The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

Curzon Hall, at present a part of the school of the science faculty of Dhaka University, is one of the outstanding buildings in Bangladesh built during British Raj.

The main structure of the Curzon Hall is one of the best examples of Dhaka's architecture, it is a perfect blend of the 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 contemporary technology and functions and favoured the 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 colour 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 also the deliberate choice of the Fatehpur Sikri style may be explained by the fact that the British favoured Akbar as the wisest and most tolerant of all the Mughals, feeding into the ideal of their own role in India.

Curzon Hall has attained a great significance in the history of the Language Movement in Bangladesh. It was here, in 1948, that students of Dhaka University uttered their first refusal to accept Mohammad Ali Jinnah's declaration that Urdu alone would be the state language of the whole of Pakistan.

Curzon Hall is named after George Curzon, an Englishman who was a brilliant scholar at Eton College and Oxford University in the last part of the nineteenth century. He was elected a Member of the British Parliament in 1886 and in 1891 was appointed Secretary of State for India, a position he held until a change of government in 1894.

His real influence on the Indian sub-continent began in 1898 when he was appointed Viceroy of India. He introduced a series of reforms, which upset many of the traditional civil servants, and he clashed with Lord Kitchener who became commander-in-chief of the Indian army. Perhaps his most controversial action was agreeing to divide Bengal into two provinces. This lead to a fostering of Muslim hopes of a permanent Muslim state and, of course, this ultimately led to the formation of Bangladesh many 66 years later.

Curzon was eventually removed from office in 1905 but not before the building of Curzon Hall has started. The hall was originally built to become the town hall of Dhaka after the partition of Bengal, then when the partition was annulled in 1911 it became part of Dhaka College. When Dhaka University was founded in 1921 the building became a central part of the university and it till now remains part of the science faculty of this day.

Abu Sayeed M Ahmed, conservation architect, said, "Curzon Hall building has edifices that bear the testimony of an architectural trend with a blend of colonial and Islamic influence. The blend of the two styles developed a new form of distinct local architecture in this part of Bengal."

This form of architecture was in practice until 1950s. Classical features like magnificently imposing central access, symmetrical (wings) buildings on two sides of the central access and freestanding columns as used in Curzon Hall were introduced in the local architectural pattern through colonial architectural practice, he said.

Muntasir Mamoon, Professor of the Department of History who has extensively worked on the history of Dhaka, said, "The Curzon Hall came into being in the way of Dhaka's being the new capital of divided British Bengal in 1905. It became a centre spot of establishment of Dhaka University."

The significance of Curzon Hall lies in the fact that it symbolises not only Dhaka University but also the Dhaka city as a whole, he said.