Sholakia

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Sholakia (Bengali: শোলাকিয়া) is a locality near Kishoreganj town in Bangladesh. It is famous for its Eidgah where the largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh is held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, the day of celebration after the Ramadan, the month of fasting.[1] 300,000 people join the prayer on every Eid.[2] The Eidgah, on the bank of river Narosunda is reported to be 7 acres in size, accommodating 250 rows or about 150,000 of participants for every congregation.[2] An equal number of participants take part in the prayer using the fields, roads and courtyards around the Eidgah.[2]

A small number of elites make use of the two-storied mimbar (payer hall with towers for adhan) nearby, which can accommodate about 500 people.[2] The prayer on the occasion of Eid ul-Adha, the festival of qurbani or sacrifice, is also comparably large.[3] The regular population of Sholakia is 1,026, consisting 180 households.[4]

Contents

[edit] Organization

Mufti Abul Khair Md. Saifullah has been conducting the eid prayers since 2004. Before him Principal Mufti Abul Khair Muahmmad Nurullah, his father, conducted these prayers for 28 years, from 1975 to 2003.[2] Mufti Nurullah is still remembered at the prayers by his son.[5] The Eidgah has an executive committee of 51 members with the District Commissioner (DC) as the president.[2] For every congregation, district police administration deploys a large number of police officers equipped with metal detectors, mine detectors and close circuit cameras. Medical teams and fire brigades are also kept alert during the prayers.[2] Eid ul-Fitr is the biggest religious festival in the muslim-dominated Bangladesh, followed by Eid ul-Adha.[1]

[edit] History

Sayeed Ahmed, a local dewan of Haibatnagar zamindar family, organized the first Eid congregation in 1828 on the fields of his own taluk.[2] The local myth says that 125,000 people turned out at that congregation, hence the name Sholakia (shoa meaning one and a quarter and lakh meaning a hundred thousand). Another local dewan, Mannan Dad Kha, who was a descendant of Isa Khan, donated 4.35 acres of land to the Eidgah in 1950.[2]

[edit] Other feautres

Sholakia, standing by Kishoreganj-Karimganj road[6], the commercial artery of the area, is almost free from arsenic contamination of groundwater, a menace in the Ganges Basin and elsewhere Binangladesh.[7] Divided into Kharompatty and Kolapara mahallas, Sholakia has a sporting club, Sholakia Sporting Club, that takes part in local level soccer tournaments.[8] Manufacturing bricks and tiles is a major commercial activity here.[9]

[edit] Notable Eidgahs in Bangladesh

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Eid-ul Fitr; Banglapedia; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Moklesur Rahman, Liton. "Sholakia Eidgah", Star Insight, Daily Star, 2006-10-28, pp. Cover page. Retrieved on 2007-08-22. (English) 
  3. ^ The New Age, 2007-01-04, Retrieved: 2007-08-22
  4. ^ Austragram Census Results at a glance (PDF). Census. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  5. ^ From Drishtipat; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  6. ^ South Asia Disaster News Service; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  7. ^ Welltacker Columbia University; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  8. ^ From the daily New Age; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  9. ^ From craft central; Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
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