Mausoleum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

The Mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানের সমাধিসৌধ) is the mausoleum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and the first president of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It is located in Tungipara of Gopalganj district, the birthplace of Mujib, and was designed by architects Ehsan Khan, Ishtiaque Jahir and Iqbal Habib.

After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975, he was buried in his native Tungipara. For many years the military junta restricted access to the grave site. After the Awami League was elected in the 1996 general election, the Department of Archaeology officially commenced construction of the complex, which was opened in 2001.

History
After the liberation of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the 2nd prime minister of the country after being released from Mianwali Jail in Pakistan and returning to his motherland. He then started living in his own residence with family instead of moving to the government residence. He lived in his own house till August 15, 1975. On that day, some disgruntled army officers carried out the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. His wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, and Sheikh Russel were killed in the attack on their residence.

The next day, the military junta buried all but Mujib's body in the Banani graveyard. It was decided to bury Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at his birthplace, Tungipara, away from the country's capital. The Director General of Forces Intelligence assigned a major to hand over his body to his village relatives and supervise the burial. Major Haider Ali and 14 army personnel brought Mujib's dead body to Tungipara by helicopter. They found a distant relative of Mujib named Mosharraf Hussain whom they entrusted to bury Mujib. When a village imam was brought to perform the process, Ali asked him to bury the body without performing the funeral rites. Better than this, the imam said that if the dead person is a Shaheed, then he can be buried in this way. After listening to imam's answer, Major Ali asked to complete the funeral at low cost and quickly. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was buried next to his father after completing the burial. Entry to his grave area was restricted for many years and no one was allowed to enter.

Construction
In 1994, architect Ehsan Khan, Ishtiaq Zahir and Iqbal Habib were commissioned to convert Bangabandhu's residence in Dhaka into a museum. After they completed the work in 1995, Sheikh Hasina asked them to build a mausoleum complex for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara. A year later, after Awami League came to power, the government selected them to implement the mausoleum complex project. They were given two years to complete the project. The prime minister gave them the basic idea of what will be built under the master plan. The construction started in 1998. The foundation stone of the complex was laid on 17 March 1999 and inaugurated on 10 January 2001. The complex has been designed in such a way that it fits into the village environment. Care was taken not to spoil the environment and nature of the area where the complex was built.

Layout
The mausoleum complex is situated on 38.30 acres land.

Mausoleum
The center of the complex has a tomb building. The tomb is located in front of the complex after passing the gardens on both sides. The tomb built of red ceramic and black and white marble, contains the graves of three people including Mujib and his parents. The grave is clad in white marble and surrounded by a dome. Light spills into the tomb through the latticed walls and the carved glass above.

Library and museum
There is a library with 6000 books with a museum. There is an exhibition center which houses photographs of Bangladesh independence struggle and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from various periods and local-foreign historical newspapers. Also the coffin carried Mujib is also preserved here. Besides, there are research center, open stage, public plaza, administrative building, cafeteria, Bakultala square and souvenir corner. There are flower gardens and artificial hills on both sides of the wide road by the library.

Ancestral residence and mosque
There is Mujib's ancestral house beside the tomb and a Sheikh family mosque established in 1854. Apart from this, there is historical places related to the life of Mujib such as a pond, family garden etc. There is an amusement park named after Sheikh Russel.

Significance
Official and military ceremonies take place here on special occasions, such as on 26 March (Independence Day), 16 December (Victory Day), 17 March (Mujib's birthday) and 15 August (National Mourning Day). Dignitaries and officials from foreign countries also visit the mausoleum during official tours.

In popular culture
In 1984, Syed Fakhruddin Mahmud wrote a poem about the mausoleum titled Ekti Omor Somadhi (lit. 'An immortal tomb'). "An Immortal Tomb

"Stop wayfarer". A true Bengali, if you are

Stand for a moment, on this burial ground.

Here sleeps, Bengali's greatest leader

The liberator of this country, the jewel of Bengal's eyes.

Burned a hundred sorrows, who in exchange for life

Bengalis have been given a site, at the edge of the world...""

The poem is engraved on the stone at the entrance gate of the mausoleum complex.