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Dinajpur district ( bn, দিনাজপুর জেলা) is a
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
in the
Rangpur Division Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...
of northern
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 ...
. Dinajpur is the largest
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
among all sixteen northern districts of
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 ...
.


History

Dinajpur was once a part of the ancient state of
Pundravardhana Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinaj ...
. Devkot (now in India) which rotated as the capital of Lakhnauti was located south of Dinajpur town. It is also called "City of Maharajas". An ancient engraved stone, believed to be from the Gupta era, was recovered from the bank of a pond near Sura Masjid in the
Ghoraghat Upazila Ghoraghat ( bn, ঘোড়াঘাট) is an upazila of Dinajpur District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh. History Ghoraghat was established in the time of Bakhtlar Khilji (see Blochmanu's Contr., J.A.S,1873, p. 215, Tabaqat-i- ...
in Dinajpur in 8 October.


British Colonial Period

The British administrative control in Dinajpur was established in 1786. Dinajpur was the biggest administrative district of undivided Bengal. In 1765, the British got the Dewani of Bengal and in 1772 an English District Collector and Chief of Revenue was appointed in Dinajpur. The area was then notorious for lawlessness. Mr. Marriott was Collector in 1786. Next to him, Mr. Red Fern and Mr. Vansittart were Collectors for short periods. The next Collector, Mr. Hatch, started to exercise judicial powers too. The District Magistrate's area at that time extended to Malda, Bagura, and Dinajpur. In the last decade of the 18th century, indigo plantation started in the district. The district Dinajpur in British times included a greater portion of Bagura. Malda and parts of Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Purnea. At the time of Revenue Survey in 1857–1861, the total area of the district was . Between 1795 and 1800, large tracts of land were transferred to Purnea, Rangpur and Rajshahi for administrative convenience and better enforcement of law and order. In 1833 again some estates were transferred to Bagura and Malda. In 1864–65, 1868 and 1870 further transfer of territory from Dinajpur to Malda and Bagura took place. Finally in 1897–98 the whole of Thana Mahadevpur was made over to Rajshahi. At that time, except Thakurgaon Sub division, the rest of Dinajpur district remained under the direct supervision of the collector. At first, after its formation in 1856, the Dinajpur Municipality used to be run by a town committee presided over by the Deputy Magistrate. This was among the first 40 municipalities in Bengal at that time. Later in 1868, the 'District Town Act' commissioned a chairman of the municipality who replaced the Deputy Magistrate and given a similar rank as a district magistrate. Mr. Patterson was appointed the first chairman of Dinajpur Municipality in 1869.


Recent history

At the time of
Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. ...
in 1947, part of greater Dinajpur district was included in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and it was named West Dinajpur district. People of the district took part in the Tebhaga movement and also had significant contribution in the War of Liberation of 1971.


Geography

Dinajpur is bounded by Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the north, Gaibandha and Joypurhat districts in the south, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts in the east, and the state of
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
in the west. The total area of the district is 3,437.98 km2. The main rivers of the district are the Dhepa, the Punarbhaba, and the Atrai rivers. Total area 3437.98 km2, located in between 25°10' and 26°04' north latitudes and in between 88°23' and 89°18' east longitudes.


Climate

Dinajpur experiences a hot, wet and humid tropical climate. Under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Dinajpur has a
tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...
. The district has a distinct monsoonal season, with an annual average temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and monthly means varying between 18 °C (64 °F) in January and 29 °C (84 °F) in August.


Demographics

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 ...
, Dinajpur District had a population of 2,990,128, of which 1,508,670 were males and 1,481,458 females. Rural population was 2,536,429 (84.83%) while the urban population was 453,699 (15.17%). Dinajpur district had a literacy rate of 52.42% for the population 7 years and above: 55.68% for males and 49.12% for females. Muslims make up 75.03% of the population, while Hindus are 19.51% and Christians 4.25%. People of other religions were 1.19% of the population. Ethnic minorities were 66,861 (2.24%) of the population.


Economy

The economy of Dinajpur mainly depends upon agriculture based production. There is a well known proverb about Dinajpur – 'paddy piled up high, sheds full of cows, ponds brimming with fish' ola bhora dhan, goyal bhora goru, pukur bhora mach People in this district are much happier than those in other districts, everything grows easily, it's a peaceful place. Dinajpur is famous for rice production. 'Katharivog' rice is one of the best produced rice in Bangladesh. Dinajpur is also rich with wheat production. The
Lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, Y ...
(fruit) of Dinajpur is the best of Bangladesh. Dinajpur is well known for its production of among the country. Dinajpur is also famous for its Mangoes. "Kosba" is called the matrix of mango. Also it grows a plenty of vegetables and seasonal fruits. A huge percentage of people from Dinajpur depends upon agri based products. The main industry also includes rice processing mills. However, Dinajpur is highly rich with natural resources like coal, pit mine. Of the five coal field discovered so far in Bangladesh, three are in Dinajpur. The name of these deposits are-Barapukuria, Phulbari and Dighipara coal field. At present coal is being produced commercially only from the Barapukuria underground coal mine in Dinajpur district. Current production rate is about 1500 tons per day. The plan to establish an open-pit mine in nearby Phulbari was aborted in 2006 in the wake of a mass protest by the local people. The coal from the Boropukuria Coal Mine is being fed to the 250MW
Barapukuria Power Station Barapukuria Power Station is located near Durgapur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. It consists of two 125 megawatt units and one 275 MW unit. This coal-fired power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating ...
. Crops and grown in the district include rice, wheat, maize, potato,
brinjal Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal ( Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible frui ...
, and tomato. Fruits grown include
lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, Y ...
s,
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South ...
es, bananas,
jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, Sr ...
s, and
blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
.


