Kulaura ( bn, কুলাউড়া) is the biggest

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 ...

(subdistrict) of the

Moulvibazar District Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It i ...

in north-eastern

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 ...

. The total area of this upazila is 545 km².

Hakaluki Haor Hakaluki Haor ( bn, হাকালুকি হাওর) is a marsh wetland ecosystem of north-eastern Bangladesh. It is one of Bangladesh's largest and one of Asia's large marsh wetland resources. Hakaluki Haor is bounded by the Kushiara river ...

, the largest marsh wetland in Sylhet and one of the largest in Bangladesh is partially located there.

Etymology

According to Tarikh-i-Halimi, Mamand Mansur, a famous

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of Mansur village, had an uncle called Mamantad Kulaor Kumar who was the brother of Mansur's father Mamand Manuhar. After the death of Kulaor Kumar, a market was established on the eastern part of his own

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 ...

i and named as "Kulaor Bazar". Over time, Kulaorar Bazar changed to Kulaura.

History

Many archaeological sites and relics such as the Vidia Ashram in Rangirkul, Gagan Tila, Chand Gram Dighi and the copper plates of Bhatera provide evidence for early settlements in Kulaura. Following the

Conquest of Sylhet The Conquest of Sylhet ( bn, শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়, Srīhôtter Bijôy, Conquest of Srihatta) predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the milit ...

in 1303, Shah Halim ad-Din of

Narnaul Narnaul is a city, a Municipal Council, and location of headquarters of the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located in the National Capital Region of India. History Narnaul is built on a prominent tell, but th ...

and his son, Dawlat Shah Abdul Malik, migrated to Kanihati ruled by the King Aslam Roy of

Kailashahar Kailashahar (or Kôilāśohôr) is the fourth largest urban area in the north eastern state of India, Tripura, located near northwest Bangladesh border. It is a Municipal council and the administrative center of the Unakoti district, this city ...

. Roy insisted on rewarding him some of his land, after receiving assistance in capturing a tiger. Roy and his courtiers made a decision that they would fire an arrow (teer) and wherever it lands, that land would be given to Helimuddin. This place was named Teerpasha and later became known as Tarapasha in Rajnagar. After becoming a Muslim, Roy felt that the Shah was more deserving of his kingdom and so he migrated elsewhere to seek further knowledge, leaving behind his wife, Kanak Rani Kani. Helimuddin built her a house and pond remain in existence as Kanir Bari and Kanir Pukur. Queen Kani's daughter, Princess Rajrani, grew a love for the religion of Islam, eventually becoming a

Muslima Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, changing her name to Bibi Hamira and marrying Dawlat Malik. The Queen also became a Muslim. The descendants of this family became known as the

Zamindars of Kanihati The Zamindars of Kanihati ( bn, কানিহাটির জমিদার), also known as the Chaudhury family of Kanihati ( bn, কানিহাটির চৌধুরী বংশ), are a notable zamindar family of the Sylhet region. Th ...

. In 1499, a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

nobleman from

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

known as Prince Sakhi Salamat settled in

Prithimpassa The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played importan ...

, Kulaura. Being a wealthy nobleman; he was granted a jagir in mouza Prithimpassa from where he established the

Prithimpassa family The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played important ...

. His son,

Ismail Khan Lodi Ismail Khan Lodi ( fa, ; also known by his daak naam Khanja Khan ( bn, খাঞ্জা খাঁ), was a Pashtun general of the Mughal Empire and a former viceroy of Odisha. He also served under the Karrani dynasty of the Sultanate of Bengal. ...

, was granted a

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

by the Mughals and given the status of

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

in addition to other prestigious titles. In 1756, the

Nawab of Longla The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played important ...

Moulvi Muhammad Rabi Khan Danishmand established the famous Rabir Bazar (Rabi's Market). Begum Talib-un-Nisa Khatun of Chhoto Saheb Bari (Prithimpasha village) established the Rabir Bazar Jame Masjid. The

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

first heavily influenced their trading of tea in Kulaura.Colleen Taylor Sen (2004). ''Food Culture in India''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 26. . It became an important location for tea cultivation in Bengal and major export. Local entrepreneurs also started founding their estates such as Nawab Ali Amjad Khan who established the Rungicherra (also Rungichara) Tea Estate. In the anti-British

Sepoy Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

of 1857, 300 sepoys who revolted against the British, looted the Chittagong Treasury and took shelter with Nawab Gaus Ali Khan of

. The treasury remained under rebel control for several days. Abdul Ghafur, grandfather of Ali Haydar ibn Ali Gawhar, of Kanihati was present during the mutiny.Sreehatter Itibritta – Uttorangsho (A History of Sylhet), page 263-264,

Achyut Charan Choudhury Achyut Charan Choudhury ( bn, অচ্যুৎচরণ চৌধুরী; 5 February 1866 – 25 September 1953) was a Bengali writer and historian. Though he wrote several books regarding Vaishnav Hinduism, Choudhury is most well known for h ...

