Chhayanaut: Damaged beyond brick and mortar

Walking through the Chhayanaut building's first floor, the scale of the devastation was impossible to ignore. Burnt piles of furniture, smashed harmoniums, and scorched walls tell a story of rage directed not just at physical spaces but at the ideas and creativity they housed.

The selective targeting of certain cultural icons underscores a worrying trend: attacks on heritage and intellectual freedom as proxies for political expression.

In the early hours of 19 December, Chhayanaut, one of Bangladesh's most prominent cultural institutions, was subjected to a violent attack that left the inside of the building extensively damaged and raised serious concerns about the nation's cultural and social stability.

The incident occurred amid a wave of unrest following the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, and came on the heels of attacks on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Karwan Bazar around Thursday midnight.

Reports said that around 1:30am, an angry crowd vandalised the Chhayanaut premises. From outside, the aftermath was immediately apparent: piles of burnt debris and a scorched bench. Early eyewitness accounts and news reports detailed the destruction of musical instruments, office furniture, and notice boards, all of which were damaged indiscriminately.

"A group of masked individuals brandishing sticks and tube lights reconnoitring the area around 1am. They besieged the Chhayanaut compound soon after," one eyewitness told The Business Standard on condition of anonymity.

By 1pm, access to Chhayanaut was strictly restricted and limited to only law enforcement personnel and Chhayanaut staff. The staff inside were primarily there for damage assessment. A team of 20 armed police members were stationed at the entrance. No other institutions, however, or tea stalls nearby were seen damaged.

Sourodeep, an alumnus associated with Chhayanaut for more than 25 years, reflected on the incident, "I was shocked, but not entirely surprised. We saw how mobs operated before and this is certainly not new," he said. He emphasised that Chhayanaut was not an isolated target. "Other institutions like Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, were attacked. We were, in a way, just waiting for the moment it would happen. And it did."

The attack on Chhayanaut left their classrooms, offices, and the library extensively damaged. Photo: Srejan Ghanta/TBS

He described chillingly deliberate acts: portraits of prominent figures, including Chhayanaut's co-founder, Sanjida Khatun, were damaged, Rabindranath Tagore's image was ripped apart. Entire sections of the library were consumed by fire, leaving irrecoverable losses. "Those cannot be recovered," he said.

Security measures were ramped up in the afternoon. At 2:07pm, Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) forces were deployed in front of Chhayanaut, soon followed by a team from the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) taking positions before the entrance gate. Despite these reinforcements, the damage had already been done, and no official press briefing had been issued at the time, leaving the exact scale of destruction unconfirmed.

Shah Mostafa Tarikuzzaman, senior assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police for Dhanmondi zone, stated, "Chhayanaut authorities are currently assessing the extent of the damage – what has been lost, what remains, and whether anything is missing. They requested our presence during this process. We are treating the situation with maximum caution."

Despite the heightened security, the streets surrounding Chhayanaut remained unusually calm during the day, with normal traffic and a limited number of onlookers. A few such onlookers told TBS that unrest could continue until political tensions surrounding Hadi's assassination are resolved.

One resident, speaking anonymously, suggested that lapses in police vigilance may have contributed to the severity of the incident but did not establish a direct link between the attack in Chhayanaut and Hadi's death. However, he believes that the vandalism appeared politically motivated.

The destruction within Chhayanaut, however, was far-reaching. A former student, requesting anonymity, reported that every floor of the building, including the roof, had been affected. "The library, classrooms, and offices were all targeted; they even broke the basins," he said. "Books were reduced to ashes, and photographs were slashed. Musical instruments, once central to our teaching, were smashed indiscriminately."

The attacks on Chhayanaut mirror nationwide unrest triggered by Hadi's assassination on 12 December. Demonstrations and violent acts ensued in Dhaka and other areas, with mobs targeting institutions they alleged shared some connection with his death. While unverified claims circulated on social media, authorities have urged restraint and emphasised the importance of thorough investigation before attributing responsibility.

Amid the ruins, Chhayanaut's commitment to resilience remains clear. "The institution has faced challenges before, and we have always recovered. This will be no different, but it will take time, and support from the wider community will be crucial," Sourodeep said.

At 3pm, while returning from Chhayanaut, a group of individuals was seen vandalising the already damaged buildings at Dhanmondi 32. A fire was burning on the second floor of the building.

The attack on Chhayanaut carries ramifications that could extend far beyond its immediate vicinity. It signals a volatile intersection of politics, social media-driven misinformation, and targeted violence against cultural institutions. For a city proud of its artistic and intellectual legacy, Thursday night's events serve as both a warning and a call to safeguard spaces of creative expression.

As Chhayanaut begins the painstaking process of damage assessment and cleanup, the wider question remains: how will Bangladesh protect its cultural institutions in a climate where political anger and mob action increasingly intersect