Bhedarganj () 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 ...

(sub-district) of

Shariatpur District Shariatpur District () is a district in Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. Shariatpur is named after the Islamic revivalist, Haji Shariatullah. Etymology Shariatpur was named after Haji Shariatullah (1781–1840), who was the founder of Faraiz ...

in 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 ...

, located in the

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

. It is a part of the

Greater Faridpur Faridpur Division (), is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the southern parts of the existing Dhaka Division, comprising Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur districts of Dhaka Division. The headqu ...

region and is named after its administrative centre, the town of Bhedarganj.

Geography

Bhedarganj Upazila has a total area of . About seven-tenths is land and three-tenths is water, chiefly the

Padma River The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...

, which cuts through the northern part of the upazila. It borders

Naria Upazila Naria () is an upazila of Shariatpur District of the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh. It is named after its administrative centre, the town of Naria. History Naria was historically a part of the Idilpur division of the Chandradwip kingdom based in ne ...

to the west and north,

Munshiganj District Munshiganj District () is a district of Dhaka Division. It is located in central Bangladesh. This region is also historically known as Bikrampur. Geography It is a part of Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District and Narayanganj District in the ...

to the north,

Chandpur District Chandpur District () is a district located in Chattogram Division of Bangladesh. It was part of Comilla District until 15 February 1984.Musa, Muhammad. Brahmanbariar Itibrittyo, Shetu Prokashoni, Brahmanbaria,1998. History During the rule ...

to the north and east, Gosairhat and Damudya upazilas to the south, and Shariatpur Sadar Upazila to the west. The

Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...

and the Banglabazar Canal flow through this upazila.

History

In 1924, the

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

Bikrampur Bikrampur (lit. City of Courage) was a historic region and a sub-division of Dhaka within the Bengal Presidency during the period of British India. Located along the banks of the Padma River (a major distributary of the Ganges), it was a sign ...

, Syed Bhedar Uddin Shah, established the Bhedarganj Thana after his name. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War 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 ...

of 1971, two brawls and a battle took place in Bhedarganj resulting in the deaths of many Bengali freedom fighters. The thana was converted into an upazila on 14 September 1983 and inaugurated by Sultan Mahmud.

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 ...

, Bhedarganj Upazila had 53,305 households and a population of 253,234. 68,834 (27.18%) were under 10 years of age. Bhedarganj had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 42.7%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1084 females per 1000 males. 9,193 (3.63%) lived in urban areas.

Administration

Bhedarganj Upazila is divided into Bhedarganj Municipality and 13

union parishads Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Union ...

: Arshi Nagar, Char Bhaga, Char Census, Char Kumaria, Chhaygaon, Dhakhin Tarabunia, D. M. Khali, Kachikata, Mahisar, Naryanpur, Rambhadrapur, Sakhipur, and Tarabunia. The union parishads are subdivided into 87 mauzas and 372 villages. Vice Chairman : Mannan Bepary Woman Vice Chairman : Lipi Sorder

Upazila Nirbahi Officer An Upazila Nirbahi Officer (, abbreviated as UNO) is the chief executive officer of an upazila (subdistrict) and a mid-level officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service (administration cadre), known as Bangladesh Administrative Service. A senior a ...

(UNO) : Abdullah Al Mamun Bhedarganj Municipality was established in 1997. It is subdivided into 9 wards and 12 mahallas.

Upazila Chairmen

Economy and tourism

Bhedarganj mainly exports

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

. Notable places of interest in Bhedarganj include the Upazila Jame Mosque and the Kartikpur Zarina Trust Mosque, among the total 450 mosques in the upazila. The

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

palace of Chhaygaon and the Anandabazar Embankment are also popular sites.

Education

There are four colleges and a university in the upazila. They include Hazi Shariat Ullah College and M. A Reza Degree College. The only university of the district named Z.H. Sikder University of Science and Technology is situated in this upazila. The Madrasa education system in the upazila includes one Fazil Madrasa.

Notable people

AKM Enamul Haque Shamim AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem (born 10 November 1965) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Shariatpur-2 constituency. He served as deputy minister of the ministry of Water Resources during 2019-20 ...

, Deputy Minister of Water Resources *

Parveen Haque Sikder Parveen Haque Sikder, known as Parveen Sikder (born 3 January 1963) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member from the Women's Reserved Seat 39. Background Sikder was born on 3 January 1963 in the village of Kar ...

, director of

National Bank Limited National Bank Limited () is a privately held limited bank in Bangladesh. Md Mehmood Husain is the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank. Currently NBL has carrying their business through its 221 branches & Agri Branches sprea ...

Shamim Sikder Shamim Sikder (22 October 1952 – 21 March 2023) was a Bangladeshi sculptor. Sikder served as a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka between 1980–2001. She was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2000 by the Government of Bang ...

, sculptor *

Siraj Sikder Sirajul Huq Sikder (; 27 September 1944 – 2 January 1975), better known as Siraj Sikder (), was a Bangladeshi revolutionary, engineer and Marxist-Leninist-Maoist insurgent. Early life Sikder was born on 27 September 1944 in Village Lakarta ...

, revolutionary

References

{{Upazilas of Dhaka Division Bhedarganj Upazila Upazilas of Shariatpur District