Bangladesh has started issuing new banknotes removing images of its founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, nearly a year after the South Asian country witnessed a massive uprising.
Hasina is on trial in absentia on charges of orchestrating crimes against humanity.
The country’s currency is Taka with one U.S. dollar equal to 121.70 Taka.
The caretaker government Dhaka, which has been running the nation of some 170 million people since Hasina fled last year, introduced currency changes as it navigates a volatile political landscape.
Hasina, 77, was overthrown in August 2024 following a student-led uprising.
The current government is working under the supervision of Nobel laureate economist Dr. Muhammad Younas, who pioneered microfinance banking.
“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 said.
Until now, all notes featured the portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971 and was assassinated in a 1975 coup.
The new currency designs for the Muslim-majority nation include images of Hindu and Buddhist temples, historical palaces, artwork by the late painter Zainul Abedin depicting the Bengal famine, and the national martyrs’ memorial.
The Bank rolled out three of the nine denominations on Sunday.
“The new notes will be issued from the central bank’s headquarters, and later from its other offices across the country,” Khan added.
According to him, other denominations of the notes with new designs will be released in phases, thought the existing notes and coins will remain legal tender
This is not the first time banknote designs have reflected political shifts in Banglad
In 1972, the first notes featured a map, which was later replaced with an image of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s during periods led by his Awami League party. When the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power, the currency had historic sites featured on them
