Dakshin Shahbazpur or South Shahbazpur () is a

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 ...

under

Barlekha Upazila Barlekha () is an upazila (sub-district) of Moulvibazar District, located in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Etymology Barlekha Upazila is named after Barlekha (formerly 'Barlikha') which means Great ''Likha''. ''Likha'' was an area historically un ...

Moulvibazar District Moulvibazar District, () also spelled Moulavibazar, or Maulavibazar, (previous name: South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It is bordered by the Indian states ...

in the division 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 ...

, Bangladesh. It has an area of 40.46 square miles and a population of 26,840.

History

The South Shahbazpur Upazila is named after its headquarters, the village of South Shahbazpur. Shahbazpur was formerly known as Kauwakona and home to the Jangdar clan, who were the local Hindu

zamindars 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 th ...

(landlords) located within the Panchakhanda ''

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 ...

''. Shyam Rai Jangdar's son, Swarup Ram Jangdar, Muluk Suwai was buried next to him after his death. introduced a ''

vigraha In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a deity or saint used during '' puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing devotion or reverence – whether at Hindu temples or sh ...

'' (idol) site dedicated to

Vasudeva Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna ( ...

located in the Kumar Saeed mauza. However, he later converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

after visiting

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

to discuss revenue with the emperor. Swarup Ram Jangdar was awarded the name Shahbaz Khan, subsequently establishing the Shahbazpur pargana, separating it from greater Panchakhanda. He later embarked on the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. At the age of eighty, Shahbaz Khan had his first and only son, Fateh Muhammad (c. 1700-1790s), who succeeded him as the Zamindar of Shahbazpur. The next zamindar of Shahbazpur was his son, Muhammad Fazil, and then his son, Muhammad Adil. Adil had no sons, and so it was inherited by his daughter, and then his grandson, Abdul Ghafur Chowdhury. Abdul Ghafur's son and successor, Nouman Muqit Chowdhury, was one of the local aristocrats. The general preeminence of the Jangdar clan is displayed in a proverb recorded by the historians

Achyut Charan Choudhury Achyut Charan Choudhury (; 5 February 1866 – 25 September 1953) was a Bengali writer and historian. Though he wrote several books regarding Vaishnav Hinduism, Choudhury is most well known for his monumental work on the history of the Sylhet reg ...

and

Syed Murtaza Ali Syed Murtaza Ali (1 July 1902 – 9 August 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer. He was the elder brother of writer and linguist Syed Mujtaba Ali. He is noted for his works relating to the histories of Chittagong, Sylhet and Jaintia. Background and ...

: Translated, this means "Pal, Prachanda, Jangdar. These are the three ''mirashdars''." Thus, making reference to the Pal family, the descendants of Prachanda Khan and the unrelated Jangdar clan, the proverb states that there were no other ''mirashdars'' beyond these families in the locality. In August 2019, the Indian

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was formed in the wake of the Indo-Pak War of 196 ...

shot dead Abdus Shakur ibn Muraqib Ali, a South Shahbazpuri resident from Bobartal Majhgandhai.

Administration

The union has roughly 40 villages divided into 9 wards and 14

mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India, a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

Demography

South Shahbazpur has a population of 26,840. 12,825 are men and 14,015 of the population are female. There are three graveyards for the deceased residents to be buried and these are Taradorom Central Cemetery, Muraul Central Cemetery and Sujaul Central Cemetery.

Education

The Union has 9 state primary schools and 3 private primary schools. It has 5 high schools and 6

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 ...

s. The Baragul Qawmi Madrasa is home to an orphanage. Other madrasas include the Sujaul Senior Fazil Madrasha, Taradorom Women's Dakhil Madrasa and the Barlekha Jamia Islamiya Dakhil Madrasa. The literacy rate in the union is 54.3%.

Economy and tourism

South Shahbazpur has three

Haat bazaar Haat Bazaar () is an open-air market that serves as a Trading post, trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns mainly in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India. Haat bazaars are conducted on a regular basis, usually once, twice or th ...

s; Taradorom Bazar, Muraul Bazar and Office Bazar. The Union has a significant number of emigrants in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, UK,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

contributing to its economy.

Mohammad Ataul Karim Mohammad Ataul Karim (; born 4 May 1953) is a Bangladeshi American scientist and higher education administrator, with expertise in electro-optical systems, optical computing, and pattern recognition. Ataul Karim is ranked amongst the top 50 re ...

originates from this area. In recent times, coal deposits have been discovered in Bobartal. Popular tourist sites include its four tea gardens; Shahbazpur, Bahadurpur, Chotolekha and Rahmaniya. The Union is home to 4 sports clubs in Taradorom, Gholsa, Muraul and Sujaul. The practice of

Cockfight Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...

ing competitions which take place in Gholsa School attracts media attention.

Religion

There are 41

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s in the Union. Some include: *Taradorom Central Mosque, East Taradorom Jame Mosque, Taradorom Choumuhoni Jame Mosque, Taradorom Barathal Jame Mosque, Central Taradorom Panjegana, West Taradorom Jame Masjid *Muraul Jame Mosque, Muraul Panjegana Mosque *East Banikona Jame Mosque, West Banikona Jame Mosque *Bagatikar Jame Mosque *Ghorua Jame Mosque *Bisrabond Jame Mosque, Bisrabond Pakhurgul Masjid *Ulkanti Panjegana *West Panchpara Jame Masjid, East Panchpara Jame Masjid, Central Panchpara Jame Masjid *Sariya Jame Masjid *Office Bazar Jame Masjid *Sujaul Jame Masjid, Sujaul Dingal Jame Masjid *Kayasthashashan Jame Masjid *Shuararthal Jame Masjid, Shuararthal Panjegana of Hannan *Shahbazpur Tea Garden Mosque There are also 6

eidgah Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( "site of Eid bservances; ; ; ; ) is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at the outskirts) reserved for Eid prayers offered in the morning ...

s in the union. These are Taradorom Shahi Eidgah, Muraul Eidgah, Sujaul Shahi Central Eidgah, East Taradorom Mosque Eidgah, Gholsa Shahi Eidgah and Bisrabond Eidgah.

List of chairmen

Notes

References

{{Moulvibazar District Unions of Barlekha Upazila