Jinjira Palace: A tale lost in time

In front of me, lie the remains of an ancient palace from a bygone era. The plaster on the walls has given way to reveal the ancient bricks within. Inside there are three dark rooms, the living quarters of three different families. A narrow stairway leads to the roof from the outside. An opulence of coconut, neem and drumstick trees engulf the venerable structure which is now overshadowed by a jungle of five-storey modern concrete buildings. Without a closer look, none can tell the existence of the ancient Mughal construct.        

The bricks and mortar of this palace are laden with a history few care to recollect.

The building is the disintegrating remnant of the Jinjira Palace, constructed four hundred years ago. It was built by Mughal subedar Ibrahim Khan II (1689-1697) to serve as his ‘pleasure house’, for entertainment and recreation.

I reached Jinjira with relative ease, from the Kadamtali crossroads in Keraniganj on the morning of 25 October. One has to pass by the gate in front of the local office of a political party, and navigate the alleyways on foot to reach the remains of the palace.

Though this is supposed to be a historic site overseen by the archaeology department, there is not even a single sign near the building to indicate such.

The land currently occupied by the modern apartment buildings was all once covered by the palace. Now, only two structures of the palace remain. People still live there. Tourists and visitors are not very welcome and the locals greet them with suspicion.    

The locals call this place "hawli". The word originated from the Persian word "haveli", which is a generic term used for a traditional townhouse or mansion. The word "jinjira" originates from the Arabic word "jazirah", which stands for "island". Historians say that the name was given as the palace is surrounded by rivers.

From Banglapedia it can be learned that the Jinjira Palace consisted of the palace edifice, two-storey rectangular extensive hammam (bathhouse) complex, the two-storey gateway with provision for guard rooms and two octagonal side towers on the south. The rooms of the palace were rectangular with plastered walls and a vaulted roof.  

The palace having originally been built just on the riverbank is said to have been connected with the Dhaka city by a wooden bridge thrown across the river at Bara Katra point.

The recreation resort of Nawab Ibrahim Khan became the residence of Murshid Quli Khan on his getting the diwani of Bengal, and continued as such till the transfer of the seat of his revenue administration to Murshidabad (1703). He used to stay in this palace while on official visits to Dhaka. This palace had been the family residence of Husain Quli Khan, a deputy to Nawazish Muhammad Khan, absentia Naib Nazim of Dhaka under Nawab Alivardi Khan.

The palace was best with melancholia during the closing years of the Murshidabad nizamat. After the fall of Nawab Sarfaraz Khan (1739-1740), his mother, wife, sister and children along with some women of his harem were kept confined in the Jinjira Palace.

After the murder of Husain Quli Khan (1754) in the street of Murshidabad, his family members who were living in this palace suffered the similar fate.

Ironically, after the fall of Nawab Sirajuddaula, Alivardi's wife Sharifunnessa, daughters Ghaseti Begum and Amina Begum, Sirajuddaula's wife Lutfunnisa Begum with her daughter Qudsia Begum alias Umme Zohra were sent to the Jinjira Palace where they were kept under strict surveillance.

The tale goes that Ghaseti Begum and Amina Begum were placed on a barge by jamadar Bakr Khan on the pretext of taking them to Murshidabad, and were drowned with their barge in the river Dhaleswari (June 1760) under instructions of Mir Sadeq Ali Khan alias Miran, son of Nawab Mir Zafar Ali Khan.

The palace which has played such an important role in the history of Bengal needs to be protected and preserved.

According to the Keraniganj UNO Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhrujjaman, around Tk 200 Million is required to acquire and reform the palace grounds.  He has sent letters to the deputy commissioner and the archaeology department with this information.

However, the archaeology department is yet to even place a sign near Jinjira to indicate that the palace is a historic preservation.

When Prothom Alo brought the matter to the attention to the director general of the archaeology department, Altaf Hossain, he said that they were sincerely trying to preserve the palace remains.

They were aware of the current condition of the site and a sign indicating the building as a historic preservation will be put up very soon, he said.