Armanitola (Bengali: আরমানিটোলা) is an area in the old city of Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The area takes its name from the Armenian settlement that surrounded Armenian church there.[1][2][3]
History
editThe Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection was built in 1781 as a wooden chapel and was consecrated by Bishop Eprahim.[4] This was around the time the Armenians were settling in Dhaka.[5] The church holds the tombs of 200 Armenians.[4] The tower of the church collapsed in 1897 following an earthquake.[4]
In 1926, the Tara Masjid was renovated and an extension was added.[6] The Turag River used to flow close to the mosque in the 19th century before the river route shifted away.[7]
Armanitola Maidan was the site of several public speeches by leaders of the Awami Muslim League in 1949.[8]
The old building of the New Government Girls High School collapsed in October 2007.[9]
The Daily Star reported that three years after the 2010 Dhaka fire which killed 124 people areas of Old Dhaka, including Armanitola, had warehouses holding flammable chemicals.[10] In 2014, the owners of the Hinga Bibi Masjid, 324 year old mosque located on KP Ghosh Road in Armanitola, started demolishing the building to replace it with a multistorey building.[11]
There are two dorms of the Jagannath University in Armanitola which like 10 other dorms of the University are under illegal occupation.[12] Abdur Rahman Hall is occupied by Bangladesh Police and Shaheed Anwar Shafique Hostel was occupied by criminals.[12]
In April 2021, a chemical fire at warehouse killed four and injured 23 others.[13] There is a large number of warehouses, including those storing chemicals, in residential areas in Armanitola.[14] Rapid Action Battalion arrested the two owners of the warehouse.[15]
The residence of Nicholas Pogose, founder of Pogose School and 19th century Armenian merchant, was demolished in Armanitola during the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
Administration
editArmanitola is part of the Dhaka-7 parliamentary constituency.[16] It is represented in parliament by Haji Salim of the Awami League.[16]
Education
editArmanitola Government High School is the public High School of the area was established in 1904.[17][18]
Attractions
editReferences
edit- ^ Feldman, Herbert (1968) [First published 1961]. Pakistan: an introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 98. OCLC 512697.
the Armanitola district, a name acquired from the fact that an Armenian community was once concentrated there.
- ^ Ali, Ansar; Chaudhury, Sushil; Islam, Sirajul (2012). "Armenians, The". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ Kabir, Tasneem Tayeb (23 December 2011). "The Armenian Church: Legacy of a Bygone Era". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Jamil, Syed Maqsud (2015-01-23). "Armenians of Dacca". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "Silent tales of splendour". archive.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Haider, M. H. (2023-08-27). "The iconic Tara Masjid did not always have those stars!". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Ghias, Durdana (2008-07-20). "Shattering tales of tattered mosques". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Rahman, Sheikh Mujibur (2012). The Unfinished Memoirs. Oxford University Press. pp. 130–131, 137, 141. ISBN 978-0-19-906358-1.
- ^ "Part of century old building in city collapses". The Daily Star. 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Mollah, Shaheen; Khan, Tamanna (2013-06-04). "No lessons learned". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Islam, Zyma (2014-03-17). "Historical buildings plundered". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b Sarkar, Kailash (2009-01-31). "Grabbers occupy all 12 dorms for years". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "Fire from chemical storage leaves 4 dead, 23 injured in Old Dhaka's Armanitola". The Daily Star. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Mollah, Shaheen; Alam, Helemul (2021-04-25). "Armanitola Fire: Newlyweds now on life support". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "Armanitola fire: 2 warehouse owners sent to jail". The Daily Star. 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b c Islam, Zyma (2020-11-22). "History erased". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "Armanitola, Keramatia in school hockey final". The Daily Star. 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Chowdhury, Syed Tashfin. "Armanitola School celebrates a hundred years". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
23°42′50″N 90°24′07″E / 23.714°N 90.402°E
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