Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central

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 ...

. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both

Barisal District Barisal District, officially Barishal District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh, it was formerly called Bakerganj district, and established in 1797. Its headquarters is in Barisal city, which is also the headquarters of Barisal ...

and Barisal Division. It is one of the oldest municipalities and river ports of the country. The city was once called the Venice of the East or the Venice of Bengal. Barisal municipality was established in 1876 during the

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and upgraded to City Corporation on 25 July 2002. Barisal is Bangladesh's third largest financial hub after

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and

Chittagong 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 ...

. The city consists of 30 wards and 50 mahallas with a population of 533,000, according to the 2023 national census, and about 250,000 voters, according to the 2018 voter list of city election. The area of the city is 58 km².

History

Barisal was part of the ancient kingdoms of Vanga,

Gangaridai Gangaridai (, ) is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE–2nd century AD) to describe people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writers state that Alexander the Great withdrew f ...

and

Samatata Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman account of Sounagoura is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corres ...

. The region was ruled by Khadga, Pala,

Chandra Chandra (), also known as Soma (), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions). Etymology and other ...

, Sena and

Deva dynasty Deva Dynasty (c. 12th – 15th centuries) was a Bengali Hindu dynasty which originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent; the dynasty ruled over eastern Bengal after the Sena dynasty. The capital of the dynasty was Bikrampur in ...

in the mediaeval period. It was conquered by

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bin Bakhtiyār Khaljī, also known as Bakhtiyar Khalji, was a Turko-Afghan Military General of the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, who led the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Muslim conquests of the easte ...

and was later a significant territory of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

and

Bengal Sultanate The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a Post-classical history, late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges- ...

. After the decline of the

Suri Empire The Sur Empire was an empire ruled by the Afghan-origin Sur dynasty in northern India for nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram (in modern-day Bihar) serving as its capital. It was founded by Sher Shah Suri. The S ...

, the territory became a semi-independent area in the Mughal period because of heavy fighting between the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

chiefs, although most parts of the city were totally under the control of the governors of the proto-industrialised

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah (Bengali language, Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the puppet states and the largest subah, subdivision of The Mughal India, Mughal Emp ...

. In course of time, it fell under the Bengal Nawabs. Raja Ramranjan Chakravarty was put as a

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

king during the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

of the British, later passed to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

at independence and finally

. In ancient times, it was called by the name '' Bangala'' (বাঙ্গালা) and later ''Chandradvipa'' in 10th century, while during the Medieval Islamic times it was also known as Ismailpur & Bacola (বাকলা). The word 'Bacola' or 'Bakla' was probably derived from the ancient name '' Bangala'', an ancient geopolitical division of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Ralph Fitch Ralph Fitch (1550 – 1611) was a gentleman, a merchant of London and one of the earliest British travellers and merchants to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, South Asia, and Southeast Asia including the court of Mughal e ...

, the first ever Englishman, a leather merchant, known to have visited Bengal in the mid-1580s, described Barisal in his journal as, "From Chatigan in Bengal, I came to Bacola; the king whereof is a Gentile, a man very well disposed and delighted much to shoot in a gun. His country is very great and fruitful, and hath store of rice, much cotton cloth, and cloth of silk. The houses are very fair and high built, the streets large, and people naked, except a little cloth about their waist. The women wear a great store of silver hoops about their necks and arms, and their legs are ringed with silver and copper, and rings made from elephants' teeth." The central city of this region is the city of Barisal. It is one of the biggest river ports in Bangladesh. It is a city with nearly 0.38 million people and a divisional headquarters,

medical college A medical association or medical college is a trade association that brings together practitioners of a particular geographical area (a country, region, province). In common-law countries, they are often grouped by medical specialties ( cardiolog ...

, cadet college, some pharmaceutical industries, textile industries and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's head office. Barisal is fast growing city of the country stands on the Kirtankhola River. the country's first short landing and take off airport has been completed in Barisal and a private Airlines named Air Bengal has begun its regular air flight between Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal Airport and Barisal. " Barisal guns" is a natural phenomenon named after Barisal; it is kind of a booming sound heard near lakes and rivers which is due to seismic activity under water, first heard in this region by the British in the 19th century.

