Savar - History

History

The origin of the name Savar is thought to be an evolved version of the ancient 7th-8th century township of সর্বেশ্বর Shôrbeshshôr ("Lord of everything") or সম্ভার Shômbhar ("Collection") situated on the banks of the river known today as the Bangshee. It was the capital of the Sanbagh Kingdom then. Local legends claim that a king by the name of Harish Chandra ruled over Shôrbeshshôr. There is an old shloka that goes বংশাবতীর পূর্বতীরে সর্বেশ্বর নগরী, বৈশে রাজা হরিশচন্দ্র জিনি সূরপুরী Bôngshabotir purbotire shôrbeshshôr nôgori, boishe raja Horishchôndro jini shurpuri ("In Sharbeshvar city on the east bank of the Bansabati, lives King Harish Chandra conquering Heaven").

It is supposed from the pottery inscriptions from the sixth century that many foreign traders used to come here for business. There are also legends of the famous Bengali Buddhist monk Atish Dipankar having stayed at the Buddhist monastery at Rajashan for some time.

During the Bangladesh War of Liberation in 1971, Savar Cantonment (then Ansar Camp) and then newly founded Jahangirnagar University were some of the first targets of military swoop outside the capital following Operation Searchlight of 25 March. In December of that year, Savar was the last obstacle before the freedom fighters (led by Kader Siddiqui and others) entered the capital and the Pakistan army conceded defeat. Days before the end of the war, teenager Golam Dastagirr Titu was killed in a direct encounter between the Pakistani army and the freedom fighters. The compatriots buried him near the main gate of the Central Cattle Breading & Dairy Farm, Savar. Bangladesh Army constructed a memorial monument in honour of him. Marks of the War of Liberation Jatiya Smriti Shaudha (National Memorial Monument), mass grave in front of the National Memorial, martyr memorial (for Golam Dastagirr Titu) at the gate of the Savar Dairy Farm, "Sangsaptak" and Amar Ekushey Sculpture (in Jahangirnagar University Campus).

On November 24, 2012 a garment factory fire killed at least 112 people. The factory made clothes for US and European companies and was faulted for negligent safety standards. Walmart and Sears, two of the companies who contracted work from this factory, refused to compensate victims.

On April 24, 2013, a building collapsed, killing more than 300 people and injuring over 1,000. The building housed a garment factory which exported clothing to US and European companies. Eighty percent of the workers were women aged 18–20, paid $0.12-$0.26 per hour.