The Sylhet Shahi Eidgah (), or simply Shahi Eidgah, is an open prayer hall situated in

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, north-east

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 ...

, three kilometers to the north-east of the guru nanak international circuit house, meant for the

Eid prayers Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid (), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with family and the larger ...

. It was built during the rule of Mughal Sultan Sarfaraz Khan. More than 100,000 people can perform prayer at same time in this eidgah. It is also one of the most visited tourist spots in the city. As well as for prayer uses and Islamic congregations, the eidgah has historically been a place to give speeches and host rallies by the likes of

Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

and

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

. There have also been battles taken place there such as the Muharram Rebellion.

History

During the rule of Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

, Farhad Khan was appointed as the

faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

of Sylhet. Farhad Khan supervised the construction of the Shahi Eidgah on a hill in the 17th century. On 16 December 1782 (10

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

1197), the Pirzada of Sylhet two religious leaders, Syed Muhammad Hadi and Syed Muhammad Mahdi (known locally as Hada Miah & Mada Miah), led the first uprising against the British opposition in these grounds. The two brothers marched with their followers to the grounds with the main purpose for a tazia procession, but to also do a sudden attack against the British. However, Robert Lindsay, the colonial supervisor of

the district ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...

, was already made aware of this and came armed with contingents forcing the rebels to surrender. The rebels declined and revolted and a short battle took place in the grounds. In the aftermath, the leader of the rebels died with Hadi and the Pirzada being shot dead by Lindsay himself. The incident, known as the

1782 Sylhet uprising Year 178 ( CLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 931 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 178 for this ...

, was also mentioned in Lindsay's diary while he was going back to Europe.

gave a speech in these grounds as part of his

non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

, and many other politicians followed after as the years went by such as Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mohammad Ali Jauhar,

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (8 September 18925 December 1963) was an East Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as the Prime Minister of Bengal from 1946 to ...

and

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 ...

Architecture

Although designed like a grand Mughal fort, it is actually meant for

. There are three gates to enter through and 15 domes. Through the large gate, there is a large pond, known locally as "fukoir" or "fukri", which is designated as a wudu khana. The ground contains a large ''

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

'' in the center of the wall, with other smaller ''mihrabs'' scattered throughout. Around the borders of the eidgah are also many half-domed

minar Minar may refer to: *Minar (Firuzabad), a structure in Iran * Minar Rahman, Bangladeshi singer-songwriter * Ivo Minář, Czech tennis player * Thomas J. Minar, American academic administrator *Minar, an alternate spelling for minaret A minare ...

References

External links

17th-century mosques in Bangladesh Buildings and structures in Sylhet Eidgahs Mosque buildings with domes in Bangladesh Mosque buildings with minarets in Bangladesh Mosques in Sylhet Division Mughal architecture {{Bangladesh-mosque-stub

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links