Population

Demographics

As of 2022 census results, Barisal City Corporation had 105,200 households and a population of 419,484. 16.19% of the population was under 10 years of age. Barisal had a literacy rate of 88.90% for those 7 years and older and a sex ratio of 103.87 males per 100 females. Most people in Barisal are

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

, the majority ethnic group in Bangladesh. The long-standing Bengali inhabitants of the city are known as the demonym Barisaliya and the most spoken Bengali dialect of this region is known as Eastern Bengali. Apart from them, the city population is composed of people from neighboring upazilas and

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(

Patuakhali Patuakhali ( ''Potuakhali'') is a town and district headquarters of Patuakhali District located on the southern bank of Laukathi river in Barisal Division in Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarter of Patuakhali district and one of the ...

Bhola Bhola may refer to: *Bhola District, Barisal Division, Bangladesh **Bhola Sadar Upazila, sub-division of the district **Bhola Island, largest island of Bangladesh covering the district **Bhola (town), on the island *''Bholaa'', 2023 Indian action f ...

, Pirojpur, Jhalakati, Barguna). The majority of Barisal's people are Muslims (90.36%), mainly

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school. Other religious groups include Hindus (9.01%), and very few numbers of other religions, mainly Christians (0.61%) and Buddhists (0.01%). Since 2015, the Catholic minority has its own Roman Catholic Diocese of Barisal.

Geography

Barisal city occupies an area of 58 km². Barisal District, with an area of 2790.51 km², is bounded by Madaripur, Shariatpur, Chandpur and

Lakshmipur Lakshmipur () is a city and headquarter of Lakshmipur District in the Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Lakshmipur had 17,009 households and a population of 83,112. 18,345 (22.07%) were u ...

districts on the north,

, Barguna and

Jhalokati District Jhalokathi District officially Jhalakathi District, () is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2. It is bounded by Barisal district to the north, Barguna district to the east ...

on the south, Bhola and Lakshmipur districts on the east, Jhalokati, Pirojpur and Gopalganj districts on the west. Several rivers flow across Barisal including the Kirtankhola, Arial Khan, Khoyrabad, Kalijira and Sandha.

Climate

Barisal has a climate on the border between a dry-winter

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cwa'') and a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(''Aw'').

Points of interest

দুর্গাসাগর.JPG, Durga Sagar in Madhabpasha Baitul Aman Mosque.JPG, Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex 118 sadar road, Barisal City, Bangladesh..jpg, Shohel Chattar, Bibir Pukur Par Padma Pukur, Barisal.jpg, Padma Pukur, Barisal Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan Barisal.jpg, Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan 30 Godown, Barisal.jpg, 30 Godown Freedom Fighters Monument Barisal Divisional Museum.JPG, Barisal Collectorate building Barisal City at night.jpg, Barisal city at night Collectorate Pond Barisal at night.jpg, Collectorate pond Durga Sagar: with an area of about 2,500 hectare, is the largest pond or dighi of southern Bangladesh. It is located at Madhabpasa village of Babuganj upazila, about 11 km away from Barisal town. Locally it is known as Madhabpasha Dighi. According to a desire of Rani Durgavati, mother of Raja Joynarayan, the dighi was dug in 1780 (1187 BS). There are coconut trees around the dighi which together with the dighi are bounded by brick-walls. In the middle of the dighi, there is an island with bushes. Migratory birds usually come here during winter. The surrounding areas of the dighi has now been turned into a picnic spot. Madhabpasha was a capital of the kingdom of Chandradvipa. Lakhutia: located approximately 8 km from Barisal's central business district, the Roy family estate is known as 'Lakhutia' (note: there are several variations of the spelling of this word, including 'Lakutia' and 'Lakhotia'). The Lakhutia zamindar estate was founded by Roop Chandra Roy in the late 17th century. Apart from the main mansion itself, the estate has several Shiva temples and large ponds on the vast property. The Lakhutia mansion – including the Roy family's personal property, was effectively destroyed during the

1950 East Pakistan Riots The 1950 East Pakistan riots (, ) took place between Hindus and Muslims in East Pakistan, which resulted in several thousands of Hindus being killed in pogroms. Background In August 1947, British India was partitioned into the Dominions of ...

, and then again later during the

1971 Bangladesh genocide The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis residing in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Army and the Razakar (Pakistan), Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as ...

. While most of Lakhutia was destroyed during the 1950 and 1971 riots and genocide, the historical site and sparse remains of the mansion remain one of Barisal's main tourist attractions.

