In news– Recently, the President of India inaugurated the reconstructed Ramna Kali temple in Ramna, a part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka where the landmark Suhrawardy Udyan (the former Ramna Race Course) is located.
About the Kali temple-
- In the 17th century, Dhaka was a provincial capital of the Mughal Empire, and an important trading centre.
- The history of the area called Ramna (‘lawn’ in Persian) can be traced back to the early 1600s, when it was occupied by high officials of the Mughals.
- After Dhaka passed under British rule in 1858, the “jungle of Ramna” was cleared, and a race course and boulevard were built for the pleasure of the Raj elite.
- The Kali temple in the area is believed to have been built during the Mughal period by a Hindu sect.
- It is said that it was built by a certain Haricharan Giri who was a mahant in the temple.
- However, it is the second oldest Hindu temple in Bangladesh, the Dhakeshwari Temple being the oldest.
- The architectural design of the temple changed over the centuries in which it stood.
- The temple has a tall shikhara (tower).
- The design of the temple is documented in pictures taken at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s address of 7 March 1971.
- In 1929, the temple complex acquired an additional building for the devotees of the famous saint Anandamayee, who later became Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s spiritual advisor.
- Anandamayi was popularly addressed as “Shahbag-er ma”, or the Mother of Shahbag.
- The temple was destroyed by Pakistani forces during their Operation Searchlight in March 1971.
- A reconstruction of the complex was announced in 2017, when then External Affairs Minister, the late Sushma Swaraj, inaugurated 15 development projects in Baridhara, Dhaka.
Source: The Indian Express
