Jaintiapur () 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 ...

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 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 ...

. Jaintiapur is widely recognized as a significant upazila within the

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 ...

of Bangladesh. It aptly earns its reputation as a convergence point for

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

, and geological interests, steeped in ancient traditions. Jaintiapur is a historic town nestled in the scenic

Jaintia hills The Khasi and Jaintia Hills are a mountainous region in India that was mainly part of Assam and Meghalaya. This area is now part of the present Indian constitutive state of Meghalaya (formerly part of Assam), which includes the present distri ...

, around 40 kilometers from Sylhet city. It's a charming place with Khasi villages, pineapple and clementine orchards, and busy markets. The town has a long history filled with stories of civilization and battles. Back in the early 15th century, Jaintiapur was the capital of the Jaintia Kingdom, ruled by the

Pnar people The Pnar, also known as Jaiñtia, are a sub-tribal group of the Khasi people in Meghalaya, India. The Pnar people are matrilineal. They speak the Pnar Language, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family and is very similar to the Kha ...

. Today, the remains of their royal palace can still be seen scattered across the town. Dibir Haor Tomb Sylhet

History

Pan, Pani Nari—these three make Jaintapuri. That's the opening line of a popular rhyme often used by Sylhetis to encapsulate Jaintiapur, a historically rich upazila of Sylhet. Long ago, this land was likely submerged under water, forming part of a vast water body that separated Jaintiapur from Sylhet, as historians suggest. This unique geographical setup allowed the region to maintain independence for an extended period, known as the Jaintia Kingdom. Jaintia, also known as the Sutnga kingdom, was an ancient hill kingdom in Meghalaya. By the 16th century, much of the greater Sylhet region fell under the jurisdiction of the Jaintia king, who ruled from the capital, Jaintiapur. The

Khasi people The Khasi people are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic Ethnicity, ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the ...

, who inhabited the area, lived in a

matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

society and spoke their own language. Around 1500, King Prabhat Ray Syiem Sutnga adopted his Sanskrit name. Between 1548 and 1564, the Jaintia kingdom was conquered by the king of Cooch Bihar. Later, it came under the governance of the Cachhar Raja. However, in 1605, with the assistance of the Ahom Raja, the Jaintia kingdom regained independence. King Lakshmi Narayan, a notable ruler from 1678 to1694, was renowned for constructing brick buildings in his capital, Jaintiapur. In 1765, the British East India Company ousted the Jaintia king from the plains of Sylhet. The kingdom's independence was further compromised when the Burmese conquered Assam in 1824, though it was briefly restored in 1825 after the British expelled the Burmese. Eventually, in 1835, the East India Company annexed the Jaintia kingdom to their Bengal state to facilitate trade. According to local legends and folk tales, from the 7th or 8th century, the Jaintiapur kingdom fell under the control of the

Kamrup Kingdom Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the S ...

, later transitioning to the rule of the Chandra and Varman rulers. Following the decline of the Varmans, the kingdom briefly came under the Deva dynasty's rule. The last ruler of this dynasty, Jayanta Roy, had a daughter named Joyonti, whose marriage to a Khasi chief's son led to the kingdom falling under Khasi rule around 1500. It remained an independent kingdom under the Khasi until 1835.

End of Jaintia Kingdom

In 1707, Jaintia king Ram Singh kidnapped the Kachari Raja. The Raja of Cachar then informed Ahom Raja Rudra Singh Sukhrungphaa which led to the

Ahoms The Ahom (Pron: ) or Tai-Ahom (; ) is an ethnic group from the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The members of this group are admixed descendants of the Tai people who reached the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in 1228 and the lo ...

attack through North Cachar and Jaintia Hills. Jaintia was annexed to the Ahoms and its capital city, Jaintiapur, was then raided by the Ahoms and thousands of innocent civilians were put to death or ears and noses were cut off. Sukhrungphaa then informed the Faujdar of Sylhet that Jaintia was under his rule and that it is him that they will trade to. However, the Ahom rule in Jaintia was weak and short-lived. The Jaintias rebelled in their own land defeating the Ahom soldiers. Ram Singh, however, died as a captive to the Ahoms and his son, Jayo Narayan took over the Jaintia Kingdom. In 1757, the Nongkrem-Khynriam Khasi chief closed the Sonapur Duar, stopping trade between the Jaintia and Ahom kingdoms. An envoy of Jaintias assembled at

