Moulvibazar District, () also spelled Moulavibazar, or Maulavibazar, (previous name: South Sylhet) is the southeastern

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 ...

in northeastern

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 ...

, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It is bordered by the Indian states of

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 ...

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

to the south and east, respectively; by the Bangladeshi districts of Habiganj to the west and

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 ...

to the north.

Etymology

The district, Moulvibazar is named after the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

which serves as its headquarter. The word is derived from two words, moulvi and bazar, meaning 'Market of the Moulvi'. 'Moulvi' is an Islamic honorific title and 'bazar' is the Bengali word for market or township. Moulvibazar is named after Moulvi Syed Qudratullah, a local judge and a descendant of Shah Mustafa, an Islamic preacher active during the advent of Islam in the region. It is believed that the name was coined in the 1771 when Syed Qudratullah established a small bazaar on his zamindari land and local people named it as Moulvibazar. This market was established at riverside of the present Poschim Bazar (West Market), which gradually expanded over the time.

History

Copper plates have been found from 930 AD in Paschimbagh, Tengubazar Mandir, Rajnagar and one of Raja Marundanath from the 11th century in Kalapur, Srimangal. The district was also part of the ancient

Kamarupa 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 ...

kingdom. It is suggested that the area was inhabited by

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

s and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s as evidence from inscriptions suggests there was an ancient university in Panchgaon, Rajnagar. The terrain was headquarters of the ancient ''Ita Kingdom'' founded by Raja Bhanu Narayan and its capital was in the villages of Bhumiura and Eolatoli. Other regions included Chandrapur or Chandrarajya which is modern-day Moulvibazar Sadar. After the Conquest of Sylhet in 1303, many disciples of Shah Jalal scattered across the Sylhet region and the rest of

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 ...

. Shah Mustafa of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, a descendant of Abdul Qadir Gilani, migrated to Chandrapur ruled by Raja Chandra Singh where he lived on top of a small hill with his son Syed Ismail and would preach to the local people. Mustafa would eventually succeed Singh as the ruler of Chandrapur after marrying the Raja's daughter. Other Sufi disciples and saints who preached in Moulvibazar included Shah Kala, Haji Rasul, Shah Dorong, Helimuddin Nurnali, Hamid Faruqi, Syed Nasrullah, Syed Yasin, Syed Ismail, Nur Ali Shah, Shah Wali Muhammad, Sheikh Shihabuddin, Sabur Shah, Shah Helal and Shah Kamaluddin. The final

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of the Ita Kingdom, Raja Subid Narayan lost a battle in 1610 in which the region became under the rule of Khwaja Usman, a fierce opponent of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. He then established his new capital in Uhar, Kamalganj and managed to gain control of South Sylhet. However, this rule was short-lived after Mughal General Islam Khan I's attack in 1612. An important battle between the

and the Baro-Bhuyans was held in Pathan Ushar, Kamalganj. This led to the death of Afghan leader Khwaja Usman. The Panchgaon Factory in Rajnagar Upazila produced cannons for the

. The famous '' Jahan Kosha Cannon'', built by Janardan Karmakar remains in display in

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 ...

. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British gave the region surrounding Moulvibazar high importance, especially in tea production. A rebellion against the permanent settlement of the British took place in Latu in 1857. On 1 April 1882, the area was declared a sub-division, or mahakuma, and named "South Srihatta" (and later "South Sylhet"), consisting of 26 parganas. A mass deforestation took place from 1898 to 1899, clearing the Longla-Singla Reserve in order to make space for settlements. In 1912, there was an anti-British protest held in the village of Jagatshi in the Sadar Upazila. It was organised by Swami Dayananda having its seat at Dolgovinda Ashram. In 1921, the anti-British Khilafat Movement also spread to Moulvibazar and campaigners that were present included Chittaranjan Das, Hussain Ahmad Madani and Sarojini Naidu. On the same year, the non-cooperation movement also spread here after being established by Purnendu Kishore Sengupta in Vidia Ashram, Rangirkul, Kulaura. The peasant rebellion led by Panchanan Singh, Qasim Ali, Baikuntha Sharma and Themba Singh was also held in the 1900s in Vanubal, Kamalganj. In 1947, despite the Hindu majority in the region voting for joining India in the 1947 Sylhet referendum, the region was included in East Pakistan. In 1960, the South Sylhet sub-division was renamed as Moulvibazar by the mahakuma administrator Dr M A Sattar. In 1950, the Shah of Iran,

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

, visited Prithimpassa in Kulaura and stayed for four days at the palace and went wildlife hunting in the Estate forests alongside Khwaja Nazimuddin and Ayub Khan. He was hosted by Nawab Ali Haider Khan. Armed resistance begun at the village of Srirainagar in Kanakpur on 27 March 1971. The Pakistan army was said to have made a surprise attack on the procession there in which two people were killed. On 20 December, a number of people were killed and wounded by mine explosions at the premises of the Moulvibazar Government High School. On 22 February 1984, the

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, upgraded its sub-division status to a district as a part of his decentralisation programme. Shakir Uddin Ahmed was made the district's inaugural deputy commissioner whilst Mukhleshur Rahman was made the first district police super.

