19th century Rose Garden Palace now a government property

The government has purchased the 19th century Rose Garden Palace in Old Dhaka which has witnessed many historic events, including the first major inaugural meeting of the Awami League.

The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also present at that meeting of the Awami League, the party that had led the Bengalis in the struggle for independence from Pakistan.

Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League now, received the documents from the incumbent owner of the palace, Laila Raquib, and her sons at the Ganabhaban on Sunday.

Hasina also handed them a cheque and papers regarding the purchase of a house on a 33 decimal piece of land at Gulshan.

Laila Raquib is the widow of the palace’s latest owner Kazi Abdur Raquib who inherited the property from his father.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the proposal on Aug 8 to buy the Palace in Old Dhaka’s Tikatuli for more than Tk 3.31 billion.

Hindu zamindar Hrishikesh Das built the palace in the late 19th century. Later Khan Bahadur Kazi Abdur Rashid bought it from him in 1936.

Between 1940 and 1960, Rose Garden was well known as a major landmark where all the famous people would mingle and hang out.

It is a registered heritage property of Bangladesh now.

“The Rose Garden is historically valuable because the Awami League, one of the oldest political parties in the sub-continent, was born there on June 23, 1949,” Hasina said.

The government will shift the museum at the Nagar Bhaban to the Rose Garden and exhibit the relics of Old Dhaka there.

The prime minister ordered the authorities to renovate the palace without making changes to its basic structure.

She handed the papers to Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor later. Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain was also present.