Barisal District,

officially An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

Barishal District () is a district in south-central

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 was formerly called

Bakerganj district Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast delta of t ...

, and established in 1797. Its headquarters is in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

city, which is also the headquarters of Barisal Division.''About Barisal''
Local Government Engineering Department, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives; retrieved 14 May 2014.

History

The early history of Barisal district is less well-known. It was likely slowly built over time from silt from the

Padma The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the bank ...

, Jamuna and

Meghna 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 Bangladesh ...

Rivers. Barisal was part of the early empires of Bengal like Palas and Senas. A copper plate has been found in present Mehendiganj upazila showing a land grant made to a Brahmin by Keshab Sen. However, the Hindu kings only controlled the northern part of the district, while dense forests covered the southern part and isolated the inhabitants from outside influence. After the conquest of the Senas by

Bakhtiyar Khilji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bin Bakhtiyār Khaljī, also known as Bakhtiyar Khalji, was a Turko-Afghan Military General of the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor, who led the Muslim conquests of the eastern Indian regions of Bengal and parts of Bi ...

, various Hindu nobles spread out over the eastern delta. The royal family of

Chandradwip Chandradwip was a historic principality and later a zamindari located in southern Bengal, largely corresponding to the present-day Barisal Division in Bangladesh. The principality first rose to prominence under the rule of Raja Danujamardana Deva ...

, also called Bakla, was originally one of these families. Throughout the period of the Bengal sultanate, the rulers of Chandradwip managed to retain somewhat of their independence. However, when the Mughals overthrew the Bengal Sultanate in 1576, they began to reorganise the province for easier governance. In the

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...

, the Bakla Sarkar of the Bengal Subah included present-day Barisal division. However the rulers of Chandradwip were still independent and were part of the

Baro-Bhuiyan The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

s of Bengal. In 1584,

Abul Fazl Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (14 January 1551 – 22 August 1602), also known as Abul Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami, was an Indian writer, historian, and politician who served as the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire from his appointment ...

recorded a large stormwave impacting Chandradwip which he says killed the king and 2,00,000 of his subjects. At this time, the Barisal region was subjected to the raids of the Maghs supported by the Portuguese. Portuguese mercenaries were employed by the Raja of Chandradwip, but they mainly aided the King of Arakan in raiding the Meghna estuary. After a force of Portuguese pirates was defeated by the Mughals in 1608 in the Meghna, Sebastian Gonzales Tilao, with the support of the Raja of Chandradwip, took over

Sandwip Sandwip (, ) is an island located in the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chittagong District. Along with the island of Urir Char and Bhasan Char, this is part of Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is located in the north-east of the ...

. Although they had agreed to divide the revenue of the island, Tilao soon betrayed his ally and began raiding the eastern part of Chandradwip. In 1615, the Arakanese took back Sandwip, but they soon extended their own piracy to Chandradwip and caused a mass flight of nobles to Madhabpasha in present Babuganj Upazila. In 1639, Shah Shuja defeated the Maghs in battle in present Jhalokati district and built a ring of forts to the south of Barisal largely in present Jhalokati district to protect the region from Magh attacks. After this time, the Barisal region passed under direct Mughal control and the Chandradwip rajas faded into obscurity, with much of the southern part of the district being cleared and settled by mainly Muslim pirs who spread their Islamic cosmology among the local tribes of the region. The early 18th century was tumultuous for the district due to the movement of the Subah capital from Dhaka to

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

. Adventurers began preying on existing Zamindars. One of these was

Mirza Agha Baqer Mirza Agha Baqer (, ) was an aristocrat of the Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, n ...

, who had suppressed a rebellion of a Hindu zamindar. In 1730, he became Governor of Chittagong and lived in Dhaka. In 1753, he assassinated a naib nazim and was killed himself a day later. Aga Bakhar's heir inherited his land in Selimabad but was overthrown by the Naib Nazim

Nawazish Muhammad Khan Nawazish Muhammad Khan (; died 1755), also known as Mirza Muhammad Raza, was a Mughal aristocrat and the deputy governor of Dhaka in the 18th century. Biography Mirza Muhammad Raza was the son of Haji Ahmad, the elder brother of Alivardi Khan. R ...

, advised by his diwan Raja Rajballabh. He was killed by

Mir Qasim Mir Qasim () was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been supported earlier by the East India Company afte ...

after the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...

. At this time the Maghs also restarted their raids so that in British records the southern part of Barisal Division is depopulated. Barisal District traces its origins to

which was established in 1797. It was placed in Barisal Division on 1 January 1993.

Demographics

At the 2022 Census, Barisal District had 629,626 households and a population of 2,570,446 with an average 4.02 people per household. Among the population, 475,192 (18.49%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 923 people per km². Barisal District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 79.85%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1047 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 30.23% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 843.

