Ramgati () 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 ...

(sub-district) of

Lakshmipur District Lakshmipur District (; ) is a district in Bangladesh with an area of 1,440 km2. It is bordered by Chandpur to the north, Bhola and Noakhali districts to the south, Noakhali to the east, and Barisal and Bhola districts to the west. Lakshmi ...

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 ...

, part of the

Chattogram Division Chittagong Division (), officially Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the southeasternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population according to th ...

. The

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

plans to build an airport in this upazila.

History

Ramgati is home to historic infrastructure such as the Bedar Bakhsh Mosque in Borokheri. The origin of Ramgati is said to have been from a man named Ramkrishna who had a large mercantile centre in the area known as a ''gôdi'' 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. ...

. From this, the area came to be known as ''Ramer gadi'' (meaning Ram's godi) and was later corrupted into Ramgati. Initially, a

thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...

was established in the Borokheri Union in 1862. In 1933, the Baluchar Islamia Senior Alim Madrasa was founded. Five years later, the Char Alexander Alia Madrasa opened. In 1957, the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

's Irrigation Department constructed the earthen 13.68km ''Meghna Cross-Dam I'' across a major branch of the

Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...

which flowed between Ramgati and the Noakhali mainland. As a result, river flow was diverted westwards and by 1965, 207km² of land was reclaimed. In October 1960, a severe cyclonic storm affected Ramgati leading to 3,500 deaths. During the

Bangladesh War of Independence The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971, a brawl took place in Zamindar Hat between Bengali fighters against 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 ...

soldiers and its collaborating

Razakar Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Paki ...

s leading to the death of 17 Pakistan Army soldiers and numerous Razakars. On the night of 3 December, a Mitra Bahini tank arrived to Ramgati and the Pakistani soldiers and their allies fled the area leading to the capture of Ramgati in 4 December. In 1972, the Borokheri Thana outpost was relocated to Ramgati Bazar as a consequence of

river erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

. The Ramgati Thana was upgraded to an upazila (sub-district) in 1983 as part of

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

's decentralisation project.

Geography

Ramgati is located at . It has a total area of . The

flows into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

on the west side of Ramgati Bazar, and there is a natural beach there. Ramgati is bounded by

Kamalnagar Upazila Kamalnagar is an upazila of Lakshmipur District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Administration Kamalnagar Upazila is divided into nine union parishads: Char Folcon, Char Kadira, Char Kalkini, Char Lawrench, Char Martin, Hajirhat, Patari ...

to the north,

Noakhali Sadar Upazila Noakhali Sadar () is an upazila of Noakhali District in Chittagong Division, Chattogram, Bangladesh. Noakhali Thana was established in 1861 and was converted into an upazila in 1984. The upazila takes its name from the district and the Bengali wor ...

to its east,

Hatiya Upazila Hatiya () is an upazila (sub-district) of Noakhali District in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. It encompasses of a small archipelago in southeastern Noakhali, most notably Hatiya Island, Nijhum Dwip, Domar Char, Kolatoli Char, Bhasan Char and ...

to its south and Tazumuddin Upazila in the west.

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 ...

, Ramgati Upazila had 55,644 households and a population of 261,002. 81,176 (31.10%) were under 10 years of age. Ramgati had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 39.3%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1032 females per 1000 males. 59,837 (22.93%) lived in urban areas. According to 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 ...

, Ramgati had a population of 335,243. Ramgati has 59,387 households. Males constituted 51.57% of the population, and females 48.43%. The population aged 18 or over was 146,035. Ramgati had an average literacy rate of 19.9% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%.

Administration

Ramgati Upazila is divided into Ramgati Municipality and eight

union parishad Union council (), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads (district councils) being the largest rural authori ...

s: Borokheri, Char Abdullah, Char Alexandar, Char Algi, Char Badam, Char Gazi, Char Poragacha, and Char Ramiz. The union parishads are subdivided into 50 mauzas and 39 villages. Ramgati Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 11

mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, Quarter (country subdivision), quarter, Ward (country subdivision), ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. ...

Education and facilities

In 2001, Ramgati had an average literacy rate of 19.9% (7+ years), against then national average of 32.4%. Ramgati is home to 46 madrasas and 105 mosques. Some notable mosques include the Ramgati Central Jame Mosque, Bedar Bakhsh Mosque and the Char Poragacha Mosque.

Notable people

* Abdur Rab Chowdhury, Supreme Court lawyer * A. S. M. Abdur Rab, former minister and inaugural secretary-general of the

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal () is a List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul Alam Khan. The party was dominant during the 1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency. The current party presid ...

Mohammad Toaha Mohammad Toaha (2 January 1922 – 29 November 1987) was a language activist of the 1952 language movement and a prominent left-wing politician from Bangladesh. Early life and education Toaha was born on 2 January 1922 at Hajirhat village in ...

, language activist * Thanaullah Nuri, journali *Aftab Uddin Masud, managing director of Himachol Express, Nilachol Express, Ghulshan Chaka

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Upazilas of Lakshmipur District