The ancestral home of Language Movement hero Dhirendranath Datta has not been renovated in over five decades.
The house, built on a 14-acre land in Dharmapasha area of Comilla city, lost its shine decades ago and now is losing its plaster and bricks.
There are three buildings on the property, all of which are in need of immediate renovation to prevent the walls and ceilings from collapsing.
Only the caretaker of the property and his family live there now.
Situated right beside the office of the deputy commissioner, the house is of much historical interest to the people of Comilla.
On the night of March 29, 1971, Dhirendranath Datta and his son Dilip Kumar Datta were arrested from the very house by the Pakistan occupation army and taken to Mainamati Cantonment, where they were tortured to death.
Since then, the buildings have become weak and plasters have collapsed here and there. There is no way to tell that a reputed veteran politician of undivided Pakistan used to live in the house.
Locals have demanded that the government take steps to renovate the house and transform it into a museum as pledged to project the true history of the Language Movement before future generations of Bengalis. The local administration also took several attempts to renovate the house but Dhirendranath Datta's family could not take a final decision on the matter, locals alleged.
Family sources said that the property is a family property and to preserve Dhirendranath's memory as a Language Movement hero, the administration can choose a different plot and build a structure there.
Dhaka TribuneLooking back at history, when the Pakistan Constituent Assembly session was held on February 23, 1948, Datta demanded the use of Bangla along with English and Urdu in the proceedings of the House.
He also served time in jail several times for his role in the Language Movement.
In 2010, the then State Minister for Social Welfare Promod Mankin visited the house and expressed his wish to renovate the house. There was also a proposal to build a language museum on the property. Aroma Datta, Dhirendranath Datta's granddaughter and a member of parliament from a reserved seat, also attended a meeting in this regard where the deputy commissioner along with local businessman Nazmul Hasan Pakhi was also present. No decision was arrived at during the meeting.
Motahar Hossain, founder of Binoy Shahittya Sangsad, said that the state minister had proposed the construction of a modern complex on the property which would include a museum. The rest of the property's ownership would be with Dhirendranath Datta's family. But the family did not agree to the proposal.
Advocate Shahidul Hoque Swapan, founder of Odhuna Theatre, told Dhaka Tribune that the new generation will get a wrong message if the house is not renovated.
Aroma Dutta told Dhaka Tribune that the family possesses the right to decide on whether to construct any structure on its property or not.
She complained that despite the role her grandfather had played in the Language Movement, his portrait has not been preserved at the Bangla Academy till date.
There is also a lack of recognition at the state level of her grandfather's role in the movement.
However, she added that the administration can go ahead and implement its plan on purchased property elsewhere.
Shamim Alam, Deputy Commissioner of Comilla, told Dhaka Tribune that he had just joined his workplace and was not much aware of the issue. He said that a decision on the house can be taken after inspecting and examining the whole matter.
