Kartalab Khan Mosque
Kartalab Khan Mosque or Begum Bazar Mosque, in the Begum Bazar area in old Dhaka, was built by Nawab Diwan Murshid Quli Khan in 1701–04. It is beside the modern jail of the city; the mosque consists of a high valuated platform, a mosque with a'dochala' annex on the north upon the western half of the platform and a'baoli' to the east of the platform. Unlike the three-domed mosques at Lalbagh Fort and the Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque, it is roofed by five bulbous domes resting on octagonal drums; the whole mosque was once reconstructed by the Jamider of Mirza Golam Pir. In accordance with Murshid Quli Khan's wishes, he was buried under the entrance to this mosque. Kartalab Khan was appointed as Diwan of Bengal by Emperor Aurangazeb, when Azim-ush-Shan was Viceroy, his original name was Murshid Quli Khan but he earned the title of Kartalab Khan from Emperor Aurangazwb for his efficiency in Revenue Administration. After coming to Bengal he erected a mosque at Dhaka, known after his name. Murshid Khuli Khan transferred the headquarters of the revenue administration from Dhaka to Mukshusabad renamed Murshidabad in the year A.
D. 1704. The mosque is undoubtedly one of the most impressive Mughal structures of Dhaka, having been built on a high platform called'tahkhana'. Underneath the platform there is a series of rectangular rooms. A kitchen market was built to meet the expenses of the mosque. In 1777, the control of the market was taken over by Begum daughter of the Naib-e-Nazim Sharfaraz Khan; the name of the locality ‘Begumbazar’ and the masjid originate from her name. The'Baoli', the only known example of its kind in Bengal, is considered to be of North Indian or Deccan origin, the latter possibility being more since its builder had been in Deccen before coming to Dhaka; the mosque proper and the do-chala annex occupy the western half of the vaulted terrace. The remaining part of the terrace was kept open but is now covered with a masonry verandah; the mosque proper, inclusive of its corner towers, measures 28.65×8.23 m and is entered from the east through five arched doorways — each opens out under a half-dome and is flanked by slender octagonal turrets which rise above the parapets.
There is one doorway in the middle of each of the south walls. The western wall is internally recessed with five semi-octagonal mihrabs, all showing outward projections with bordering turrets. There is a three-stepped masonry pulpit beside the central mihrab; the interior of the mosque, forming a large elongated hall, is divided into five bays by four transverse arches of plain four-centred design. The central bay is square and bigger than a couple of smaller rectangular ones on either side. All the bays are crowned with lotus and kalasa finials; the device adopted for the support of the domes is the same as in the Lalbagh Fort mosque and the Satgumbad Mosque. The four octagonal corner towers, all rising above the horizontal parapets and having kalasa bases, are topped by renovated solid kiosks with cupolas and crowned with lotus and kalasa finials; each of these towers is flanked to right and left by a slender turret, which rises above the parapet and ends in a small cupola and kalasa finial.
The rectangular annex of the mosque in the north is covered with a Bengali type of do-chala hut roof, the eaves of which have pronounced curves and are drooping. The annex has two doorways — one in the centre of the east wall, now renovated, the other in the middle of the south side, it is through this latter opening that the mosque are interconnected. A window has been put in in the northern wall of the annex. Internally the four walls of the room are marked with rectangular and square deep niches devised as shelves; the curved ridge is exterior crowned with five kalasa finials at intervals. This annex was thought to be a tomb, but it was meant for the Imam's accommodation since it is still used for that purpose. In decorating the building greater emphasis was given to architectural elements, such as flanking ornamental turrets of the doorway and mihrab projections, kiosks and lotus and kalasa finials; the doorways and the mihrabs are framed, with crowning rows of merlons. The parapets and octagonal drums are enriched with merlon motifs.
The inside of the domes have basal leaf ornamentation, while there are large medallions containing a rosette motif in the centre. The half-domed vault of the central archway is ornamented with muqarnas work in stucco, now in a crude form. Save these, the building is covered with plain plaster, a distinguishing feature of Mughal architecture in Bengal. The'baoli' of this mosque, which appears to be a monument by itself, deserves special mention, it is the only one of its kind in Bengal. As stated by Dani, The mosque proper shows a departure from the earlier buildings; the older features of the three-domed mosque are here repeated and multiplied so as to make a five-domed mosque. The facade shows five entrance, each separated from the other by slender minaret rising high above the battlemented parapet; the corner towers have their kiosks shooting above. Mamoon, Muntasir.. Dhaka-Smriti Bismritir Nogori. Dhaka: Anannya. Rahman, The city of an architect Ahmed, Nazimuddin. 1984. Discover the monuments of Bangladesh.
