Historical Place

Atiya Mosque is situated in the village of Atiya under Delduar Thana in Tangail district, about six kilometers south of the district headquarters. It stands on the east bank of the Louhajang River.

The mosque is small in size, measuring externally 18.29m by 12.19m with 2.23m thick walls. It is rectangular in plan, consisting of a square single domed prayer chamber and an attached rectangular corridor on the eastern side covered with another three smaller domes.
	Atiya Mosque, Tangail

The eastern facade has three arched entrances; the middle one is slightly larger than the others. The arches are of the four-centred variety. The main prayer chamber is accessible from the corridor through three smaller doorways. The mosque has four other openings, two each on the south and north sides. On the qibla wall there are three decorated mihrabs, the central one has an external projection on the west side.

At the four outer corners are huge octagonal towers, marked by horizontal mouldings at regular intervals. The towers, divided into stages by string courses, rise up to the roof and are crowned by flat fluted cupolas with lotus and kalasa finials.

The main dome of the mosque is carried on squinches, and the three over the eastern corridor are carried on pendentives. It may be pointed out here that the main dome collapsed some years ago and was rebuilt recently. The three smaller domes were originally fluted, but now they are covered with lime plaster. The main dome is the crowning feature of the mosque, and rests on an octagonal drum. The domes have kalasa finials on a lotus base and blind merlons around their drums. The cornice is prominently carved and the parapet is battlemented.

The eastern and northern facades of the mosque deserve special mention for their exquisite surface decoration, consisting of terracotta and carved bricks containing excellent indigenous motifs. The facade is covered with elaborate homogeneous terracotta panels with extensive floral designs, rosettes and geometric patterns. The eastern facade is embellished with numerous small rectangular terracotta panels, a feature, seen in the early 16th century mosques of Gaur, eg the jhan jhania mosque (1535) and kadam rasul building (1530).

The most striking of all the features of the mosque is the curvilinear cornice, a thoroughly indigenous feature of Bengal architecture, the origin of which may reasonably be traced to ordinary thatched huts with drooping eaves. Here, in fact, the transformation of bamboo and thatched constructions into brick architecture is aesthetically pleasing and structurally expedient.

In the field of decorative art, especially in terracotta and carved brick ornamentation, the craftsmen of Bengal made a distinct contribution. The structural feature of the Bengali villager's plaited grass huts is reflected in the close-set panel-decoration of the facade of Atiya Mosque. The mosque blends harmoniously both the Sultanate and Mughal features of Bengal architecture.

According to an inscription (preserved in bangladesh national museum, Dhaka), the mosque was constructed in 1019 AH (1610-11 AD) during the reign of Emperor jahangir by Sayeed Khan Panni, son of Baizid Khan Panni, in honour of Shah Baba Kashmiri. The builder also excavated a big tank on the western side of the mosque. Atiya came into prominence after the arrival of a great saint Shah Baba Kashmiri, who propagated Islam in this part of Bengal. Now a replica of the inscription, fixed over the central doorway of the mosque, indicates that it was erected in 1018 AH (1609 AD).

The Atiya Mosque is now a protected monument under the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh. Earlier, the mosque had undergone repairs twice, once by Rawsan Khatun Chaudhuri in 1837 AD, and again by Abu Ahmed Gajnabi in 1909.

Jahaniyan Mosque is the latest of all the surviving monuments of the Sultanate period in gaur. It is also called Jan-Jan Miyan's Mosque or jhanjhania mosque. From an inscription over its doorway it is known to have been built by Bibi Malti, probably a lady of the court, in 1535 AD, during the reign of Sultan ghiyasuddin mahmud shah, son of Alauddin husain shah. The nomenclature 'Jahaniyan Mosque' is rather obscure. It is believed that it might have been a corruption of a saint's name, Jahaniyan Jahangasht.

