Armanitola
{{Short description|Area in Dhaka, Bangladesh}}
File:Statue located inside the Armenian Church in Dhaka.jpg
Armanitola ({{langx|bn|আরমানিটোলা}}) is an area in the old city of Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The area takes its name from the Armenian settlement that surrounded Armenian church there.{{cite book |last=Feldman |first=Herbert |year=1968 |orig-year=First published 1961 |title=Pakistan: an introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=98 |oclc=512697 |quote=the Armanitola district, a name acquired from the fact that an Armenian community was once concentrated there.}}{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Ansar |last2=Chaudhury |first2=Sushil |last3=Islam |first3=Sirajul |year=2012 |chapter=Armenians, The |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Armenians,_The |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh}}{{cite news |last=Kabir |first=Tasneem Tayeb |date=23 December 2011 |title=The Armenian Church: Legacy of a Bygone Era |url=http://theindependentbd.com/weekly-independent/86097-the-armenian-church-legacy-of-a-bygone-era.html |newspaper=The Independent |location=Dhaka |accessdate=27 March 2012 }}{{cbignore}}
History
The Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection was built in 1781 as a wooden chapel and was consecrated by Bishop Eprahim.{{Cite web |last=Jamil |first=Syed Maqsud |date=2015-01-23 |title=Armenians of Dacca |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/armenians-of-dacca-61023 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} This was around the time the Armenians were settling in Dhaka.{{Cite web |title=Silent tales of splendour |url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/2003/08/18/heritage.htm |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=archive.thedailystar.net}} The church holds the tombs of 200 Armenians. The tower of the church collapsed in 1897 following an earthquake.
In 1926, the Tara Masjid was renovated and an extension was added.{{Cite web |last=Haider |first=M. H. |date=2023-08-27 |title=The iconic Tara Masjid did not always have those stars! |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/my-dhaka/news/the-iconic-tara-masjid-did-not-always-have-those-stars-3404216 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} The Turag River used to flow close to the mosque in the 19th century before the river route shifted away.{{Cite web |last=Ghias |first=Durdana |date=2008-07-20 |title=Shattering tales of tattered mosques |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-46482 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
Armanitola Maidan was the site of several public speeches by leaders of the Awami Muslim League in 1949.{{cite book |last1=Rahman |first1=Sheikh Mujibur |author-link=Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |title=The Unfinished Memoirs |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=130–131, 137, 141 |isbn=978-0-19-906358-1}}
The old building of the New Government Girls High School collapsed in October 2007.{{Cite web |date=2007-10-30 |title=Part of century old building in city collapses |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-9545 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
The Daily Star reported that three years after the 2010 Dhaka fire which killed 124 people areas of Old Dhaka, including Armanitola, had warehouses holding flammable chemicals.{{Cite web |last=Mollah |first=Shaheen |last2=Khan |first2=Tamanna |date=2013-06-04 |title=No lessons learned |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/no-lessons-learned |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} In 2014, the owners of the Hinga Bibi Masjid, 324 year old mosque located on KP Ghosh Road in Armanitola, started demolishing the building to replace it with a multistorey building.{{Cite web |last=Islam |first=Zyma |date=2014-03-17 |title=Historical buildings plundered |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/historical-buildings-plundered-15906 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
There are two dorms of the Jagannath University in Armanitola which like 10 other dorms of the University are under illegal occupation.{{Cite web |last=Sarkar |first=Kailash |date=2009-01-31 |title=Grabbers occupy all 12 dorms for years |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-73686 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} Abdur Rahman Hall is occupied by Bangladesh Police and Shaheed Anwar Shafique Hostel was occupied by criminals.
In April 2021, a chemical fire at warehouse killed four and injured 23 others.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-23 |title=Fire from chemical storage leaves 4 dead, 23 injured in Old Dhaka's Armanitola |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh/news/one-killed-fire-armanitola-building-2082501 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} There is a large number of warehouses, including those storing chemicals, in residential areas in Armanitola.{{Cite web |last=Mollah |first=Shaheen |last2=Alam |first2=Helemul |date=2021-04-25 |title=Armanitola Fire: Newlyweds now on life support |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/armanitola-fire-newlyweds-now-life-support-2083145 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}} Rapid Action Battalion arrested the two owners of the warehouse.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-01 |title=Armanitola fire: 2 warehouse owners sent to jail |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/law-news/news/armanitola-fire-2-warehouse-owners-sent-jail-2086869 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
The residence of Nicholas Pogose, founder of Pogose School and 19th century Armenian merchant, was demolished in Armanitola during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Islam |first=Zyma |date=2020-11-22 |title=History erased |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/history-erased-1998913 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
Administration
Armanitola is part of the Dhaka-7 parliamentary constituency. It is represented in parliament by Haji Salim of the Awami League.
Education
Armanitola Government High School is the public High School of the area was established in 1904.{{Cite web |date=2020-03-15 |title=Armanitola, Keramatia in school hockey final |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/news/armanitola-keramatia-school-hockey-final-1881043 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Chowdhury |first=Syed Tashfin |title=Armanitola School celebrates a hundred years |url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/2004/12/29/d412292502117.htm |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=The Daily Star}}
Attractions
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Coord|23.714|N|90.402|E|type:landmark_region:BD|display=title}}
Category:Neighbourhoods in Dhaka
Category:Populated places in Dhaka Division
Category:Ethnic enclaves in Asia
{{Bangladesh-struct-stub}}