Dhaka: University Press Limited, 179. MA Bari, Kartalab Khan Mosque in Banglapedia
Baitul Mukarram National Mosque
Baitul Mukarram spelled as Baytul Mukarrom is the National Mosque of Bangladesh. Located at the center of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, the mosque was completed in 1968; the mosque has a capacity of 30,000, making it the 10th biggest mosque in the world. However, the mosque suffers from constant overcrowding during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan; as a result, the Bangladeshi government have added extensions to the mosque, increasing its capacity to at least 40,000. The mosque has several modern architectural features whilst at the same time it preserves the traditional principles of Mughal architecture which has for some time been dominant in the Indian sub-continent. Baitul Mukarram's large cube shape was modeled to that of the Ka'abah at Mecca making it a noticeable structure being unlike any other mosque in Bangladesh; the mosque is on a high platform. The Baitul Mukarram National Mosque's building is eight storied and 99 feet high from the ground level. According to the original plan, the main entrance of the mosque was to be on the eastern side.
The ` shaan' on the east is 29,000 square feet with ablution space on its north sides. Ablution or Wu' du Place cached an important part; the absence of a dome on the main building is compensated by the two superficial domed entrance porticoes, one on the south, the other on the north. The height of these porticoes consists of three rabbit's foot shaped arches, the middle of, bigger than the rest. Two patios ensure that enough light and air enter the prayer hall of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque; the mehrab of the hall is rectangular instead of semi-circular. Excessive ornamentation is avoided throughout the mosque, since minimizing ornamentation is typical of modern architecture; the garden is laid out in a style borrowed from Mughal gardens, however unlike the traditional Mughal gardens which represent the Islamic Heaven, the garden does not have the Char-Bagh system most due to not having enough room for such a garden. The future of this garden is unknown, if the Bangladeshi government extends the mosque, it will most have to remove the garden.
The mosque complex was designed by Abdulhusein M. Thariani. In 1959, owner of Bawany Jute Mills, Haji Abdul Latif Bawany proposed to Major General Omrao Khan military administrator of East Pakistan, of building a grande mosque in Dhaka. Omrao Khan agreed to help on building such mosque. Same year,'Baitul Mukarram mosque committee' had been established and 8.30 acre of land between new Dhaka and old Dhaka had been chosen. At that time, there was a large pond in present mosque's location, it was known as'Paltan pond. The pond was filled up and on 27 January 1960 president of Pakistan Ayub Khan commenced the work. Pray for first time took place on Friday, 25 January 1963; the plan included shops, offices and parking areas within the complex. Though there has been a tradition of dome mosque for Muslim, this building did not maintain the rule of traditional mosque in that time. A Mosque without a dome over the roof of its main prayer hall must have been a unique experiment; the mosque was built. In 2008 the mosque was extended, financed by a donation from the Saudi government.
Islamic Foundation Bangladesh Timeline of Islamic history Islamic architecture Islamic art List of mosques Islam in Bangladesh Architecture of Bangladesh Haqqani Anjuman Baitul Mukarram the National Mosque of Bangladesh Baitul Mukarram National Mosque
Jatiya Sangsad
The Jatiya Sangsad referred to as the Sangsad or JS and known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved for women, which are apportioned on elected party position in the parliament. Elected occupants are called members of parliament or MP; the 11th National Parliamentary Election was held on 30 December 2018. Elections are held every five years; the leader of the party holding the majority of seats becomes the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the head of the government. The President of Bangladesh, the ceremonial head of state, is chosen by Parliament. Since the December 2008 national election, the current majority party is the Bangladesh Awami League, it is led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Constitution of Bangladesh designates the official name of the legislature Jatiya Sangsad in Bengali and House of the Nation in English; the term Sangsad, a Bengali word for "The Parliament", is derives from the Sanskrit word Sansad.
The Bengali word Jatiya means National, the name Jatiya Sangsad translates to National Parliament. The legislature is known as Parliament and referred to as the Sangsad or JS; the term "Member of Parliament" refers to both the 300 elected members and the 50 nominated women members of the Sangsad. The title is always shortened to the initialism "MP" and referred to as the Sānsada in Bengali. Members of Parliament are entitled to use the prefix "The Honourable"; the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was established in 10 April 1972 after the Bangladesh Liberation War to prepare a democratic constitution and served as its first Parliament as an independent nation. The Assembly approved the Constitution on 4 November 1972, it took effect on 16 December and the Constituent Assembly became the Provisional Parliament of Bangladesh until the first elections under the new Constitution took place in 1973; until 10 July 1981 the Constituent Assembly, the first and second Parliament held their sittings in the building that now houses the Prime Minister's Office and, referred as the old Sangsad Bhaban.
