Akhaura () is an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas ...

Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria District () is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Gangetic Plain. It is bounded by the districts of Kishoreganj District, Kish ...

, a district under

Chattogram Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km². The main river that run through this upazila is the

Titas River The Titas ( ''Titāsa''; also Romanized Titash) is a river in Bangladesh which merges into the Meghna river and forms part of the Surma-Meghna River System. Titas starts its journey from Sarail Upazila, Brahmanbaria. The river is long and again ...

. Akhaura played an important historical role during both

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

Liberation War of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. The administration of Akhaura thana, now an

, was established in 1976. The upazila includes one municipality, five union parishads, 102 mouzas and 112 villages.

History

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for the liberation of Bangladesh,

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

planners predicted India would launch its main attack in the east along the Akhaura– Brahmanbaria axis; however, the army had no troops in this area, so the 27th brigade at Mymensingh was moved to Akhaura, except for two battalions (which became the 93rd brigade) that were retained for the defence of

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

. Pakistan Army's 93,000 troops unconditionally surrendered to the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and India's local ally

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

on 16 December 1971. This day and event is commemorated as the Bijoy Dibos () in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of Bangladesh In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, which provided a provisional estimate of the total population of the country as 142,319,000. The previous decennial census was the 2001 census. Data were r ...

, Akhaura Upazila had 27,831 households and a population of 145,215. 39,836 (27.43%) were under 10 years of age. Akhaura had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 52.75%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1071 females per 1000 males. 36,262 (24.97%) lived in urban areas.

Points of interest

* Kharampur Mazar Sharif, the mausoleum of Hazrat Syed Ahmad Gesudaraz, is a pilgrimage site for devotees.

Administration

Akhaura Upazila is divided into Akhaura Municipality and five

union parishad Union council (), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads (district councils) being the largest rural authori ...

s: Dakshin Akhaura, Dharkhar, Monionda, Mogra, and Uttar Akhaura. The union parishads are subdivided into 102 mouzas and 112 villages. Akhaura Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 23

mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, Quarter (country subdivision), quarter, Ward (country subdivision), ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. ...

Transport

Plans are underway to have Akhaura connected to

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

, India via railway by 2017. In 2013–14, Bangladesh exported TK 2.26 billion through the Akhaura Land Port to India.

Education

There are several schools and colleges in Akhaura. As in 2016, there is no university in Akhaura upazila. According to Banglapedia, Bangladesh Railway Government High School, founded in 1920, is a notable secondary school.

Notable people

* Syed Emdadul Bari, former DC of Brahmanbaria District

References

{{Brahmanbaria District Towns in Bangladesh Bangladesh–India border crossings Upazilas of Brahmanbaria District