“Swadhinata Stambha”, the independence monument, in memory of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country between 1948 and 1971, has been constructed in
‘Suhrawardy Uddyan’. The project began in February 1997 as
‘Bijoy Stambha’ involving Tk 76 crore and it included an open stage with a capacity of 2,000 people, mural work depicting historical events from 1947 to 1971, liberation war museum, 157-seat underground audio visual auditorium, and an artificial water body with fountain and plaza.
Suhrawardy Uddyan, formerly known as
Ramna Race Course ground of the Colonial era occupies the central part of
Ramna. History of
“Ramna” dates back to
1610 AD, when Mughal
Subehdar Islam Khan Chistia founded
Dhaka as the
Capital of Subeh Bengal and developed Ramna for the place for
'nobles and Amirs'. They created many gardens there as thus the place was referred as
Bagh-e-Badshahi also
Muhallah Sujatpur. But the name
‘Ramna’ chosen by them stood the test of time.
The causes why and how this elegant lush green area lost all its glory and turned into filthy jungles with abode for wild animals in later centuries, after power changed hands, are still unknown. Although
Dhaka was founded as capital much before
Kolkata and many other Indian cities, very little of its past and historical records are available.
During
Company Rule in
1825, British Collector Mr. Dowes, a workaholic person, cleared a large area of the jungles from Ramna
area to bring back its lost glory engaging the jail convicts.
Magistrate Waltears recorded
595 structures in Muhallah Shujatpur of which
53 were masonry.
After intense drive and clearing of jungles for several months, Dowes demolished the ruins, tombs and monuments that stood there, except the
Greek tomb structure (now inside TSC),
Kali Mandir on the south and
Mosque of Haji Khwaja Shahbaz Khan that stands by the western side of
Old High Court building behind ‘
Tin Netar Mausoleum’. Finally a big oval shaped area was recovered and its periphery was protected by wooden fence for
horse racing and other games. Further north west, he built a huge
earthen mound with a structure on top for his retreat. It became a place for promenade for the Europeans living in the city. The mound is still present inside the
National Children’s Park. Dowes also built a road for access from the town.
After
Dowes' departure, the area was once again neglected and herbs and shrubs grew everywhere in abundance. Horse racing stopped. Around
1840 and onwards, the
Zamindars and newly rich of Dhaka began acquiring large tract of land on the north for making
'Bangan bari' (pleasure houses). The
Maharaja of Bardwan built a mansion
Bardwan House (
CM's house in 1948, now Bangla Academy) on the west fringe of Race course.
Nawab Abdul Ghani acquired land in
Shahbagh and Paribagh, took lease of race course from the British to patronize horse racing which became very popular. A club was built (
Gymkhana club) on the north edge which was opened in
1911 by
Lord Lanslott, the club was out of bounds to the non-whites. This is now ‘
Dhaka Club’.
Ramna became the focal point for growth of town when Dhaka became the capital of the newly created
province of East Bengal and Assam in 1905. Mansions for Governor, Ministers and institutions were built in that area.
Ramna Race Course ground witnessed many important events of the history. After partition of
1947, the first ever public meeting of
Md. Ali Jinnah was held here on 23rd March 1948. The civic reception to
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1969 and his historical public meeting of
7th March 1971 were held here. It became the setting for the surrender of Pakistan Army on
16 December 1971.