Points of interest

* Ananda Sagar * Aowkora Mosquemeaning "Echoing Mosque" * Baraduari * Dinajpur Museum * Dinajpur Rajbari * Dinajpur Zila School * Dipshikha School in Rudrapur * Ghughu-danga Zamindar Bari * Gorashohid Boro-Moydan * Gour Gabindha * Habra Zamindar Bari * Hili Land PortThe second-largest land port of Bangladesh and customs station for border trade. * Kaliya jue Temple *
Kantajew Temple Kantanagar Temple, commonly known as Kantaji Temple or Kantajew Temple ( bn, কান্তজীর মন্দির) at Kantanagar, is a late-medieval Hindu temple in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. The Kantajew Temple is a religious edifice belongin ...
A late medieval Hindu temple, built from 1704 to 1722 CE * Korai Bill, Biral * Matasagar *
Nayabad Mosque Nayabad Mosque or Noyabaad Mosque, is located in Nayabad village in Kaharole Upazila of Dinajpur District, Bangladesh, beside the Dhepa River. It was built in 1793 CE during the rule of Mughal ruler Shah Alam II. As indicated by local belief i ...
* Nowpara Ideal Village * Ramsagar * Shingha DarwazaMeaning "Lion Gate" * Shita Coat Bihar The oldest Buddhist Bihar in the world. * Shopnopuri artificial amusement park * Shimanta Shikha club, Hakimpur, Dinajpur. * Shita Coat Bihar, Nawabganj * Singra forest, Birganj * Sita Kuthuri * Sukhsagar * The tombs of Chehel Gazi and Gor-e-Shahid Moydan.


Administration

* Deputy Commissioner (DC): Abu Naim Muhammad Abdus Sabur * Administrator of Zila Parishad: Azizul Imam Chowdhury


Subdistricts

The
upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...
s of this district are: # Biral Upazila # Birampur Upazila # Birganj Upazila # Bochaganj Upazila # Chirirbandar Upazila # Dinajpur Sadar Upazila #
Ghoraghat Upazila Ghoraghat ( bn, ঘোড়াঘাট) is an upazila of Dinajpur District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh. History Ghoraghat was established in the time of Bakhtlar Khilji (see Blochmanu's Contr., J.A.S,1873, p. 215, Tabaqat-i- ...
# Hakimpur Upazila # Kaharole Upazila # Khansama Upazila # Nawabganj Upazila # Parbatipur Upazila # Fulbari Upazila


Transport

*
Railway Station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
: *# Dinajpur railway station *# Chirirbandar railway station *# Biral railway station *# Hili railway station *# Parbatipur railway junction *# Fulbari railway station *# Birampur railway station *# Setabgonj railway station *# Kholahati railway station *
Roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...
& Highways: *# Dinajpur- Dhaka Highway (Via Fulbari, Birampur) *# Dinajpur-Dhaka Highway (Via Rangpur) *# Dinajpur- Panchogor *# Dinajpur- Rangpur Highway (Via Parbotipur) *# Dinajpur- Thakurgaon Highway *# Dinajpur- Dakshin Dinajpur(India) International Highway


Education

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 85.5%; male 90%, female 75%. Educational institutions: university 1, college 118, vocational and other centres 10, textile institute 1, secondary school 617, primary school 1713, community school 11, NGO school 29, kindergarten 10, madrasa 351. Noted educational institutions are following:


Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University

Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University is a government-financed public university of Bangladesh situated from Dinajpur main town. It serves as an institution of science and technology in northern part of the country. Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University was established as an Agricultural Extension Training Institute (AETI) to award a three-year diploma in agriculture. The AETI was later upgraded to Hajee Mohammad Danesh Agricultural College in 1988 having an affiliation from the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Then the college was upgraded to the status of a university renaming it as Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University. First batch of the students were admitted at that time (1999-2000 session). The act of the university was passed on 8 July 2001 in the Jatio Shongsad (National Assembly) was followed by a gazette notification on 8 April 2002.


