Imambara literally means residence for the imam. In the Indian subcontinent, the word stands for a house or an assembly hall built by the Shiites for observing muharram. Throughout the month of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar, as well as on other occasions important to Shiites, assemblies (majlis) are held in the Imambara. On the occasion of the death anniversary of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R), the tale of Karbala is told, marsiah or elegies are recited, ritual mourning and matom (beating the breast as a sign of mourning) is done.

The Imambara is primarily an Indian institution that originated in the 18th century. Safdar Jung (1708-54) built a house at Delhi for the purpose of celebrating the ashura, the tenth day of Muharram, but the building was not called Imambara. Asafuddaula, the grandson of Safdar Jung, also built a similar house at Lucknow that became famous as Imambara-i-Asafi. The Imambara is also known as ashura khana in northern India.

There are a number of Imambaras in West Bengal, among them an Imambara at Hazarduari Palace, Murshidabad, and another at Hughli are notable. In Bangladesh, there are a number of Imambaras in Dhaka, Manikganj, Kishoreganj, Astagram, Saidpur, Thakurgaon and Sylhet. At one time there were 15 Imambaras in Dhaka alone, of which the most famous is the husaini dalan, built by Syed Mir Murad.

Imambara (Hughli) an endowed Shi'a institution managed by the mohsin fund. For visitors the most attractive part of Hughli town is the large Imambara complex consisting of architecturally imposing buildings and structures featuring college, school, madrasa, mosque, hospital, marketplace, residences, tombs of shi'a holy figures, tombs of Haji Muhammad mohsin and his family members. Faujdar Mirza Salahuddin Muhammad Khan, husband of mannujan khanam, originally built the Imambara complex in the late 18th century. Haji Muhammad Mohsin inherited the zamindari of Syayadpur from his childless half-sister, Mannujan. Mohsin maintained the family tradition by holding the religious ceremonies and festivals in the most public and gorgeous manner.

In consideration of the conservation of the Imambara and family tradition, Mohsin, himself being a celibate, made an endowment by executing a deed in 1806 under which the whole income of the zamindari was divided into nine equal shares. Three shares, according to the deed, were to be applied to the maintenance of the Imambara and its servants and for holding religious celebrations and festivals. The Mohsin Fund was taken over by the government in 1818 due to the utter mismanagement and embezzlement by the mutwallis or trustees. The government superintendent of the Fund made a great surplus of the income of the estates, which was used in erecting new buildings for the Imambara in the 1850s. Some of the original buildings, which were built in the last decade of the 17th century, were however preserved. The Hughli Imambara with its magnificent new structures turned out to be the most famous tourist spot in the late nineteenth century. All the buildings and rooms, mosques and saraikhanas or inns were built with marble blocks, and the walls decorated with texts from the Holy Quran. With precious furniture, carvings, chandeliers, lanterns, the silver-plated pulpit in the exquisitely decorated mosque, and a well-staffed hospital and college the Imambara institution had assumed an exhilarating look from the 1860s. Now the Imambara, though not so well maintained as before, makes an attractive tourist spot in the State of West Bengal, India.

Imambara (Thakurgaon) About 20km to the southwest from the district town of Thakurgaon is the village of Sindurna (under Raipur Union), where stands an Imambara in a rather unsatisfactory state of preservation. The Salbadi Mosque, in the eastern quarter of the village, lies about 200 yards to its south.

Two inscribed tablets, one in Bangla and the other in Persian, record its date of construction. The Bangla inscription is now placed on the wall of the nearby mud-built mosque, while the Persian one is now in the custody of a local inhabitant, Mr Hakimuddin Ahmed. The inscription in Bangla records the date of construction as 1215 BS and the Persian has the date as 1210 BS, but both mention the name of the builder as Shaikh Mohammad Raj, son of Shaikh Khairuddin and grandson of Shaikh Sadaruddin. Local tradition has it that they were descendants of Shaikh Chan, zamindar of Sitalpur in Purnia district.

What now exists of the Imambara is perhaps the gateway house and the main building has in all probability disappeared. It is a 6.10m high rectangular building and measures 5.80m ´ 3.95m externally. There are two arched entrances in each of its eastern and western sides, while there is only one arched entrance each in its south and north sides. The arches are about 2.15m high and 0.90m wide. The walls are 0.90m thick. The building has a chauchala hut type of roof, while the cornice is straight.

The building is in a very dilapidated condition with an overgrowth of vegetation on the roof. The structure is on a raised plinth. Scattered brickbats in the surrounding grounds testify to the existence of the main Imambara. [Mohammad Shafiqullah, Sirajul Islam, Sania Sitara]