Dhaka Cantonment | |
|---|---|
ঢাকা সেনানিবাস | |
| Dhaka | |
 Front View of Bir Shrestho Shaheed Jahangir Gate, Dhaka Cantonment | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Cantonment |
| Controlled by |  Bangladesh Armed Forces |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 23°49′N90°24′E / 23.82°N 90.40°E /23.82; 90.40 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1874 |
Dhaka Cantonment (Bengali:ঢাকা সেনানিবাস) is acantonment located in the northern part ofDhaka, Bangladesh.[1][2][3] The headquarters of theBangladesh Army andAir Force are situated within the cantonment. The cantonment is located on the north-east end of Dhaka.
Due to majormilitary engagements affectingBengal, the thenParliament of the United Kingdom passed a bill within theGovernment of India Act 1858 to build new fortifications apart fromFort William across the region, the British often converted Mughal forts into military bases, such as inLalbagh andIdrakpur. However, in 1874, small scale military installations were built inOld Dacca,Pilkhana andTejgaon at the outcome ofSecond Anglo-Burmese War of 1853. The Tejgaon garrison where the modern Dhaka Cantonment stands, played a pivotal role of logistics duringThird Anglo-Burmese War of 1885 and, again inBurma campaign inSecond World War where it served as the initial headquarters offourteenth army before shifting toComilla Cantonment.[citation needed]. TheBritish Army rechristened the area as Dacca cantonment and built an airbase and an army station at Tejgaon as part of theSouth-East Asian campaign of Second World War. This installation primarily served British forces and conductedredoubt operations againstImperial Japanese Army who were invading fromBurma. At that time, Dacca cantonment was installed with mostly units ofRoyal Indian Air Force and few components of2nd Infantry Division (headquartered then atChittagong) in 1944 reflecting its early and limited development.
On 14 August 1947, the cantonment became an installation of thePakistan Armed Forces, and in 1952, it was fully ameliorated, with the headquarters of14th Infantry Division ofPakistan Army stationed here as the sole army division ofEast Pakistan. On 23 August 1969, thePakistan Eastern Command's headquarters here was inaugurated with Lt. Gen.Sahabzada Yaqub Khan being appointed as its first commander.[4] Dhaka Cantonment also became one of the major scheming place forOperation Searchlight under Lt. Gen.Tikka Khan with major political leaders ofAwami league andintellectuals detained as well as tormented in the cantonment. ThePakistan Army eventually withdrew from its installation on 16 December 1971, according totheir instrument of surrender, after the outcome ofBangladesh Liberation War.[4]
.png)
After the independence of Bangladesh, the newly formedBangladesh Army shifted their headquarters fromSreemangal to Dhaka Cantonment on 20 December 1971. Under Chief of Staff Maj. Gen.M. A Rab, the cantonment was restructured with newinfantry brigade,engineers brigade, signals brigade and apara commando regiment were inaugurated. Dhaka Cantonment initially headquartered the9th Infantry Division, before being moved toSavar on 31 May 1984. The cantonment once again became one of the main scheming hotspot during2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis under Gen.Moeen U Ahmed and acting prime ministerFakhruddin Ahmed. Former prime ministerKhaleda Zia's family had been living for 38 years in the 2.72-acre plot house at 6 Shaheed Mainul Road house in Dhaka Cantonment.[5] It was the official residence of her husband, former presidentZiaur Rahman, when he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS) of the Bangladesh Army.[6] After he became the President of Bangladesh, he kept the house as his residence. Following his assassination in 1981, the acting PresidentAbdus Sattar, leased the house "for life" to Zia, for a nominal৳101. When the army again took over in 1982, former presidentHussain Muhammad Ershad confirmed this arrangement.
On 20 April 2009, theDirectorate of Military Lands and Cantonments handed a notice asking Zia to vacate the cantonment residence.[7][8] Several allegations and irregularities mentioned in the notice - first, Zia had been carrying out political activities from the house – which went against a condition of the allotment; second, one cannot get an allotment of two government houses in the capital; third, a civilian cannot get a resident lease within a cantonment.[8] Zia vacated the house on 13 November 2010.[9] She then moved to the residence of her brother, Sayeed Iskandar, atGulshan.[10]
Administrations and Limited Companies
Areas under the Defense Officers Housing Schemes (DOHS) also fall under Dhaka Cantonment.
Command structure
Command structure
Command structure
Media related toDhaka Cantonment at Wikimedia CommonsCantonments of Bangladesh | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | | ||
| Organization | | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | |||||||||
| History andwars | |||||||||
| War leaders | |||||||||
| Decorations | |||||||||
| Personnel and equipment |
| ||||||||
