The Salimullah Muslim Hall was built in 22 August 1929, as a university hall for the students of Dhaka University. Among the residential halls of Dhaka University Salimullah Muslim Hall holds a special status due to its architectural heritage. After the establishment of Dhaka University, the majority of young Muslims of East Bengal resided in Salimullah Muslim Hall and later achieved success in their respective fields.
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On 27 May 1912, the British government constituted the “Nathan Committee” establishing a residential hall based university. The Calcutta University Commission recommended to establish a Muslim Hall for the Muslim students of Dhaka University so that the Muslim students can maintain their own culture and religion. As far the report of Nathan Committee and the recommendation of Calcutta University commission the government of India prepared the Dhaka University bill. The bill was passed by the Indian Law Assembly.The viceroy and governor general Lord Reading agreed to the bill on 23 March 1920. According to the Dacca University Act 1920, the viceroy and governor general appointed Mr.PG Hartog as the first Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University. Enrollment of students started from 10 July 1921.
The journey of Dhaka University began with three halls.These are Muslim Hall (Salimullah Muslim Hall),Jagannath Hall and Dhaka Hall. For the time being the Muslim Hall was established in the Secretariat House. An arrangement was made for the Muslim students to reside on the first floor of Muslim Hall. The largest room in the ground floor of the Secretariat House (Muslim Hall) was divided into several parts for the use of dining room, kitchen, common room, library etc. In the first year of Dhaka University, educational session 1921-22, the Muslim Hall started functioning with 75 residential students and the total number of Muslim residential and attached students were 178. Associate Professor Ahmed Fazlur Rahman, Reader of History Department, Ex-Faculty of Aligarh Muslim University was appointed as Provost of Salimullah Muslim Hall. Two house tutors were also appointed for the students of Muslim Hall. One of them was the Sub-Librarian of the university Mr.Fakhruddin Ahmed who supervised the hall students. The other house tutor, Muhammad Shahidullah was in-charge of Religious Instruction. The residential students of Muslim Hall started increasing from 1922-23 session. During that year the number of residential students increased to 101 and the total number of Muslim students became 229.More rooms were required for the Muslim residential students. For this reason,8 other rooms were arranged for the students of Muslim Hall. In the 1923-24 session the number of Muslim residential students became 127. Due to the increased number of residential students, 61 rooms were allocated in the Secretariat House.The residence of the house tutors were nearby Muslim Hall(Salimullah Muslim Hall).Since the number of Muslim residential students were increasing day by day so the house tutor of the Muslim Hall Mr.M.F.Rahman felt that it would be difficult for him to arrange more rooms for the students.He then wrote a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the university and mentioned that “The Mahomedan Community desired that a separate hall should be built for them; the University has agreed to spend a part of its capital grant and Government has asked to grant a loan. If this is done, the Community would be grateful; it will have the satisfaction that a suitable building has been provided for the Mahomedan young men who are the real trustees of their generation.”
Due to increase in number of residential students every year, the university authority deeply felt the necessity to build a new Muslim Hall Building and formed a Building Committee. The Muslim Hall Building Committee appointed the architect, Mr.Gwyther, to plan and design the proposed Muslim Hall which wqas later named the Salimullah Muslim Hall. In 1927 the Government of Bengal wisely decided to provide funds to carry out the recommendation and construct a Hall in which there will be enough rooms for students to enjoy the advantages of a co-operative life.In 1930-31 session Messrs Martin & Co. the contractors made considerable progress with the construction of the building under the supervision of Mr.D.J.Blomfield and latterly of Mr.A.F.L.H.Harrison. The people who were onvolved in making Salimullah Muslim Hall a proper place for the residential students to live in are –Lord Briton, Sir Abdur Rahim, Sir Muhammad Sulaiman, Sir Sultan Ahmed, Sir Akbar Haidari, Sir Radha Krishno.In the 1931-32 session the Salimullah Muslim Hall Union was formed. Salimulla Musilm Hall is not only an ordinary residential hall for the students of Dhaka University but it embodies also our history and proud heritage, the heritage of our own identity along with ours being backward not only in education but also in almost all civic matters.
Salimullah Muslim Hall, built in August 1929 as a university hall, this two-storied handsome building is laid out around an inner courtyard over which its four wings overlook. Continuous varendahs on the inner facades run in front of rows of residential rooms. The building faces south and has an arched entrance in the centre of the south wing which is flanked on either side by square towers, each crowned with a bulbous dome which is decorated with yellow glazed tiles. The southern frontage of the building also has a continuous verandah and subsidiary porches. Its four corners are provided with square projections which are crowned by triple domes. This hall, although not much different in plan to other university halls, but it has a more dignifier appearance because of its perfect symmetry and fine design.
The present building of Salimullah Muslim hall was inaugurated on 11 August 1931. It is still a very renowned hall of Dhaka University. More than 45 employees are working in different positions of the hall. Merituous students of this hall are awarded with scholarships. Financial aid and books are distributed among them from different sources i.e. UGC Scholarship, Board scholarship, District Council, Sena Kalyan, Saleh Din Kin and Begum Faruk Sultan Kin foundation and ex-student welfare Association Fund Discussion meetings, Milad Mahfil and Doa Mahfil are held in the hall mosque in celebration of Shab-e-Barat and Shab-e-Qader every year.Annual sports competition is held at central sports ground every year. For the convenience of students, there is a card phone booth in the hall premises. The two-storied building provides shelter to more than 800 students. Salimullah Muslim Hall embodies our history and proud heritage, the heritage of our own identity.
Preservation of cultural artifacts is part of a process to retain local heritage on the face of modernization perceived to denude cultural identity. The government has enacted laws to protect older buildings and entrusted institutions with the task of protecting and conserving heritage buildings like the Salimullah Muslim Hall. Accordingly, the renovation of the Salimullah Muslim Hall has been carried out regularly. With the financial support from University Grant Commission the last renovation of the hall building has been completed in the year 2010.