The opening ceremony of the present Parliament House was performed on 15 February 1982. The last session of the second Parliament was held in the new house on 15 February 1982; the maximum strength of the Parliament envisaged by the Constitution of Bangladesh is 350, made up by election of up to 300 members to represent 300 parliamentary constituencies and 50 seats reserved for women, which are apportioned on elected party position in the parliament. The electoral districts are referred to as "Nirbācanī ēlākā" in Bengali, which can be translated to English as "electoral area" though the official English translation for the term is "constituency"; the term "Nirbācanī ēlākā" is used while referring to an electoral district in general. The constituencies are arranged as to coincide with the administrative Districts of Bangladesh, distributed among the proportion to their population. Number may various from 2-20 member every districts; the seats are indicated as Districts.xxx. When referring to a particular legislatorial constituency, it is referred to as the name of the Constituency with, in Bengali.
Each constituency is represented by a single member of Parliament, is elected by the first-past-the-post system. Article 66 of the Constitution makes membership open to any citizen of Bangladesh and only to citizens above the age of 25. Members are elected by direct polls in their respective constituencies. Whoever wins the most votes, regardless of turnout or proportion, wins the election. Members are elected for a term of 5 years. Members can be re-elected indefinitely, they may affiliated with a political party. Members must not have served time in prison for more than 2 years to be eligible, unless they served this period five years prior to the elections. Article 67 states that members absent without leave for 90 consecutive sitting days will lose their membership. Any ambiguity regarding membership will be resolved by the Bangladesh Election Commission. Attending sessions without being a member is fined by a BDT1,000 fine per day, per Article 69. Article 70 of the Constitution makes floor crossing illegal.
Members engaging in floor crossing lose their membership. Floor crossing is described in the Constitution as: Resignation from the political party that nominated the member, Voting against the nominating party, or Abstaining from voting, either by abstention or absence, against the directive of the party Whip; the only case of floor crossing in Bangladesh was when majority members M. A. Mannan and Mahi B. Chowdhury defected from the Bangladesh National Party to form a new party, Bikolpo Dhara. Fresh by-elections were held soon. Mahi B. Chowdhury retained his seat under the new party; as most candidates are elected by the funding and brand name of the party, resignation from the party is considered to void the choice of the people. The prime objective of banning floor crossing is to prevent members from joining other parties for personal gains; this is c
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar is a neighborhood and one of the thana of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is known as second capital, home to the National Parliament, official residence of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Ganabhaban; the area has been named after A. K. Fazlul Huq, a renowned statesman and one of the most prominent political figures of Bangladesh, popularly known as "Sher-e-Bangla"; the thana was formed in 2009 from parts of Tejgaon and Mohammadpur thanas. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar is a busy commercial and central neighborhood in the city and home to many offices of government and public institutions, educational institutions and financial institutions and shops; the history of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar can be traced back to before the independence of Bangladesh. Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Louis I. Kahn's capítol complex in Dhaka, had good objectives; those objectives stated, were to make a significant impact locally and internationally and to represent the strong presence of the central government of what was Pakistan.
