Rajbari District () is a district in central

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 ...

, located in

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

. It is a part of the Greater Faridpur subregion 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 ...

due to the historical and cultural identities of its inhabitants, with Kushtia border on the west, Rajbari is also the meeting point of two distinctive culture of Bangladesh.

History

During the reign of

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

, a fief in Padamdi was decreed to the family of an Iraqi Muslim immigrant by the name of Syed Shah Pahlwan in 1607. The

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

i family, known as the Nawabs of Padamdi actively commanded the artillery and served the Mughal army, eventually leading to Emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

bestowing them the title of

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

Rajbari in the

Bengali language Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...

means palace, and pays homage to the rich

i families that feudally ruled modern-day Rajbari. In the 17th century, the Mughal governor of Bengal,

Shaista Khan Mirza Abu Talib (b. 22 November 1600 – d. 1694), better known as Shaista Khan, was a general and the Subahdar of Mughal Bengal. He was maternal uncle to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and acted as a key figure during his reign. Shaista Khan ini ...

, appointed Sangram Shah of Panchthupi as the ''Nawara'' of what is present-day Rajbari in order to suppress the Portuguese pirates. The Nawara settled permanently in the populated neighbourhood of Banibaha and built a fort at a place called Lalgola. Sangram Shah and his family later became known as the Nawara Chowdhuries of Banibaha. After the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...

of 1757, one of

Siraj ud-Daulah Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah (1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of the Bengal Subah. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of th ...

's officers by the name of Prabhuram went into hiding in Lakshmikol to avoid the British colonialists. Prabhuram's son, Dwigendra Prasad, eventually became a prominent zamindar in the area, and his son Surya Kumar earned the title of

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 ...

. In 1890, the Rajbari railway station was established, and it is said that it was named after Raja Surya Kumar. Other zamindars such as the Nawara Chowdhuries of Banibaha objected to this as the name of Rajbari was said to have been established long before Kumar. During the Bangladesh War of 1971, an organisation named the Sangram Parishad (Struggle Council) was established on 26 March. On 21 and 22 April, six Bengali fighters were murdered during an encounter with the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. In the villages of Majhpara, Ramcole and Mathurapur, the army killed 10 pro-independence Bengalis and individuals in addition to setting many houses on fire. The Bengali fighters captured a large amount of equipment and resources from the Army in November. Another brawl took place in that month in the village of Alhadipur leading to 9 Pakistan Army casualties.

Geography and climate

The district is bounded by

Pabna District Pabna District () is a district in west central Bangladesh. It is a geographically and economically important district. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. The main five rivers of this district are: Padma, Jamuna, Baral, Atra ...

on the north, Faridpur and Magura districts on the south, Manikganj District on the east,

Kushtia Kushtia () is a city located on the banks of the Gorai River in Bangladesh. It serves as the headquarters of Kushtia District and is considered the cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city is known for its Tiler Khaja (sesame sweets), kulf ...

and Jhenaidah districts on the west. The land of the district is mainly alluvial raised from the Padma. Annual average temperature of this district is maximum 35.8 °C and minimum 12.6 °C. Annual rainfall is 2105 mm.

Major rivers

* Padma * Jalangi * Kumar * Garai *

Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, story and screenplay written by Ritwik Ghatak and dialogues written by Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip ...

* Harai * Chandana * Chitra

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Rajbari District had 295,216 households and a population of 1,189,818 with an average 3.99 people per household. Among the population, 215,341 (18.10%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 1,089 people per km². Rajbari District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 69.49%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1044 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 15.11% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 3,324.

Religion

The district is predominantly Muslim. Muslims are 1,078,677, Hindus 110,569, and Christians 163.

Places of interest

Dighi (a kind of water body) in Rajbari include ''Kallyan Dighi'', situated in Baliakandi of Islampur union. Rajbari is situated by the bank of

Padma River 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 banks ...

. "Godar Bazar", bank of Padma River and also a well-known place of interest is situated near at Rajbari town. And also well known place is "UK BEACH" (Urakanda Padma River Side Resort)

Administration

Once Rajbari region was a part of

Jessore District Jessore District, List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Jashore District (; ), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna District, Khulna and Satkhira District, Satk ...