Religion

Islam is the predominant religion in the district with a Hindu minority composed mainly of

Namasudra Namasudra (), earlier known as Chandal, is an Avarna Bengali Hindu community originating from eastern and central Bengal. The term ''Chandal'' or ''Chandala '' is usually considered as a slur. They were traditionally engaged in fishing and as b ...

s along with an even smaller Christian minority. The northwestern part of erstwhile Bakerganj district along with Gopalganj subdivision of Faridpur district were the only large part of East Bengal where Hindus outnumbered Muslims during the British era. However since partition, Hindus have been fleeing the district in large numbers, mainly to India, especially after major violence in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and during the independence war. Among the 10 upazilas of the district, the

Agailjhara Upazila Agailjhara () is an upazila (sub-district) of southern Bangladesh's Barisal District, part of the Barisal Division. Geography Agailjhara Upazila covers 155.47 km2. It is located between 22°54' and 23°03' north and between 90°03' and 90°1 ...

has the highest percentage share of Hindus at 40 per cent, while the

Muladi Upazila Muladi () is an upazila of Barishal District in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. Geography Muladi is located at . It has a total area of 261.02 km2. It borders Gosairhat Upazila on the north, Barisal Sadar Upazila on the south, Hizla and Me ...

has the lowest at just 1.7 per cent, according to the 2022 Bangladesh census. Christians mainly live in northwestern Barisal and converted from Namasudras during the British period.

Subdivisions

Barisal District is divided into the following Upazilas (formerly called Thanas) along with

Barishal City Corporation Barishal City Corporation ( - in short: BCC) is a local government, local governing body that manages all civic services in the city of Barishal, in south-central Bangladesh. The BCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is h ...

: # Agailjhara # Babuganj #

Bakerganj Bakerganj () is a town in Barisal District, Barisal Division, 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 populo ...

# Banaripara # Barisal Sadar # Gournadi # Hizla #

Mehendiganj Mehendiganj is a town in Barisal District Barisal District, officially Barishal District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh, it was formerly called Bakerganj district, and established in 1797. Its headquarters is in Barisal cit ...

Muladi Muladi may refer to: * Muladí, a native Iberian Muslim in al-Andalus * Muladi (politician) (1943-2020), Indonesian academic {{dab ...

Wazirpur Wazirpur () is a municipality in Barisal, Bangladesh Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative ...

Villages

* Ambala, Bangladesh

Education

Notable educational institutions in Barisal include *Jahanara Israil School & College * Govt. Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabat Degree College *

Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC) is a public medical school in Bangladesh, established in 1968. The college is located in Barisal. It is affiliated with University of Dhaka as a constituent college. SBMC awards MBBS degree and offers profes ...

University of Barisal University of Barishal (, ; also known as Barishal University or simply BU) is a public university located in Barisal, a divisional city in southern Bangladesh. It is the country's 33rd public university. The university was established in 2011 ...

* Barisal Engineering College * Barisal Cadet College * Govt. B M College * Brajamohan school, Govt. Barisal College * Govt. Hatem Ali College * Govt. Woman's College * Barisal Polytechnic Institute * Govt. Fazlul Huq College * Barisal Technical School and College * A. Karim Ideal College, and Ideal Cadet School & College *

Patuakhali Science and Technology University Patuakhali Science and Technology University () commonly referred to as PSTU is a public agricultural, science and technological research university located in Patuakhali in Bangladesh. It was established as Patuakhali Agricultural College in ...

(Barisal Campus) * Govt. Shere Bangla College * Govt. Gouronodi University College * Govt. Fazlul Haque College, Chakhar * Amrito Lal Day College

Notable personalities

A. K. Fazlul Huq Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq (26 October 1873 – 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengalis, Bengali lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal, prime minister of Bengal during the Britis ...

, politician, Chief Minister of undivided

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 ...

& governor of erstwhile

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 ...

* Abdul Wahab Khan, 3rd

Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan The Speaker of the National Assembly (Urdu: اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی); informally as Speaker National Assembly, is the Speaker (politics), presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly of Pakistan, the low ...

Abdur Rahman Biswas Abdur Rahman Biswas (1 September 1926 – 3 November 2017) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996. Biswas represented Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly, prior to the independence of Bangl ...

, politician, President of

* Anil Biswas, music director composer of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. *

Aroj Ali Matubbar Indian Philosopher Aroj Ali Matubbar (; 17 December 1900 – 15 March 1985) was a self-taught Bangladeshi philosopher, humanist and rationalist. He is known for his critical perspectives on religion, superstition, and traditional beliefs, which ...

, philosopher *

Mahanambrata Brahmachari Mahanambrata Brahmachari (25 December 1904 – 18 October 1999), born Bankim Dasgupta, was a Hindu monk and head of the Mahanam Sampradaya, active in both India and Bangladesh. A member of the Mahauddharana order, he was also a writer, scholar, ...

, Hindu saint * Kanai Chatterjee, Bengali Maoist leader *

Abdul Gaffar Choudhury Abdul Gaffar Choudhury (12 December 1934 – 19 May 2022) was a Bangladeshi-born British writer, journalist, columnist, political analyst and poet. He wrote the lyrics to "Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano", a widely celebrated song commemorating the ...

