Building July Museum was ‘like a war,’ says Farooqui

Former cultural affairs adviser Mustafa Sarwar Farooki has described the construction of the July Museum as “like a war,” saying the project was completed from scratch within a year despite major challenges.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, Farooki said building the museum was one of the most demanding tasks undertaken by the ministry, requiring relentless effort from everyone involved.

He thanked the architects, ministry officials and project team for working day and night to complete the museum, giving special mention to architects Tanjim Wahab and Marina Tabassum, as well as ministry secretary Mofidur Rahman.

Farooki said the government had initially considered hiring international consultants but decided to complete the project using local expertise to save both time and cost.

He added that early visitors had responded emotionally to the museum and claimed it had received favourable attention from several international newspapers.

Describing the museum as a “work in progress,” Farooki said more documents, exhibits and documentaries would be added over time. He said the long-term goal is to develop it into a centre for research, preservation and exhibitions on the July Movement as well as Bangladesh’s political, historical and cultural heritage.

He also thanked Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for initiating the project and acknowledged the support of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.