One year after mass protests forced Sheikh Hasina from power, Bangladesh is transforming the former prime minister’s opulent official residence into a museum a stark reminder of what many now call an era of autocracy and repression.

The Ganabhaban palace in Dhaka, once one of the most heavily guarded compounds in South Asia, now bears graffiti scrawled by protesters during the dramatic uprising that ousted Hasina on August 5, 2024. Slogans like “Freedom,” “We want justice,” and “Killer Hasina” remain untouched on its walls, serving as raw testimony to the anger that swept through the country.

Images of demonstrators waving flags atop the palace roof, just hours after Hasina fled by helicopter to India, became defining symbols of a youth-led revolt that toppled her 15-year rule.

Authorities hope the site will stand as a permanent marker of that moment. “The museum’s deeper purpose is retrospective,” said Tanzim Wahab, curator of the under-construction project. “It will document years of misrule and inspire a future grounded in democratic values.”

The museum will showcase artefacts from the uprising, including personal items of protesters killed during the final months of Hasina’s regime. Film, photography, and interactive displays will offer insights into the resistance and the suffering it sought to end, including cramped detention cells where political opponents were reportedly held in inhumane conditions.

Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 in Hasina’s final, bloody attempt to cling to power, according to the United Nations. The 77-year-old has since refused to appear in court in Dhaka, where she faces charges of crimes against humanity, accusations she has dismissed.

The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, says the museum is part of a broader push to rebuild democratic institutions and encourage political dialogue ahead of elections slated for early 2026.

“Ganabhaban is a symbol of fascism, a monument to a regime that denied basic freedoms,” said Mosfiqur Rahman Johan, a rights activist who joined thousands in storming the palace last year. “But it’s also now a symbol of resistance and the will of the people.”

The site carries historical weight: it was built by Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Bangladesh’s founding president and served as her official residence throughout her long tenure.

But while Ganabhaban is being preserved, many other symbols of the Hasina era have been dismantled. Statues of Mujibur Rahman were toppled, portraits of both leaders burned, and in a dramatic scene, protesters used excavators to demolish Mujib’s former home itself once a museum curated by Hasina in honor of her father.

“When dictatorship falls, its Mecca must fall too,” said 23-year-old student Muhibullah Al Mashnun, who took part in the destruction. “We had to tear down the icons of tyranny to make way for something new.”

Yet challenges remain. Human Rights Watch warns the interim administration is struggling to reform the powerful security sector, confront religious extremism, and manage a fractious political landscape.

“The transitional government seems trapped between old power structures and new political vendettas,” the rights group said in a statement ahead of the revolution’s first anniversary.

Still, Wahab hopes the Ganabhaban museum will offer young Bangladeshis not just a reflection of the past, but a space for future ideas. “We want it to be a platform,” he said, “for discussing democracy, accountability, and how to build a different kind of Bangladesh.”