Mithapukur ( ' ) 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 ...

Rangpur District Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

Rangpur Division Rangpur Division (; ; ) is a first-level Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. It covers the northernmost part of the country with a population of about 18 million inhabitants within an area of . Rangpur Division shar ...

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 ...

. The upazila is situated in the middle of Rangpur, surrounded by Rangpur Sadar to the north, Pirganj to the south, Badarganj and Phulbari to the west and Pirgachha and Sundarganj to the east. Mithapukur is famous for being the birthplace of

Begum Rokeya Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (9 December 1880 – 9 December 1932), commonly known as Begum Rokeya, was a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator and political activist from British India. She is widely regarded as a pioneer of women' ...

and its sweet mango

Harivanga The Haribhanga mango is a mango cultivar produced in the northwest part of Bangladesh, especially in the Rangpur District, Rangpur district. Cultivation of the Haribhanga mango has recently gained popularity among the farmers of northern districts ...

Etymology

Mithapukur is the largest upazila in Rangpur zila in respect of both area and population. It came into existence in 1885 as a thana and was upgraded to upazila in 1983. Nothing is definitely known about the origin of the upazila name. It is said that

Mir Jumla II Mir Jumla II (12 February 1591 – 30 March 1663), or Amir Jumla, also known as Ardistānī Mir Muhammad, was a military general, wealthy diamond trader, a ''Vizier'' of Golconda sultanate, and later a prominent subahdar of Bengal under the ...

, the

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, came there by the order of the Mughal Emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

in order to invade

Koch Bihar Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It was located south of the ...

. He set up a camp near the current Mithapukur Degree College during the period of his military expedition in Bengal. His forces faced an acute problem of water for which a pond was dug near the camp. The water of the pond was so sweet that Mir Jumla named the place "Mithapukur" (''Mitha'' means Sweet and ''Pukur'' means Pond). Some believe that Shah Ismail Ghazi ordered to dig the pond. It is believed that the pond consisted of five separate ponds. But in course of time, they mixed into a single pond. The name Mithapukur also appears in the

James Rennell Major (United Kingdom), Major James Rennell (3 December 1742 – 29 March 1830) was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of oceanography. Rennell produced some of the first accurate maps of Bengal at one inch to five miles as well as a ...

's Dury Wall Map of Bihar and Bengal, India (as Mettypukre) and N. Hindostan Map (as Mettypokra) and

John Bartholomew John Bartholomew Jr (25 December 1831 – 30 March 1893) was a Scottish cartographer. Life Bartholomew was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, John Bartholomew Sr, started the cartographical establishment in Edinburgh, and he was train ...

's Map of Provinces of the Lower Ganges (as Mitapokhar).

Geography

Mithapukur is located at . It has total area 515.62 km². Mithapukur possesses a vast fertile land. The Jamuneshwari, Akhira, and Ghaghot are the major river flow through Mithapukur. The river Akhira has divided Mithapukur landscape into two parts. The western part of Mithapukur is locally known as "Khiyari" (probably derived from the word "khoyeri" meaning reddish brown) due to its reddish-brown soil and the eastern part is known as "Poly" (sediment) area. The eastern part is the largest. Mithapukur is inside the

Varendra Varendra (), also known as Barind (), was an ancient and historical territory of Northern Bengal, now mostly in Bangladesh and a little portion in the Indian state of West Bengal and Eastern Bihar. It formed part of the Pundravardhana or Pund ...

area. Many "Shalbon" (a forest whose main tree is the

Shala Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karka ...

tree) can be found in the western part of the Upazila which are thought to be the parts of a huge Varendra forest. Most of them are now reserved by the government. The Gopalpur Forest is the main landmark of Terrace soil area.

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 ...

, Mithapukur Upazila had 135,073 households and a population of 508,133. 110,797 (21.80%) were under 10 years of age. Mithapukur had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 46.04%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1014 females per 1000 males. 7,062 (1.39%) lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 7,893 (1.55%), of which Oraon were 5,579 and

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 ...

1,495. 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 ...

, Mithapukur has a population of 409915. Males constitute are 51.09% of the population, and females 48.91%. This upazila's eighteen up population is 207,035. Mithapukur has an average literacy rate of 23% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate. Mithapukur Upazila has a very diverse population with minority groups including Buddhists, Christians and tribes such as

Santhal Santhal or Santal may refer to : *Santhal people (part of the Tea Tribes), in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam in India, also minorities in neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal ** their Santhal rebellion in present-day Jharkhand, India ** ...

who have lived in the district from the beginning of settlement in this area.

Economy

Agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of Mithapukur. Mithapukur is the largest producer of mangoes, vegetables and potatoes in the district. Mithapukur is the birthplace of the sweet mango

, famous for its different taste.

Points of interest

Mithapukur Upazila has many historical and attractive places. Begum Rokeya Memorial in Pairaband is the birthplace of Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932), an eminent educationist and a pioneer of women's liberation. Mithapukur's most popular tourist attractions are the Mithapukur Pond (excavated during the Mughal period), Benubon Buddhist Vihara - Mithapukur, the Mughal era three domed Mithapukur Mosque, Tanka jami Mosque at Latibpur, and Gopalpur forest and Eco park. Mithapukur masjid.jpg, Mithapukur Mughal Era Mosque Begum Rokeya statue.jpg, Statue of Begum Rokeya near Begum Rokeya Memorial

Administration

UNO: Bikash Chandro Bormon. Mithapukur Upazila is divided into Badarganj Municipality and 17 union parishads: Balarhat, Balua Masimpur, Barabala, Bara Hazratpur, Bhangni, Chengmari, Durgapur, Emadpur, Gopalpur, Kafrikhal, Khoragachh, Latibpur, Milanpur, Mirzapur, Moyenpur, Pairaband, and Ranipukur. The union parishads are subdivided into 310 mauzas and 315 villages.

Education

Educational institutions

(a) Primary Schools: 268 (B) Lower secondary schools: 20 (C) Secondary schools: 85 (D) Madrasas: 52 (E) Technical schools and colleges: 5 (F) Kinder Garden: 35 (G) Ibtedayi Madrasa: 50 (H) BRAC Primary School: 39 (I) Colleges: 16

Transport

Mithapukur is well connected to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...

Bogra Bogra (), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Bogura, is a city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in North Bengal, Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in te ...

by National highway. Mithapukur can be reached by the 304 km long National highway(N5) from Dhaka. The highway also provides a link to the neighbouring divisional town Rangpur by 18 km from Upazila Sadar. Highway buses run from kallanpur, Dhaka to Rangpur and it takes about six to seven hours.

Notable people

* Hamiduzzaman Sarkar, politician * Mohammad Harij Uddin Sarker, politician * H. N. Ashequr Rahman (born 1941), politician and industrialist * Khandaker Golam Mostafa (1943–2020), politician and journalist * Zakir Hossain Sarkar (born 1960), politician * Dr. Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari (born 1965), writer, fictionist, columnist, translator, professor of English and the 12th vice-chancellor of

Islamic University, Bangladesh Islamic University, Bangladesh (legally: Islamic University); (; ) commonly referred to as Islamic University, Kushtia (abbreviated as IU), is a public PhD granting research university in Kushtia, Bangladesh and the largest seat of higher educa ...

* Shah Md. Soliman Alam, politician *Zamindar family of Payraband ** Karimunnesa Khanam Chaudhurani (1855–1926), poet and social worker **

(1880–1932), writer, educationist, and social activist

References

{{Rangpur District Mithapukur Upazila