVED ACROSS GULISTAN
Since its founding, the Awami League’s central office has relocated at least eight times.
The party was established on Jun 23, 1949, at Rose Garden on KM Das Lane in Old Dhaka.
In the early days, party activities and policy decisions were conducted from the residences of top leaders as there was no designated office space.
By 1953, an informal office was used on Kankun Bari Lane. In 1956, the party shifted to a new address at 56 Simson Road in Old Dhaka.
On Jan 25, 1964, then general secretary Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib established the office at 91 Nawabpur Road.
Shortly afterwards, leaders began meeting temporarily in an alley near the Rupmahal Cinema at Sadarghat.
Eventually, the office moved to two separate locations in Purana Paltan, where it remained for an extended period.
After Hasina assumed leadership of the party around 1981, the central headquarters was shifted to 23 Bangabandhu Avenue.
That address became the permanent headquarters, and the previous structure was demolished in 2016.
In its place, a 10-storey modern building was constructed at a cost of Tk 100 million, to serve as the party’s permanent home.
On Jun 23, 2018, the then prime minister and Awami League president Hasina formally inaugurated the new building.
Following the shift in political power in 2024, various steel fixtures, wires, and metal parts of the building -- including lift equipment -- were removed.
In recent months, additional materials were seen being dismantled and taken away with tools. Now, all that remains is the brick structure.
When asked how so much had been taken despite people living there, Noshu, who identified himself as a cleaner, said: “Satan is cutting it, and Iblis is taking it. I can’t explain more than that. Just understand.”
Each floor from the ground to the third level of the building spans 4,100 square feet. From the fourth floor upward, each level measures 3,100 square feet.
On the eve of the building’s inauguration in 2018, the second floor was outfitted with a central conference room and several side rooms, offering seating for 350 people.
The third floor accommodated 240 people and featured an open-sky terrace at the front.
The fourth and fifth floors were designated for the party's central office and its affiliated and like-minded organisations. These levels housed offices, a digital library, and a media room.
A large conference hall was built on the sixth floor. The seventh floor was allocated for the party’s treasurer.
The eighth floor served as the office of the general secretary, while the ninth floor was reserved for the party president. To ensure her safety, this level was built with bulletproof security.
The tenth floor included a cafeteria. Spacious rooms were allocated for both the president and the general secretary. The president’s room had an adjoining prayer space and rest area.
The building also featured a VIP lounge, a press lounge, and dormitories. The entire premises were equipped with modern facilities, including full Wi-Fi coverage.
[Report prepared with assistance from Pavel Rahman and Prashanta Mitra; photographs by Abdullah Al Momin.]
