Godagari Upazila () 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 ...

Rajshahi District Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore Distric ...

in the Division of

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

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 ...

. This is the place where

Mahananda river The Mahananda ( ) is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal before crossing into Bangladesh. It is an important tributary of the Ganges. Course The Mahananda river system consists of two streams- ...

fall to

Padma 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 bank ...

or Ganges.

History

The

Deopara Prashasti The Deopara Prashasti is a stone inscription ('' prashasti'') eulogizing the Sena kings of Bengal. It was composed by Umapati Dhara, a minister in the court of Lakshmana Sena (c. 1178–1206), who was also one of several court poets. The inscripti ...

, an important inscription in Sanskrit poetry describing the

Sena dynasty The Sena/Sen dynasty was a List of Hindu empires and dynasties, Hindu dynasty during the Classical India, early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak cover ...

of ancient Bengal, was discovered near the village of Deopara.

Geography

Godagari is located at . It has 72,186 households and total area 475.26 km². Godagari Upazila is bounded by

Chapai Nawabganj Sadar Upazila Chapai Nawabganj Sadar () is an upazila of Chapai Nawabganj District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Geography Chapai Nawabganj Sadar is located at . It has 112,748 households and total area 451.8 km2. Chapai Nawabganj Sadar Upazila ...

Chapai Nawabganj district Chapai Nawabganj or Chapainawabganj District () is a district of Rajshahi Division. It is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The north and western-part of Chapainawabganj is bounded by Malda and Murshidabad districts of India, ...

and Tanore Upazila on the north, Tanore and Paba Upazilas on the east,

Lalgola Lalgola is a census town in the Lalgola CD block in the Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district, West Bengal. It is situated about north of Kolkata, near the head of the Ganges delta. It is a terminal railway station on the Ranaghat-Lalgol ...

Bhagawangola I Bhagawangola I is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Bhagawangola is located at Bhagawangola I CD block is bounded b ...

and

Bhagawangola II Bhagawangola II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Nashipur is located at Bhagawangola II CD block lies in the Ja ...

CD Blocks, in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India, all across the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, on the south, and Chapai Nawabganj Sadar Upazila on the west.

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 ...

, Godagari Upazila had 72,186 households and a population of 330,924. 75,724 (22.88%) were under 10 years of age. Godagari had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 46.34%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000 males. 61,176 (18.49%) lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 24,438 (7.38%), of which

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

were 11,440 and Oraon 6,752. As of the

1991 Bangladesh census In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and a ...

, Godagari has a population of 217,811. Males constitute 50.88% of the population, and females 49.12%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 108869. Godagari has an average literacy rate of 27.6% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Points of interest

Padumsa Dighi (pond) of Raja Bijoy Sen at village Deopara (eleventh century), tomb of Shah Sultan Mohiuddin Mahdi at Sultanganj (fourteenth century), tomb of Ali Quli Beg at Kumarpur, Marks of War of Liberation Memorial monument 1 (Sheikherpara).

Administration

Godagari thana was established in 1865 and was turned into an upazila in 1984. Godagari Upazila is divided into Godagari Municipality, Kakanhat Municipality, and nine union parishads: Basudebpur, Char Ashariadaha, Deopara, Godagari, Gogram, Matikata, Mohanpur, Pakri, and Rishikul. The union parishads are subdivided into 389 mauzas and 398 villages.

Education

According to Banglapedia, Godagari School & College, founded in 1905, is a notable secondary school.

References

{{Upazilas of Rajshahi Division Upazilas of Rajshahi District