Meherpur ( bn, মেহেরপুর, pron: ''meɦeɾpuɾ'') is the northwestern

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, subdivisions o ...

Khulna Division The Khulna Division ( bn, খুলনা বিভাগ) is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 15,563,000 at the 2011 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and lar ...

in southwestern

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 ...

. It is bordered by the Indian 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 fourt ...

to the west, and by the Bangladeshi districts of Kushtia and

Chuadanga Chuadanga ( bn, চুয়াডাঙ্গা) is a prosperous city in the western part of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous cou ...

to the east. Pre-independence Meherpur was a subdivision of

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

. The district has an area of .

History

According to Ashraf Siddiqui, the district is named after the 16th century

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

Meher Ali Shah. The

Provisional Government of Bangladesh The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence, declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Banglades ...

was formed and solemnly sworn in Meherpur's

Baidyanathtala Mujibnagar ( bn, মুজিবনগর), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swo ...

village (later renamed as Mujibnagar), on 17 April 1971 under the leadership of

Tajuddin Ahmed Tajuddin Ahmad ( bn, তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberatio ...

and

Syed Nazrul Islam Syed Nazrul Islam ( bn, সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম, Soiyod Nozrul Islam; 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was declared a ...

. The entire Proclamation ceremony was organised by local leaders under the supervision of Momeen Chowdhury and MM Rustom Ali. After that day on 18 April 1971, 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 ...

killed 8 people in Amjhupi village. Meherpur became a district in 1983.

Administration

Meherpur district is divided into three

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 ...

Gangni Upazila Gangni ( bn, গাংনী) is an upazila of Meherpur District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Geography It has 43922 households and total area 341.98 km2. Main rivers are Bhairab, Kazla. Dharla and Ilangi Beels are notable. Gang ...

Meherpur Sadar Upazila Meherpur Sadar ( bn, মেহেরপুর সদর) is an upazila of Meherpur District in the Division of Khulna Division, Khulna, Bangladesh. Meherpur is the smallest district of Bangladesh in the South-western part within the Khulna Division ...

and

Mujibnagar Upazila Mujibnagar is an Upazilas of Bangladesh, upazila (subdistrict) of Meherpur District in Bangladesh. History Mujibnagar was formerly a part of the Meherpur Sadar Upazila, before it was made a separate Upazila on 22 February 2000. The name Mujibna ...

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 ...

, Meherpur District had a population of 655,392, of which 324,634 were males and 330,758 females. Rural population was 571,999 (87.28%) and urban population was 83,393 (12.72%). Meherpur had a literacy rate of 46.27% for the population 7 years and above: 46.87% for males and 45.69% for females. Muslims formed 97.77% of the population, Hindus 1.20%, and Christians 1.01%. Other religions were 0.02%.

Economy

Main sources of income: Agriculture 68.95%, non-agricultural labourer 3.24%, industry 0.87%, commerce 13.83%, transport and communication 2.21%, service 3.81%, construction 1.03%, religious service 0.14%, rent and remittance 0.59% and others 5.33%.

References

Districts of Bangladesh {{Khulna-geo-stub

History

Administration

Demographics

Economy

See also

References