NEWS

President of India inaugurated the reconstructed Ramna Kali temple in Ramna, a part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka

DETAILS

• The historic Ramna Kali temple is a symbol of the spiritual and cultural bonding among the people of India and Bangladesh
• In the 17th century, Dhaka was a provincial capital of the Mughal Empire, and an important trading centre.
• The history of the area called Ramna (‘lawn’ in Persian) can be traced back to the early 1600s, when it was occupied by high officials of the Mughals. There was a Mughal garden, open green spaces, and garden houses. After Dhaka passed under British rule in 1858, the “jungle of Ramna” was cleared, and a race course and boulevard were built for the pleasure of the Raj elite.
• The temple in the area, dedicated to the Goddess Kali, is believed to have been built during the Mughal period. The temple was around 400 years old, even though it is difficult to pinpoint a year in which it was built.
• It was built by a certain Haricharan Giri who was a mahant in the temple
• Second oldest Hindu temple in Bangladesh, the Dhakeshwari Temple being the oldest
• Gained prominence in the early 20th century when the renowned saint Ma Anandamayi built her ashram in its precincts. Anandamayi was popularly addressed as “Shahbag-er ma
• Temple was destroyed by Pakistani forces during their Operation Searchlight in March 1971, the brutal crackdown that led to the genocide and the Bangladesh War of Liberation