From Hasina’s bed to her fish: How palaces are ransacked when regimes collapse

PTC News Desk: The palace gates open wide as kingdoms fall. Protesters also make a determined effort to enter the palaces as the kings flee. Protesters in Dhaka carried out precisely that. As a wave of protestors marched towards the PM’s mansion, Ganabhaban, they entered after Sheikh Hasina tendered her resignation and departed the country.

Commoners have overrun the leader’s home in other countries besides Bangladesh when the system collapsed. This was also seen in the fall of kingdoms in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. Demonstrators broke into Hasina’s home on Monday to proclaim their win.

Thousands of protesters in #Bangladesh stormed #SheikhHasina‘s official residence in #Dhaka on Monday, shortly after she tendered her resignation as the Prime Minister and fled the country.

Check out these shocking visuals. #BangladeshBleeding #viralvideo #viral pic.twitter.com/gSe5cEiKH5

— Anjali Choudhury (@AnjaliC16408461) August 5, 2024

In a video that has gone viral on social media, the PM’s house shows a man laying on a bed. He is seen conversing with individuals while lying back on the bed. “We are in charge of Gonobhobon,” he declares.

People may be seen robbing the PM’s home of television sets, chairs, and tables in another video. People were ravaging freezers and kitchens while they gorged on fish and biryani. Another video that went viral showed a man on the Ganabhaban campus holding a large fish.

Her saree and a Dior luggage were taken by others. Hasina loved wearing sarees and possessed a sizable collection. The ransacker posing with female underwear that had been taken from Ganabhaban was one of the ugliest moments.

Looting after winning has historical roots and the people of Bangladesh have no exception, but it is disheartening to see a gentleman stealing the Holy Quran. That was the least I expected ????#Bangladesh #SheikhHasina #viral #UKRiots #RiotsUK pic.twitter.com/GtqFW0gsv0

— Yaseen Rind (@myaseenrind) August 5, 2024

Bangladesh is among the nations that have witnessed such theft in the past five years. This was also observed in other locations where the monarch had been overthrown. It might be the outcome of people’s declarations and a display of symbolic captivity following an era of totalitarian governance. Most see it as a free-for-all celebration following the removal of a powerful leader.

Also Read: Explained | Who were the ‘razakars’ and why are they back in Bangladesh’s discourse?

SWIMMING IN GOTABAYA RAJAPAKSA’S PALACE IN 2022

In 2022, following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s departure from Sri Lanka due to demonstrations, demonstrators broke down the doors of the presidential palace.

According to NPR, protestors entered the palace, which featured a huge dinner table, a lounge with couches, and a private swimming pool. The BBC said that a man wearing a presidential flag was seen on a bed in the President’s mansion in a video.

حسینہ واجد کے ذاتی کمرے میں عوام آرام کر رہی ????#Bangladesh #viral #Venezuela Breaking News pic.twitter.com/APqyCPbzVT

— Abubakar Paracha (@AbubakarParach0) August 5, 2024

Viral videos have surfaced showing men jumping on the presidential bed.

Protesters swimming in the pool came next. They went inside the office and the bedroom as well. Additionally, they went through the President’s personal possessions.

The image of the three lads browsing through their phones is one of the most popular posts on social media in Sri Lanka. It is not unusual for young boys to be browsing through their phones, unless they are at the President’s mansion. There were large windows in the room, a wooden bed surrounded by lovely carpets and carvings, and the boys could be seen browsing through their phones while lying in bed.

Also Read: Bangladesh situation not that dire to warrant evacuation of Indians: Jaishankar

WHEN PROTESTERS TOOK OVER PALACES IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Protesters were seen assaulting the presidential palace in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, in 2022—the same year that crowds ransacked Rajapaksha’s palace—following the declaration that Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, would be leaving politics.

According to Reuters, they were soon unwinding in the pool as well. This happened following violent altercations between the irate audience and the security personnel.

Prolonged demonstrations calling for new elections and the dissolution of parliament led to the turmoil, which resulted in numerous fatalities and hundreds of injuries.

Also Read: Bangladesh Protest: Embattled Sheikh Hasina seeks UK asylum amid ongoing Bangladesh unrest

The Taliban broke into the President’s residence in Kabul in 2021. According to NBC, there was a video showing armed men sitting on President Ashraf Ghani’s chair in the palace’s halls. Ghani had left the nation. According to NBC, they were spotted giving journalists from Al Jazeera tours while strolling around the castle.

The Taliban did not overrun the palace here. After twenty years of protection, it was a handshake with the Presidential Protection Service. The Taliban leader had been brought into the palace by a government officer. Together, they even snapped a selfie.

But sitting on the chair and idly meandering across the palace was supposed to represent the seizing of power.

This is how, when regimes fall, the palaces are turned into theme parks for the general public, who are enthralled by the wealth and opulent lifestyle of their overthrown rulers. On Monday, the Ganabhaban neighbourhood of Dhaka witnessed what palaces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sri Lanka had seen. 

Also Read: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns, flees country amid massive protests and Army coup