Narail ( bn, নড়াইল, pron: ''nɔɽail'') is a district in south-western
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 a part of
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 ...
.
History
Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a
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 ...
). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, also named after a zamindar. They established a post office for the first time in the district during
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 ...
near Rotongonj, named after another member of the zamindar's family. They modernised Narail, and promoted culture, sports and education.
The large playing field, Kuriddobe, was a gift of the zamindar's family. They introduced football competition, with a shield given to the champions, a cup to the runners-up, and medals to all players from the early twentieth century.
One of the zamindars moved away from Narail, settled in Hatbaria, and established another large
manor (''Jomidarbaari'').
Geography
Narail District has an area of . It is located to the south of
Magura District
Magura ( bn, মাগুরা) is a district in south-western Bangladesh, situated 176 kilometers from Dhaka. It is a part of Khulna Division. The main mode of transportation is by bus, and no train transport is available.
Administration
Magur ...
, north of
Khulna District
Khulna District ( bn, খুলনা জেলা , ''Khulna Jela'' also ''Khulna Zila'') is a district of Bangladesh. It is located in the Khulna Division. It is bordered on the north by the Jessore District and the Narail District, on the south ...
, with the
Faridpur District
Faridpur District ( bn, ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to its northeast. The district was named after Farīd-ud-Dīn Masʿūd, ...
and
Gopalganj District on the east, and
Jessore District
Jessore District (Bengali: যশোর, pronounced Jaw-shore, Anglicised: Jessore), officially spelled Jashore District from April 2018, is a district in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna Distr ...
to the west.
Its average temperature ranges between and has a yearly rainfall of .
Through the district flow the
Madhumati
''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and Johnny ...
,
Nabaganga,
Bhairab, and
Chitra rivers. There are many
beel
A beel (Bengali and Assamese: বিল) is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water (as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra flood plains of the Eastern Indian s ...
s and
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 ...
s, the most noted of which is Chachuri Beel.
Land area:
*Cultivable area:
*Fallow land:
*Forest area: 10 acres
*Area irrigated:
*River area:
Religion
The district of Narail has 1675 mosques, 248 temples, 51 churches, seven tombs, and 11 shrines.
The Radha Raman Smriti Tirtha Mandir, founded by Shri Tribhanga Brahmachary (Babaji of Shri Shri Bhagvat Sevashram Sangh) at Debbhog is a prominent place to visit, as are Nishinath Tola in Rupganj and Lakkhipasha Thakurbari.
Administration
Narail District was established in 1984. It 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 ...
s:
Narail Sadar Upazila
Narail Sadar ( bn, নড়াইল সদর) is an upazila of Narail District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Narail Thana was established in 1861 and was converted into an upazila (a sub-district) in 1984. The upazila takes its name fro ...
,
Kalia Upazila
Kalia ( bn, কালিয়া) is an upazila of Narail District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Kalia Thana was established in 1866 and was converted into an upazila in 1984. It is named after its administrative center, the town of Kali ...
and
Lohagara Upazila Lohagara Upazila may refer to:
*Lohagara Upazila, Chittagong
Lohagara ( bn, লোহাগাড়া) is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Lohagara is situated between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar. It is on ...
. The upazilas are divided into Narail Sadar and Kalia municipalities, and 39
Union Parishads. These are subdivided into 18 wards, 43 mahallas, 445 mouzas, and 651 villages.
[
]
Points of interest
Narail Victoria College and Collegiate School is one of the oldest modern high schools in Bangladesh, established in 1858 by the landlords of Narail who were proponents of education. They also established a girls' school, a rarity in Bangladesh at that time. This was the Shib Shankar Memorial Girls' School. This school closed down due to lack of funding after they left for India. It was reopened by some local enthusiasts, like J. Bhattacharjee, S. Biswas and B. Bhowmic. They borrowed furnishings from the neighbours. They went house to houses soliciting parents to send their children to the school.
Narail Palace was one of the biggest landlord mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s in 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 ...
. When the 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 ...
landlords left for Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
after the partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), 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: ...
, the mansion was looted and vandalised, and gradually collapsed. There are still some remains present, including the ''Kaalibaari'' (temple of goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
), ''Shibmondir'' (temple of Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
) and the ''Bandha ghaat'' on the River Chitra
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...
. Some local people continued the famous Durga Puja
Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
in the mansion, but this was discontinued after a few years. Part of the building was used for some time as a government office. Due to lack of maintenance, it gave in.
Kalia Palace was another large landlord mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s in 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 ...
. Some landlords lived in Naragati. Naragati was a thana in the British period. The predecessor of Robi Sankar & Uday Sankar lived in Kalia.
The famous writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011 ...
was a magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
in Narail. His book ''Neelkuthi'' was based on the forceful cultivation of indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
in Narail by 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 ...
.
Sheikh Mohammed Sultan (10 August 1923 – 10 October 1994; better known as SM Sultan, Bengali: এস এম সুলতান), was a Bengali avant-garde artist who worked in painting and drawing, was born in Narail District. His fame rests on his striking depictions of exaggeratedly muscular farmers engaged in the activities of their everyday lives. He is the son of Sheikh Mohammed Mecher Ali & Mohammed Meherunnesa.
