![Ramna-racecourse-dacca1875](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Ramna-racecourse-dacca1875.jpg)
Dhaka Gate also known as Mir Jumla's Gate or Ramna Gate is a monument believed to be built by
Mir Jumla II
Mir Jumla II (1591 – 30 March 1663) was a prominent subahdar of Bengal under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Early life
Mir Jumla was born as Mir Mohammad Sayyid Ardistani in Iran in 1591 to a poor oil merchant of Isfahan named Mirza Hazar ...
and enlisted as one of the oldest
Mughal architectures in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. This gate is considered as one of the integral parts of the history of Dhaka.
According to the popular belief during the reign of Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
, Dhaka was getting bigger. Mir Jumla constructed the gate as the north entrance of Dhaka ascertaining the northern border of Dhaka with it.
The gate was once a remarkable Mughal architecture in capital Dhaka and was used to enter in the city after arriving on the bank of
Buriganga River
The Buriganga River ( bn, বুড়িগঙ্গা, ''Buŗigônga'', ) is a river in Bangladesh which flows past the southwest outskirts of the capital city, Dhaka. Its average depth is and its maximum depth is . It ranks among the most p ...
. The gate was probably meant to guard the city from the north from the attacks of
Magh pirates. It was severely damaged and was later rebuilt by magistrate Charles Dawes in 1825 AD.
It is currently in the
University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
campus area near
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 originally intended to be a town hall and is named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who laid its foundation ston ...
and
Shishu Academy
Bangladesh Shishu Academy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ শিশু একাডেমি) is the national academy for children in Bangladesh. It was established in 1976 for promoting cultural development of children, and nurturing their tale ...
. One of its three parts is now in the area of
Centre for Renewable Energy Research and another part stands inside the premises of
Mausoleum of three leaders
The Mausoleum of Three Leaders ( bn, তিন নেতার মাজার, also known as the Suhrawardy Udyan National Memorial), located at Shahbag, Dhaka in Bangladesh, contains the graves of three prominent leaders of Pakistan Movement fro ...
.
Background
Islam Khan was appointed as the
Subahdar
Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...
of
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 ...
by Mughal Emperor
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
in 1606 AD. Islam led a successful campaign against the Baro Bhuiyans and shifted the capital of Bengal to Dhaka and gave it the name Jahangirnagar in 1610 AD. Dhaka emerged as the twelfth largest city of the world in 17th century.
Shah Shuja Shāh Shujā' ( fa, شاه شجاع, meaning: ''brave king'') may refer to the following:
*Shah Shoja Mozaffari, the 14th-century Muzaffarid ruler of Southern Iran
*Shah Shuja (Mughal prince) (1616-1661), the second son of Shah Jahan
*Shah Shujah D ...
, the second son of Mughal Emperor
Shahjahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
, who was appointed as the Subahdar of Bengal province in 1651 AD, shifted the capital of Bengal to
Rajmahal
Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Sin ...
from Dhaka. In 1658 AD Emperor Shahjahan's sons were engaged in a rivalry that resulted in a series of battles. Shah Shuja led a campaign to
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
from Bengal and was defeated by his brother
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
. Aurangzeb sent Mir Jumla II, an expert in naval warfare to deal with Shah Shuja in the Ganges river basin of Bengal.
After Shah Shuja fled to
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
in 1660 AD, Mir Jumla II was appointed as the Subahdar of Bengal by emperor Aurangzeb. Mir Jumla II reestablished Dhaka as the capital of Bengal province. He constructed a number of structures including roads, bridges, culverts and a number of forts to modernise the city.
History
Dhaka gate was among the structures erected by Mir Jumla II in Dhaka according to some popular belief. It was built in
Suhrawardy Udyan
Suhrawardy Udyan ( bn, সোহরাওয়ার্দী উদ্যান) formerly known as Ramna Race Course ground is a national memorial located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is named after Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Originally it serve ...
area which was known as the Bagh-e-Badshahi or the royal garden that time. Bagh-e-Badshahi was a large garden area built by Mughals.
After the reestablishment of Dhaka as the capital of Bengal in 1660 AD, the land area of the new city expanded rapidly. The city was expanded during the period of Mir Jumla II, stretching up to Jafarabad in the west, Postagola in the east and Tongi Bridge in the north.
A residential area was established around the gate that time. It was known as Shujatpur and Chishtia.
During those days, Dhaka was frequently attacked by Magh and Portuguese pirates. It is generally believed that the gate was apparently a border of Dhaka and was built to counter the pirates.
On the other hand, many express their doubt whether the gate was actually built by Mughals or not. Renowned archaeologist
Ahmad Hasan Dani
Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...
examined the gate and opined that the gate we see now was built in European manner and does not match the Mughal architecture. According to Professor
Dani the gate was erected in 1820s, probably on 1825 AD by Charles Dawes.
Professor Ayesha Begum of the University of Dhaka remarked that the original gate built by Mir Jumla II was probably severely damaged and magistrate Charles Dawes who was renovating the
Ramna
Ramna Thana ( bn, রমনা থানা) is a police jurisdiction in central Dhaka. It is a historic colonial neighborhood. Once the site of Mughal gardens, it developed into an institutional area during British rule in the late 19th centu ...
rebuilt the gate as Ramna Gate.
This gate was partly demolished when the British rulers started to build various buildings adjacent to the Suhrawardy Udyan area from 1905. The current one was erected by
Lieutenant General Muhammad Azam Khan, a Martial Law Governor of
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
, which too may have been relocated to its present position while widening the road.
Structure
The Dhaka Gate, yellow in colour, consists of three major parts: two walls and a pillar.
The two walls that shape like a slide has two pillars each that helped it to stand still for 400 years. The pillar, the height of which is about 15 feet, stands between the two walls. In total the gate, once a gateway to enter into the capital Dhaka used by the Mughals, consists of 5 pillars.
The height of the structure varies from 7 to 15 feet. But the design was uniquely made. There is a wide cornice shaped architectural work at the top of every single pillar. The two walls consist of a number of designed square holes in a half circular thickened part at the upper portion of the wall.
The architecture reflects the glory of the 400-year-old capital Dhaka.
Gallery
মীর জুমলা গেট ৮.jpg, Mir Jumla's Gate now (2018). Eastern part.
File:Mir Jumla gate 2.jpg, Middle part situated at the road divider
References
{{coord, 23.7286, N, 90.4000, E, region:BD_type:landmark, display=title
Gates in Dhaka
Monuments and memorials in Dhaka