; Publisher: Mustafa Selim; Source publication, 2004 In 1921, the

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

also spread to Kulaura after being established by Purnendu Kishore Sengupta in Vidia Ashram, Rangirkul. In 1939, there was an anti-British protest held in Nabin Chandra School. Many students were attacked and expelled by the British forces based in Kalapani Haor. In 1950, the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

, visited

and stayed for four days at the palace and went wildlife hunting in the Estate forests alongside

Khwaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin ( bn, খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; ur, ; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. He is noted as being the first Bengali to hav ...

and

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

. 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 ...

, Kulaura was the centre of the

Battle of Gazipur The Battle of Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুরের যুদ্ধ) was a military engagement on 4 and 5 December 1971, during the Bangladesh liberation war. It took place at the Gazipur Tea Estate near Kulaura, in the Sylhet District of ...

in Gazipur Tea Garden. The battle raged from the 4th to the 5th of December 1971 and was a prelude to the

Battle of Sylhet The Battle of Sylhet ( bn, সিলেটের যুদ্ধ ''Silet-er Juddho'') was a major battle fought between the advancing Mitro Bahini and the Pakistani defences at Sylhet during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The battle took place ...

. The

Pakistani army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the 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 British India, which occurred as a result ...

camped in Kulaura Hospital and Nabin Chandra School and killed over 100 Bengali freedom fighters and civilians. Chiral Muchir Bari, bank of Padma Dighi of Ali Amjad High School were experienced mass killings. A graveyard in Chatolgaon hosts many martyrs.

Geography

The location of Kulaura upazila is 24.5167 degrees north latitudes up to 92.0333 degrees East longitude. The Area size 679.25 square kilometers (262 square miles). Barolekha,

Juri Juri, JURI or Jüri may refer to: Law * Dative singular case of Latin Jus *Committee on Legal Affairs, committee of the European Parliament, known as JURI Places *Juri Upazila, subdistrict (''upazila'') in Maulvibazar District, Sylhet Division, ...

and

Fenchuganj Fenchuganj ( bn, ফেঞ্চুগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Etymology There are many theories behind the naming of the upazila. Some say that Fenchuganj is named after Penchu (or Fench ...

Upazilas on the north, Rajnagar and Kamalganj upazila on the west,

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

of India on the south, Tripura and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in the east of Kulaura. The largest Haor of in Asia, 'Hakaluki's most of area is under Kulaura. Also Longlia, Gualzoor etc. are the notable Haor. The highest peak in the

Sylhet region The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...

Kala pahar Kala Pahar ( bn, কালা পাহাড়, , Black mountain), also known as Debbarma Haphong in Khasi, is the highest peak of northern Bangladesh. Located near Robir bazar of Kulaura Upazila in Moulvibazar District, it is only 3–4 hour ...

, can be found in Kulaura Upazila.

Economy and tourism

Kulaura is home to many tourist attractions and natural geography. It contains many hills, tea gardens and the largest

haor A ( bn, হাওর) is a wetland ecosystem in the north eastern part of Bangladesh which physically is a bowl or saucer shaped shallow depression, also known as a backswamp.MK Alam; ''Wave attack in Haor areas of Bangladesh and cement concre ...

in Asia; the

. Other sites include the

Nawab Estate, Rabir Bazar Jame Masjid, and the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

s of Haji Pir in Sharifpur, Shah Hamid Faruqi in Kaukapon and Shah Helimuddin Qurayshi Chowdhury Bazar. The historic mazar of Shah Helimuddin Narnuli near Manu Rail Station was destroyed due to a flood.

Demographics

At the 1991 Bangladesh census, Kulaura had a population of 339,673, of whom 171,346 were aged 18 or older. Males constituted 51.09% of the population and females 48.91%. Kulaura had an average literacy rate of 28.8% (7+ years) compared to the national average of 32.4%.

Administration

Kulaura Upazila is divided into Kulaura Municipality and 13

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: Baramchal, Bhatera, Bhukshimail, Brammanbazar, Hazipur, Joychandi, Kadipur, Kormodha, Kulaura,

, Rauthgaon, Sharifpur, and Tilagaon union. The union parishads are subdivided into 128 mauzas and 447 villages. Kulaura Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 26

mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood" in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social ins ...