* Durga Sagar * Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex * Oxford Mission Church * Bell's Park aka Bangubandhu Udyan * Rupatoli area * 30 Godown * Planet Park * Muktijoddha Park * Narikel Bagan & Horticulture (Agriculture Training Institute) * Lakhutia Zamindar Bari * Korapur Miah Bari Masjid * Shankar Math * Town Hall * Sher-e-Bangla Memorial Museum * Bir Sreshtho Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Library and Museum *

Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...

Museum * Dapdapia Bridge * Bibir Pukur * Shahid Shukkur-Gafur Memorial Park, Amanatganj * Taltali Bridge, Amanatganj * Padma Pukur (Pond of Lotus) * Kali Mandir founded by the Poet Mukunda Das * Martyred Intellectuals Memorial / BadhyaBhumi Monument (বধ্যভূমি স্মৃতিসৌধ) * Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Regional Centre (Coconut Garden)

Architecture

Barisal's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, and have been built over a long period of time. Some well known heritage buildings are: * Barishal Zilla School building * Kamalapur Mosque * Oxford Mission Church * Qasba Mosque * Shankar Math

Sports

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

are the two most popular sports in Barisal while tennis and

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

are also popular. There is a national stadium in the city known as Barisal Divisional Stadium (also known as Abdur Rab Serniabad Stadium). It is a multi-purpose stadium and has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. It is also used for football and other sports. Besides, different organization share to stage a show there occasionally. Notable players from Barisal who have played for the national team include Shahriar Nafees, Sohag Gazi, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Fazle Mahmud. There is a regional sports training centre under Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan (BKSP) situated at Rahamatpur in Barisal Barisal is also home to the Bangladesh Premier League franchise Fortune Barishal.

Transport

Air

Barisal Airport is a domestic airport. Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Novoair and US-Bangla Airlines use this port. Active air-route is Barisal-Dhaka-Barisal.

River port

Barisal River Port is the second largest river port of Bangladesh. It is the most popular way of communication for the people of Barisal to Dhaka, the capital city. It is also a popular transport system with other districts like Bhola, Barguna, Lakshmipur.

Road

Barisal is connected to most other regions of the country via the N8 national highway. There are two bus terminals in Barisal, Nathullabad Central Bus terminal and Rupatali Bus Terminal, which connect Barisal to other districts.

Education

Barisal is home to many educational institutions. Govt. Brojomohan College is the oldest institution of higher education in the city, founded in 1889. There is a public university

University of Barisal University of Barishal (, ; also known as Barishal University or simply BU) is a public university located in Barisal, a divisional city in southern Bangladesh. It is the country's 33rd public university. The university was established in 2011 ...

and two private universities, a government medical college Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC), a textile engineering college Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College and an engineering college Barisal Engineering College. There are also educational institutions like Barisal Zilla School, Barisal Cadet College, Govt. Syed Hatem Ali College, Government Women's College, Govt. Barisal College, Amrita Lal Dey College, Barisal Govt. Girls High School, Barisal Model School and College and Barisal Asmat Ali Khan Institution (A.K. School). Besides these there are three teacher training colleges, a Government Polytechnic institute, two technical institutes, a homeopathic college and a social welfare training centre. Major institutions include: * Amrita Lal Dey College * Barishal Cadet College * Barishal Engineering College * Barisal Government Women's College * Barisal Govt. Polytechnic Institute * Barishal Zilla School * Brojomohun College * Government Syed Hatem Ali College * Shahid Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College * Sher-e-Bangla Medical College * University of Barishal

Media

Barisal is a center for the newspaper, periodical and book publishers. Some locally published newspapers and periodicals are:

Newspapers

* ''Daily Ajker Barisal'' * ''Daily Ajker Barta'' * ''Daily Ajker Poribartan'' * ''Daily Banglar Bone'' * ''Daily Barisal Barta'' * ''Daily Barisal Bhorer Alo'' * ''Daily Barisal Pratidin'' * ''Daily Bhorer Angikar'' * ''Daily Biplobi Bangladesh'' * ''Daily Dakkhinanchal'' * ''Daily Motobad'' * ''Daily Satya Songbad'' * ''Daily Shahnama'' Source:

Periodicals

* ''Bakerganj Parikrama'' * ''Chirantan Bangla'' * ''Upakul'' * ''Gournadi Parikrama'' * ''Khadem'' * ''Jago Nare''

Notable people

Notes

References

External links

Official City of Barisal website
{{Coord, 22, 42, N, 90, 22, E, region:BD_type:city, display=title Cities in Bangladesh Populated places in Barisal District River ports