Narail was once declared ''independent'' from 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 ...
by Shorola ''di'' (Sister Shorola), as she was known at the time by her followers of the independence movement of India. But this "independence" lasted for only three days.
Transport
The town of Narail is the road transport hub of the district. To the west it is connected by regional highway R750 to Jessore, about 32 km away. R720 runs north 50 km to Magura. Within the district, Zilla road Z7503 runs east to Lohagara and on to the Kalna ferry ghat on the Madhumati River. Z7502 runs south, across the Nabaganga River at Baroipara Ghat by ferry, and on to Kalia.
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 ...
, Narail District had a population of 721,668, of which 353,527 were males and 368,141 females. Rural population was 609,316 (84.43%) and urban population was 112,352 (15.57%). Narail had a literacy rate of 61.27% for the population 7 years and above: 63.34% for males and 59.31% for females.
Muslims are 81.28% of the population while Hindus are 18.65% of the population. The population of Hindus has declined rapidly in the district since Partition, when the two communities were in equal numbers.
Notable residents
* Birshrestha Nur Mohammad Sheikh
Nur Mohammad Sheikh ( bn, নূর মোহাম্মদ শেখ; 26 February 1936 – 5 September 1971) was a Lance Nayek in East Pakistan Rifles during the Liberation War.
He was killed in an engagement with the Pakistan Army while provid ...
, Freedom Fighter of Bangladesh
* Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Sheikh Mohammad Aman Hassan (retd), A two-star General in the Bangladesh Army
The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...
, who notably served as the Directorate General (DG) of Special Security Force
The Special Security Force (SSF) is a Bangladeshi law enforcement agency that provides protection to government officials and foreign dignitaries.
Responsibility
The mission of the SSF is to provide physical security to the President an ...
(SSF) from 2012 until his retirement in 2016 was born in Narail on 15 April 1960
* Mashrafe Bin Mortoza, former cricketer and captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team
The Bangladesh men's national cricket team ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ক্রিকেট দল), popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the Inte ...
. popularly Known as "Narail Express". He was elected as Member of the Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...
11th general election on 30 December 2019 as a 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 ...
candidate.
* Avishek Das (born 5 September 2001) is a Bangladeshi cricketer
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. He made his List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
debut on 15 March 2020, for Old DOHS Sports Club
Old DOHS Sports Club is a team that plays List A cricket in the Dhaka Premier League in Bangladesh in 2014–15 and 2019–20.
The sports club is based at the Defense Officers Housing Society estate (known as "Old DOHS" or " Banani DOHS") in the s ...
, in the 2019–20 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. Prior to his List A debut, he was named in Bangladesh's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament that was held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February 2020. It was the thirteenth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be ...
.
* Suvra Mukherjee, Former First Lady of India, wife of Former President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
* Bijoy Sarkar, poet, baul
The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...
singer, lyricist, and composer
* SM Sultan
Sheikh Mohammed Sultan ( bn, শেখ মহম্মদ সুলতান; 10 August 1923 – 10 October 1994), popularly known as S M Sultan, was a Bengali decolonial artist who worked in painting and drawing. His fame rests on his striking ...
, Prominent artist
* Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
, Great Sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
Master & organiser of The Concert for Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...
* Md. Kabirul Haque, politician, businessman and Member of the Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...
11th general election on 30 December 2019 as a 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 ...
candidate (Seats, Narail-1).
* Shamoli Ray
Shamoli Ray (born April 5, 1994) is a Bangladeshi competitive archer. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she competed as a lone archer for the Bangladeshi team in the women's individual recurve through a tripartite invitation. Ther ...
is a Bangladeshi competitive archer. At the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, she competed as a lone archer for the Bangladeshi team in the women's individual recurve through a tripartite invitation
* Jadunath Majumdar – Writer, Editor
* Nihar Ranjan Gupta
Nihar Ranjan Gupta ( bn, নীহাররঞ্জন গুপ্ত, pen name: ''Banbhatta'' (বানভট্ট); 6 June 1911 – 20 February 1986) was an Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelist. He is the creator of the fic ...
– Bengali novelist
* Kamal Dasgupta
Kamal Dasgupta (28 July 1912 – 20 July 1974), also known as ''Kamal Uddin Ahamed'' was a Bangla music director, composer and folk artist. Rāga and Thumri were the main elements of his music. Early life and career
Dasgupta was born on 28 July ...
– Music director and eminent film composer
* Syed Nausher Ali – Politician
* Amal Sen Amal Sen was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the founding president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh.
Sen was born in Afra village, Narail on July 19, 1914. His family were zamindars. The ancestral home of his family was located at Bakri village ...
– Politician
* Rathindranath Bose – Chemist
* Moslemuddin
* Nur Jalal
* Sheikh Abdus Salam
Sheikh Abdus Salam was a Bangla educationist who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War and is considered a martyr in Bangladesh.
Early life
Salam was born in Bilbaoch, Kalia Union, Narail District on 12 July 1940. He graduated from Kalia Hig ...
– Martyred intellectual
* Abdul Jalil Shikder – Bir Protik
* Hemonto Sarkar
See also
* Districts of Bangladesh
*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 ...
Notes
References
External links
{{Authority control
Districts of Bangladesh