हिंदीOn this day
Rebuilt

Ramna Kali Mandir, Dhaka

The Kali temple of the Ramna racecourse in Dhaka, whose tall shikhara was a landmark of the city until the Pakistani army destroyed it on 27 March 1971 and killed the people sheltering there. The rebuilt temple was inaugurated in 2021.

Built: Old Kali shrine of Ramna; tall temple of the early 20th century; destroyed 27 March 1971; rebuilt, inaugurated 17 December 2021Where: Dhaka, Dhaka Division, BangladeshDeity: Maa Kali23.73° N, 90.40° E
  1. Early 20th century
  2. 27 March 1971
  3. 2000
  4. 17 December 2021
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0

01The temple by the racecourse

Ramna Kalibari stood on the south side of the old Ramna racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan. Dhaka’s tradition says it was founded by devotees of Kali who came down from the Himalayas, and it stood through the Mughal and Company periods. In the early 20th century it was rebuilt on a grand scale under the patronage of Rani Bilashmoni Devi, wife of Raja Rajendra Narayan of Bhawal, and its shikhara rose to about 120 feet. A large pond lay in front. Next to it stood the ashram of Sri Anandamayi Ma, who lived in Dhaka in the 1920s. The temple can be seen in photographs of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s speech of 7 March 1971 on the racecourse.

0227 March 1971

On the night of 25 March 1971 the Pakistani army began Operation Searchlight in Dhaka. On 27 March soldiers entered the Ramna Kali Mandir and the Anandamayi ashram, where Hindu families and some Muslims had taken shelter, and within about an hour killed more than a hundred people; the temple and ashram were then blown up and burned. A public inquiry opened in 2000 under Justice K. M. Sobhan heard the survivors. After independence devotees kept worship going in a small shrine on the site. A full reconstruction, supported by India, was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on 17 December 2021.

The life of this place

  1. Early 20th centuryThe temple is rebuilt on a grand scale under Rani Bilashmoni Devi of Bhawal.
  2. 27 March 1971The Pakistani army kills those sheltering in the temple and destroys it.
  3. 2000A public inquiry into the massacre opens.
  4. 17 December 2021The rebuilt temple is inaugurated.
Visiting

On the south side of Suhrawardy Udyan, opposite the Bangla Academy, Dhaka. Kali Puja and Durga Puja draw large crowds.

Nearby

Dhakeshwari National TempleRebuilt
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Dhakeshwari National Temple

The Devi temple that the city of Dhaka is often said to be named after, and the National Temple of Bangladesh. Its original murti was taken to Kolkata after Partition.

Chaturdasha Devata Temple, Old AgartalaStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Chaturdasha Devata Temple, Old Agartala

The royal temple of the Fourteen Gods at Old Agartala, the family deities of the Manikya kings and of the Tripuri people, worshipped as fourteen heads of metal. Its Kharchi Puja in July is the great festival of Tripura.

Sugandha Shakti Peetha, ShikarpurStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Sugandha Shakti Peetha, Shikarpur

In the Peetha Nirnaya Tantra’s list, Sati’s nose fell at Sugandha, and the Devi there is Sunanda. The seat is placed at Shikarpur, a village north of Barishal town in southern Bangladesh, where she is worshipped as Ugratara.

Tripura Sundari Temple, UdaipurStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Tripura Sundari Temple, Udaipur

The Matabari of Tripura, a Shakti Peetha on a low hill shaped like a tortoise’s back, built by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya in 1501. Tradition says the right foot of Mata Sati fell here.