Marking the 109th founding anniversary of the Bangladesh National Museum in the capital, speakers at a seminar stated that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the visionary behind all the necessary transformations of today’s National Museum from the Dhaka Museum.

“Bangabandhu’s selfless contribution in establishing today’s National Museum was immense. He played a key role in converting the Dhaka Museum into a National Museum and allotted land for the museum space,” said State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid on Sunday at the Poet Sufia Kamal auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum, Shahbagh in the capital.

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Speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled 'Dhaka to National Museum: History of Transformation' on the 109th anniversary of the Bangladesh National Museum, KM Khalid said: “Whenever we go to enact a new law, we get surprised to discover that Bangabandhu has already enacted it during his three-and-a-half-year reign after our Independence in 1971. This shows how wise and far-reaching Bangabandhu was. Our laws only need to be amplified, modified and revised as the times require.”

He mentioned that the National Museum has about 1 lakh artifacts, out of which only 5 percent are being displayed. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has taken steps to modernize the National Museum as per the instructions of the Prime Minister and if the project is implemented, the number of galleries can be increased and more artifacts can be displayed.

Chaired by Bangladesh National Museum Chairman AAMS Arefin Siddique, the seminar was joined by Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur. Jahangirnagar University Archeology Department Professor Mokammel H Bhuiyan presented the keynote paper at the seminar.

Dr Md Anwarul Islam, CEO of WildTeam Bangladesh and former Professor and Chairman of the Zoology Department of Dhaka University also spoke at the event alongside Ujjal Bikash Dutta, council member of Bangladesh National Museum. Director General of Bangladesh National Museum Md Kamruzzaman delivered the welcome speech.

The State Minister and speakers at the seminar also commemorated the roles of Nalini Kanta Bhattasali, the first curator of the museum during 1914–1947 and its former Director General and eminent museologist Dr Enamul Haque who has recently passed away.

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Later, the State Minister inaugurated a special exhibition titled 'Bangabandhu: Muktir Agranayak’ (Bangabandhu: Pioneer of Freedom) at the Nalini Kanta Bhattasali Exhibition Gallery of the museum. The month-long exhibition is showcasing Bangabandhu memorabilia preserved in the National Museum, rare photographs of Bangabandhu's illustrious career and various books written by Bangabandhu.