The building is situated a little to the south of the tomb of shaikh akhi sirajuddin usman to the northwest of the Sagar Dighi in the Indian part of Gaur-Lakhnauti. It is a brick building, the measurement being 17.5m ´ 12.8m externally and 12.20m ´ 8m internally. Inside, the mosque is divided into two aisles, each having three square bays surmounted by domes on stone pillars. The mosque has three entrances on its east side and octagonal towers at the corners with Mughal pinnacle turrets, an evidence of later Mughalisation. The moulded cornice at the top has a curvature representing the Bengali hut.

The wall faces of the building have been patterned with vertical offset and inset panels divided by horizontal string mouldings seen prominently first in the chika building and in the corner towers of the dakhil darwaza, and then fully developed in the kadam rasul. The building, together with the Kadam Rasul, form a group easily distinguishable from other monuments of Gaur.

Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge opened in June 1998, is the longest bridge in Bangladesh as well as in South Asia, and the 11th longest bridge in the world. It was constructed over the river jamuna, mightiest of the three major rivers of Bangladesh, and fifth largest in the world in terms of volumetric discharge. The bridge established a strategic link between the eastern and western parts of Bangladesh. It generates multifarious benefits for the people and especially, promotes inter-regional trade in the country. Apart from quick movement of goods and passenger traffic by road and rail, it facilitated transmission of electricity and natural gas, and integration of telecommunication links.

The bridge, stretching from tangail to sirajganj is located on the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway which, when fully developed, will provide uninterrupted international road and railway links from South-east Asia to North-west Europe.
	Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge

The bridge was constructed at a cost of $962 million. The cost of construction was shared by IDA, ADB, OECF of Japan, and the government of Bangladesh. Of the total, IDA, ADB and OECF supplied 22% each, and the remaining 34% was borne by Bangladesh. The components of the project's cost were: bridge and viaducts - $269 million (28%); river training works - $323 million (35%); roads and embankments - $71 million (7%); consultancy - $33 million (3%); land, resettlement and environment - $67 million (7%); establishment - $13 million (1%) and others - $186 million (19%).

Considering the fact that the width of the main channel does not exceed 3.5 km, and after making allowances for floods, a bridge length of 5 km was considered adequate. In October 1995, one year after the commencement of physical work of the bridge, a bridge length of 4.8 km, instead of a flood-width of the river at 14 km, was finalised. This narrowing was essential to keep the overall project cost within economic viability. It has, however, required considerable river training work to keep the river under the bridge.

To withstand predicted scourge and possible earthquakes, the bridge is supported on 80-85 m long and 2.5 m and 3.15 m diameter steel piles, which were driven by powerful (240-ton) hydraulic hammer. The superstructure of the bridge is pre-cast segments erected by the balanced cantilever method. Basic features of the bridge are: length (main part) - 4.8 km; width - 18.5 metre; spans - 49; deck segments - 1263; piles - 121; piers - 50; road lanes - 4; railway tracks - 2.

The people and the successive governments in this part of the subcontinent always longed to bridging the mighty Jamuna and thereby integrate the communication systems of the region. Popular leader abdul hamid khan bhasani first raised the demand for construction of the Jamuna bridge at a political level in 1949. In the 1954 provincial elections of East Pakistan, the 21-point manifesto of the united front contained a demand for the bridge. On 6 January 1964, Mohammad Saifur Rahman, a member from rangpur in the Provincial Assembly inquired about government's intentions with regard to the construction of a bridge over the Jamuna. On 11 July 1966, Shamsul Haque, another member from Rangpur in the same Assembly, moved a resolution for the construction of the bridge and the house adopted it unanimously.

Accordingly, a preliminary feasibility study was carried out in 1969 by Freeman Fox and Partners of UK. They recommended a rail-cum-road bridge near Sirajganj with an estimated cost of $175 million. The estimates were preliminary in nature and a more detailed study was recommended.

After the independence of Bangladesh, the new government publicly stated its intention in 1972 to construct a bridge over the Jamuna and budgetary provisions were kept for the purpose in the 1972-73 budget. On being invited by the Bangladesh government, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) undertook a feasibility study in 1973 on the construction of a road-cum-rail bridge over the Jamuna.

