Bishwanath () 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 ...

Sylhet District Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

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 ...

History

One of the palaces of

Gour Govinda Govinda Fenchu (), better known by his regnal title Gour Govinda () and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy (), was the 21st and final king of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is described as a very conservative Hindu ruler whose reign ...

, the last Hindu ruler of Sylhet, was situated in present-day Bishwanath. Its ruins are still intact and is locally referred to as 'Jahazer Manzil' and next to Govinda's personal pond, the 'Satpari Dighi'. During the Muslim

conquest of Sylhet The Conquest of Sylhet () predominantly refers to an Early Muslim conquests, Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the military general of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Lakhnauti Sultanat ...

in 1303, Govinda abandoned Sylhet and fled to the

Kamrup region Kamrup is the modern region situated between two rivers, the Manas river, Manas and the Barnadi River, Barnadi in Western Assam, with the same territorial extent as the Colonial and post-Colonial "Undivided Kamrup district". It was the capita ...

Shah Jalal Shāh Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal (), was a celebrated Sufi Saint, conqueror and historical figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Muslim conquest of Sylhet and the Spread of Islam into the ...

, a leader of the conquest, was known to have dispatched his disciples across the region to propagate Islamic teachings. Among the disciples that arrived in present-day Bishwanath is Syed Batauk, the ancestor of Abdul Karim Kauria. Shah Chand was the son of Shaykh Kalu, another of Shah Jalal's disciples, and the village of Chandbharang was named after him. Shah Chand is the forefather of the Chowdhuries of Chandbharang, including Suheluddin Chowdhury and Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury. After the defeat of Raja Subid Narayan of Ita by

Khwaja Usman Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī (), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamindar ruling over the northern parts of Bengal, including Greater M ...

in the early 17th century, many Hindus migrated elsewhere including the area now comprising Bishwanath. Vijayaram Upadhayaya and his

Kayastha Kayastha (or Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Ka ...

student Bidhar Khan sailed with their family and friends through the Kapna river to this area (then a forest) for safety. The area was then home to a group of bandits led by Jula, but they were defeated by Bidhar Khan and his associates. The new settlers named the area 'Banabhag' (forest area), the area which he docked his boat came to be known as 'Bidhar

Ghat Ghat (), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aap ...

' and the neighbourhood of the bandits came to be known as 'Jular Chiri'. When the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

s came into power, they divided Banabhag into three

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

s: Khalisa-Banabhag, Bazu-Banabhag and Kazakhabad. Bidhar Khan became 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 ...

of Bazu-Banabhag. His descendant, Ramnath Dhar, was a contemporary of Gopinath Bachaspati. Dhar's son, Babu Ramjivan Rai, was given the title of

Chowdhury Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

and granted land in Baurbhag by

Inayetullah Khan Inayetullah Khān (, ), also known as Enayetullah (), was a Faujdar of the Mughal Bengal The Bengal Subah ( Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the pupp ...

, the

administrator of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, in 1692. He was known to have been devoted to idol worship. His son, Bhavani Shankar, was the father of Zamindar Ram Shankar Chowdhury. Ram Shankar's son, Bishwanath Rai Chaudhury, established the 'Bishwanath

Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

' which gradually expanded. His son, Brajanath Chaudhury, established an ''

akhara Akhara or Akhada (Hindi: अखाड़ा, romanised: ''Akhāṛā'') is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a ''sampradaya'' monastery fo ...

'' for

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...

and was succeeded by Baikuntha Nath Chaudhury. Baikuntha Nath's son, Varada Nath Chaudhury, was a distinguished poet of Bishwanath. Bishwanath was established as a

thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...

in 1922. During the

Bangladesh 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, many Hindus were killed in Bishwanath including Jitendra Das, Dhirendra Kumar Das, Byomkesh Chaudhury, Narayan Sen and Basanta Kumar Das. Bishwanath Thana was upgraded to

(sub-district) in 1983 as part of

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

's decentralisation programme.

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 ...

, Bishwanath Upazila had 37,993 households and a population of 232,573. 59,991 (25.79%) were under 10 years of age. Bishwanath had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 46.87%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1009 females per 1000 males. 21,059 (9.05%) lived in urban areas. At the 1991 Bangladesh

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Bishwanath had a population of 169,730, of whom 83,794 were aged 18 or older. Males constituted 50.99% of the population, and females 49.01%. Bishwanath had an average literacy rate of 30.6% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%.

