to be placed in the columns. The marble floor was designed to reflect the moving shadows of the columns. The basement of the Minar also included a fresco depicting the history of the language movement. A railing decorated with Bengali alphabet was to be constructed in front. Two footmarks coloured red and black, indicating the two opposite forces, were also in the design. Besides this a museum and a library were also included in Hamidur Rahman's design. A fountain shaped like an eye was also to be constructed. Rahman specifically designed the materials of the monument to withstand the area's tropical climate. Construction started in November 1957, under the supervision of Hamidur Rahman and Novera Ahmed. Most of the work, including the basement, platform, some of the columns with the rails, footprints and some of the murals were also finished when martial law was declared in the area, and the construction was forced to a halt. Construction work was completed in 1963, leaving much of Fatamatuj's design unfinished. It was inaugurated on 21 February 1963, by the mother of Abul Barkat, Hasina Begum. The Minar was severely damaged by the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The columns were destroyed on the night of the commencement of the genocide, 25 March 1971. The Pakistani Army crushed the Minar and placed over the rubble a signboard reading "Mosque". Re-establishment of Shaheed Minar and current state In 1972, a committee headed by the then president Abu Sayeed Chowdhury was formed and renovation work began. The original sketch was ignored, while the Construction and Building Directorate followed the 1963 design. The construction went quickly, according to a modified design from 1963. The murals destroyed by the Pakistani army were not restored and the basement was sealed off. Hamidur Rahman's original design was not approved by the directorate in the renovation work. In the mid-eighties, the monument underwent further renovation under the supervision of the then Department of Architecture chief architect SHM Abul Bashar, which extended the area of the Shaheed Minar premises, giving it a square shape from a triangular one. Quarters concerned demanded proper implementation of the design by Hamidur Rahman with the help of sculptor Novera Ahmed and Danish architect Gean Deleuran. ASM Ismail said that because of the extension, two entrances to the basement murals were permanently closed, and after remaining in an abandoned state for 15