Rajnagar ( bn, রাজনগর) is an

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 ...

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 ...

in the Division of Sylhet,

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 district has roughly 29,300 houses and an area of approximately 340 km². There are three well-known rivers which flow across the Upazila border side of Rajnagar: the Kushiara in the North, the Manu across the southern three unions (Kamarchak, Tengrabazar, and Mansurnager), and the Dholai across Kamarchak and the southern border.

Etymology

The name of the city, Rajnagar is derived from two words, Raj and nagar, meaning "City of the King". It possibly refers to the kings of the ancient Ita kingdom wherein Rajnagar was the capital.

History

It is suggested that the area was inhabited by

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s and

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 ...

s as evidence from inscriptions suggests there was an ancient university in Panchgaon, Rajnagar. The terrain was headquarters of the ancient Ita Kingdom founded by Raja Bhanu Narayan and its capital was in the villages of Bhumiura and Eolatoli.. Copper plates have been found from 930 AD in Paschimbagh, Tengubazar Mandir, Rajnagar. The district was also part of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom. In the mid-14th century,

Shah Ruknuddin Shāh Kamāl Quḥāfah ( ar, , bn, শাহ কামাল কোহাফাহ; 1291–1385), was a philanthropist, pioneer, social and religious activist. Life Shah Kamal was born in Makkah, Shah Kamal Quhafah was a descendant of Abdur R ...

settled and propagated Islam in Kadamhata, Ita Pargana. Ruknuddin's mazar remains in Kadamhata Bazar. Rajnagar contains many tea gardens and historical places. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Panchgaon Factory in Rajnagar Upazila produced cannons under the command of M. A. G. Osmani. A famous historical cannon, nicknamed Jahankosa, built by Janardan Karmakar remains in display in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

. The first Upazila Chairman Freedom Fighter Rana Choudhury is the founder of Rajnagar Degree College (Principal Abdul Ahad Choudhury founded the college in 1982); Major General Abdu Rab is the co-founder of that college. The present Upazila Chairman is Freedom Fighter Md. Askir Khan of the Ruling Party Awamileague. For the last two terms Md. Misbahuduzza (Velai) of Awamileague has been the Upazila Chairman of Rajnagar. Munshibazar is one of the most important commercial unions in this Upazila due to the large number of goods and services. The tea gardens produce plenty of different types of tea and fruit as well. It has big Hawrs and hills that makes it unique one in the upazilla. A list of important figures in Munshibazar are given below. # Eng. Syed Golam Sarwar, Ex-Superintendent Engineer, DPHE, BANGLADESH # Mr. Mohtossir Ali, Educationalist # Mr.Engineer Farashat Ali, Chairman, NRB Commercial Bank Limited, Bangladesh # Dr. Syed Sharmin Sarwar, M. A. G. Osmani Medical college, Sylhet, Bangladesh. # Mr. Syed Golam Shahajarul Alam, Joint Director, Bangladesh Bank. # Mr. Khan Jamal Nurul Islam. writer & Journalist (Editor-of Shahajalal Darpan, fortnight Bengali). # Mr. K M Abu Taher Choudhury . Prominent Journalist (President of Bangladesh Journalist Association of UK.) KAMARCHAK UNION : The Kamarchak Union is the most famous of the eight unions, as many well-known people were born and still live in the region. Most of the people are peaceful, progressive and creative. The union consists of 44 villages and does substantial business through foreign exchange earned by man-power exported in different countries in the World. In 1971, during the freedom fighting, Kamarchak was one of the most advantageous place and safe haven for freedom fighters. Fighters under Kazi Jafor Ahmed, ex-Prime Minister of the Jatiya Party government, organized and fought from this union. Kamarchak is almost surrounded by two rivers - the Manu to the north and the Dholai across (which is crisscrossed by the Udna and the Palki, two smaller rivers). Very often, this union becomes affected by floods but produces plenty of paddy, sugarcane, and vegetables. River erosion, flooding, a poor communications infrastructure, and a low literacy rate are the four main problems. The "Vishnu Pod" Dham (named after the Foot Sign of God Vishnu), one of the sacred places of the Hindus, is situated half a kilometer away, to the east of Tarapasha Bazar. Tarapasha High School, (now a high school and college) founded in 1932 on the donated estate of the Nag family, is one of the oldest educational institutions in Rajnagar. The founding headmaster of this school was late Md. Rezawar Khan, a very respected educator. There is a Branch of Bangladesh Sonali Bank since three decades.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Bangladesh Census, Rajnagar's population was 232,666, with 113,149 males and 119,517 females. The religious make-up is 180,566 Muslims, 51,867 Hindus, 4 Buddhists, 133 Christians, and 92 people of other religions. This Upazila's over-18 population is about 100,000. Rajnagar has an average literacy rate of 48.6%, above the national average of 42.4%.

Climate

Administration

Rajnagar Upazila is divided into eight

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: Fatehpur, Kamarchak, Mansurnagar, Munshi Bazar, Panchgaon, Rajnagar, Tengra, and Uttarbhag. The union parishads are subdivided into 143 mauzas and 267 villages.

Notable people

* Begum Serajunnessa Choudhury, businesswoman and politician *

, Sufi preacher

References

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