. In 1811 when

Faridpur District Faridpur District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to the northeast. The district was named for its headquarters, the city of Faridpur, Bangladesh, Faridpur, which its ...

was formed Rajbari was included in it. Besides, the upazilas under Rajbari district were included in different districts in the past. Pangsha Upazila was once included into

. In 1859, Pangsha and Baliakandi were included in the newly formed Kumarkhali Upazila. In 1871, when Goalanda Upazila was formed, Pangsha and Rajbari were included in it and its headquarters was established in Rajbari. Goalanda was upgraded into a district in March 1984 and it was renamed as Rajbari District.

Parliamentary seats

# Rajbari-1 # Rajbari-2

Upazilas

There are 5 upazilas in this district. They are: # Baliakandi Upazila # Goalanda Upazila # Pangsha Upazila # Kalukhali Upazila # Rajbari Sadar Upazila

Deputy commissioner

The DC is the chief administrative and revenue officer of Rajbari District.

Education

Schools

* Rajbari Government High School * Rajapur Yeasin Institution * Kalukhali R.K Govt. Model High School * Baliakandi Pilot Model High School * Rajbari Government Girls High School * R.S.K Institution * Rajdharpur Madhyamik Bidyalay * Baharpur High School * Kola Sadar Uddin High School * Atdapunia High School * Goalanda Nazir Uddin Pilot Govt. High School * Goalundo Proper High School * Mulghor High School * Kashbamajail A.H High School * Suraj Mohini Institute & Tamijuddin Girls High School * Mohonpur K.B Academy * Nalia Shyama Mohon Institution * Lotus Collegiate School * Yasin high school. * Mrigi M.L.High School

Colleges

* Bhandaria Siddiqia Kamil Madrasah, Rajbari * Rajbari Government CollegeRajbari district information * Rajbari Government Adarsha Mohila College * Dr. Abul Hossain University College * Pangsha Government College * Kalukhali Government College * Govt. Goalanda Kamrul Islam College * Baharpur College * Baliakandi Degree College * Mansur Ali Degree College * Mir Mosharraf Hossain Degree College * Jamalpur Degree College * Mrigi Shaheed Dianot Degree College

Notable people

* Padamdi Nawab family ** Mir Mosharraf Hossain, novelist and playwright * Haroa/Ratandia Choudhury family ** Yusuf Hossain Choudhury, politician ** Rashid Hossain Choudhury, artist * Katakhali Chowdhury family ** Abdul Wajed Chowdhury (died 1992), politician ** Salma Chowdhury (born 1971), politician * Maguradangi Chowdhury family ** Rowshan Ali Chowdhury (1874–1933), journalist ** Yakub Ali Chowdhury (1888–1940), essayist * Bagmara Qazi family **

Qazi Motahar Hossain Qazi Motahar Hossain (30 July 1897 – 9 October 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer, scientist, statistician, chess player, and journalist. Hossain was a pioneer educationalist of Bangladesh. He did original research in statistics and pioneered ...

(1897–1981), scientist, author and teacher ** Sanjida Khatun (1933–2025), musicologist ** Qazi Anwar Hussain (1936–2022), novelist ** Fahmida Khatun, singer * AKM Aszad, politician *

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

S. M. Matiur Rahman * Kazi Keramat Ali, former MP & Education Minister * Md. Zillul Hakim, former MP & Railways Minister * Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam, former MP * Jahanara Begum, politician * Kazi Abdul Wadud, dramatist * Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, former Speaker of the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was the supreme federal legislature of the Dominion of Pakistan. It was established in August 1947 with the primary tasks of framing Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution; and serving as an interim ...

* Monsur Ul Karim, painter * Rokanuzzaman Khan, journalist * Shohely Akhter, cricketer * S. M. Kuddus Zaman, justice * Satish Chandra Vidyabhusan, eminent Sanskrit scholar * Shohely Akhter, cricketer * Kangalini Sufia, folk singer * Kazi Abul Kasem, polymath * Rozina, actress * Khurshida Begum Sayeed, former commissioner * Khabiruzzaman,

Bir Bikrom Bir Bikrom () is the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Like the other gallantry awards, this was introduced immediately after the Bangladeshi Liberation War. Bir Bikrom was awarded to 175 fighters. Recipients 175 fighters have been a ...

Notes

References

{{Authority control Rajbari District Districts of Bangladesh