July Museum drops Felani, border killings section over concerns about focusing only on last 16 years: National Museum DG

A proposal to include a separate section on the killing of Felani Khatun and other border killings at the July Uprising Memorial Museum was eventually dropped after the current government questioned how the issue could be presented by focusing only on the last 16 years, Bangladesh National Museum Director General Tanzim Wahab said on Saturday.

“...during the interim government, there was a proposal to add a separate section on the Felani killings and border killings in the museum. However, later, the current government raised a question – border killings have been going on since 1971; so how can the issue be presented focusing only on the last 16 years? Due to this, the proposal was ultimately dropped,” he made the remarks while delivering the Golam Qasem Daddy Lecture 2026, titled “July 36: The Story of Building a Museum,” at Drikpath Bhaban in Dhaka on Friday evening.

Drik Picture Library organised the lecture as part of its 37th founding anniversary celebrations.

Wahab spoke about the transformation of the former prime minister’s official residence, Ganabhaban, into the July Uprising Memorial Museum, explaining the rationale behind the project, its development and the challenges surrounding its construction.

He said the museum was conceived as more than a conventional one, describing it as a memorial intended to preserve the collective memory of the July Uprising and the sacrifice and suffering experienced by people over the years.

At the entrance, visitors see the line, “The struggle of memory against oblivion”, which, according to Wahab, reflects the museum’s central idea of resisting attempts to erase history.

He said the museum was also intended to create a space for self-reflection on state actions.

Recalling the events of July 2024, Wahab said the “Long March to Dhaka” eventually became a “Long March to Ganabhaban”, with the former prime minister’s residence becoming a symbol of public anger and raising questions over its role and its connection to the previous government’s actions.

When the museum team took charge of Ganabhaban, they found the site in a state of destruction, with graffiti covering its walls and thousands of documents and fragments scattered across the floors, he said.

The team collected, scanned and preserved the materials to create an archive. Later, through coordination with the International Crimes Tribunal, the materials became an important archive.

The museum documents the July Uprising and the experiences of those killed and affected during the movement. At the same time, it presents what Wahab described as the rise and fall of the Awami League government over 16 years.

He said the upper floors contain photographs, videos, audio recordings and other materials related to the uprising and its participants. The lower floors feature accounts of people subjected to enforced disappearance, killings and other forms of violence during the previous government’s tenure, as well as materials on the 2009 BDR Mutiny (Pilkhana Massacre) and testimonies and replicas related to Aynaghar.

Wahab said each section of the museum was developed around a distinct theme and concept, while the overall project remains a work in progress.

He said the museum is also being used for seminars, discussions, talks and cultural programmes, allowing more people to engage with the history documented there.

Thousands of visitors, particularly school students, visit the museum, he added.

However, he acknowledged that the project still faces several limitations.

A plan to establish a “healing room” was among the initiatives that could not yet be implemented. The proposed space was intended to address the psychological trauma caused by years of violence, loss and suffering, Wahab said, adding that discussions over the initiative are continuing.

On security, Wahab said the museum’s existing arrangements remain inadequate. Many young students and researchers who were involved in developing the museum continue to work as volunteers, while efforts to establish a permanent staffing structure have yet to be completed.

He said the museum contains sensitive and historically significant materials that require greater protection and that discussions are underway to improve its security and management.

Wahab said the museum is still evolving and expressed hope that the 17-acre site would eventually become a significant national memorial through better staffing, clearer planning and the continued addition of new materials and exhibits.