Barisal District, officially spelled Barishal District from April 2018, is a district in south-central

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, formerly called Bakerganj district, established in 1797. Its headquarters are in the city of

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), 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 Dist ...

, which is also the headquarters of

Barisal Division Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...

.''About Barisal''
Local Government Engineering Department, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives; retrieved 14 May 2014.

History

Barisal District traces its origins to Bakerganj district which was established in 1797. It was placed in

on 1 January 1993.

Education

Notable educational institutions in Barisal include * Govt. Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabat Degree College *

Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC) is a government 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 p ...

* University of Barisal *

Barisal Engineering College Barisal Engineering College (BEC) is a public undergraduate college in the Barisal District of Bangladesh. It is affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering and Technology of the University of Dhaka. The college enrolls 120 students per year. His ...

Barisal Cadet College Barishal Cadet College ( bn, বরিশাল ক্যাডেট কলেজ), is a Military school in Rahmatpur, Babuganj, Barisal, Bangladesh. It is located from Barisal, beside the Dhaka Barisal highway(location on map) History Before ...

* Govt. B M College * Brajamohan school, Govt. Barisal College * Govt. Hatem Ali College * Govt. Woman's College *

Barisal Polytechnic Institute Barisal Polytechnic Institute ( bn, বরিশাল পলিটেকনিক ইন্সটিউট) or BPI is a Government Technical Institute in Barisal, Bangladesh. It is one of the largest polytechnic Institutes in Bangladesh. The po ...

* Govt. Fazlul Huq College * Barisal Technical School and College * A. Karim Ideal College, and Ideal Cadet School & College * Patuakhali Science and Technology University (Barisal campus) * Govt. Shere Bangla College * Govt. Gouronodi University College * Govt. Fazlul Haque College, Chakhar * Amrito Lal day College

Demographics

At the 2022 Census, Barisal District had 629,626 households and a population of 2,570,446. 475,192 (18.49%) 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. 30.23% of the population lived in urban areas.

Religion

Islam is the predominant religion in the district with a large

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

population. Historically, the Barisal region has seen one of the highest concentration of Hindus since the area had been part of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, through the rule of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

and subsequently after the independence of Bangladesh. However, since Partition Hindus have been fleeing the district in large numbers. Among the 10 upazilas of the district, the

Agailjhara Upazila Agailjhara ( bn, আগৈলঝাড়া) 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' nort ...

has the highest percentage share of Hindus at 42 per cent, while the

Muladi Upazila Muladi ( bn, মুলাদী) is an Upazila of Barishal District in the Division of Barishal, Bangladesh. Geography Muladi is located at . It has a total area of 261.02 km2. It borders Gosairhat Upazila on the north, Barisal Sadar Upazil ...

has the lowest at just 1.8 per cent, according to the

2011 Bangladesh census 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 reco ...

. Overall, minority populations have seen a steep drop in their share of the total population, as well as a fall in their absolute numbers in Barisal district. The trend is similar to other districts in the wider Barisal division.

Subdivisions

Barisal District is divided into the following Upazilas (formerly called Thanas): #

Babuganj Upazila Babuganj ( bn, বাবুগঞ্জ) is an administrative unit of Barisal District in the Division of Barisal, Bangladesh. Geography Babuganj is located at . It has a total area of 164.88 km2. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangla ...

Bakerganj Upazila Bakerganj ( bn, বাকেরগঞ্জ) is an Upazila of Barisal District in the Barisal Division, Bangladesh. Geography Bakerganj is located at . It has a total area of . Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Bakerganj Up ...

Banaripara Upazila Banaripara ( bn, বানারীপাড়া) is an Upazila of Barisal District, Barishal District in the Division of Barisal Division, Barishal in southern-central Bangladesh. History During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Liberation War in ...

Barisal Sadar Upazila Barisal Sadar ( bn, বরিশাল সদর) is an upazila of Barisal District in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh. Geography Barisal Sadar is located at . It has a total area of 324.41 km2. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangl ...

Gournadi Upazila Gournadi ( bn, গৌরনদী) is an administrative unit of Barishal District in the Division of Barishal, Bangladesh. Many popular persons born and in this region.Some important persons who fought for our independence which we have achieved ...

