Uttara Ganabhaban

Uttara Gana Bhaban
Clocktower gate at the Uttara Gana Bhaban
Location within Bangladesh
General information
Architectural style Indo-Saracenic architecture
Town or city Natore
Country Bangladesh
Coordinates 24°26′25″N 89°00′37″E / 24.44028°N 89.01028°E / 24.44028; 89.01028Coordinates: 24°26′25″N 89°00′37″E / 24.44028°N 89.01028°E / 24.44028; 89.01028
Completed 18th century

The Uttara Ganabhaban (meaning Northern People's House) is an 18th-century (1734) a royal palace also known as Jaminder country house and retreat, it was made by Raja Doyaram who was the Dewan (like minister) of Rani Bhavanee. It has a round clock on its front gate with a large bell & a clock room. The clock was brought from Italy. It also has a beautiful garden full of various foreign trees and Italian marvel stone statue of women. It is also known as Dighapatia Rajbari. It is located near Natore town of Natore in North Bengal. It serves as the principal residence of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister in the northern part of the country. It was formerly the seat of the Dighapatia Raj-[1] an aristocratic landed estate in the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj. It has been used as a ceremonial site for receiving foreign ambassadors.

History

An entrance to the palace

There has been a house on the site since the early 18th century, when the Nawab of Bengal rewarded Dayaram Roy for suppressing a rebellion. Roy was awarded the title of Jagirdar and given the zamindari of vast tracts of land in Jessore, Rajshahi, Bogra and Mymensingh. When the British Empire enforced the permanent settlement in Bengal, the Roys were recognised as landed Maharajas. They were avid followers of European influence, fashion, art and culture. Their palace was developed on the outskirts of Natore in the 19th century. The town of Natore served as the headquarters of Rajshahi Division in the Bengal Presidency, and thus was an important administrative centre. Following Partition in 1947, the estate was formally abolished during major land reforms in East Bengal.

On 24 July 1967, it was designated as a gubernatorial residence by Abdul Monem Khan, the Governor of East Pakistan. The palace was used by President Ayub Khan as a retreat when Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan as its eastern wing. After the independence of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the Bangladeshi republic, declared the palace as his official residence in northern Bangladesh on 9 February 1972.[2] It has since been used by successive Bangladeshi heads of government for holding cabinet, political and diplomatic meetings outside the capital.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ittyadi at Uttara Gonobhaban". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Quadir, Md Anwarul. "Neglected Uttara Gonobhavan". Probe News Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15.
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