Rajshahi Division () is one of the eight first-level administrative

divisions of Bangladesh Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2024, there are eight divisions of Bangladesh, each named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Eac ...

. It has an area of and a population at the 2022 Census of 20,353,119. Rajshahi Division consists of 8 districts, 70

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 (the next lower administrative tier) and 1,092 unions (the lowest administrative tier). The region has historically been dominated by various feudal

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 ...

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

s and Zamindars.Encyclopedia of Bangladesh pp 6
/ref> Formerly comprising 16 districts, a new division (

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 ...

) was formed with the 8 northern districts of the old Rajshahi Division from early 2010.

Etymology and names

The Rajshahi Division is named after

Rajshahi District Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore Distric ...

. Dominated by various feudal

s and zamindars of mixed origins throughout history, the name is a compound of the words ''Raj'' and ''Shahi'', both of which can be translated into reign or kingdom. Archaic spellings in the English language also included ''Rajeshae''.

History

Rajshahi Division was created in 1829 by the local British Government. It was the largest division in Bengal Province. During partition of Bengal in 1947, the division was partitioned in two halves. The eastern half remained as Rajshahi division, while its western half became Jalpaiguri division of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In January 2010,

split from Rajshahi division.

Demographics

At the time of the

2022 Bangladeshi census The 2022 Bangladeshi census () was a detailed enumeration of the Bangladeshi population constituting the sixth national census in the country. It was scheduled to be held in June 2022, was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and th ...

, Rajshahi division had a population of 20,351,864.

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

are 19,071,092 which is 93.71% of the population, while

Hindus 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 ...

are 1,159,152 which is 5.70% of the population. Other religions (almost entirely Christianity and indigenous faiths) are only 0.59% of the population and are mainly found among the ethnic minorities.

Districts

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 ...

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 ...

* Sirajganj *

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 ...

* Bogura *

Chapainawabganj Chapai Nawabganj or Chapainawabganj District () is a district of Rajshahi Division. It is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The north and western-part of Chapainawabganj is bounded by Malda district, Malda and Murshidabad distr ...

* Naogaon * Joypurhat

Education

The major educational institutes in Rajshahi are: *

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

(RU) * Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute (RPI) *

Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, commonly known by the acronym RUET, is a PhD granting, 2nd oldest public engineering and technological research university in Bangladesh. It specialises in the field of applied sciences, engineerin ...

(RUET) * Rajshahi Medical University ( RMC) * North Bengal International University (NBIU) * Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) * Bangladesh Army University of Engineering & Technology * Rajshahi Science & Technology University * Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College,

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 ...

* Joypurhat Girls Cadet College, Joypurhat *

Rajshahi College Rajshahi College (Bengali language, Bengali: রাজশাহী কলেজ) is a public college, public educational institution in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Established in 1873, it is the third oldest college in Bangladesh after Dhaka College a ...

* Rajshahi Govt. City College, Rajshahi * New Govt. Degree College, Rajshahi * Rajshahi Cadet College * Azizul Haque College, Bogra * Bogra Zilla School * Pabna Zilla School * Pabna Cadet College * Pabna Textile Engineering College * Govt. Edward College, Pabna * Pabna University of Science and Technology * Pabna Medical College, Pabna * Joypurhat Government College * Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College, Sirajganj * Government Laboratory High School Rajshahi * Rajshahi Collegiate School (RCS), Rajshahi * Naogaon K.D. Government High School, Naogaon The University of Rajshahi (established 1953) is the second largest university of Bangladesh with around 50 disciplines and 6 institutes. Rajshahi Collegiate School (established in 1828) is one of the oldest school in the country and Indian sub-continent which became again the best school in Bangladesh in 2018.

Notable residents

* Montazur Rahman Akbar, film-maker *

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

(Rtd.) Saiful Azam, fighter pilot, Member of Parliament (MP) for Pabna-3 * Manzoor Alam Beg, photographer * Apu Biswas *

Mohammad Ali Bogra Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury Bogra (19 October 1909 – 23 January 1963) was an East Pakistani politician, statesman, and a diplomat who served as third prime minister of Pakistan from 1953 to 1955. He was appointed in this capacity in 1953 un ...

* General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE, former

Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of the Indian Army (IA), the land forces branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Customarily held by a four-star general officer, the COAS is the senior-most ...

* Pramatha Chaudhuri, writer * Samson H. Chowdhury, business mangate * Zahid Hasan, stage actor * Amjad Hossain, (Member of

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

), organiser of Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. * A. B. Mirza Azizul Islam, advisor of military-backed 2007-2008 caretaker government * Taijul Islam, player for the Bangladesh national cricket team * Abdul Jalil, politician * James *

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

(Rtd.) A. K. Khandker, first

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

(1971–1975), Former Minister, Ministry Planning of Bangladesh * Mahiya Mahi * Amiya Bhushan Majumdar, Indian novelist * Partha Pratim Majumder * Bande Ali Mia, poet * Bidya Sinha Saha Mim * Mohammed Fazle Rabbee,

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, intellectual *

Mushfiqur Rahim Mushfiqur Rahim (; born 9 May 1987) is a Bangladeshi cricketer and the former captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He is a right-handed middle-order Batting (cricket), batter and wicket-keeper in the national team. Mushfiqur started ...

Arifur Rahman Arifur Rahman (born August 8, 1984) is a Bangladeshis, Bangladeshi-Norwegians, Norwegian political cartoonist, illustrator and animator. He is a self-taught cartoonist who is renowned for his contribution to cartoons both on the internet and in ...

* Tarique Rahman *

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

* Sqn Ldr Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, Pakistani war hero of Indo-Pak War of 1965

References

External links

UttorbongoProtidin.Com
24/7 Bengali and English newsportal from Bangladesh. {{Authority control Rajshahi Division Divisions of Bangladesh Divisions of British India