Representatives of Bangladesh’s Zia Centre for Policy and Research visited the locked Jalpaiguri house where former prime minister Khaleda Zia spent part of her childhood, beginning an effort to explore whether the property can be preserved as a site of historical memory.
The house is located in the Nayabasti neighbourhood of Jalpaiguri and is currently owned by the Chakraborty family, which lives elsewhere, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin. The representatives could view the property only from outside during their visit on Thursday because it was locked.
Pradip Chandra Saha, secretary of the Zia Centre for Policy and Research, said the organisation was identifying places outside Bangladesh associated with Khaleda Zia’s life. The purpose, he said, was to examine how these locations could be preserved. Saha said he would submit a report after returning to Bangladesh.
According to the report, the centre was launched in February after Tarique Rahman’s government came to power in Bangladesh. Saha said the Bangladesh government was interested in the preservation effort and that discussions could be held with the Indian government regarding the Jalpaiguri property.
Khaleda Zia’s family is linked to Jalpaiguri through her father, Mohammed Iskander, who worked at Dash and Company near Thana More. Khaleda studied at Sunitibala Sadar Girls’ School and was known locally by the name Beauty, the report said.
The family later moved from the Teesta region to what became Bangladesh after the Partition of 1947 through an exchange of property. Khaleda subsequently entered public life and became chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party before serving as Bangladesh’s prime minister.
The proposed preservation effort now faces practical questions, including the property owner’s consent, access to the locked house, and the legal and administrative process required for any heritage intervention. The next stated step is the submission of the visiting delegation’s report and possible discussions between the Bangladesh and Indian governments.
