The July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum Act, 2026, has been enacted to protect the historical artefacts and memorabilia of the July Mass Uprising. Under this law, any person causing damage to any immovable artefact of the museum will be punishable with up to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Taka 10 lakh, or both.
Enacted on April 10, 2026, the law aims to establish and operate the museum, which is dedicated to preserving, researching, and displaying the history, artefacts, and documents relating to the July-August 2024 mass uprising and the anti-autocracy movement. The museum was inaugurated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on August 5 and opened to the public the following day.
Section 4 of the Act specifies that the museum's head office will be located at Ganabhaban in Dhaka. The museum is also authorized to declare, preserve, and maintain secret detention centres where crimes against humanity were committed during the rule of the fascist government from January 1, 2009, to August 5, 2024.
Section 5 outlines the museum's functions, which include searching for, collecting, preserving, researching, and displaying historical artefacts and memorabilia related to the July Mass Uprising, the fall of the fascist government, the history of East Bengal, the Language Movement, the struggle for independence, the 1971 Liberation War, and other anti-democratic and anti-human rights activities.
The Act also provides for the exchange of artefacts with other museums, inspection of places where artefacts may be held, and the imposition of penalties for various offences, including the destruction or damage of movable artefacts and unauthorized engraving on collected artefacts.