Hizla Upazila Hizla ( bn, হিজলা) is the largest upazila (sub-district) of southern Bangladesh's Barisal District. Geography Hizla Upazila (barisal district) area 515.36 km2, located in between 22°50' and 23°05' north latitudes and in between 90 ...

Mehendiganj Upazila Mehendigonj ( bn, মেহেন্দিগঞ্জ) is an Upazila of Barisal District in the Division of Barisal, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eig ...

# Wazirpur Upazila

Villages

* Ambala, Bangladesh

Notable personalities

A. K. Fazlul Huq Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq ( bn, আবুল কাশেম ফজলুল হক, ur, ; 26October 1873 — 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla (''Lion of Bengal''), was a British Indian and Pakistani lawyer and writer who present ...

politician, Chief Minister of undivided

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

& Governor of erstwhile

* 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 presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan– a lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan. The offi ...

* Abdur Rahman Biswas, politician, President of

* Anil Biswas, music director composer of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. *

Aroj Ali Matubbar Aroj Ali Matubbar ( bn, আরজ আলী মাতুব্বর; 17 December 190015 March 1985) was a self-taught philosopher and rationalist from Bangladesh. Early life and education Matubbar was born in the village of Charbaria Lamchar ...

, philosopher *

Mahanambrata Brahmachari Dr. Mahanambrata Brahmachari (25 December 1904 – 18 October 1999; pre-ashramite name Bankim Dasgupta) was a Hindu monk who headed the Mahanam Sampraday in present-day Bangladesh. A yogi and monk of Mahauddharan order, a school of Bengal, he w ...

, Hindu saint *

Kanai Chatterjee Kanai Chatterjee popularly known as K.C. (1933 — 18 July 1983) was a Bengali Maoist ideologue, founder of the Maoist Communist Centre of India. Early life Chatterjee was born in 1933 at Baruikhali village, Barishal British India. He particip ...

, 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 ( bn, আলতাফ মাহমুদ; 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 ...

, music director & lyrician, who composed ''Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano'' * Ghatak Pakhi Bhai, Bangladeshi Matchmaker * Jibanananda Das, poet of ''Ruposi Bangla'' * Kusumkumari Das, poet and mother of Jibanananda Das *

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

, 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 Magist ...

, Bengali philanthropist and social worker *

Hayat Mahmud Hayat Mahmud ( bn, হায়াত মাহমুদ) 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, ...

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

Mohiuddin Jahangir Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir ( bn, মহিউদ্দীন জাহাঙ্গীর) was a Pakistan Army office who joined the Mukti Bahini during the 1971 Liberation War. He was born on 7 March 1949 in the village of Rahimgonj under Babu ...

, officer in Sector 7 of the Muktibahini (1971). The highest recognition of bravery in Bangladesh, Bir Sreshtho. * Sal Khan, founder of

Khan Academy Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Sal Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also in ...

Shamsuddin Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Abul Kalam ( bn, শামসুদ্দিন আবুল কালাম; 19261997), was an actor and an author of Bengali literature in Bangladesh. He was born in Barisal. He is the maternal uncle of A.M. Harun-ar-Rashid. Life A ...

, Bangladeshi novelist * Sufia Kamal, female romantic poet of Bangladesh * Mahapran Jogendra Nath Mandal, Dalit leader and first Minister of Law and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

in Pakistan *

Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah ( – 1 June 1969) was a Bengali journalist and politician. He served as the founding editor of ''The Daily Ittefaq''. He wrote the editorial Rajnoitik Moncho (''The Political Stage''). Most of his journalists were con ...

, founder editor of '' The Daily Ittefaq'' *

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 most ...

, television host, writer, producer *

Mosharraf Karim K M Mosharraf Hossain (born 22 August 1971), known by his stage-name Mosharraf Karim ( bn, মোশাররফ করিম), is a Bangladeshi actor, works both in films and television. He began working as a theater artist in late the 1980s wi ...

, Bangladeshi actor from Gaurnadi Upazila, TV actor *

Mohammad Abdul Jalil Mohammad Abdul Jalil was a freedom fighter and Mukti Bahini Sector Commander of Sector 9 of during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. He was also one of the founding members of political party Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal. Early years Mohammad ...

, sector commander in the war of 1971 * Kamrul Islam Rabbi cricketer * Yeasin Khan footballer * Pran Ranjan Sengupta, mathematician and scientist

Notes

References

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