Sylhet District (), located in north-east

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 ...

, is one of the four districts in

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 ...

, which contains

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, the regional capital.

History

Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part 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 ...

Province under

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, ...

. However, in that year, Sylhet was moved to the newly created

Assam Province Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong. The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' ...

, and it remained as part of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

up to 1947 (except during the administrative reorganisation of Bengal Province between 1905 and 1912). Sylhet District was divided into five subdivisions and the current Sylhet District was known as the North Sylhet subdivision. In 1947,

became a part of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

as a result of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

(except 3 thanas of Karimganj subdivision) as part of

Chittagong 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 ...

. It was subdivided into four districts in 1983–84 with the current Sylhet District being known as North Sylhet. It became a part of

after its formation in 1995. Sylhet has played a vital role in the Bangladeshi economy. Several of Bangladesh's finance ministers have been Members of Parliament from the city of Sylhet.

Demographics

According to 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Sylhet district had 746854 households and a population of 3,857,123, 26.25% of whom lived in urban areas. The population density was 1,117 people per square kilometre. 20.29% were under 10 years of age. Sylhet district had a literacy rate of 76.43% (for 7 years and above), compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 96.74 males per 100 females. According to the census, Sylhet's literacy rate has increased to 76.43%. In contrast, it was 51.18% in 2011, 45.49% in 2001, and 33.85% in 1991. In Sylhet, 89.25% of students were enrolled in general education. Additionally, 7.95% are pursuing religious education, 0.40% are in technical education, and 2.40% are in other forms of education. In 2022, 65.37% of people aged 15 and above had their own mobile phones. Moreover, 42.02% are internet users, and 31.87% had accounts in banks or financial institutions. The same percentage, 31.87%, also had mobile banking accounts. According to the 1991 census, 12.99% of people in Sylhet had access to electricity. This increased to 35.14% in 2001 and 62.92% in 2011. As of the 2022 census, this figure has risen to 99.27%. In terms of employment, 35.58% of Sylhet's population is engaged in agriculture. Additionally, 10.60% are involved in industry, while the remaining 53.82% are engaged in various services. According to the 2022 data, 92.57% of the total population in Sylhet were Muslims, and 7.33% were Hindus. There is a population of 2,700 Christians mainly in Gowainghat and Jaintiapur upazilas. Ethnic population is 16,508 (0.43%), of which 2834 were Manipuri, 1,845 Patro and 1,530 Khasi.

Administration

Sylhet District is divided into thirteen upazilas. The upazilas are: * Balaganj * Beanibazar *

Bishwanath Bishwanath () is an upazila of Sylhet District in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. History One of the palaces of Gour Govinda, the last Hindu ruler of Sylhet, was situated in present-day Bishwanath. Its ruins are still intact and is locally referred ...

* Companiganj * Dakshin Surma * Fenchuganj * Golapganj * Gowainghat * Jaintiapur * Kanaighat * Osmani Nagar * Sylhet Sadar * Zakiganj

Geography and climate

Sylhet has a typical Bangladeshi

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Am'') bordering on a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cwa'') at higher elevations. The rainy season starts from April to October and it is so hot and humid with very heavy showers and thunderstorms almost every day, whilst the short dry season starts from November to February and it is very warm and fairly clear. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of occurs between May and September.Monthly Averages for Sylhet, BGD
MSN Weather. Retrieved 25 May 2009. The city is located within the region where there are hills and basins which constitute one of the most distinctive regions in Bangladesh. The

physiography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

of Sylhet consists mainly of hill soils, encompassing a few large depressions known locally as " beels" which can be mainly classified as

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s, caused by tectonic subsidence primarily during the earthquake of 1762. Geologically, the region is complex having diverse sacrificial geomorphology; high topography of Plio-

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

age. Available limestone deposits in different parts of the region suggest that the whole area was under the ocean in the Oligo-Miocene. In the last 150 years three major earthquakes hit the city, at a magnitude of at least 7.5 on the

Richter Scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

, the last one took place in 1918, although many people are unaware that Sylhet lies on an earthquake prone zone.

Notable people

* M.A.G. Osmani, Commander-in-Chief of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

during the Separation War. * Md. Saifur Rahman, former Finance and Planning Minister * Shah Jalal,

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint and mystic. * Shah Paran,

saint * Shah Abdul Karim, Baul folk singer, composer. *

Swami Nikhilananda Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his deat ...

, Ramakrishna Math and Mission Order monk and founder-minister, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York City 1933–1973 * Swami Gambhirananda, Ramakrish Math and Mission Order monk and president of the Order 1985–1988 * Nurul Islam Nahid, former Education Minister of Bangladesh * Govinda Chandra Dev (1 February 1907 – 26 March 1971), known as G. C. Dev, was a professor of philosophy at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. He was assassinated at the onset of

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

of 1971 by 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 ...

* Dr Abdul Malik, National Professor, Brigadier (rtd.), cardiologist, founder and president of National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh *

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

, first

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

to be elected as an MP for the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

* Ajmal Masroor, television presenter, politician and imam, parliamentary candidate for a UK Parliament constituency * Lutfur Rahman, the first elected mayor of the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

council * Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury, former minister and adviser to the president of Bangladesh * Humayun Rashid Choudhury, diplomat, UN General Assembly President, Awami League leader and former speaker of National parliament * Dilwar Khan, poet * Salman Shah, film actor, model * Shuvro Dev, playback singer * Syed Ahmed, businessman, British TV personality * Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, Mayor of

Sylhet City Corporation Sylhet City Corporation ( - in short: SCC), is a local governing body that manages all civic services in the Sylhet, the city of Bangladesh. The SCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor In many cou ...

(2003–13) * Enam Ali, restaurateur and founder of the British Curry Awards

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control Sylhet District Districts of Bangladesh Districts of Bangladesh established before 1971 1782 establishments in India 1782 establishments in the British Empire