The JICA study, completed in 1976, concluded that the Jamuna project would cost $683 million with an economic rate of return (ERR) of only 2.6%. Considering that the project is not technically and economically viable, the government had abandoned the project. The government had, however, revived it later in 1982 and commissioned a new study to determine the feasibility of transferring natural gas to western parts of the country across the Jamuna. The study concluded that an independent gas connector was not economically viable. However, the consultants made an assessment of the engineering feasibility and cost of a combined road-cum-gas transmission bridge, which introduced the concept of a multipurpose bridge. It was estimated that a 12-km long bridge with three road lanes would cost $420 million. Upon consideration of the report, the cabinet made a decision to take immediate steps in pursuit of the project.

The Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority (JMBA) was set up by an ordinance promulgated by the President on 3 July 1985 to implement the project. For mobilisation of domestic resources, another ordinance was promulgated by which a Jamuna Bridge surcharge and levy were introduced. A total of Tk 5.08 billion was mobilised in the process till its abolition.

In 1986, phase-I feasibility study for the bridge was carried out when the site between Sirajganj and Bhuapur (Tangail) was found to be the best. Between 1987 and 1989, the phase-II feasibility study was carried out when a road-cum-rail-cum-power bridge was found both economically and technically viable. Funding arrangements for the bridge were finally made with IDA, ADB and OECF of Japan by the government of Bangladesh in 1992. Tenders were invited through international bidding for construction contracts in 1993. Contracts for the bridge, river training works and two approach roads were awarded in March 1994. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid on 10 April 1994. Physical implementation of the project commenced on 15 October 1994, and all the components except gas transmission line were completed by June 1998. The bridge was opened for traffic on 23 June 1998.

Bhasani, (Maulana) Abdul Hamid Khan (1880-1976) religious personality and politician. Popularly known as Maulana Bhasani, Abdul Hamid Khan was self-educated, village-based, a fire-brand, and skeptical about colonial institutions. Though immensely influential throughout his political career and instrumental in winning many general and local government elections since 1946, he consistently stayed away from holding actual power. His leadership was rooted in his relentless and incessant struggle for safeguarding the rights and interests of the peasantry and the labouring classes.

Bhasani was born in 1880 at village Dhanpara of Sirajganj district. His father was Haji Sharafat Ali Khan. Apart from a few years of education at the local school and madrasa, he did not receive much formal education. He began his career as a primary school teacher at Kagmari in Tangail and then worked in a madrasa at village Kala (Haluaghat) in Mymensingh district.
	Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani

In 1919, Bhasani joined the non-cooperation movement and khilafat movement to mark the launching of his long and colourful political career. He went to Santosh in Tangail to take up the leadership of the oppressed peasants during the Great depression period. From Tangail he moved to Ghagmara in assam in the late 1930s to defend the interests of Bangali settlers there. He made his debut as a leader at Bhasan Char on the brahmaputra where he constructed an embankment with the co-operation of the Bangali settlers, thereby saving the peasants from the scourge of annual inundation. Relieved of the recurring floods the local people fondly started to call him Bhasani Saheb, an epithet by which the Maulana has been known from then on.

In 1974 Bhasani founded Hukumat-e-Rabbania order and declared a zihad or holy war against the awami league government and Indo-Soviet overlordship. In April 1974 a 6-party united front was formed under the Maulana's leadership. It served an ultimatum on the government to annul the Indo-Bangladesh border agreement, and stop all repressive actions against the opposition. On June 30 the Maulana was arrested and interned at Santosh in Tangail. He considered the Farakka agreement detrimental to the interest of Bangladesh. On 16 May 1976 he led a long march from Rajshahi towards India's farakka barrage to protest against plans to deprive Bangladesh of its rightful share of the ganges waters. On 2 October 1976 he formed a new organisation, Khodai Khidmatgar, and continued to work for his Islamic University at Santosh. He also set up a technical education college, a school for girls and a children's centre at Santosh, Nazrul Islam College at Panchbibi and Maulana Mohammad Ali College at Kagmari. He had earlier set up 30 educational institutions in Assam. He died on 17 November 1976 and was buried at Santosh.