Dhaka Central Jail was the largest

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, located in the old section of

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 ...

, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 Point Movement, and the

Bangladesh War of Independence The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. However, the jail earned infamy after the killings of four political leaders — A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman,

Tajuddin Ahmad Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh, 1st Government of Bangladesh as its Prime Minister of Bangladesh, prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation W ...

Syed Nazrul Islam Syed Nazrul Islam (1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh War of Independence, he was declared as the Acting President of Bangladesh by the Provisional Government. ...

and Captain

Muhammad Mansur Ali Muhammad Mansur Ali (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served briefly as the ...

— on the eve of a military counter-coup on November 3, 1975, against the government of president

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (; 27 February 1919 – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the A ...

and army chief

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

, which was in power after August 15 after the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

. The slain leaders are mourned by many in Bangladesh today, with the date informally known as " Jail killing day."

History

Before

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

, there was a

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

at the site of the current jail. In 1788, the fort was renovated, and converted into a jail. Until 1836, the Kotowali Police station was also co-located here. Records from 1833 show that the capacity of the jail at that time was 800 inmates. However, the jail had an average of 526 inmates every day. The Dhaka jail was converted into the central jail for

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

.Muntasir Mamun, "Dhaka: Smriti Bismritir Nogori", 3rd edition, 4th reprint, Ananya Publishers, Dhaka, page 89. After the

proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence The Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence (), refers to the declaration of independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On that day, Awami League leader M. ...

in 1971, pro-independence guards working at the jail freed inmates from the prisons, prompting the

Pakistan army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

to attack and take control of the jail. After the establishment of Bangladesh, the prison returned to its original form. A jail museum was opened here in 2013 and the following year, it was included under the

Bangladesh National Museum The Bangladesh National Museum (), is the national museum of Bangladesh. The museum is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like department of ethnography and decorative art, department of history an ...

. In 2015, a ruin from the period of Muslim rulers was found in the prison area, and the following year, an archaeological excavation was undertaken. The jail has been shifted to the new Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj in July, 2016. In 2017, a project was undertaken to preserve the prison grounds for historical needs. The design by Form Three Architects was finalized in a competition held for the proposed project and work on the project was inaugurated in 2019. According to the design, a cultural center and multipurpose complex will be constructed and in the prison area. Two museums are included in the proposed plan. In 2024, it was reported that pre-Mughal remains of the old fort of Dhaka mentioned by historian Alauddin Isfahani was discovered from the excavation along with rolled and glazed potteries.

Notable inmates

Begum Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

Motiur Rahman Nizami Motiur Rahman Nizami (; 31 March 1943 – 11 May 2016) was a politician, former Minister of Bangladesh, Islamic scholar, writer and a former Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He was accused of leading Al-Badr during the Bangladesh War of ...

Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury (13 March 1949 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and six-term member of Jatiya Sangsad and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, who served as the adviser of ...

* A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman *

* Abdul Quader Mollah * Muhammad Kamaruzzaman *

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed (; 23 June 1948 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician and war criminal who served as a Member of Parliament and as the Minister of Social Welfare from 2001 to 2006. He was sentenced to death after tri ...

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 ...

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

In popular culture

A Bangladeshi TV series, '' Karagar'' was shot at this former jail in 2022.

References

External links

* {{commons-inline Old Dhaka Military history of Dhaka Prisons in Dhaka Monuments and memorials in Dhaka Mughal fortifications Prison museums in Asia 1788 establishments in British India 2016 disestablishments in Bangladesh

History

Notable inmates

In popular culture

See also

References

External links