Ghoraghat ( bn, ঘোড়াঘাট) is an
upazila of
Dinajpur District in the Division of
Rangpur,
Bangladesh.
History
Ghoraghat was established in the time of
Bakhtlar Khilji (see Blochmanu's Contr., J.A.S,1873, p. 215,
Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, p. 156,
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...
, Vol. II, p. 135 and Vol. I, p. 370). After the historical conquest of
Nabadwip from
Lakshman Sen in 1203 and the conquest of principal city
Gaur, Ikhtiyar al-Dīn Muḥammad Khalji left the town of Devkot in 1206 to attack
Tibet, leaving
Ali Mardan Khalji in Ghoraghat. The old Musalman military outpost of
Deocote or
Devkot near
Gangarampur was in this Sarkar. As soon as the Muslims had made themselves masters of Gaur, they established two frontier posts, one at Dumdumma, on the bank of river
Punarbhaba and another at Ghoraghat. A mosque in Dumdumma bears an inscription recording that it was built by Zafar Khan Bahram Iztin in the reign of Kai Kaos Shah in the year 697 A.H.(1297 AD).
Ghoraghat was one of the 19
sarkars of Bengal. Sarkar was the administrative unit in the
Mughal Empire of India.
Raja Todar Mal, the Finance Minister of the Mughal empire during
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
's reign divided Bengal into 19 sarkars to make the revenue collection easier. Ghoraghat Sarkar comprised South Rangpur, South-East Dinajpur and North Bogra. It had 84
mahals in its territory. Later it became
Chakla of Ghoraghat.The Sarkar produced much raw silk, revenue Rs.202,077.
[ ]
After the battle of Patna, 982 A.H.(1574 AD), when Daud retired to
Orissa, (Badaoni, p. 184, Vol. II), his generals Kalapahar and Babu Mankli proceeded to Ghoraghat, (Badaoni, p. 192). Akbar's general, Majnun Khan, died at Ghoraghat.
Being the northern frontier district skirting
Koch-Behar, numerous colonies of Afghan and Mughal chiefs were planted there under the feudal system, with large
jagir
A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...
lands under each. Bhim Narain, Rajah of Kuch Behar used to regularly pay tribute to the Emperor
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
, but that during the chaos which arose owing to Emperor's illness, and after the death of
Sultan Shuja in February 1661 there was anarchy in the region.
Bhim Narain became daring and refused to pay tribute and with a large force attacked Ghoraghat. In the same year (on 17th Rabiul-Awwal 1072 A.H) the Khan-i-Khinan (
Muazzam Khan) set out from
Khizapur (which has been identified to be a place close to
Narayanganj
Narayanganj ( bn, নারায়ণগঞ্জ ''Naraeongônj'') is a city in central Bangladesh. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka, and has a population of about 2 million. It is the 6th larges ...
) with war-vessels, for the conquest of Koch-Behar. The Rajah (Bhim Narain) fled to
Bhutan, his minister Bholanath fled to the Murang, and the Imperialists stormed Kuch-Behar town, and named it
Alamgirnagar.
Ghoraghat thana was established in 1895 and was turned into an upazila in 1984.
Geography
Ghoraghat is located at . It has 17535 house holds and a total area of 148.67 km
2.
Climate
The climate here is tropical. The summers here have a good deal of rainfall, while the winters have very little. This location is classified as
Aw by
Köppen and Geiger. The average temperature in Ghoraghat is 25.3 °C. August is the warmest month of the year. The temperature in August averages 28.9 °C. January is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging 18.0 °C. About 1902 mm of precipitation falls annually. The driest month is December, with 3 mm of rain. Most of the precipitation here falls in July, averaging 408 mm.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Bangladesh census, the population was 117,740. 20.01% of the population lived in urban areas. 14.18% of the population is under 7 years of age. The literacy rate was 45.98% for the population 7 years and up.
Religion
Muslim 85.79%, Hindu 6.20%, Christian 5.15% and others 2.84%.
Indigenous communities
Santals, Mall Pahari, Bunna and
Oraon
Oraon may refer to:
* Oraon people, an ethnic group of India
* Oraon language, a Dravidian language
Persons with the surname
* Dinesh Oraon, politician
* Kartik Oraon, politician
* Lalit Oraon, politician
* Laloo Oraon, politician
* Manoj Kum ...
are the
indigenous groups living here for centuries. It is one of the region which was selected for implementation of development project called Santal Development Project (SDP).
Economy
Agriculture 68.64%, non-agricultural labourer 2.84%, industry 0.50%, commerce 12.95%, transport and communication 2.91%, service 4.35%, construction 0.53%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 0.07% and others 7.08%.
