2013 Shahbag protests

Shahbag or Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh, Bengali: শাহবাগ, romanized: Shāhbāg, IPA: [ˈʃaːbaːɣ]) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or thana in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting sections of the city—Old Dhaka and New Dhaka—which lie, respectively, to its south and north. Developed in the 17th century during Mughal rule in Bengal, when Old Dhaka was the provincial capital and a centre of the flourishing muslin industry, it came to neglect and decay in early 19th century. In the mid-19th century, the Shahbag area was developed as New Dhaka became a provincial centre of the British Raj, ending a century of decline brought on by the passing of Mughal rule. Shahbag is the location of the nation's leading educational and public institutions, including the University of Dhaka, the oldest and largest public university in Bangladesh, Dhaka Medical College, the largest medical college in the country, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, the largest public university for technological studies in the country. Shahbag hosts many street markets and bazaars. Since Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971, the Shahbag area has become a venue for celebrating major festivals, such as the Bengali New Year and Basanta Utsab. Shahbag's numerous ponds, palaces and gardens have inspired the work of writers, singers, and poets. With Dhaka University at its centre, the thana has been the origin of major political movements in the nation's 20th century history, including the All India Muslim Education Conference in 1905, which led to the All India Muslim League. In 1947, to both the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan; the Bengali Language Movement in 1952, which led to the recognition of Bengali as an official language of Pakistan; and the Six point movement in 1966, which led to the nation's independence. It was here, on 7 March 1971, that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a historic speech calling for the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan, and here too, later that year, that the Pakistani Army surrendered in the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The area has since become a staging ground for protests by students and other groups. It was the site of public protests by around 30,000 civilians on 8 February 2013, against a lenient ruling against war criminals.

BIRDEM, the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders at Shahbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a 600-bed multidisciplinary hospital complex of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh. The hospital was established in 1980 with the financial support of Bangladesh. In BIRDEM, 3,000 patients are treated in the Out Patients Department (OPD) every day. No other hospital in Bangladesh serves so many diabetes patients. According to the Denmark-based multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordics Vice President of the Pacific Ocean, Selvam Afsar Tuna, This is the world's largest hospital in treating diabetes. It has been designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre on Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, as the only one of its kind in Asia.

Ibrahim Medical College (IMC) is a private medical school in Bangladesh, established in 2002. It is located in the Shahbag neighborhood of Dhaka. It has another campus in Shegunbagicha. It is affiliated with University of Dhaka as a constituent college.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) is a graduate medical university in Bangladesh. It was established in 1965 and was originally known as Pakistan General Hospital, or colloquially as PG Hospital. The university offers postgraduate degrees only, not offering undergraduate medical or dental degrees.

Shahbag (Bengali: শাহবাগ, romanised: Shahbag) is a metro station of the Dhaka Metro's MRT Line 6. This station is located in the area and thana of Shahbagh. The station has been in service since 31 December 2023.

The Dhaka Club (formerly spelled as Dacca Club) is the oldest recreation organisation and the largest of elite clubs in Dhaka. Originally it was an all-white association and it now is the premier elite association in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh National Museum (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় জাদুঘর), is the national museum of Bangladesh. The museum is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like department of ethnography and decorative art, department of history and classical art, department of natural history, and department of contemporary and world civilization. The museum also has a rich conservation laboratory. Nalini Kanta Bhattasali served as the first curator of the museum during 1914–1947.

Bangladesh Betar (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ বেতার) or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh established after Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971. It was also known as Radio Bangladesh between 1975 and 1996.

The Sufia Kamal National Public Library (Bengali: সুফিয়া কামাল জাতীয় গণগ্রন্থাগার) of Bangladesh is the largest public library in Bangladesh and houses the central administration of the Department of Public Libraries, under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The library was previously named as "Central Public Library" between 2004 and 2010. The library is located in Dhaka's Shahbag neighbourhood. The auditorium (Shawkat Osman Auditorium) of the library is a major venue for cultural events in Dhaka, including the International Short and Independent Film Festival. It also houses the Library Training Institute funded and managed by the Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB). It also has a reprography service, in-house bindery and conservation section.

The InterContinental Dhaka is a prominent luxury hotel in Ramna in central Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It opened in 1966 and is owned by the Bangladeshi government.

The Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA) was established in 1948 as the Dhaka Art School. It was the first art school in the region and became the main centre of art and cultural practice. Since 1956 it has been situated in Shahbag, Dhaka, close to the Bangladesh National Museum. Architect Muzharul Islam designed the building. In 2008, the institute took its current name when it became one of the faculties of the University of Dhaka.

The National Tennis Complex is the national tennis practice ground located in Ramna, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.