Ramna Kali Temple

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – The Ramna Kali temple, Dhaka landmark rebuilt from the ruins

Concept –

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the reconstructed Ramna Kali temple in Ramna, a part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka where the landmark Suhrawardy Udyan (the former Ramna Race Course) is located.
It was a temple in Dhaka begun in the time of the Mughal Empire. It was also known as the “RamnaKalibari”. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali.
The temple was destroyed on March 27, 1971 by the Pakistani Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was the site of a massacre of mostly Hindu people.
- The temple was totally destroyed by the Pakistani Army’s operation codenamed ‘Operation Searchlight in 1971, targeting the resistance movement in the country.
In the 17th century, Dhaka was a provincial capital of the Mughal Empire, and a key trading centre. The history of Ramna can be traced back to the early 1600s, when it was occupied by high officials of the Mughals. After Dhaka passed under British rule in 1858, a race course and boulevard were built at Ramna.
It is said that it was built by a certain Haricharan Giri who was a mahant in the temple, but we cannot be sure. It was not a very large temple, and was fairly ordinary in terms of its architecture.
However, it is the second oldest Hindu temple in Bangladesh, the Dhakeshwari Temple being the oldest.
Days before the temple was razed, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had delivered his historic March 7, 1971 speech at the Ramna Race Course maidan, in which he exhorted Bengalis.

Architecture

The architectural design of the temple changed over the centuries in which it stood.
In front of the temple was a large dighi (pool) which was a popular place for worshipers and visitors to swim.
The temple has a tall shikhara (tower).
Next to the temple was the Ma Anandamoyee Ashram,a place of worship with a residential complex and facilities for washing.
The Ma Durga Mandir and the RadhaKrisnaMandir are present in the area of the Ramna Kali Mandir. Others are planned.