Kalibari Temple

In News

• Recently, the President inaugurated the reconstructed Ramna Kali temple in Ramna.

About the Temple

• It is a Hindu Temple located in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka where the landmark Suhrawardy Udyan (the former Ramna Race Course) is located.
• The 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.
• The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Kali, is believed to have been built during the Mughal period.
• It is the second oldest Hindu temple in Bangladesh after the Dhakeshwari Temple.
• Brief History:
  • 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.

Source: IE