Bangladesh replaces its founder Mujibur Rehman with temples, landmarks in new currency notes

The Print

5 days ago

The Bangladesh Bank has unveiled redesigned Tk 20, Tk 50, and Tk 1,000 notes ahead of Eid. 'Under the new series and design, the notes will not feature any human portraits, but will instead showcase natural landscapes and traditional landmarks,' Bangladesh Bank spokesman Arif Hossain Khan told AFP.
The new notes will showcase symbols of the country's heritage, including temples, monasteries, historic buildings, and artwork by Zainul Abedin, a prominent Bangladeshi artist.
New Delhi: Bangladesh's central bank, under Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus' interim administration, has dropped the portrait of the country's founding father and exiled leader Sheikh Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman from new currency notes.
The Tk 20 note features the Kantaji Temple, a Hindu temple in Dinajpur, and the Paharpur Monastery. The Tk 50 note showcases Ahsan Manzil, a palace in capital Dhaka and a famine-era painting by Zainul Abedin. The Tk 1,000 note, printed in purple, includes images of the National Martyrs' Memorial and the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. All three bear the Royal Bengal Tiger watermark and the bank's monogram.
The redesigned notes are being introduced following a political controversy over Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's face on the currency notes. Last Eid, despite tradition, no new notes were issued. After the July protests and the ousting of ex-Prime Minister Hasina, the central bank barred commercial banks from circulating stored notes bearing Mujib's image.
The central bank says the new designs aim to curb counterfeiting while emphasising national identity through depictions of historic and religious landmarks. The updated banknotes will gradually replace existing notes, though older versions featuring Mujib's portrait as well as current coins will remain legal tender, The Daily Star reported.
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Symbolic changes
The currency redesign is the latest in a series of symbolic changes made under the interim administration.
Similar changes have surfaced in the education sector. The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has revised the content of 441 textbooks for the 2025 academic year, removing or altering references to Mujib's role in Bangladesh's independence. Some new textbooks now credit General Ziaur Rahman with declaring the country's freedom, reversing decades of official narrative. Over 400 million updated textbooks have already been distributed to students nationwide, according to The Daily Star.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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