Dinajpur Medical College and Hospital

It is a government medical college here, which is one of the 36 government funded medical colleges in Bangladesh. It is located in the town of Dinajpur. It admits 160 students into the f-year MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) degree program. There is a four-story building. There are two hostels for boys and three hostels for girls. There are four hostels for intern doctors. About twenty batches of students have passed from this medical college. ''Dinajpur Medical College Journal'' is recognised by the BMDC and is published twice a year (). The 500-bed hospital has high technology and has started to provide more services. There is also a well-developed nursing college behind the hospital building. The hospital has an ultrasound centre for nuclear medicine near Sadar Hospital, Dinajpur. Dinajpur Medical College Hospital now provides health services not only in the Dinajpur District but also to people from other districts near Dinajpur.


Dinajpur Zilla School

This district gives the opportunity to read in two Govt. schools, Dinajpur Zilla School (for boys only) and Dinajpur Govt. Girls' High School. Dinajpur Zilla School was established in 1854 during the British reign. It is located at the centre of the Dinajpur town. It owns a hostel too for residential facilities. This school is one of 20 schools in Bangladesh, which has a government funded "E-Learning" facility and E-Laboratory. There is Stone made Map of South Asia subcontinent in this school, which was made at 1934. It has a very talented Score in S.S.C participation. There is also an auditorium, a sculpture of celebrating the 150 years of the school, a mosque, an enhanced library and laboratory in this school.


Dinajpur polytechnic institute

Dinajpur polytechnic institute is at south Balubari. This polytechnic was started with Civil and Power Technology in 1964. There are three government colleges in the Dinajpur town. Dinajpur Government College, which was previously known as Surendranath college and Dinajpur City College are for both male and female students. Another government college is "Dinajpur Government Women's College" is for female students only. All colleges are operated under
Bangladesh National University The National University of Bangladesh ( bn, জাতীয় বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, বাংলাদেশ ) is a public university of Bangladesh that was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating University ...
.


Others

The METI Handmade School, a primary school for 169 students located in Rudrapur in Dinajpur district, was built with the assistance of local craftsmen making use of traditional materials, primarily mud and bamboo. An example of
sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...
, the project received the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...
in 2007, not only for its simple, humane approach and beauty but also for the level of cooperation achieved between architects, craftsmen, clients and users. There is also a textile institute. Now RIDGE School is the most modern and British standard popular school of Dinajpur."Nine projects receive 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture"
, ''Aga Khan Development Network''. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
Dinajpur Central Shahid Minar is the 2nd largest Shahid minar in the country. Dinajpur Boasts a regional training centre of Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan. Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan situated at Basher hat near to HSTU campus. It aims to train and educate sports prodigy.


Notable residents

* Heyat Mahmud (1693–1760), medieval poet * Narayan Gangopadhyay, a Bengali novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer, and one of the leading writers of modern Bengali literature * Atmasthananda, fifteenth president of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission *
Debojyoti Mishra Debojyoti Mishra (born 30 April 1963 at Kolkata) is an Indian music director and film composer. He became popular with his minimalist classical compositions for the Hindi film ''Raincoat'', directed by Rituparno Ghosh. He also worked on Bengali ...
, an Indian music director and film composer *
Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of B ...
Born in 1945, former
Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...
and current leader of the
Bangladesh National Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
* Khurshid Jahan 1939–2006, former Bangladeshi Minister of Women's and Children's affairs * Haji Mohammad Danesh 1900–1986, Bangladeshi politician and
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
activist * M. Yousuf Ali Died in 1999, first Bangladeshi Minister of Education * Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman – 9th Chief of Army Staff (abbreviated as CAS) of Bangladesh Army from May 1996 to December 1997. Now he is a member of BNP's standing committee. * M. Abdur Rahim (21 November 1927 – 4 September 2016) was a Member of Parliament, member of the constitution drafting committee and an organiser of the liberation war * Abdullah Al Kafi (1945–2005), Member of Parliament for Dinajpur-1 * Moinuddin Ahmed Chowdhury 1921–1998, prominent
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 Myanmar, wi ...
i politician * Subhash Dutta (9 February 1930 – 16 November 2012) was a Bangladeshi filmmaker, theatre and film actor *
Nitun Kundu Nitya Gopal Kundu (3 December 1935 – 15 September 2006) was a Bangladeshi artist, sculptor and entrepreneur. Kundu played an important role during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He founded the furniture company Otobi. Early life Ku ...
founder of OTOBI furniture groupe and designer of the fountain of SAARC fountain in front of Hotel Sonargaon * Dhiman Ghosh Bangladeshi cricketer * Liton Das Bangladeshi cricketer * Lucas Marandi, Roman Catholic Bishop


See also

* Districts of Bangladesh *
Rangpur Division Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{Divisions and districts of Bangladesh Districts of Rangpur Division Districts of Bangladesh established before 1971 1786 establishments in Asia 1780s establishments in British India 1786 establishments in the British Empire Districts of Bangladesh