Geography

Moulvibazar is in

, a district to the North-East of

. It is 2,707 km² in area, and has a population of 1.38 million. It is situated between 24.10 degree 24.35 degree north latitude and between 90.35 degree and 91.20-degree east longitude. It is surrounded by Sylhet District in the north, Habiganj District in the west and Indian states of

and

in the east and south respectively. The main rivers of the district are the Manu, the Dholoi and the Juri which flow from India. Every year during the rainy season, when there is excessive rainfall in India, the surplus water flows through these rivers and causes floods in low-lying parts of Moulvibazar (for example, the villages of Balikhandi and Shampashi on the northern side of the river Manu). Unless the rivers are properly dredged the floods can be devastating. In the last few years, Moulvibazar has had a muti-million dollar flood defence system built, which is the only one like it in the whole country.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Moulvibazar District had a population of 2,123,447 with an average 4.80 people per household. Approximately, 14.00% of the inhabitants lived in urban areas. The population density was 759 people per km². 19.21% of the population was under 10 years of age. Moulvibazar had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 75.85%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 92.57 males per 100 females.

Religion

The district of Moulvibazar consists 2967 mosques, 613 temples, 56 churches and 22

temples.

division's largest

temple "Kadipur Shib Bari" located at Kulaura upazila in Moulvibazar district. Notable mosques include the Mosque of Shah Mustafa, Goyghor Mosque, Jiladpur Mosque, and the Lawachara Jame Mosque. The revivalist Deobandi movement is popular in with Jamia Luthfia Anwarul Uloom Hamidnagar being a notable centre in Srimangal and many are part of the

Tablighi Jamaat Tablighi Jamaat ( , also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is an international Islamic schools and branches, Islamic religious movement. It focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encourages f ...

. Another Islamic institution is the Sujaul Senior Fazil Madrasha in Barlekha. A small minority of

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

s gather during Ashura every year at the Nawab Bari in Prithimpasha, which was home to an royal Shia family in Kulaura. There is a sizeable Hindu population in Moulvibazar many who are living in Sreemangal. Moulvibazar has the second-highest proportion of Hindu residents of any district in Bangladesh, after Gopalganj. Begum Talib-un-Nisa Khatun of Prithimpasha's Chhoto Saheb Bari established the famous Rabir Bazar Jame Masjid in the late 18th century. Muslims make up 74.65% of the population, while Hindus are 24.45% and Christians 0.84% of the population. Moulvibazar was formerly a Hindu-majority region before Partition. During the Partition of 1947 many Hindus migrated to neighbouring districts of India. Later, a further wave of emigration of Hindus to India occurred during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. Ethnic population is 73,303 (3.45%), mainly tea tribes and indigenous groups like Tripuri and Khasi. 18,031 were Manipuri, 10,045 Khasi, 8,158 Munda, 6,308 Santal, 4,468 Oraon, 4,132 Garo and 3,318 Bhumij.

Administration

Moulvibazar is made up of 7 subdivisions or

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 ...

s. They are: # Moulvibazar Sadar # Kamalganj # Kulaura # Rajnagar # Sreemangal # Barlekha (originally part of Joldhup in Karimganj) # Juri (formed in 2005 from unions of Kulaura and Barlekha) There are 67 unions, 2,064 villages and 5 Pourashavas namely Kamalganj, Kulaura, Sreemongal, Barlekha and Moulvibazar. Almost 50,000 of the clan population belong to Manipuri, Khasia and

clans. They tend to live in the areas of Kamalganj, Sreemongal and Kulaura Upazila of this district. There are 92 tea gardens in the district. During the British colonial period, South Sylhet subdivision was divided into three tax collectory zilas, further divided into 28 parganas.Sreehatter Itibritta – Purbangsho (A History of Sylhet), Part 2, Volume 1, Chapter 1, Achyut Charan Choudhury; Publisher: Mustafa Selim; Source publication, 2004 The incomplete list of parganas of South Sylhet are as follows: * Noyakhali Zila: Chowallish, Balishira, Satgaon, Chautali, Giasnagar, Chaitanyanagar, Athanagiri * Rajnagar Zila: Ita, Shamshernagar, Alinagar, Indeshwar, Panishail/Panishali, Bhanugach, Adampur * Hingazia Zila: Kanihati, Baramchal, Bhatera, Patharia, Yaqubnagar, Longla Later on, South Sylhet subdivision was divided into five thanas: * Moulvibazar Thana: Parganas - Shamshernagar, Chowallish, Shaistanagar, Howlisatrasati * Kamalganj Thana: Parganas - Adampur, Bhanugach, Chhoychiri, Shamshernagar * Kulaura Thana: Parganas - Kanihati, Patharia, Longla, Baramchal * Rajnagar Thana: Parganas - Indeswar, Shamshernagar * Sreemangal Thana: Parganas - Balishira, Chautali

Economy

The main exports of Moulvibazar are

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, tea, pineapple, cane,

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

, oranges,

agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...

