Shibganj Upazila ( bn, শিবগঞ্জ উপজেলা) 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 Bogra District in the Division of Rajshahi,

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 upazila was created in 1983. It is named after its administrative center, the town of Shibganj.

Geography

Shibganj Upazila has a total area of . It is the northernmost upazila of Bogra District. It borders

Rangpur Division Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...

to the north, Sonatala and Gabtali upazilas to the east, Bogra Sadar and Kahaloo upazilas to the south,

Dupchanchia Upazila Dhupchanchia Upazila ( bn, দুপচাঁচিয়া উপজেলা) is an upazila of Bogra District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Dhupchanchia Thana was established in 1880 and was converted into an upazila in 1983. It is na ...

to the southwest, and Joypurhat District to the west. The

Karatoya River Karatoya River (also spelt Korotoa River) is a small stream in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. Etymology The name of the river is formed of two Sanskrit words ''kar'' (hand) and ''toa'' (water). Course The Karatoya, known as Phuljhur rises i ...

flows south through the upazila.

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 ...

, Shibganj Upazila had 99,242 households and a population of 378,700, 5.7% of whom lived in urban areas. 9.0% of the population was under the age of 5. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 44.1%, compared to the national average of 51.8%.

Points of interest

Mahasthangarh Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...

is the earliest urban archaeological site in Bangladesh. It's also the largest. The citadel covers more than , and many more mounds are spread over the surrounding on the west bank of the Karatoya River. Lonely Planet describes it as one of Bangladesh's two "most famous and impressive archaeological sites." A museum exhibits artifacts excavated at the site: sculptures, inscriptions, terracotta plaques depicting scenes from daily life, beads, coins, and ceramics shards. Gokul Medh, Bogra, September 2016 04

Administration

Shibganj Upazila is divided into Shibganj Municipality and 12 union parishads: Shibganj, Bihar, Roynagar, Buriganj, Majhihatta, Pirab, Atmul, Kichak, Maidanhata, Deuli, Mokamtala, and Saidpur. The union parishads are subdivided into 233 mauzas and 409 villages. Shibganj Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 31 mahallas.

Education

There are seven colleges in the upazila. They include Mohasthan Mahi Sawar Degree College, Mokamtala Women's Degree College, Pirob United Degree College, Chowdhury adarsha Mahila College and Govt. M H College, founded in 1972. The madrasa education system includes five fazil madrasas.

Notable residents

Prafulla Chaki Prafulla Chandra Chaki ( bn, প্রফুল্ল চাকী, ''Prafulla Chaki'' alias Dinesh Chandra Roy) (10 December 1888 – 1 May 1908) was an Indian revolutionary associated with the Jugantar group of revolutionaries who carried o ...

, revolutionary and nationalist, was born in Bihar village in 1888. *

Mahmudur Rahman Manna Mahmudur Rahman Manna ( bn, মাহমুদুর রহমান মান্না) is a Bangladeshi politician and a media personality. He was former Organizing Secretary of the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League. ''The Wall Street Journal ...

, politician, stood unsuccessfully in the constituency of

Bogra-2 Bogra-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2014 by Shariful Islam Jinnah of the Jatiya Party (Ershad) The Jatiya Party ( bn, জাতীয় পার্টি, translit=Jatiyo Par ...

in the 2001 general election. *

M. R. Akhtar Mukul M. R. Akhtar Mukul (1929–2004) was a Bengali writer and journalist from Bangladesh; earned fame for ''Chorompotro'', a radio program from Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. ''Chorompotro'' Mukul started the program from the clandestine Shwadhin ...

, author and journalist, migrated to Mahasthangarh after partition in 1947.

References

{{Upazilas of Rajshahi Division Upazilas of Bogra District