, journalist, who wrote ''Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano'' to mark the Bengali Language Movement *

Altaf Mahmud Altaf Mahmud (23 December 1933 – September 1971) was a musician, cultural activist, and martyred freedom fighter of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was also a language activist of the Language Movement and composer of " Amar Bhaier Rokte Ra ...

, music director & lyrician, who composed ''Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano'' *

Ghatak Pakhi Bhai Ghatak Pakhi Bhai (born 1943) is a Bangladeshi matchmaker and spiritual teacher who have a matrimonial agency in the country. Through him the profession of matchmaking became popular in Bangladesh and he maintained a monopoly in this business fo ...

, Bangladeshi matchmaker *

Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...

, poet of ''Ruposi Bangla'' * Kusumkumari Das, poet and mother of

Aswini Kumar Dutta Ashwini Kumar Dutta (25 January 1856 – 7 November 1923) was an Indian educationist, philanthropist, social reformer and an Indian independence activist. Early life Ashwini Kumar Dutta was born in an affluent high class Bengali Hindu Kayastha ...

, social worker, founder of BM College *

Brajamohan Dutta Brajamohan Dutta (1826–1886) was a Bengali philanthropist and educator. He was the father of nationalist politician Aswini Kumar Dutta. Early life Dutta was born in 1826 at Batajore village, Barishal, British India. He served as a Deputy Magis ...

, Bengali philanthropist and social worker *

Hayat Mahmud Hayat Mahmud () was a late 18th-century Bengali Muslim commander who later became the feudal lord of Buzurg-Umedpur in Barisal. He is best known as a freedom fighter against the British East India Company, and for the construction of the Miah ...

, feudal lord, military commander and founder of Miah Bari Mosque *

Mohiuddin Jahangir Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir BS () was a Pakistan Army officer who joined the Mukti Bahini during the 1971 war. He was born on 7 March 1949 in the village of Rahimgonj under Babugonj Upazila of Barisal district, East Pakistan. He was an officer in ...

, Bir Sreshtho recipient. *

Sal Khan Salman Amin Khan (born October 11, 1976) is an American educator and the founder of Khan Academy, a free online non-profit educational platform with which he has produced over 6,500 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic ...

, founder of

Khan Academy Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by Sal Khan. Its goal is to create a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short video lessons. Its website also includes suppl ...

* Shamsuddin Abul Kalam, Bangladeshi novelist *

Sufia Kamal Begum Sufia Kamal (20 June 1911 – 20 November 1999) was a Bangladeshi poet, feminist leader, and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She led fe ...

, female poet of Bangladesh * Mahapran

Jogendra Nath Mandal Jogendranath Mandal ( Bengali: যোগেন্দ্রনাথ মন্ডল; 29 January 1904 – 5 October 1968) emerged as a prominent figure among the architects of the nascent state of Pakistan. He served as the inaugural Minister of ...

, Dalit leader and first Minister of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and Labour in Pakistan *

Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah Tofazzal Hossain, popularly known as Manik Miah ( – 1 June 1969), was a Pakistani Bengali journalist and politician. He served as the founding editor of ''The Daily Ittefaq''. He wrote the editorial ''Rajnoitik Moncho'' ("The Political Stage"). ...

, editor of ''

The Daily Ittefaq ''The Daily Ittefaq'' (, Bangla pronunciation: ) is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1949 by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, it is the oldest and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. The newspape ...

'' *

Hanif Sanket Hanif Sanket (born 23 October 1958) born as A.K.M. Hanif is a Bangladeshi television host, writer, producer, comedian, voice actor and singer. He is best known as the creator and host of the television show '' Ityadi''. He is regarded as the mos ...

, television host, writer, producer *

Mosharraf Karim K M Mosharraf Hossain (born 22 August 1971), known by his stage name Mosharraf Karim, is a Bangladeshi television and film actor. A prominent actor in Bangladesh, he has received multiple awards for his contribution to the Bangladeshi entertainm ...

, Bangladeshi actor from Gaurnadi Upazila, TV actor *

Mohammad Abdul Jalil Mohammad Abdul Jalil (; 9 February 1942 – 19 November 1989) was a freedom fighter and Mukti Bahini Sector Commander of Sector 9 during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. He was one of the founding members of the political party Jatiyo Samajt ...

, sector commander in the war of 1971 *

Kamrul Islam Rabbi Kamrul Islam Rabbi (born 10 December 1991) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who has played for Barisal Division from the 2008–09 season. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Domestic career Rabbi made his first-class ...

, cricketer * Yeasin Khan, footballer *

Pran Ranjan Sengupta Pran Ranjan Sengupta (28 August 1938 ― 21 May 2005) alias P. R. Sengupta was an eminent Bengali Mathematician and Scientist. Early life Sengupta was born in Barisal in British India. He passed matriculation in 1951 and I.Sc. in 1953. He comple ...

, mathematician and scientist

Notes

References

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