Sullah ( bn, শাল্লা, Shalla), also spelt Sulla, 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 ...

(sub-district) of the

Sunamganj District Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a district located in north-eastern Bangladesh within the Sylhet Division. History In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Laur Kingdom. After the conquest of Sylhet (Kingdom of Gauiurh) ...

, located in

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 ...

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of ...

. Its headquarters is located in Ghungiargaon.

History

It is generally thought that the area presently comprising Sullah Upazila was formerly inhabited by the

Khasi people The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...

, which can be understood from the Khalisha Hati, Bara Hati, Kakura Hati and Godir Bak of Chobbisha village. The two mounds discovered in the village of Khalli and other mounds also provides evidence for thousand-year old tribal settlement. Among the 120 mosques in Sullah, the Ghungiargaon-Sullah Jame Mosque, Srihail Saheb Bari Jame Mosque and Bahara Jame Mosque are of historical importance. Sullah Upazila is named after the village of Sullah which sits on the bank of the Kalni River. A small

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

was established in the village and named Shahaganj Bazar, after Shah Nur, who was a prominent

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

who lived in the village. However, the name of Shah Ullah was more prominent, and this later became corrupted to Sullah (pronounced Shalla). In 1919, a

naval police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

headquarters was established in Sullah village. It was converted into an administrative ''

thana Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station. * Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila'' * in (Briti ...

'' in 1941. However, as a result of the breakage in the strong current of the Kalni river, the infrastructure of the thana was destroyed. The local chiefs then re-established the headquarters in the village of Ghungiargaon, located in the centre of Sullah Thana. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

of 1971, Sullah was a part of Sector 5 under

Mir Shawkat Ali Mir Shawkat Ali, Bir Uttom (11 January 1938 - 20 November 2010) was a general in Bangladesh Army and also a politician of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He was a freedom fighter during Bangladesh liberation war and a Sector Commander of the ...

. Sullah was liberated on 7 December. Sullah Thana was upgraded to

(sub-district) in 1983 as part of the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

's decentralisation programme. In 1987, the Hashimia Islami Madrasa was founded in Sullah which contributed to the educational development.

Geography

Sullah is located at . It has 13881 households and total area 260.74 km².

Demographics

As of 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 ...

, Sullah has a population of 89941. Males constitute 51.08% of the population, and females 48.92%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 43247. Sullah has an average literacy rate of 21.8% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Administration

Sullah Upazila is divided into four

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: Atgaon, Bahara, Habibpur, and Shalla. The union parishads are subdivided into 65 mauzas and 116 villages.

List of chairmen

Notable people

Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is a Bangladeshi police officer and the current Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Bangladesh Police since 30 September 2022. Previously he served as Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). He was made the ...

, 31st

Inspector General of Bangladesh Police The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the senior-most and highest ranked police officer of Bangladesh and the head of the Bangladesh Police, who oversees all police activities throughout the country. He reports directly to the Ministry of Home A ...

References

Upazilas of Sunamganj District {{Sylhet-geo-stub