Curzon Hall is a

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

-era building and the home of the

Faculty of Sciences Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

, located in

Shahbagh Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...

. The building was originally intended to be a town hall and is named after

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

, the Viceroy of India who laid its

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

in 1904. Upon the establishment of Dacca University in 1921, it became the base of the university's science faculty.

History

In 1904 it was decided to shift

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

to Nimatoli. Therefore, it is planned to construct this building as a college library near the proposed site for relocation. As a library, the building was named after the Governor General of British India,

, by the princes of Bhawal Estate who paid 0.15 million rupees. On 19 February that year, Lord Curzon came to Dhaka and laid its foundation stone. The following year, as the partition of Bengal was finalized, a new province called East Bengal and Assam was formed with Dhaka as its capital. As a result, the importance of Curzon Hall increased at that time. The construction of Curzon Hall was completed in 1908. After the abolition of the Partition of Bengal in 1911, Dhaka College classes started in Curzon Hall. After the establishment of the

in 1921, Curzon Hall was transferred to the university and it included in the science department of the university. During the

Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

, 1948–1956, Curzon Hall was the location of various significant events. After the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947 that formed the country of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

was chosen to be the sole

state language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

. In 1948, the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was the supreme federal legislature of the Dominion of Pakistan. It was established in August 1947 with the primary tasks of framing Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution; and serving as an interim ...

chose Urdu and English as the only languages to be used to address the assembly, which was protested within the assembly on the grounds that the majority of the people spoke Bangla and not Urdu. Students of the university objected instantly to the actions of the Constituent Assembly, and it was in Curzon Hall that they declared their opposition to the state language policy.

Facilities

The Botanical Garden of the university is located on the premises of Curzon Hall, and is used by students and faculty for teaching botany and for scientific studies with plants.

Architecture

One of the best examples of Dhaka's architecture, it is a happy blend of European and Mughal elements, particularly noticeable in the projecting facade in the north which has both horse-shoe and cusped arches.

Gallery

File:Curzon hall front.jpg, Department Of Physics File:Dept Of Chemistry.JPG, Department Of Chemistry File:Corner view of Curzon Hall DU.JPG, Corner view File:Karjon Hall 002.JPG, Corridor File:Karjon Hall 003.JPG, Detail File:Sighty corridor of dept of Bio-Chemistry.JPG, Windows in front of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology File:Curzon Hall Plaque.jpg, Foundation plaque

References

{{Dhakaplaces University of Dhaka Buildings and structures in Dhaka Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture British colonial architecture in Bangladesh Tourist attractions in Dhaka 1908 establishments in British India