Curzon Hall

Curzon Hall
কার্জন হল
Front of Curzon Hall
General information
Status	Complete
Location	Dhaka
Country	Bangladesh
Groundbreaking	19 February 1904
Technical details
Floor count	2
Design and construction
Owner	University of Dhaka

Curzon Hall is part of the school of science of the University of Dhaka. With its significance in education during the post independence era of Bangladesh as well as afterwards, it has become an emblem of educational tradition of the country.

History

Curzon Hall meant to be a town hall, was named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, who laid its foundation in 1904. A year later Bengal was partitioned and Dhaka or Dacca as it was known then, became the capital of the newly created province of East Bengal and Assam. Following the annulment of partition in 1911 it was used as a premise of Dhaka College, and after the establishment of the University of Dhaka in 1921, became part of the university's science section and continues as such.

During the Language Movement, Curzon Hall was the location of significant events. In 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared Urdu to be the only state language of Pakistan. Students of Dhaka University opposed it and in Curzon Hall, they declared their opposition to Jinnah's planned about state language policy.

Architecture

The building structure is a blend of European and Mughal elements, particularly noticeable in the projecting facade in the north which has both horse-shoe and cusped arches. The style combined traditional art with modern technology and functions and favoured Mughal forms such as arches and domes, believed to have entered the Islamic world from the west. It marks the casting aside of veiled power after the Sepoy Revolt of 1857, and India's passing directly under the British Crown, seeking legitimacy by linkage to the Mughals. The red color substituting for red sandstone, and the ornate brackets, deep eaves, and domed terrace pavilions (chhatris), specially of the middle section are strikingly reminiscent of the small but well-known Diwan-i-Khas in the palace fortress of Fatehpur Sikri, Emperor Akbar's capital between 1570 and 1585. Not only were both cities new capitals, but the deliberate choice of the Fatehpur Sikri style may be explained by the fact that the British favored Akbar as the wisest and most tolerant of all the Mughals, feeding into the ideal of their own role in India.

Gallery

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  Biochemistry and Microbiology building

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  Department of Chemistry

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  Pohela Boishakh celebration at Curzon Hall

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  Bagan Bilash at Curzon Hall