Education

The first ''alia''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

of Bishwanath, Satpur Alia Madrasa in Lamakazi Union, was founded in 1948 by Ghulam Hussain, a native ''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'' of Satpur and ''

murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

'' of Pir Hamidullah Qaimganji and

Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali (; 25 May 1913 – 16 January 2008), reverentially known as Saheb Qiblah, was a late-twentieth century Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, ''mufassir'', ''qāriʾ'', poet and orator. As a prolific author, he completed sever ...

. In 1960, the Bishwanath Alia Madrasa was established. The largest

Qawmi madrasa Qawmi Madrasah (, ) is an adjective describing one of the two major madrasah educational categories in Bangladesh. The Qawmi madrasahs are not regulated by the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board. As private charitable organizations, Qawmi madr ...

of Bishwanath, Jamia Islamia Abbasia, was opened by Abdul Karim Shaykh-e-Kauria in 1955. There are 28 other madrasas in Bishwanath. They are: Jamia Islamia Darul Uloom Madania (founder, Ashraf Ali Bishwanathi), Jamia Islamia Miftahul Uloom (Ibrahit Ali, 1963), Munawwarul Uloom Islamia Madrasa (1992), Jamia Islamia Darul Uloom Lamakazi, Darul Quran Faiz-e-Aam Mirerchak, Jamia Islamia Darus Sunnah Amtail, Darul Uloom Chandbharang, Jamia Islamia Lutfabad-Patakain, Jamia Islam Darul Uloom Baruni, Madrasa-e-Tawakkulia Hafizia Sham-e-Mardan, Sheikhergaon Ibn Abbas Ibtidayi Madrasa, Haji Md Mafiz Ali Tahfizul Quran and Ibtidayi Madrasa, Darul Hikmah Islamic Academy, Jamia Madinatul Uloom Shimultala, Muqaddasia Islamia Hafizia Madrasa, Madinatul Uloom Sriramsri, Ariful Quran Hafizia Madrasa, Great Khurma Islamic Academy, Jamia Muhammadia Arabia, Jamia Tawakkulia Chowk Qasimpur, Jamia Islamia Hafizia Rampasha, Jamia Islamia Noagaon, Madinatul Uloom Nurani Hafizia Madrasa, Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom Qadipur (Haji Shafiq Ali, 2016). Bishwanath also has three women's madrasas: Jamia Madania Qawmia Women's Madrasa, Jamia Tayyibah Qawmi Women's Madrasa (Anhar bin Saeed, 2018), Dhu al-Nuraryn Islamia Women's Madrasa (Amirul Islam, 2008).

Administration

Bishwanath Upazila is divided into eight

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: Alankari, Bishwanath, Doshghar, Daulatpur, Deokalas, Khajanchi, Lamakazi, and Rampasha. The union parishads are subdivided into 123 mauzas and 444 villages.

Notable people

Jatindramohan Bhattacharya Jatindramohan Bhattacharya (; 1908–1999) was an author and researcher of Bengali literature, Bengali and Assamese literature. He served as the professor of Bengali at the University of Calcutta for many years. Early life and family Bhattach ...

, academic and literary researcher * Ashraf Ali Bishwanathi, Islamic scholar * Nurul Islam Khan, Advocate and former MP for Sylhet-7 * Ilias Ali, former MP for Sylhet-2 * Mokabbir Khan, former MP for Sylhet-2 * Muhammad Nurul Haque, cultural activist, social worker and writer * Ragib Ali, industrialist, tea-planter, educationalist *

Rubel Ahmed Rubel Ahmed (died 5 September 2014) was a 26-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant to Britain, who died in Morton Hall immigration detention centre in controversial circumstances. His family called for an independent inquiry.Diane TaylorCall for inqui ...

, died in

Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre HM Prison Morton Hall is a Category C men's prison in the village of Morton Hall, Lincolnshire, England. The centre is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was previously a women's prison and from 2011 to 2021 an Immigration Removal Cen ...

under controversial circumstances *

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

, British politician * Shafiqur Rahaman Chowdhury,

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

politician *

Hason Raja Dewan Hason Raja Chowdhury, or simply known as Hason Raja (; 21 December 1854 – 6 December 1922), was a Bengali mystic poet and songwriter from Sylhet, Bengal Presidency (now Bangladesh). His unique style of music made him one of the most p ...

, mystic poet, musician, philosopher

References