Burnt library, cultural bridge see no future at Dhanmondi’s IGCC

Looking at its current state, it is now hard to believe that the house was once considered one of the most vibrant cultural hearts of the city, with a library of 30,000 books, yoga, music and dance and art classes for young minds.
Apart from arranging special programmes on the birth or death anniversaries of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam or other luminous figures who connect the literature and cultures of Bangladesh and India, the same place also used to host regular weekly musical programmes where top artistes of the country performed and music enthusiasts enjoyed the performances free of charge.
Now the building, the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhanmondi, covered with a tall tin fence and surrounded by commercial complexes, has faded from view, along with its cultural presence and scholarly ambience.
Local residents, who usually visited the place every Friday to read books and practice yoga and enjoy musical performances or bring their children to learn painting, music or dance, miss its presence badly.
“There were the IGCC along with Alliance Française, Goethe-Institut and the Russian Cultural House in the neighbourhood. But I could connect with the IGCC more due to cultural similarities. It was truly a great place to explore. 
The IGCC officials and staff were welcoming. It hosted the biggest library in the Dhanmondi area. With yoga, music and art classes, it was an academic centre as well,” Hamidur Rahman, a retired banker from Jigatola, told the Daily Sun.
“I used to bring my granddaughter for dance classes and spend time reading books at the rich library. But since the building was gutted, that door of joy has shattered,” he added. A former staff member of the IGCC, wishing not to be named, said some 250 to 300 students used to take part in different classes at the building. The country’s renowned artistes or former Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholars took classes there.
Founded in 2010, the IGCC had established its presence in Dhanmondi as a hub for cultural exchange. That chapter came to an abrupt end on 5 August 2024, when a mob stormed the premises and set the building on fire. Sources said staff members managed to flee through a rear exit, but the centre’s library and collection of traditional musical instruments were destroyed.
No case was filed with Dhanmondi police station over the matter, confirmed Officer-in-Charge (OC) Emdadul Islam.
The centre has since shifted its operations entirely to its Gulshan-2 premises, where it formally resumed activities in September 2024.
The damage left by the August 2024 vandalism at the IGCC Dhanmondi has become a symbol of a cultural bridge left hanging in uncertainty. More than two years on, the question is no longer just what was destroyed, but whether a space built to bring two neighbouring countries closer will ever find a way back to life. The building from which the Dhanmondi IGCC operated was leased by the Bangladesh government. Now, a signboard hung in front of it states, “This building is a government property under the Public Works Department of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. Entry without permission is prohibited.”