Malibagh or Malibag () is a neighbourhood in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
, Bangladesh. It holds the distinction of being one of the oldest and most traditional neighbourhoods in the city. Considered one of the most populated areas in Dhaka,
the area falls under the precinct of
Shahjahanpur Thana in
Dhaka South City Corporation
Dhaka South City Corporation (), is a local governing body that manages all civic services in the southern part of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The DSCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor, who p ...
wards 12 and 19
and is encompassed by the
Dhaka-8 constituency of
Jatiya Sangsad
The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...
.
History
The name "Malibagh" is derived from the combination of two Bengali words: , meaning gardener, and , meaning garden. According to tradition, during the period of
Muslim rule
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is p ...
, Dhaka featured numerous gardens, with appointed gardeners responsible for their maintenance. These gardeners resided collectively, albeit not exclusively, in their own quarters. Over time, to distinguish their quarter from the other locality named Malitola in
Old Dhaka
Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Bengal Subah, Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal em ...
, the gardeners of this area began referring to their neighborhood as Malibagh, a name that persists to this day.
The current Abdul Aziz Lane in Malibagh is named after Abdul Aziz, who served as the municipal commissioner of Dhaka in 1921 and was a prominent social worker. The Malibagh area experienced rapid growth with settlements in the 1950s.
References
Neighbourhoods in Dhaka
{{Dhaka-geo-stub