Hajo Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhism, Buddhists, Hinduism, Hindus and Islam, Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, ...

where they informed the incident to Ahom Raja Suremphaa Swargadeo Rajeswar Singh who re-opened it for them. The British came into contact with the Jaintia kingdom upon receiving the ''Diwani'' of Bengal in 1765. Jaintiapur, currently in

, was the capital. The kingdom extended from the hills into the plains north of the

Barak river The Barak River or Barbakro or Agu flows through the states of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam in India. It flows into Bangladesh where it bifurcates into the Surma river and the Kushiyara river which converge again to become the Meghna river before ...

Major Henniker led the first expedition to Jaintia in 1774. The quarries in their possession were the chief supplier of lime to the delta region of Bengal, but with the British, the contact was not very smooth, and they were attacked in the same year. Subsequently, the Jaintias were increasingly isolated from the plains via a system of forts as well as via regulation of 1799. In 1821, a group of Jaintias kidnapped British subjects attempting to sacrifice them to

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

. A culprit was then found by the British who admitted that it was an annual tradition which the Jaintias have been doing for 10 years. The priest would cut off the victim's throat and then the Jaintia princess would bathe in his blood. The Jaintia believed that this would bless the princess with offspring. Upon hearing this, the British threatened the Jaintia Raja that they would invade his territories if this does not stop. The Raja made an agreement in 1824 with David Scott that they will only negotiate with the British. A year later, the Jaintias attempted to continue their annual sacrifice which they had previously agreed with the British that they would stop. After the conclusion of the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...

, the British allowed the Jaintia king his rule north of the

Surma River The Surma () is a major river in Bangladesh, part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It starts when the Barak River from northeast India divides at the Bangladesh border into the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers. It ends in Kishoreganj District, ...

. The Jaintias kidnapped four British men in 1832. Three were sacrificed in the Great

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

in Faljur, with one escaping and informing the British authorities of the atrocities. After the Jaintia Raja declined to find the culprits, the British finally marched to the Jaintia Kingdom and annexed it on 15 March 1835 The king was handed over his property in Sylhet along with a monthly salary of Rs 500. The British administered the plain areas directly and the hill region indirectly via a system of fifteen ''dolois'' and four ''sardars''. The fifteen administrators were free to adjudicate on all but the most heinous crimes. Jaintia continued to exist though divided into ''

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 ...

'' or fiscal division, within greater Sylhet such as the ''Jaintia Puriraj'' (Jaintiapuri Raj) pargana, '' Japhlang'' pargana, ''Chairkata'' pargana and ''Phaljur'' pargana. Puriraj had an area of 59.15 square metres and had a land revenue of £325 of 1875. Phaljur was 51.84 sqm and had a land revenue of £301. Chairkata was 37.88 square metres, consisted of 749 estates and land revenue of £276. Japhlang was 40.07 square metres, 342 estates and £279 land revenue. Though the remnants of Jaintiapur, including the Jainteswari temple, the Rajbari (palace), and various monuments, still attract visitors, they are now quite dilapidated. The palace, built by King Lakshmi Sinha in 1680, lies in ruins, and the temple has suffered significant damage, despite having a boundary wall. Notably, the lone megalithic remains discovered in Bangladesh are located in Jaintiapur, similar to those found in India. Around the Jainteswari temple area, 42 structures can be found, with 19 megaliths near the temple itself. Another eight structures are located near the Jaintiapur Shahid Minar area, while others lie in broken pieces. Additionally, five structures stand along the southern side of the Sylhet-Tamabil Road, with seven more located about one and a half kilometers from the temple, near the northern side of the Nayagang River.

