Mirsharai 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 ...

Chattogram District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a sp ...

Chattogram Division Chittagong Division (), officially Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the southeasternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population according to th ...

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 ...

. It comprises two

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

s (Jorargonj and Mirsharai) and two

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

( Baroiyarhat and

Mirsharai Mirsarai () is a town and municipality in Chattogram District of Chattogram Division, Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by popu ...

History

Sultan Fakhruddin Mobarak Shah conquered

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

in 1340 AD and established Muslim rule in this region. During the reign of Sultans

Hussain Shah Syed Hussain Shah () (born August 14, 1964) is a retired Pakistani boxer from Lyari, Karachi Pakistan, who won the bronze medal in the Middleweight division (71–75 kg) at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This was the country ...

and Nusrat Shah,

Paragal Khan Paragal Khan () was an administrator and military commander (lashkar) of the Bengal Sultanate in the late 15th century and early 16th century. He served as the General of Alauddin Husain Shah. Early life Khan was born into a Bengali Muslim famil ...

and Chhuti Khan were the rulers of this area. Subsequently, Nizam Shah, brother of emperor Sher Shah, was the ruler of this area. Nizampur

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 ...

is named after Nizam Shah and the whole area of Mirsharai came under the control of this pargana. From the beginning of the 16th century the region was very rich in Bangla literature. Most of the time between 1580 and 1666, the region was under the control of the Arakanese. The place within the current Mirsharai thana where Bujurg Umed Khan, son of Subadar Sayesta Khan, landed after crossing the

Feni River The Feni ( ; ISO: ''Phēnī Nadī'' ) is a river in southeastern Bangladesh and Tripura state of India. It is a trans-boundary river that is the subject of an ongoing dispute about water rights between the two countries. The Feni River originates ...

was named as Bujurg Umedpur. With the conquest of Chittagong by Khan in 1666, the region came permanently under

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 ...

rule. Towards the end of

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, the Durgapur and Karerhat areas of Mirsharai were the centres of revolutionary activities of Chittagong. A fierce battle was fought between the freedom fighters (under Captain Wali Ahmed) and the Pak Army near the Fenafuni Bridge on the south of Mirsharai sadar, in which about 100 Pak soldiers were killed. The two sides also fought at places including Shuvapur Bridge, Hinguli Bridge, Aochi Mia Bridge and Mostan Nagar.

Geography

Mirsharai is located at . It has 79,545 households and a total area of 482.88 km².

Demographics

As of 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 ...

, Mirsharai upazila had 79,545 households and a population of 398,716. 88,008 (22.07%) were under 10 years of age. Mirsharai had an average literacy rate of 55.08%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1128 females per 1000 males. 31,206 (7.83%) of the population lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 2,266 (0.57%), of which

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

were 2,242. In the 1991

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 ...

in Bangladesh, Mirsharai had a population of 325712. Males constituted 49.97% of the population, and females 50.03%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 160,496. Mirsharai has an average literacy rate of 37.2% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Administration

Mirsharai Upazila is divided into Baroiyarhat Municipality,

Municipality, and 16 union parishads: Dhum,

Durgapur Durgapur (), is an industrial hub and a planned urban agglomeration in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is stands on the northern bank of the Damodar river and located in Paschim Bardhaman district. Durgapur is a major centre for producin ...

, Haitkandi, Hinguli, Ichhakhali, Jorarganj, Katachhara, Khaiyachhara, Karerhat, Maghadia, Mayani,

, Mithanala,

Osmanpur Osmanpur is a census town in the Raghunathganj II CD block in the Jangipur subdivision of the Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Osmanpur is located at . Area overv ...

, Saherkhali, and Wahedpur. The union parishads are subdivided into 113 mauzas and 208 villages. Baroiyarhat Municipality and

Municipality are each subdivided into 9 wards. Mahboob Rahman Ruhel was the last member of parliament, elected at 2024 national parliamentary election.

Education

There are four colleges in the upazila. They include Nizampur Government College (1964), Baraiya Hat College (1974), Mirsharai College (1973), and Professor Kamal Uddin Chowdhury College. Nizampur Government College is the only government college in the Upzilla. According to Banglapedia, Abu Torab High School, founded in 1914, Mirsharai Government Model Pilot High School (1962), Mithachhara High School (1947), Sarkar Hat N. R. High School (1939), and Zorwarganj Model Multilateral High School (1914) are notable secondary schools.

Upazila Parishad

;List of Upazila Chairman

Tourist attractions

* Napittachora trail

References

{{Upazilas and Thanas of Chittagong Upazilas of Chittagong District