Sreemangal () 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 ...

Moulvibazar District Moulvibazar District, () also spelled Moulavibazar, or Maulavibazar, (previous name: South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It is bordered by the Indian states ...

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 ...

, Bangladesh. It is located at the southwest of the district, and borders the

Habiganj District Habiganj District (; ), formerly known as Habibganj District (), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a successor to its ''subdivision'' status since 1867. It is na ...

to the west and the Indian state 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 ...

to the south. Sreemangal is often referred to as the 'tea capital' of Bangladesh, and is most famous for its tea fields. Other than tea, the rubber, pineapple, wood, betel, and lemon industries also exist in the upazila.

History

It is believed that the upazila was named after Sri Das and Mangal Das; two brothers who settled on the banks of the Hail

Haor A () is a wetland ecosystem in the north eastern part of Bangladesh which physically is a bowl or saucer shaped shallow Depression (geology), depression, also known as a backswamp.MK Alam; ''Wave attack in Haor areas of Bangladesh and cement co ...

. A copper plate of Raja Marundanath from the 11th century was found in Kalapur. During an excavation at Lamua, an ancient statue of Ananta Narayan was dug out. In 1454, the Nirmai Shiva Bari was built and still stands today. Sreemangal

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 1912. The central town later became a pourashava in 1935. In 1963, two peasants were killed by police officers which kicked off the Balishira peasant riots. 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 ...

of 1971, 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 ...

reached Sreemangal on 30 April setting houses on fire and rapes were committed on women. The nearby

East Pakistan Rifles East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

camp and local

Wapda The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

office premises were among the two mass killing sites. Two mass graves remain in Bharaura with a memorial in North Bharaura.

Geography

Sreemangal is located at . It has 65,165 households and total area 450.73 km². It is bordered by Moulvibazar Sadar to the north,

to the south, Kamalganj to the east and Chunarughat, Nabiganj and Bahubal to the west.

Climate

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 ...

, Sreemangal Upazila had 65,165 households and a population of 318,025. 74,603 (23.46%) were under 10 years of age. Sreemangal had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 48.33%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1004 females per 1000 males. 39,757 (12.50%) lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 13,460 (4.23%), of which

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

were 2,796, Khasi 1,665 and Manipuri 735. As of 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 ...

, Sreemangal has a population of 230,889. Males constitute 51.76% of the total population, and females 48.24%. This Upazila's 18+ population is 124,778. Sreemangal has an average literacy rate of 29.8% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate. About 58% of this sub district's people are

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 ...

while 41% are

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 ...

and others are Christians and Buddhist.

Economy and tourism

Madhobpur Lake is one of the main tourist attractions in the area, and is home to the Great White-Bellied Heron, the only confirmed site in Bangladesh. The Baikka

beel A beel (Bengali language, Bengali and Assamese language, Assamese: বিল) is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra ...

is also a nearby body of water and home to the Large-billed reed warbler."Rare Bird in Baikka Wetland", Daily Prothom Alo
Sreemangal has been nicknamed the ''tea capital of

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 ...

'', due to the number of tea gardens in the area, and is the place of origin of the Seven Color Tea. The Bangladesh Tea Research Institute in Sreemangal has made a number of contributions in evolving and standardising the quality of tea, and introducing its research findings to the tea industry of Bangladesh. Pineapples from the Sreemangal area are known for their flavour and natural sweetness. In 2010, the Hum Hum waterfall was discovered and has attracted visitors from all over Bangladesh to Razkandi forest.

Administration

Sreemangal Upazila is divided into Sreemangal Municipality and nine

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: Ashidron, Bhunabir, Kalapur, Kalighat, Mirzapur, Rajghat, Satgaon, Sindurkhan, and Sreemangal. The union parishads are subdivided into 108 mauzas and 208 villages. Sreemangal Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 20

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

According to Banglapedia, Victoria High School, founded in 1924, Bhunabir Dashrath High School & College Founded in 1896, is a notable secondary school. The Jamia Luthfia Anwarul Uloom Hamidnagar is a notable

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic centre in the

Sylhet region 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 ...

Notable people

* Om family * Sitesh Ranjan Deb, wildlife conservationist, operates a mini-zoo at Rupashpur.

References

{{Authority control Srimangal Upazila