A memorial titled “Gono Minar” has been proposed to feature a 250-year wall mural chronicling the history of mass movements in Bangladesh—from the 1760 Chuar Rebellion to the July Mass Uprising of 2024.
The initiative aims to preserve and showcase the continuity of resistance and people’s struggles that have shaped the nation’s political landscape.
The Gono Minar Implementation Committee announced the plan at a press conference held at 4pm on Thursday at Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen.
The memorial is being conceived as a citizen-led project to commemorate the July Mass Uprising 2024.
Filmmaker and architect Kamar Ahmad Simon read the written statement at the press conference. Dhaka University teachers Mohammad Azam, Khorshed Alam and Samina Luthfa, among others, were present at the press conference.
The written statement explained that the goal of this wall mural is to capture the continuity of various resistance movements, struggles, and mass movements that took place in this region from 1760 to July 2024.
The chronology includes the 1760 Chuar Rebellion, the 1771 Fakir-Sannyasi Revolt, the 1831 Barasat War, the 1855 Santal Resistance, the 1857 Sepoy Revolution, the 1922 Salanga Massacre, the 1948 Tebhaga Movement, the 1950 Tonk Movement and Khapra Ward Massacre, the 1952 Language Movement, the 1971 Great Liberation War, the 1990 Mass Uprising, the 2006 Phulbari-Kansat Movement, the 2013 Shapla-Shahbag movements, and the 2024 Mass Uprising.
The committee further announced that regional historical markers scattered across the country will be researched, documented, and presented in a new format.
Kamar Ahmad Simon told Dhaka Tribune that a dedicated research team will work on documenting all movements that have an impact on the formation of Bangladesh.
"Citizens, regardless of any expertise, will be able to contribute to this plan. This is just the start of this process, in the form of an inclusive and collective citizen movement, where citizens will make the plans and implement them," he said.
The “Gono Minar” will serve as a memorial to various events, including the Language Movement, Liberation War, the 1990 mass uprising, Shahbagh and Shapla Square movements, among others. It will document not just 2024, but two centuries of struggle.
The “Sabuj Chattar” located between Bir Uttam Major General Azizur Rahman Road (the link road adjacent to the old airport) and Bijoy Sarani has been selected as the site for the Gono Minar.
The committee noted that this street also gained symbolic importance during the 2024 movement, and the presence of a metro station will make public access easier.
Regarding project funding, they announced it will be entirely citizen-participation-based, with an initial budget of approximately Tk10 crore set through public donations and individual-institutional support.
The committee said that Dhaka North City Corporation has already agreed to allocate land and provide financial and engineering assistance for construction. A public fundraising program has also been launched to ensure public involvement.
The committee further announced that it will be an open, ticket-free space.
In addition to the wall mural, the project will include information about more than 1,400 martyrs from the July uprising, including their names, professions, birth and death years, and places of death.