Seven miles from the city center, the project consisted of the National Assembly building and three hostels. One hostel was for ministers, one for secretaries, one for the delegates to the National Assembly; the assembly and hostels were grouped together and called the "Citadel of the Assembly." An early version shows some civic functions, called by the architect the "Citadel of the Institutions," grouped opposite the assembly. None of its constituents was built and, in 1971, it was replaced by the National Secretariat of Bangladesh. After 1975, the nation became more stable, the project was revived; the capítol complex was again seen as a symbol. The Ministry of Defense and Election Commission of Bangladesh are in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. Furthermore, Asian Development Bank Bangladesh Resident Mission is across from the Local Government Engineering Department. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar houses the Department of Immigration and Passports, an attached department under the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
The National Parliament is located here, one of the country's prominent aesthetic architectural structures designed by American architect Louis I. Kahn. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and Sher-e-Bangla nagar Telephone Exchange Dhaka are here as well. Islamic Development Bank Bangladesh branch is right beside BCS Computer City. Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Center, the predominant international convention center in Bangladesh isin Sher-e-Bangla Nagar; the largest conference center of Bangladesh, China-Bangladesh Friendship Center was built here in 2002 at a cost of about £35m. One of the country's best agricultural universities, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, is located here. Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College is near the Ministry of Defense; some well-known schools like Gonobhaban Government High School, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys' High School are here
Dhaka District
Dhaka District is a district in central Bangladesh, is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, rests on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River which flows from the Turag to the south of the district. While Dhaka occupies only about a fifth of the area of Dhaka district, it is the economic and cultural centre of the district and the country as a whole. Dhaka District is an administrative entity, like many other cities, it does not cover the modern conurbation, Greater Dhaka, which has spilled into neighbouring districts, nor does the conurbation cover the whole district, as there are rural areas within the district; the administrative Dhaka District was first established in 1772. But, the existence of urbanised settlements in the area, now Dhaka city – dates from the 7th century; the present day Savar was the capital of the Sanbagh Kingdom during eighth century. The city area of Dhaka was ruled by the Buddhist kingdom of Kamarupa and the Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 9th century.
Many believe that the name of the city was derived after the establishment of the Goddess Dhakeshwari's temple by Ballal Sena in the 12th century. Dhaka and its surrounding area was identified as Bengalla around that period; the town itself consisted of a few market centres like Lakshmi Bazar, Shankhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar, Kumartuli, Bania Nagar and Goal Nagar. After the Sena dynasty, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkish and Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate before the arrival of the Mughals in 1608; the development of townships and a significant growth in population came as the city was proclaimed the capital of Bengal under Mughal rule in 1608. During Mughal rule the areas under Dhaka district was famous for its textile products – the Muslin. Mughal subahdar Islam Khan was the first administrator of the city. Khan named the town "Jahangir Nagar" in honour of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, although this name was dropped soon after Jahangir's death; the main expansion of the city took place under Mughal general Shaista Khan.
The city measured 19 by 13 kilometres, with a population of nearly a million people. The city passed to the control of the British East India Company in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and to the Crown, British Empire, in 1765 at the Battle of Buxar; the city's population shrank during this period as the prominence of Kolkata rose, but substantive development and modernisation followed. A modern civic water supply system was introduced in 1874 and electricity supply launched in 1878; the Dhaka Cantonment was established near the city, serving as a base for British and Indian soldiers. During the abortive Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka was declared to be the capital of the newly established state of Eastern Bengal and Assam, but Bengal was reunited in 1911; the rural areas under present Dhaka district Dohar Upazila were used for the production of indigo. Following the partition of Bengal in appending the partition of British India in 1947, Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal as a part of the new Muslim state of Pakistan, while western part of Bengal with a majority Hindu population had become a part of the new and independent India, designated as West Bengal with Calcutta as state capital.
Calcutta witnessed communal violence. A large proportion of the city's Hindu population departed for India, while the city received hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from Calcutta, India; the city's population rose in a short period of time, which created severe shortages and infrastructural problems. As the centre of regional politics, Dhaka saw an increasing number of political strikes and incidents of violence; the adoption of Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan led to protest marches involving large crowds. Known as the language movement of 1952, the protests resulted in police firing which killed students who were demonstrating peacefully. Throughout the 1950s and'60s, Dhaka remained a hotbed of political activity, the demands for autonomy for the Bengali population gained momentum; the 1970 Bhola cyclone devastated much of the region. More than half the city of Dhaka was flooded and millions of people marooned. With public anger growing against ethnic discrimination and poor cyclone relief efforts from the central government, Bengali politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman held a nationalist rally on 7 March 1971 at the Race Course Ground.
An estimated one million people attended the gathering, leading to Ziaur Rahman's 26 March declaration of Bangladesh's independence. In response, the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight, which led to the arrests and killing of hundreds of thousands of people Hindus and Bengali intellectuals. During the Bangladesh Liberation War the Pakistan army arrested and killed fourteen Muktijoddhas from Dhamrai Bazar. A mass grave created during the war still exists in the western side of Kalampur Bazar; the Pak army burnt down many houses in Konakhola, Brahmankirtha and Khagail Kholamora villages of Keraniganj Upazila. The fall of Dhaka city to the allied forces led by Jagjit Singh Aurora on 16 December marked the surrender of Pakistan army; the post-independence period has seen a rapid and massive growth of the city population, attracting migrant workers from rural areas across Bangladesh. A real estate boom has followed the expansion of city limits and the development of new settlements such as Gulshan and Motijheel.
