The government is buying the historic ‘Rose Garden’ building in Old Dhaka at a cost of Tk331.7 crore.
It is here that the Awami League started its journey.
The decision to buy the building was taken in Wednesday’s meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP). Cabinet Division’s Additional Secretary Mostafizur Rahman said the government will buy the building directly from its owner as per the Public Procurement Act.
East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was formed on June 23, 1949, at the Rose Garden building at the initiative of a progressive part of the Muslim League for the salvation of the Bangalis. The word ‘Muslim’ was dropped in 1955.
The Archaeology Department included the building in its 'protection list' in 1989.
Businessman Hrishikesh Das built the Rose Garden in 1931 on a 22-bigha plot. He had various species of rare roses in his garden. This earned the house the name ‘Rose Garden’.
When Hrishikesh became bankrupt, he sold the property to Moulvi Kazi Abdur Rashid in 1936. Rashid then set up the provincial library there.
East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was formed on June 23, 1949, at the Rose Garden. Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
His brother Kazi Humayun Bashir acquired the property’s ownership from him in 1966. It has since been locally known as ‘Humayun Shaheber Bari’. The estate was rented out to Bengal Studio and Motion Pictures Limited in 1970.
Rashid’s son Kazi Abdur Rakib got back the ownership in 1993. His wife Laila Rakib inherited it from him after his death two years later.
The building has a hall room and eight rooms on the ground floor. The first floor consists of another hall room and five rooms. There are some marbled statues in front of the building. Unfortunately, the fabled rose garden that earned the house its name is extinct.
How to go there?
Visitors are allowed in the Rose Garden except on weekdays. Prior permission is needed to enter the main building.
To go there, one can take a rickshaw via Gulistan or Jatrabari. Visitors can enjoy Old Dhaka’s famed foods at Al Razzak, Hajir Biriyani, Kashmir Kachchi, Beauty Boarding or Sultan’s Tea.