Rulers of the Jaintia Kingdom

Old dynasty (??-630)

# Urmi Rani (?-550) # Krishak Pator (550-570) # Hatak (570-600) # Guhak (600-630)

Partitioned Jaintia (630-1120)

# Jayanta (630-660) # Joymalla (660-?) # Mahabal (?) # Bancharu (?-1100) # Kamadeva (1100-1120) # Bhimbal (1120)

Brahmin dynasty (1120-??)

# Kedareshwar Rai (1120-1130) # Dhaneshwar Rai (1130-1150) # Kandarpa Rai (1150-1170) # Manik Rai (1170-1193) # Jayanta Rai (1193-1210) # Jayanti Devi # Bara Gossain

New dynasty (1500-1835)

# Prabhat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1500–1516) # Maju-Gohain Syiem Sutnga (1516–1532) # Burha Parbat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1532–1548) # Borgohain Syiem Sutnga I (1548–1564) # Bijay Manik Syiem Sutnga (1564–1580) # Pratap Ray Syiem Sutnga (1580–1596) # Dhan Manik Syiem Sutnga (1596–1612) # Jasa Manik Syiem Sutnga (1612–1625) # Sundar Ray Syiem Sutnga (1625–1636) # Chota Parbat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1636–1647) # Jasamanta Ray Syiem Sutnga (1647–1660) # Ban Singh Syiem Sutnga (1660–1669) # Pratap Singh Syiem Sutnga (1669–1678) # Lakshmi Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1678–1694) # Ram Singh Syiem Sutnga I (1694–1708) # Jay Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1708–1731) # Borgohain Syiem Sutnga II (1731–1770) # Chattra Singh Syiem Sutnga (1770–1780) # Yatra Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1780-1785) # Bijay Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1785–1786) # Lakshmi Singh Syiem Sutnga (1786-1790) # Ram Singh Syiem Sutnga II (1790–1832) # Rajendra Singh Syiem Sutnga (1832–1835)

Bangladesh Liberation War in Jaintia: 1971

In 1971 the Pakistani Army engaged in torture, genocide, and plundering; soldiers also set many houses of the upazila on fire. The Pakistani Army killed a number of innocent persons at the village of Hemo by strafing via fighter planes. Additionally, the Pakistani Army brutally killed 30 persons including the Khan Tea Garden workers.

Geography

area 280.27 km², located in between 24'59' and 25'11' north latitudes and in between 92'03' and 92'14' east longitudes. It is bounded by

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

State of India on the north, Kanaighat and

Golapganj Golapganj Upazila (), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Geography Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.33 km2, located in between 24°41' and 24°55' north latitud ...

upazilas on the south, Kanaighat Upazila on the east,

Gowainghat Gowainghat () is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. History The British Empire conquered the Jaintia Kingdom on 25 March 1835, finally incorporating Gowainghat in its Sylhet District Collectorate. In 1908, the Go ...

and

Sylhet Sadar Upazila Sylhet Sadar () is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet Division, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Geography Sylhet Sadar is located at . It has 158,233 households and a total area of 301.80 km2. The city of Sylhet is located within ...

on the west. The

Jaflong Jaflong () is a hill station and tourist destination in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is located in Gowainghat Upazila of Sylhet District and situated at the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya, overshadowed b ...

Hills Range is located on the northeast of the upazila.

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 ...

, Jaintiapur Upazila had 27,719 households and a population of 161,744. 49,914 (30.86%) were under 10 years of age. Jaintiapur had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 41.15%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1003 females per 1000 males. 7,887 (4.88%) lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 1,721 (1.06%), of which Khasi were 477. As of the

2001 Bangladesh census In 2001, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, ten years after the 1991 census. They recorded data from all of the districts, upazilas, and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on populati ...

