Baker Hostel
| Baker Government Hostel | |
|---|---|
বেকার সরকারি হোস্টেল | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Active |
| Address | 8 Smith Lane,Taltala,Kolkata,West Bengal,India |
| Coordinates | 22°33′32″N88°21′32″E/ 22.5588543°N 88.3589861°E |
| Opened | 1910 |
| Owner | Government of West Bengal |
Baker Hostelis a government hostel located inKolkata,West Bengal,India. The hostel was founded in 1910 during the rule of theBritish RajbyEdward Norman Baker,the thenLieutenant GovernorofBengal.[1]The hostel is located at 8 Smith Lane inTaltala.It is for the male students ofMaulana Azad College.
History
[edit]Due to the unhygienic environment and inadequate housing system around the Taylor hostel built in 1896 for students in Kolkata, they started a movement for the construction of a new hostel.[2]Nawab Abdul Jabbarinitiated the movement in 1908.[2]Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah,A. K. Fazlul Huqplayed a major role in establishing the hostel.[3]As a result, government built this hostel.[2]
Museum
[edit]Two rooms of this hostel (no. 23 and 24) were converted into a museum in honor ofSheikh Mujibur Rahman,the founding father and the firstpresident of Bangladesh.The museum was inaugurated on 31 July 1998.[4]On 23 February 2011, a bust of Mujib was installed in the hostel.[5]
In 2017, the All Bengal Minority Youth Federation criticized the decision and demanded that the bust of Bangabandhu be removed from the hostel asIslamdoes 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.[6]The organization sent letters toMamata Banerjee,thechief minister of West BengalandSheikh Hasina,theprime minister of Bangladesh,regarding the matter. In March, the month before Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, thecentral government of Indiahad directed theWest Bengal governmentto take action against the organization and its supporters, who it termed as anti-Hasina extremist groups.[7]
However, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister of Bangladesh,Md. Tajul Islam,visited the museum in March 2019 and found defects in the bust, which was replaced by a new bust on August 3.[8]
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 his7 March Speech.Entry to the museum is limited and it is managed by the hostel authority.[9]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Azizul Haque
- Hamidul Huq Choudhury
- Khaleque Nawaz Khan[10]
- Khalilur Rahman
- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
- Syed Hedayetullah
- Syed Murtaza Ali
References
[edit]- ^বঙ্গবন্ধুর বেকার হোস্টেল[Baker Hostel of Bangabandhu].Risingbd(in Bengali).Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2019.Retrieved11 April2020.
- ^abc"Jabbar, Nawab Abdul".Banglapedia.Archivedfrom the original on 22 January 2021.Retrieved11 April2020.
- ^"Ahsanullah, Khan Bahadur".Banglapedia.Archivedfrom the original on 18 July 2020.Retrieved11 April2020.
- ^"Bangabandhu remembered at Bekar Hostel".Prothom Alo.15 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 22 September 2022.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^"Bekar Hostel in Kolkata installs Bangabandhu's sculpture today".The Daily Star.23 February 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 22 September 2022.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^"Remove Mujibur Rahman's bust from Kolkata hostel: ABMYF".New Age.23 March 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 22 September 2022.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy; Das, Madhuparna (30 March 2017)."Centre asks Mamata govt to act tough against fringe groups demanding removal of Mujibur statue".The Times of India.Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2020.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^"Bangabandhu bust reinstalled in Baker Hostel".Bangla Tribune.3 August 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 19 November 2019.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^Mitra, Prithvijit (23 February 2012)."The hostel room where Mujibar Rahman stayed".The Times of India.Archivedfrom the original on 7 June 2017.Retrieved22 September2022.
- ^ছাত্রলীগের ৭০তম প্রতিষ্ঠাবার্ষিকী আজ.Ekushey Television(in Bengali). 4 January 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 19 August 2020.Retrieved16 January2020.
