Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western

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 is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

is in Rajshahi District.

Geography

Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore District to the east, Chapai Nababganj District to west and a small part of Kushtia District and the river Padma to the south. The district consists of alluvial plain.

Rivers

There are ten rivers in this district, totaling 146 km in length. The main river is the Padma (Ganges). Other rivers include Mahananda, Baral and Barnai.

History

The Mughal Emperor Akbar appointed the Puṭhia Raj family to govern the Rajshahi region under the governor "Pitambar". In 1772, the Rajshahi District was established. Parts of it eventually became the districts of Bogura, Malda,

Natore Natore is a city ("town" in some sources) in western Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of the Natore District. Its current administrator is Asha Khatun. The Narod river is passing through the center of the city with pollution from upstream industr ...

, Naogaon, Nawabganj, and

Pabna Pabna () is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the historian Radharaman Saha ...

. On 1 April 1876, Rajshahi town was made as a municipal town. During the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, the town was the site of battles between the Mukti Bahini and 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 ...

. Between 26 and 30 March, Pakistan forces killed 31 people in

Godagari upazila Godagari Upazila () is an Upazila of Rajshahi District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. This is the place where Mahananda river fall to Padma or Ganges. History The Deopara Prashasti, an important inscription in Sanskrit poetry describi ...

. A battle on 30 March resulted in the death of an East Pakistan Rifles member. On 13 April, the Pakistan army killed Rajshahi Cadet College Professor AB Siddiqi. On 24 May, it attacked Tahirpur Haṭ in Bagmara upazila, killing 25 people. Mukti Bahini commander Havilder Shafiq led an attack on a Pakistani boat on 8 August, killing 18 personnel. Pakistan then killed two members of East Pakistan Ansar and established a camp in the Zoha Hall of

Rajshahi University The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a Public university, public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 ...

, where they massacred hundreds of civilians. The Pakistan army also established camps inside Rajshahi Cadet College, Roy Saheb brickfield, Sardaha Pilot School, and Sardah Police Academy. It tortured militants of Mukti Bahini and civilians in the camps, and killed hundreds of refugees on the banks of the Padma river who were fleeing to India. In a battle between Mukti Bahini and Pakistan near Kabasmul, a Pakistani army major was killed. Pakistan retaliated by killing 44 civilians in Gaganbari and Palsa. On 17 December, Pakistan surrendered to the Indian Army Captain Nanda in Naṭore, a day after its forces signed the Pakistani instrument of Surrender in Dhaka. Its camp in

was taken over by Mukti Bahini members, On 18 December, the Pakistan army stationed in Pabna and Rajshahi districts surrendered. Surrender ceremonies took place on 20 December. Rajshahi town was upgraded to a

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

on 13 August 1987. In 1997, the government of Bangladesh made the town into a full city corporation, Rajshahi City Corporation. In 2016, Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, a professor at University of Rajshahi, and a 65 year old Sufi preacher, Shahidullah, were killed by Islamic extremists.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Rajshahi District has 775,245 households and a population of 2,915,009 with an average 3.67 people per household. Among the population, 455,892 (15.64%) inhabitants are under 10 years of age. The population density is 1,202 people per km². Rajshahi District has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 75.17%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 100.25 males per 100 females. Approximately, 37.58% (1,095,403) of the population live in urban areas. Ethnic population is 47,832 (1.64%), of which 26,224 are Santal, 8,048 Oraon and 3,274 Mal Paharia. Muslims are the majority population and Hindus are the largest minority. The Christian population has grown quickly, while the number of those following ethnic religions has declined significantly.

Administration

Sub-district 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 and thanas of Rajshahi are * Bagha Upazila * Bagmara Upazila * Charghat Upazila * Durgapur Upazila *

Godagari Upazila Godagari Upazila () is an Upazila of Rajshahi District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. This is the place where Mahananda river fall to Padma or Ganges. History The Deopara Prashasti, an important inscription in Sanskrit poetry describi ...

* Mohanpur Upazila * Paba Upazila * Puthia Upazila * Tanore Upazila * Boalia Thana * Matihar Thana * Rajpara Thana * Shah Makdam Thana *Chandrima Thana *Katakhali Thana *Belpukur Thana *Airport Thana *Kashiadanga Thana *Kornohar Thana *Damkura Thana

Communications

Rajshahi district has well organized internal communication as well as connection to other parts of Bangladesh. There are 96 metalled roads with a total length of about 1270 km, 108 semi-metalled roads of about 546 km length, and six railways of about 63 km total length.

Media and press club

There are Govt. Approved Bengali daily newspapers and Newsportals Published from the city, including ''Sonali Sangbad'', ''Sunshine'', ''Dainik Barta'',
Uttorbongo Protidin
Sonar Desh'', ''Natun Provat'', and ''Amader Rajshahi''. The government-run Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar have transmission centres in Rajshahi. A local FM radio station, Radio Padma, transmits at 99.2

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

frequency. Radio Foorti transmits at 88.0

. Rajshahi City Press Club, Rajshahi Press Club, Rajshahi Metropolitan Press club and Rajshahi Padma Press Club.

Economy

Rajshahi Metropolitan is widely known as Silk City of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board is situated at Rajshahi. There are seven silk factories in the BSCIC Industrial Town in Rajshahi. An inter-city train is named Silk City Express after Rajshahi; it serves the route between Rajshahi and

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 ...

. Rajshahi is also notable for producing

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 ...

s and

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

Points of interest

* Bagdhani Mosque * Bagha Mosque * Kismat Maria Mosque * Tomb of Shah Makhdum * Tomb of Shah Sultan * Talando Shiv Mandir * Puthia Temple Complex *

Boro Kuthi Boro Kuthi () is a historic building in Rajshahi, Bangladesh built by Dutch traders in eighteenth century. The building was also used as the first administrative center for Rajshahi University. The building is now under the Ministry of Cultural a ...

Notes

References

{{Authority control Rajshahi District Districts of Bangladesh Districts of Bangladesh established before 1971