, rubber,

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es and lemons. Ninety-one of Bangladesh's 153 tea gardens are located in Moulvibazar. The area is also home to the three largest tea gardens (size and production wise) in the world. Pineapples from the Sreemangal area are famous for their flavour and natural sweetness. Srimangal is known as the 'tea capital of Bangladesh' due to the high frequency of tea plantations found there.

Transport

The main transport systems used in the city are Cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws (mainly known as baby-taxis or CNGs), buses, mini-buses and cars. There are about 10,000 rickshaws running each day. Bus service prices have increased as of 2008, up to 30% higher, prices ranges from Tk4 to 25.95. The Kulaura Railway Station, Sreemangal Railway Station is the main railway station providing trains on national routes operated by the state-run

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...

. Also Bhanugach Railway Station, Tilagaon, Vatera, Rashidpur Station is used by local peoples. There is a public-use airport in Shamshernagar.

Tourism

The District contains the highest amount of tea plantations in the country. Srimangal is known as the Tea Capital of Bangladesh and is the only place where one can have the original 7-layered tea. Moulvibazar also has notable religious sites such as the dargah and mosque of Shah Mustafa, a companion of Shah Jalal; as well as the Jiladpur Mosque and Goyghor Mosque, two ancient mosques from the 15th century. Moulvibazar town has many shopping malls and several Indian, Chinese and American eateries. Madhabkunda waterfall in Barlekha is probably the most well-known tourist attraction of the district. The Hum Hum waterfall located in the Razkandi Reserve Forest in Kamalganj was also recently discovered in 2010. The district also contains one of the country's major national parks, Lawachara National Park, famous for its biodiversity. The park was also the filming site for the 1956 film '' Around the World in 80 Days''. Madhobpur Lake is the only place in the country in which you can find the white-bellied heron. Hakaluki Haor, Hail Haor and Bilashchhara Lake are also other nearby

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s. The memorial monument of Hamidur Rahman can be found in Kamalganj. There is also a multi-use stadium called Saifur Rahman Stadium.

Education

The Bangladesh Tea Research Institute can be found in Srimangal. It has made significant contributions in evolving and standardising the quality of tea, and introducing its research findings to the tea industry of Bangladesh. The oldest school of Moulvibazar district is Moulvibazar Government High School.

Notable people

* Altaf Husain (1900 –1968) educationist, journalist. * Syed Mujtaba Ali, writer, scholar and linguist (1904-1974) * Md. Keramat Ali, MLA, 1954 and MNA, 1965 * Abdul Muntaquim Chaudhury MNA, MP * Mohammad Ataul Karim is provost and executive vice chancellor at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. * Tommy Miah, restaurateur and celebrity chef * Shafiqur Rahman, physician and Amir of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami * Saifur Rahman, longest serving Finance Minister of Bangladesh. * Doly Begum, Canadian politician * Naser Rahman, former MP for Moulvibazar-3 and chairman of the Saifur Rahman Foundation * Surendra Kumar Sinha, Chief Justice of Bangladesh (2015-2017) * Wali Tasar Uddin MBE, entrepreneur, restaurateur, community leader and chairman of the Bangladesh-British Chamber of Commerce. * Bajloor Rashid MBE, businessman and former president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association UK. * Nadia Shah, politician, councillor and former Mayor of Camden. In May 2016, she became the first female British Bangladeshi mayor. * Rowshanara Moni, singer and actress. In 2004, her debut album '' Nijhum Raat'' was released. * Shanaj Ahmed, cricketer for

* Syed Mohammad Ali, founder of The Daily Star - the largest circulating daily English-language newspaper in

. * Syed Abdul Majid CIE, first native minister of Assam, pioneer of the agricultural industry * Dwijen Sharma, botanist, environmentalist and science writer. * Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, footballer and captain of Arambagh KS * Syed Mohsin Ali, former Social Welfare Minister of Bangladesh * Syeda Saira Mohsin, former MP for Moulvibazar-3 * Abdus Shahid, former chief whip for Bangladesh Awami League * Shahab Uddin, Bangladeshi Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change * Nawab Ali Amjad Khan, 8th Nawab of Longla, Honorary Magistrate, Expert hunter, Philanthropist and Educationist * Nawab Ali Abbas Khan, Jatiya Party politician and three-time MP for Moulvibazar-2 * Nawab Ali Haider Khan, 9th Nawab of Longla, government minister and leader of the Independent Muslim Party * Abdul Matin, former MP for Moulvibazar-2 * Parvez Haris, biomedical science professor at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

* Rangalal Sen, National Professor of

* Mohammad Zillur Rahman, MP for Moulvibazar-3

Notes

References

* Moulvibajar Jilar Itihas o Oitisyo, Rabbani Choudhury, Agami Prokashon, 2000 * Kazi Mahmudur Rahman, Faculty (Mentors' education Moulvibazar branch) {{Authority control Districts of Bangladesh