Hizla ( bn, হিজলা) is the largest

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 ...

(sub-district) of southern

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 ...

Barisal District Barisal District, officially spelled Barishal District from April 2018, is a district in south-central Bangladesh, formerly called Bakerganj district, established in 1797. Its headquarters are in the city of Barisal, which is also the headqua ...

Geography

Hizla Upazila (barisal district) area 515.36 km², located in between 22°50' and 23°05' north latitudes and in between 90°25' and 90°43' east longitudes. It is bounded by Ghosairhat and Haimchar upazilas on the north, Mehendiganj upazila on the south,

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 ...

on the west. Hijla Upazila is located in Kolghes of Shariatpur district of

Dhaka division Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...

north of

Barishal 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 ...

on the map of the country. Ghosairhat Upazila of Shariatpur district on the north, Haimchar Upazila of Chandpur district on the northeast, Mehendiganj Upazila on the south, Raipur Upazila of Noakhali district on the east, and Muladi Upazila on the west. The distance from the district headquarters is 50 km. It is an area surrounded by rivers. Jayanti, Nayabhangani, Meghna, Lower Meghna, and Azimpur rivers are flooded.

History

Hizla, along with

Mehendiganj Mehendiganj is a town in Barisal District in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarter and urban centre of Mehendiganj Upazila Mehendigonj ( bn, মেহেন্দিগঞ্জ) is an Upazila of Barisal Di ...

, was formerly known as North Shahbazpur. During the Company rule in Bengal, Mawlana Hakim Ahsanullah of

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

, a descendant of Shaykh Thakur Chandpuri, was granted a ''

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

'' in the village of Gaurabadi in Hizla after treating Prafullanath Tagore, the ''

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

'' of Idilpur and North Shahbazpur. However, Ahsanullah died and the ''taluk'' was inherited by his two nephews, Mawlana Abdur Rahim and Dr. Fazlur Rahman. They relocated to Gaurabadi and established the Mia family of Gaurabadi. Their descendant, Moulvi Saadat Husayn Mia, became a leading judge 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 ...

, and his son, Hedayet Hossain Morshed, was a journalist and litterateur. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

of 1971, base commanders ''

Bir Protik Bir Protik ( bn, বীর প্রতীক ''Bīr Pratīk'', "Symbol of Bravery or Idol of Courage") is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Recipients This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have rece ...

'' Qazi Anwar Husayn of Hizla, Qutub Uddin of Muladi and Abdul Quddus Mollah of Mehendiganj led the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

freedom fighters in conducting an operation in Hizla,

and Muladi against the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

and their collaborators. Many freedom fighters from Hizla were martyred during the war including Havildar Shah Alam of Goalbaor (martyred in

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

), Naik Azizur Rahman of Tetulia (martyred in Comilla), EPR Havildar Nur Muhammad (martyred in

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

) and Sipahi Abdul Wajid Palpari (martyred in

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

). Eight innocent people were also killed in Hizla such as Husayn Ali (a teacher from Palpara village), Sultan Jamadar Dadpuri and Ashrab Ali. Shafiqul Manan of Teturia village left his role as Professor of Economics at the Patarhat College to join the war. The Pakistan Army collaborators arrested him in

and murdered him on the banks of the Kirtankhola river. The status of Hizla Thana was upgraded to

(sub-district) in 1983 as part of the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

's decentralisation programme.

Demographics

According to 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 age ...

, Hizla had a population of 166,265. Males constituted 52.76% of the population, and females 47.24%. The population aged 18 or over was 75,315. Hizla had an average literacy rate of 27.7% (7+ years), the national average being 32.4%.

Administration

Hizla Upazila is divided into seven

union parishad Union council ( bn, ইউনিয়ন পরিষদ, translit=iūniyan pariṣad, translit-std=IAST), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit ...

s: Bara Jalia, Dhulkhola, Guabaria, Harinathpur, Hizla Gaurabdi, Kuchaipatti, and Memania. The union parishads are subdivided into 139 mauzas and 112 villages. Upazila Nirbahi Officer: Kaniz Fatema Tania Bilai

Geography

History

Demographics

Administration

Chairmen

Notable people

See also

References