Notable people

Abdul Jabbar ʻAbd al-Jabbār (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الجبار) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Jabbār'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to ...

, politician and former member of parliament *

Nadia Shah Nadia Shah ( bn, নদিয়া শাহ) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician, councillor for Regent's Park and former Mayor of Camden London Borough Council, Camden. In May 2016, she became the first female mayor of Bri ...

, politician, councillor and former Mayor of Camden. In May 2016, she became the first female

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term ...

mayor. * Kanihati zamindars **

Abed Chaudhury Abed Chaudhury (born February 1956) is an Australian-Bangladeshi scientist, author, and poet living in Australia. Early life and education He was born into a Bengali Muslim family known as the Zamindars of Kanihati in Hajipur Union, Kulaura ...

, geneticist ** Abdul Muntaquim Chaudhury, former Member of the

Pakistan National Assembly The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...

Sadeq Ali Munshi Muhammad Sadeq Ali ( bn, মোহাম্মদ সাদেক আলী, Sylheti Nagri, Nagri: ), born as Sri Gaur Kishore Sen ( bn, শ্রী গৌর কিশোর সেন), was a prominent Dobhashi writer, poet and district ...

, writer, poet and judge best known for the ''Halat-un-Nabi

puthi A Puthi ( bn, পুঁথি, Nagari: , Perso-Arab: پوتھی), is a book or writing of poetic fairy tales and religious stories of Bengal and present-day East India, which were read by a senior "educated" person while others would listen. This ...

'' *

Sultan Mohammad Mansur Ahmed Sultan Muhammed Mansur Ahmed is a Bangladeshi politician. He was vice president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union. In 2018 Bangladesh general election he contested from Moulvibazar-2 as a candidate of Jatiya Oikya Front and won the seat. ...

, politician, Former VP of DUCSU, Former President of

Bangladesh Chhatra League The Bangladesh Chhatra League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' po ...

, Former Organising Secretary of

Bangladesh Awami League 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 ...

and the Current Member of the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

from

Moulvibazar-2 Moulvibazar-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2019 by Sultan Md. Mansur Ahmed of the Gano Forum. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Kulaura Upazila. History The constituency ...

. *

Rawshan Ara Bachchu Rawshan Ara Bachchu (17 December 1932 – 3 December 2019) was a Bangladeshi activist. She took part in Bengali Language Movement in 1952. She was awarded Anannya Top Ten Awards in 2009. Early life Bachchu's family originated from Kulaura in Mo ...

, Bengali Language Movement activist * Zamindars of Monraj * A. N. M. Yusuf -

Bangladesh Muslim League The Bangladesh Muslim League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ) is a political party in Bangladesh that traces its origins to the All-India Muslim League, established in 1906. The party was banned along with other Islam ...

politician *

Abul Hasan Abu Al-Hasan ( ar, أبو الحسن, Abū Al-Ḥasan, Father of Hasan), also transliterated Abu'l Hasan, is an Arabic ''kunya'' ('teknonym'). It may refer to: Notable people Politics and military * Ali ibn Abi Talib (600–661), the fourth ...

- cricketer *

MM Shahin MM Shahin is a Bangladeshi politician, businessman, journalist, and former parliamentarian. He was elected a member of parliament from the Moulvibazar-2 (Kulaura Upazila) seat in the general elections of February 1996 and 2001. Early life MM ...

- politician *

Shafiqur Rahman Shafiqur Rahman ( bn, শফিকুর রহমান) is a Bangladeshi politician, physician and current amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He served as Jamaat's secretary general from October 2016 to November 2019. He was elected the Jamaat- ...

- physician and Amir of the

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামী, Bānglādēsh Jāmāyatē Islāmī, Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, or Jamaat for short, was ...

* Abdul Matin - former MP for

Prithimpassa Family The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played important ...

- aristocratic family of the erstwhile feudal nobility of

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

** Nawab Ali Amjad Khan - 8th

and Honorary Magistrate. **

Nawab Ali Abbas Khan Nawab Ali Abbas Khan (born 26 December 1958) is a Bangladeshi politician and former member of parliament. Biography Khan was born into the Prithimpassa family on 26 December 1958. A member of the Jatiya Party (Ershad), he was elected as the memb ...

- Jatiya Party politician **

Nawab Ali Haider Khan Nawab Ali Haider Khan (11 February 1896 – 30 June 1963) was a Bengali noble and politician. Early life and family Khan was born on 11 February 1896 to an royal Bengali Shia family known as the Nawabs of Longla based in the village of Pri ...

- 9th

and politician