Sandwip ( bn, সন্দ্বীপ) 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 ...

Chattogram District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is lo ...

Chattogram Division Chittagong Division, officially known as Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the south-easternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population at the 2 ...

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 encompasses the islands of

Sandwip Sandwip ( bn, সন্দ্বীপ, Shondip) is an island located along the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chattogram District. Along with the island of Urir Char, it is a part of the Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is locate ...

and

Urir Char Urir Char ( bn, উড়িরচর) is an inhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. It is also a union parishad of Sandwip Upazila under Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Geography This river island is located north of Sandw ...

History

Sandwip Thana's status was upgraded to an upazila (sub-district level) in 1984. The construction works of a

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...

fleet headquarters at the Sandwip Channel with ship berthing facilities is also going on as part of the

Forces Goal 2030 Forces Goal 2030 is a military modernization program of the Bangladesh Armed Forces which began in 2009 and revised in 2017, designed to the capabilities of the three services of the Bangladesh armed forces: the Army, the Navy and the Air Forc ...

. In 2010, the Government of Bangladesh announced a plan to build a dam in Urir Char to reclaim land as it had suffered greatly from

Tropical Storm One The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and the

1991 Bangladesh cyclone The 1991 Bangladesh cyclone was among the deadliest tropical cyclones on record. Forming out of a large area of convection over the Bay of Bengal on April 24, the tropical cyclone initially developed gradually while meandering over the sout ...

among other natural disasters.

Geography

Making of Ships at the coastal area of sandwip

Sandwip is located at . It has a total area of 762.42 km².

Demographics

According to the

1991 Bangladesh census In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and age ...

, Sandwip had a population of 272,179. Males constituted 49.68% of the population, and females 50.32%. The population aged 18 or over was 122,499. Sandwip had an average literacy rate of 35% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%. Sandwip has 45, 389 households.

Administration

Sandwip Upazila is divided into the Sandwip

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and 15

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: Amanullah, Azimpur, Bauria, Digghapar, Gachhua, Haramia, Harispur, Kalapania, Magdhara, Maitbhanga, Musapur, Rahmatpur, Santoshpur, Sarikait, and

Urirchar Urir Char ( bn, উড়িরচর) is an inhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. It is also a union parishad of Sandwip Upazila under Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Geography This river island is located north of Sa ...

. The union parishads are subdivided into 39

mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

s and 34 villages. Sandwip Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 10

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 ...

List of chairmen and rulers

Education

There are 28 secondary schools in Sandwip Upazila. Some these include: * Kargil Government High School, the oldest school in the Upazila founded in 1879 * Gachua Adarsha High School, established in 1987 * Bauria Golam Khalek Academy * Gasua a k Academy ** Sandwip Public High School In total, the Upazila has 149 state primary schools, one junior high school, 4 colleges, 1 girls college, 19 kindergartens and 3 girls high schools. There are 9 dakhil

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s, 3 alim madrasas, 3 fazil madrasas and four Kamil madrasas. Notable madrasas include the Bashiria Ahmadia Alhaj Abu Bakar Sidiqque Fazil Madrasa, founded in 1902, and the Kashgar Islamia Fazil Madrasa which was founded in 1929. The upazila has a literacy rate of 51.5%.

Facilities

The upazila is home to 10 orphanages, including one governmental orphanage. It also has 295

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s which serve the majority

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

population that inhabit the sub-district. Some notable mosques include the Shahabanu Mosque, Faqir Shah mosque, the Sandwip Town Jame Mosque, Sandwip Town Bazar Mosque and the Abdul Ghani Chowdhury Mosque. There are 32

haat bazaar Haat or hat, even haat bazaar, is an open-air market that serves as a trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns of Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Haat bazaars are conducted on a regular ba ...

s and two canals. 26 post offices and 10 banks can also be found here.

Notable people

Chowdhury Abu Torab Khan Chowdhury Abu Torab Khan ( bn, চৌধুরী আবু তোরাব খাঁ), better known simply as Abu Torab ( bn, আবু তোরাব), was an 18th-century Bengali zamindar from Sandwip, an island in present-day Bangladesh. ...

, leader of Bengal's first anti-British uprising *

Abul Kashem Sandwip Abul Kashem Sandwip (1 April 1944 – 10 December 1995) was a Bangladeshi educationist, journalist and organizer. He is one of the founders of Bangladesh Betar, the national radio service of Bangladesh. He is the second person to read the dec ...

, educationist and a founder of

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বেতার; ), or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After t ...

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

Abdul Hakim Abdul Hakim ( ar, عبد الحكيم, translit=ʻAbd al-Ḥakīm) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, first name or surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Hakim''. The name means "servant of the All-wise" ...

, 17th-century poet *

Abul Fazal Ziaur Rahman Abul Fazal Ziaur Rahman was a physician and army officer who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war. He is considered a martyr in Bangladesh. Early life Rahman was born in Noagon, Araihazar, Narayanganj on February 2, 1926. He graduated fro ...

, physician and army officer *

AKM Asadul Haq AKM Asadul Haq was a Bangladeshi physician and an army officer in the Pakistan Army who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war and is considered a martyr in Bangladesh. Early life Haq was born on 1 December 1928 at Santoshpur, Sandwip Upazila, ...

, physician and army officer * AKM Rafiq Ullah Choudhury, politician and language activist * Alhaz Mustafizur Rahman, politician *

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in ...

, a founder of

Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra ( bn, স্বাধীন বাংলা বেতার কেন্দ্র, lit=Free Bengal Radio Centre) was the radio broadcasting centre of Bengali nationalist forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1 ...

* Belayet Hossain, Bangladeshi freedom fighter * Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy, former lieutenant general of 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 ...

Dilal Khan Dilwar Khan ( bn, দেলোয়ার খাঁ, Delwar Khan), popularly known as Raja Dilal ( bn, দিলাল রাজা, Dilal Raja), was the last independent ruler of Sandwip, an island in present-day Bangladesh. His reputation as a ...

, final independent ruler of Sandwip * Mahfuzur Rahaman, politician * M. Obaidul Huq, politician *

Mostafa Kamal Pasha Mustafa Kamal Pasha is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and a former member of parliament for Chittagong-3 and Chittagong-16 Chattogram-16 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2 ...

, politician *

Muzaffar Ahmad Muzaffar Ahmad (known as Kakababu; 5 August 1889 – 18 December 1973) was an Indian-Bengali politician, journalist and a co-founder of Communist Party of India. Background Ahmed was born at Musapur village in Sandwip Island in Chittagong Dis ...

, politician and journalist * Mohammed Didarul Alam *

Shamsuddin Qasemi Shamsuddin Qasemi ( bn, শামসুদ্দীন কাসেমী; 5 March 1935 – 19 October 1996) was a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, politician, author and educationist. He was the founding president of the Khatme Nabuwwat Andolan Coun ...

, Islamic scholar and politician *

Lalmohan Sen Lalmohan Sen ( bn, লালমোহন সেন) was an Indian revolutionary who took part in the Chittagong Armoury Raid. He was imprisoned for 16 years. Shortly after his release, he was murdered in the Noakhali riots. Early life Sen was ...

, revolutionary involved in the

Chittagong armoury raid The Chittagong armoury raid, also known as the Chittagong uprising, was an attempt on 18 April 1930 to raid the armoury of police and auxiliary forces from the Chittagong armoury in the Bengal Presidency of British India (now in Bangladesh) b ...

* Mohit Kamal, psychotherapist

Notes

References

{{Upazilas and Thanas of Chittagong Sandwip Upazila