The population of the div
Liberation War Museum
The Liberation War Museum is a museum in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, the capital of Bangladesh, which commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War that led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan. The Liberation War Museum began under the intuitive of an eight person board of trustees as a means of preserving the memory of the 1971 Liberation War; the trustees sought donations from the general public to fund the museum and for the general public to come forward with artifacts to be displayed in the museum - both of which were met with a successful level of response. The museum was opened on 22 March 1996 in an colonial-era two-storied building at 5 Segunbagicha, Dhaka; the museum collected many original artifacts from the war, including personal belongings and human remains, as well as creating an archive of documents and personal histories related to the war. Over the years the museum collected more than 21,000 artifacts, with some as exhibits on display in the museum and many more stored in its archives.
The museum describes itself as "the outcome of a citizen’s effort" due to the crowd-funded nature of the museum and the collective contribution of the general public to the museum's collection. Due to a lack of space it was only possible to display a fraction of the collected artifacts at the original premises, so it was decided that a bigger, more modern premises was required. In 2009, an architectural contest was held for the new design of the museum, with architects Tanzim Hasan Salim and Naheed Farzana winning the first prize for their designs. In 2013 land was acquired in Agargaon for the new building and construction began; the new premises of the Liberation War Museum was opened on 16 April 2017. The new building provided much more space with 3500 square meters of gallery space. Note: These paragraphs relate to the galleries of the older premises; the galleries begin with coverage of the early history of Bangladesh and the Indian independence movement against British Raj in Bengal. A major section records the events of the Language Movement for the recognition of the Bengali language in Pakistan, regarded as the beginning of the movement for Bangladesh's independence.
Several galleries highlight the building sectional conflict between West Pakistan and Bangladesh, the rise of Bengali nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the events of 1971, when the postponement by Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Yahya Khan of the convening of the National Assembly of Pakistan, in which Sheikh Mujib's Awami League had won a majority, led to the call for the independence of Bangladesh; the coverage of the liberation war includes the training and operations of the Mukti Bahini, the guerrilla army built by the Awami League to resist Pakistani forces. Several galleries focus on the genocide carried out by the Pakistani army against the Bengali population, with Operation Searchlight targeting Bengali intellectuals, students and Awami League leaders, the humanitarian crisis created with the pouring of an estimated ten million refugees into neighbouring India; the coverage of the war continues to India's support for the Mukti Bahini and its subsequent direct intervention with the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the surrender of all Pakistani forces in Bangladesh on 16 December 1971.
The galleries display the weapons used by the Mukti Bahini, personal effects of many Mukti Bahini fighters and civilian victims of the atrocities committed by Pakistani forces, many donated by their families after the conflict. Displayed are remains of human skulls and bones retrieved from mass graves of civilians killed by Pakistani forces; the museum is involved in a number of reachout programs. These includes programs working with schools to educate the youth about the Liberation War as well as regular conferences and seminars within the museum premises. In 2006 the museum was fitted with modern audiovisual and exhibition equipment as a donation from the Japanese government to help preserve the culture and heritage of Bangladesh's independence movement; the museum is an institutional member of the American Alliance of Museums. It is a founder member of the International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience; the eight person board of trustees of the museum include: Aly Zaker, Asaduzzaman Noor, Sara Zaker, Dr. Sarwar Ali, Mofidul Hoque, Ziauddin Tariq Ali, Rabiul Hussain and H. Akku Chowdhury.
Muktijuddho e-Archive, a Digital Library, working to'preserve and publicly distribute' the historical documents regarding the Liberation War of Bangladesh and Genocide of Innocent Bengali People in 1971
Curzon Hall
The Curzon Hall is a British Raj-era building and home of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Dhaka. The building was intended to be a town hall and is named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who laid its foundation stone in 1904. Upon the establishment of Dacca University in 1921, it became the base of the university's science faculty. During the Bengali Language Movement, 1948–1956, Curzon Hall was the location of various significant events. After the Partition of India in 1947 that formed the country of Pakistan, Urdu was chosen to be the sole state language. In 1948, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan chose Urdu and English as the only languages to be used to address the assembly, protested within the assembly on the grounds that the majority of the people spoke Bangla and not Urdu. Students of Dhaka University objected to the actions of the Constituent Assembly, it was in Curzon Hall that they declared their opposition to the state language policy; the Botanical Garden of the university is located on the premises of Curzon Hall, is used by students and faculty for teaching botany and for scientific studies with plants
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