New banknotes were released in Bangladesh with new designs, replacing the portrait of the ousted Prime Minister and the nation’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with natural landscape and traditional landmarks, the country’s central bank said.

Till now, all the banknotes feature the portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to freedom from Pakistan in 1971 until he was assassinated by soldiers in a military coup four years later. Along with the new banknotes, existing notes having Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s portrait and coins will remain in circulation.

“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 news agency AFP.

The new banknotes, released by Bangladesh Bank, will have images of Hindu and Buddhist temples, as well as historic palaces. They will also feature artwork by the late painter Zainul Abedin, depicting the Bengal famine during the British colonial rule.

Another banknote will feature the national martyrs’ memorial for those who died in the independence struggle against Pakistan.

The notes for three of the nine different denominations were released on Sunday. The others will be put into circulation in phases. “The new notes will be issued from the central bank’s headquarters, and later from its other offices across the country,” Khan said.

This is not the first time that the designs of the banknotes have been modified to reflect Bangladesh’s changing politics.

When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headed by Khaleda Zia was in power, the notes featured historic and archaeological sites.

In 1972, the initial notes featured a map after Bangladesh changed its name from East Pakistan after gaining independence.

The later banknotes featured Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who fronted the Awami League, which Sheikh Hasina led during her 15-year-old rule until she fled the country in August last year following a student-led uprising against her. The Muslim-majority country has been run by a caretaker government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since Hasina fled to India.

Earlier today, Bangladeshi prosecutors charged Sheikh Hasina, in her absence, with crimes against humanity for her alleged role in the violent crackdowns during the 2024 student-led uprising. This marked the formal commencement of the trial of the 77-year-old leader.

Last month, the Awami League was banned pending the trial of Hasina and other party leaders.

(with inputs from AFP)

Tune In