Rajshahi
A large, green campus founded in 1953, with tree-lined roads made for an evening walk.
Student life sets the rhythm here. Pohela Boishakh, the Bangla New Year, and 21 February, Language Martyrs’ Day, bring processions and cultural programmes to the campus, and 18 February — Zoha Day — honours Dr Shamsuzzoha.
The University of Rajshahi, founded in 1953, is one of the oldest and largest universities in Bangladesh. Its campus at Motihar, on the eastern edge of the city, is famous for its size and greenery: long avenues of trees, ponds and wide lawns between the faculty buildings and halls.
The campus carries an important place in the country’s history. On 18 February 1969, during the mass uprising, Dr Syed Mohammad Shamsuzzoha, a chemistry teacher and the university’s proctor, was killed while trying to protect protesting students — remembered as one of the first intellectuals to give his life in the struggle. His grave and memorial are on campus, and 18 February is marked here every year.
During the 1971 Liberation War, part of the campus was used as an army camp, and a memorial now marks a mass grave there. The Shaheed Smriti Sangrahashala, the university’s Liberation War museum, and the sculpture Shabash Bangladesh are among the places most visitors seek out.
Start at the Liberation War museum, if it is open that day.
Pay your respects at Dr Shamsuzzoha’s grave and memorial.
See the Liberation War sculpture, one of the campus’s landmarks.
Walk the tree-lined avenues as the light fades, then have tea at a student stall.
Late afternoon, October to March; the campus is liveliest during term and quieter on holidays
At Motihar on the eastern edge of the city: 15–20 minutes by auto-rickshaw from the centre.
