Bangladesh: Yunus govt's 'Mujibur note' ban decision draws dismay, anger

Bangladesh’s central bank has reportedly suffered significant financial losses after the interim government decided not to issue previously printed banknotes bearing the image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, The Times of India reported.

Banknotes worth Taka 15,000 crore featuring Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s image remain unused. This decision is widely seen as part of the government’s effort to reduce Bangabandhu’s presence in public memory, following the collapse of his daughter Sheikh Hasina’s regime after massive student-led protests and widespread unrest across the country.

While bank officials have made no public statements, several sources speaking anonymously to The Times of India said that the long-standing practice of commercial banks receiving new currency notes from Bangladesh Bank has been abruptly halted, triggering a cash crisis in the market. They added that the newly printed notes are lying unused while customers struggle to manage with old and damaged ones.

“Notes of various denominations are printed using paper and ink funded by taxpayers. Millions of notes bearing Bangabandhu’s image are still lying in the vaults of various banks. The Security Printing Corporation does not have the capacity to cancel all of these at once and print replacements. Therefore, notes featuring Bangabandhu’s image cannot simply be discarded overnight,” said Ziauddin Ahmed, former Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank and former Managing Director of the Security Printing Corporation.

“When new designs are introduced into circulation, older ones should be phased out gradually. Typically, banknotes remain in use for up to four to five years,” he added.

Given the circumstances, he suggested that the already printed notes be released into circulation to alleviate public inconvenience.

According to media reports, Bangladesh Bank is struggling to meet the growing demand for fresh currency. The crisis became visible following the political upheaval in August last year.

Since all forms of currency, including coins, feature Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s image, the central bank abruptly ceased issuing new notes in early April. As a result, notes bearing Bangabandhu’s image are not reaching the public, leaving shops, banks, and citizens reliant on torn and outdated currency.

Sources at Bangladesh Bank told The Times of India that the Security Printing Corporation is set to begin printing newly designed notes next month. In the first phase, notes in denominations of 20, 50, and 1,000 taka will be printed and distributed through banks.

Following Hasina’s ousting, the Yunus-led government is undertaking measures which many experts see as an attempt to diminish Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s legacy.

Protesters have destroyed statues and murals of Mujibur Rahman, including the toppling of a prominent statue in Dhaka, symbolising a rejection of the former regime’s cult of personality.

His ancestral home was also destroyed by protesters—a site that had come to symbolise Dhaka’s resistance against Pakistan and the atrocities committed during the 1971 Liberation War.