Baker Hostel is a government hostel located in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, India. The hostel was founded in 1910 during the rule of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Edward Norman Baker Sir Edward Norman Baker, KCSI (23 March 1857 – 28 March 1913) s:Dictionary of Indian Biography/Baker, Edward Norman was a British colonial officer who became Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The son of Arthur Baker, he was educated at Christ's C ...

, the then

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. The hostel is located at 8 Smith Lane in

Taltala Taltala (also spelt Taltola, archaic spelling Taltollah) is a neighbourhood in Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station on its own name. ...

. It is reserved for muslim male students of

Maulana Azad College Maulana Azad College, formerly Islamia College, is a public institute of liberal arts, commerce and science in India, located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college is fully government-administered. It is located near the junction of ...

History

Due to the unhygienic environment and inadequate housing system around the Taylor hostel built in 1896 for Muslim students in Kolkata, the students started a movement for the construction of a new hostel. Nawab Abdul Jabbar initiated the movement in 1908.

Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah (27 December 1873 – 9 February 1965) was an educator, litterateur, Islamic theologist and social reformer of pre-partition India. He was instrumental in the formation of the University of Dhaka and is the namesake of A ...

A. K. Fazlul Huq Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq ( bn, আবুল কাশেম ফজলুল হক, ur, ; 26October 1873 — 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla (''Lion of Bengal''), was a British Indian and Pakistani lawyer and writer who present ...

played a major role in establishing the hostel. As a result, government built this hostel.

Museum

Two rooms of this hostel (no. 23 and 24) were converted into a museum in honor of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...

(Bangabandhu), the founding father and the first

president of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

. The museum was inaugurated on 31 July 1998. On 23 February 2011, a bust of Mujib was installed in the hostel. In 2017, the All Bengal Minority Youth Federation criticized the decision and demanded that the bust of Bangabandhu be removed from the hostel as

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

does not allow the installation of idols in the building. The organization's general secretary Kamruzzaman found this act objectionable because a mosque is located inside the hostel. The organization sent letters to

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

, the chief minister of West Bengal and Sheikh Hasina, the

prime minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...

, regarding the matter. In March, the month before Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, the central government of India had directed the

West Bengal government The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

to take action against the organization and its supporters, who it termed as anti-Hasina extremist groups. However, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister

Md. Tajul Islam Md. Tajul Islam (born 30 June 1955) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Member of Parliament from Comilla-9. In January 2019, he was appointed as the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. Early life Islam was ...

visited the museum in March 2019 and found defects in the bust, which was replaced by a new bust on August 3. Room No. 24 of the museum is known as Bangabandhu Memorial Room. Bangabandhu's bust is located in front of the door of the room. Inside the room are his used bed, table and chair. There is a small library where the books written by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are arranged. On the table is a photograph of him giving his 7 March Speech. Entry to the museum is limited and it is managed by the hostel authority.

Notable alumni

Azizul Haque Azizul Haque, ( ar , عزيز الحق ) meaning "strong in the truth", is a male Muslim given name. Notable bearers of the name include: *Qazi Azizul Haque (1872–1935), also Khan Bahadur Qazi Azizul Huq, Quazi Syed Azizul Haque, police officer a ...

Hamidul Huq Choudhury Hamidul Huq Chowdhury ( bn, হামিদুল হক চৌধুরী) ( ur, حمید الحق چودھری) (1901–1992) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the founder of ''The Pakistan Observer'', an English-language newspaper which c ...

Khaleque Nawaz Khan Khaleque Nawaz Khan (26 March 1926 – 2 October 1971) was a Bangladeshi language activist, politician and lawyer belonging to Awami League. He was a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was conferred with Ekushey Padak posthumously ...

* Khalilur Rahman *

* Syed Hedayetullah * Syed Murtaza Ali

References

External links

Baker Hostel
at

{{Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Halls of residence in Kolkata Museums in Kolkata Museums established in 1998 1910 establishments in India Sheikh Mujibur Rahman