Padma Division ( bn, পদ্মা বিভাগ) is a proposed
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
within
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 ...
for the southern parts of the existing
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 ...
, comprising
Faridpur,
Gopalganj
Gopalganj may refer to:
Bangladesh
*Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division
**Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district
**Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District
** Gopalganj-1, a pa ...
,
Madaripur
Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh.
History
Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakerganj ...
,
Rajbari, and
Shariatpur
Shariatpur ( bn, শরিয়তপুর জেলা, ''Shariatpur Jela'' also ''Shariatpur Zila'') is a district in the Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. It is bounded by Munshiganj district on the north, Barisal district on the south, C ...
Districts 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 ...
.
The headquarters of the division is to be in
Faridpur. This division will be named after its affiliated river
Padma
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
.
History
The proposed division was once under ancient Kingdom of
Gangaridai
Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writ ...
. Later it was ruled by local Muslim
sultans
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
and Hindu
rajas
Rajas (Sanskrit: रजस्) is one of the three Guṇas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Rajas, in The Illustrated Encycloped ...
until the
Mughal conquest of Bengal in the 16th century, after which many nobles and merchants from North India settled in the area. In 1582 in the reign of
Emperor Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, the province of Bengal was formed into 33
sarkars or financial sub-divisions, and Faridpur area appears to have been included within the sarkar of Muhammad Abud and was known as Fatehabad.
In 1765 the British took over the financial administration of Faridpur, together with the rest of Bengal. The greater portion of Faridpur was then comprised within
Dhaka District
Dhaka District ( bn, ঢাকা জেলা, Dhaka jela) is a district in central Bangladesh, and is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and rests on the eastern banks o ...
. In 1811 Faridpur was separated from Dacca collectorate. The district was initially known as Fatehabad.
Under British rule in 1860, the district was named as Faridpur after 12th-century Sufi saint,
Shah Sheikh Fariduddin.
In 1984, with the Decentralization Program of the Bangladesh government, Faridpur district was reorganized into five separate districts:
Rajbari,
Gopalgonj,
Madaripur
Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh.
History
Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakerganj ...
,
Shariatpur
Shariatpur ( bn, শরিয়তপুর জেলা, ''Shariatpur Jela'' also ''Shariatpur Zila'') is a district in the Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. It is bounded by Munshiganj district on the north, Barisal district on the south, C ...
and
Faridpur.
On 7 May 2017
Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain announced that the new Division will be renamed as Padma Division after
Padma River
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...
, a major river in Bangladesh and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally northeast of the proposed division.
Administrative districts
The Division will be subdivided into five districts (zilas) and thence into 30 sub-districts (
upazilas
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 ...
).
See also
*
Meghna Division
Meghna Division (Bengali: মেঘনা বিভাগ) is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the north-western parts of the existing Chittagong Division, comprising Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, and ...
*
List of people from Greater Faridpur
This is a list of notable residents and people who have origins in the Greater Faridpur region of Bangladesh; consisting of the districts of Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Gopalgonj and Shariatpur. This list also includes British Bangladeshis, B ...
References
{{Authority control
Divisions of Bangladesh
Dhaka Division
Proposed political divisions
Proposed divisions of Bangladesh