Baker Hostel is a government hostel located in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India. The hostel was founded in 1910 during the rule of the

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 ...

by Edward Norman Baker, the then

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. The hostel is located at 8 Smith Lane in

Taltala Taltala (also spelt Taltola, archaic spelling Taltollah) is a neighbourhood in Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station on its own name. ...

. It is for the male students of Maulana Azad College.

History

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.

Nawab Abdul Jabbar Nawab Abdul Jabbar (; 24 October 1837 - 30 January 1918) was a British Indian bureaucrat and social worker. Early life Abdul Jabbar was born on 24 October 1837 in his maternal grandfather's home in Paharhati, Burdwan district, Bengal Presidenc ...

initiated the movement in 1908.

Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah (27 December 1873 – 9 February 1965) was an educator, litterateur, Islamic theologist and social reformer of pre-partition India. He was instrumental in the formation of the University of Dhaka and is the namesake of ...

A. K. Fazlul Huq Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq (26 October 1873 – 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengalis, Bengali lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal, prime minister of Bengal during the Britis ...

played a major role in establishing the hostel. As a result, government built this hostel.

Museum

Two rooms of this hostel (no. 23 and 24) were converted into a museum in honor of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, the founding father and the first

president of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

. The museum was inaugurated on 31 July 1998. On 23 February 2011, a bust of Mujib was installed in the hostel. In 2017, the All Bengal Minority Youth Federation criticized the decision and demanded that the bust of Bangabandhu be removed from the hostel as

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

does 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. The organization sent letters to

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

, the

chief minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

and

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

, the

prime minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

, regarding the matter. In March, the month before Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, the

central government of India The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

had directed the

West Bengal government The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial a ...

to take action against the organization and its supporters, who it termed as anti-Hasina extremist groups. 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. 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 his 7 March Speech. Entry to the museum is limited and it is managed by the hostel authority.

Notable alumni

Azizul Haque Azizul Haque, () meaning "strong in the truth", is a male Muslim given name. Notable bearers of the name include: * Qazi Azizul Haque (1872–1935), also Khan Bahadur Qazi Azizul Huq, Quazi Syed Azizul Haque, police officer and fingerprint pioneer ...

* Hamidul Huq Choudhury * Khaleque Nawaz Khan * Khalilur Rahman *

* Syed Hedayetullah *

Syed Murtaza Ali Syed Murtaza Ali (1 July 1902 – 9 August 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer. He was the elder brother of writer and linguist Syed Mujtaba Ali. He is noted for his works relating to the histories of Chittagong, Sylhet and Jaintia. Background and ...

References

External links

Baker Hostel
at Maulana Azad College {{Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Educational buildings in Kolkata Halls of residence in India Museums in Kolkata Museums established in 1998 1910 establishments in India Sheikh Mujibur Rahman