, Jaintiapur had a population of 121458. Males constituted 63254 of the population, and females 58204. Muslim 109123, Hindu 12066, Christian 92, Buddhist 17 and others 160. Indigenous community such as

khasia ''Khasia'' ("from Antin Khasa") is a fossil genus of marsupial in the family Microbiotheriidae. It contains one known species, ''Khasia cordillerensis'', which is known from teeth found in the Santa Lucia Formation of Mizque, Bolivia, where it ...

belongs to this

Economy

In Jaintiapur Upazila, the economy is primarily driven by agriculture, which employs 53.38% of the population. Other significant sectors include commerce (12.60%), non-agricultural labor (10.32%), and services (4.71%). The distribution of employment across various sectors is as follows: * Industry: 0.70% * Transport and Communication: 1.79% * Construction: 0.79% * Religious Service: 0.64% * Rent and Remittance: 0.15% * Others: 14.92% Regarding land ownership, 48.95% of the residents are landowners, while 51.05% are landless. Among agricultural landowners, 52.53% are urban residents and 49.88% are rural residents.

Agricultural Products

* Main Crops: Tea, paddy, potato,

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay lea ...

betel leaf Betel (''Piper betle'') is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leav ...

* Extinct or Nearly Extinct Crops: Tobacco * Main Fruits: Jackfruit, pineapple,

betel nut The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm ('' Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 1 ...

Main Exports

* Natural gas * Pebble * Limestone * Tea * Bay leaf * Betel leaf * Betel nut

Administration

Jaintiapur Upazila falls under the 232nd constituency,

Sylhet-4 Sylhet-4 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Companiganj, Gowainghat, and Jaintiapur upazilas. History The constituency was created for the first ...

, and is administratively divided into six Union Parishads: Nijpat, Jaintiapur, Charikata, Darbast, Fatehpur, and Chiknagul UP. The upazila comprises 142 mouzas and 174 villages, providing a structured framework for local governance and community organization. * Constituency: 232, Sylhet 4 * Union Parishad: 6 ** No. 1 Nijpat, ** No. 2 Jaintiapur ** No. 3 Charikata ** No. 4 Darbast ** No. 5 Fatehpur ** No. 6 Chiknagul * Mouzas: 142 * Villages: 174

Infrastructure

Source: Jaintiapur Upazila is characterized by a diverse range of infrastructure and public services, catering to the needs of its residents. * Government Hospitals: 1 (Upazila Health Complex) * Health Centers/Clinics: 18 * Post Offices: 4 * Pucca Road: 228 km * Mud Road: 59 km * Culverts: 99 * Bridges: 25 * Rivers: 2 (Row, Big Gang) * Markets (Hat Bazar): 3 (Jaintiapur, Darbast, Haripur) * Banks: 6 ** Sonali Bank Ltd. ** Krishi Bank ** Pubali Bank Ltd. ** Agrani Bank Ltd. ** Grameen Bank ** BRAC Bank Ltd.

Education

Source: The average literacy rate in Jaintiapur Upazila stands at 35.11%, with a male literacy rate of 39.51% and a female literacy rate of 30.34%.

Educational Institutions

* Colleges: 5 * Secondary Schools: ** Government: 1 ** Private: 15 * Primary Schools: ** Government: 41 ** Registered Private: 23 * Total Educational Institutions: ** Colleges: 5 ** Secondary Schools: 16 ** Primary Schools: 64 ** Community Schools: 11 ** Kindergartens: 5 ** Madrasas: 23

Noted Educational Institutions

* Jaintia Degree College (est. 1987) * Jaintiapur Tayob Ali Degree College (est. 1995) * Imran Ahmad Government Women's College (est. 1999) * Central Jaintia High School (est. 1955) * Haripur High School (est. 1957) * Jaintiapur Government High School (est. 1867)

Points of interest

Jaintiapur Rajbari, Jaintiapur Hill Resort, Sreepur Tea Garden, Lalakhal Tea Garden, Saytreast Research Centers, 8 No Mountain, Haripur Utlar Hill, Haripur Black Mountain, Lalakhal Tea Estate, Nazimgarh Wilderness Resorts, Lalakhal, Shari-Goyain River. Lalakhal.jpg, Sari river at Lalakhal File:Jaintipur Palace Sylhet Bangladesh 7.JPG, Jaintiapur Palace File:Tea garden at Sripur (3).jpg, Tea garden at Sripur Tea tree 30118.jpg, A Tea Tree in a tea garden at Sylhet Tea garden 31118.jpg, A tea garden at Sylhet.

References

{{Authority control Upazilas of Sylhet District