Points of interest
The shrine of
Shah Ismail Ghazi
Shah Ismail Ghazi ( bn, শাহ ইসমাঈল গাজী) was a 15th-century Sufi Muslim preacher based in Bengal. He came to Bengal in the mid-fifteenth century during the reign of Rukunuddin Barbak Shah, settling in the country's capit ...
is at Ghoraghat. He was a saint-warrior of the time of
Ruknuddin Barbak Shah
Ruknuddīn Bārbak Shāh ( bn, রোকনউদ্দীন বারবক শাহ, fa, ; r. 1459–1474) was the son and successor of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. Initially appointed as the governor of Satgaon during the reign of his fa ...
(1459-1474 AD). Shah Ismail Ghazi was first appointed to deal with the aggressive designs of the Orissan king
Gajapati in the southern frontier of Bengal. He defeated Gajapati and wrested from him Mandaran, the frontier outpost. The successful general was then sent against
Kamrup king Kameshwar, who was defeated and forced to pay tribute to the sultan. But soon,
Bhandsi Rai, a commander of the frontier post of Ghoraghat, got jealous over the popularity and fame of Shah Ismail and sent a false report to the sultan that Ismail Ghazi, in collusion with the Kamrup king, was mediating to set up an independent kingdom for himself. The enraged sultan ordered the saint to be beheaded.
The
Sura Mosque is situated in Ghoraghat-
Panchbibi road. There is no inscription tablet at the mosque, but it has been dated to the early sixteenth century in the light of its close links with dated monuments of similar style. An inscription from the time of
Alauddin Hussain Shah, dated at 910 A. H./1504 A. D. was discovered in the village Champatali, a few miles away from the place. It records the construction of a mosque, and if this inscription describes the mosque at Sura, the year 1504 A. D. is the date of its construction.
Ghoraghat Fort Mosque
Ghoraghat ( bn, ঘোড়াঘাট) is an upazila of Dinajpur District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh.
History
Ghoraghat was established in the time of Bakhtlar Khilji (see Blochmanu's Contr., J.A.S,1873, p. 215, Tabaqat-i-Na ...
situated in the southeastern corner of the
Ghoraghat Fort
Ghoraghat ( bn, ঘোড়াঘাট) is an upazila of Dinajpur District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh.
History
Ghoraghat was established in the time of Bakhtlar Khilji (see Blochmanu's Contr., J.A.S,1873, p. 215, Tabaqat-i-Na ...
, which is located on the right side of the river
Karatoya
Karatoya River (also spelt Korotoa River) is a small stream in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh.
Etymology
The name of the river is formed of two Sanskrit words ''kar'' (hand) and ''toa'' (water).
Course
The Karatoya, known as Phuljhur rises i ...
in the southeastern part of the district of Dinajpur. Within the fort area were erected a number of religious and secular buildings, of which only a mosque in ruinous condition and a few scattered mounds have survived. According to an inscription the mosque was built in 1740-41 AD by Zainul Abedin, the Mughal fauzdar of the Sarkar of Ghoraghat.
The Laldaha Beel is situated Ghoraghat thana Sadar west Nort side of Kadim nagar and Lal bagg village. Many fairy tales are there about this
beel
A beel (Bengali and Assamese: বিল) is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water (as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra flood plains of the Eastern Indian s ...
.
Administration
Ghoraghat Upazila is divided into Ghoraghat Municipality and four
union parishads: Bulakipur, Ghoraghat, Palsa, and Singra. The union parishads are subdivided into 115 mauzas and 102 villages.
Ghoraghat Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 29
mahallas.
Member of parliament:
Shibli Sadique.
Education
Average literacy 26.1%; male 32.8%, female 19.2%.
Educational institutions: colleges 8, secondary schools 18, primary schools 53, Brac schools 29, kindergartens 2, madrasas 34.
Noted educational institutions: Ghoraghat Govt. College (1984), Ghoraghat Women Degree College (1994), Raniganj Mahila College (1994), Dugdugirhat Technical College (2003), Raniganj Bilateral High School (1945), Chatsal Secondary School (1946), Balahar Secondary School (1958), Balagari' Secondary School (1966), Gopalpur Secondary School (1972), Krishnarampur Fazil Madrasa (1946), Deogaon Rahmania Senior Madrasa (1947), Nurjahanpur R.M.C.High School (1996), K.C. Pilot High school and College, R.C. Pilot Girlhigh School, Ghoraghat Dakhil Madrasa, Shah Ismail Ghazi Girlhigh School, Ghoraghat Govt. Primary School, Dakshin Joydebpur Govt. Primary school."
Notable people
*
Heyat Mahmud
Qadi Heyat Mahmud ( bn, হেয়াত মামুদ; 1693–1760) was a medieval Bengali poet, mystic and judge. Although his works, like other Middle Bengali poetry, are religion-centric, they are marked by social consciousness and toleran ...
(1693–1760), medieval poet
See also
*
Upazilas of Bangladesh
*
Districts of Bangladesh
*
Divisions of Bangladesh
References
{{Upazilas of Rangpur Division
Upazilas of Dinajpur District, Bangladesh