Akhaura ( bn, আখাউড়া ) 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 ...

Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria ( bn, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, translit=Brahmôṇbaṛiya) is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Ga ...

, a district under Chattogram,

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 ...

. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km². The main river that run through this upazila is the

Titas River The Titas River ( bn, তিতাস ''Titās''; also Romanized Titash) is a transboundary river that merges into the Meghna river and forms part of the Surma-Meghna River System. Titas starts its journey from the Tripura State, with Haora as on ...

. Akhaura played an important historical role during both

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and

Liberation War of Bangladesh 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 armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali n ...

The administration of Akhaura thana, now an

, was established in 1976. The upazila includes one municipality, five union parishads, 107 mouzas and 113 villages.

History

During the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

for the

liberation of Bangladesh 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 armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

, Pakistan Army planners predicted India would launch its main attack in the east along the Akhaura–

Brahmanbaria Brahmanbaria ( bn, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, Brāhmaṇabāṛiẏā) is a city of Bangladesh and the capital of Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila as well as Brahmanbaria District. It is the second largest city after Cumilla i ...

axis; however, the army had no troops in this area, so the 27th brigade at Mymensingh was moved to Akhaura, except for two battalions (which became the 93rd brigade) that were retained for the defence of

Mymensingh Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...

. Pakistan Army's 93,000 troops unconditionally surrendered to the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and India's local ally

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

on 16 December 1971. This day and event is commemorated as the Bijoy Dibos ( bn, বিজয় দিবস) in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Bangladesh Census, there were 145,215 inhabitants across 27,831 households in Akhaura Upazila. There were 93 males (48.3%) to every 100 females (51.7%). Children (0-14) made up 40.7% of the population. The vast majority of the population were adherents of Islam (94.2%), with 5.8% being adherents of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The average

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

was 52.8% for those aged 7 and above, compared to a national average of 47.1%.

Points of interest

* Kharampur Mazar Sharif, the mausoleum of Hazrat Syed Ahmad Gesudaraz (R), is a pilgrimage site for devotees.

Administration

Akhaura Upazila is divided into Akhaura Municipality and five

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: Dakshin Akhaura, Dharkhar, Monionda, Mogra, and Uttar Akhaura. The union parishads are subdivided into 86 mauzas and 112 villages. Akhaura Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 23

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 i ...

Transport

Plans are underway to have Akhaura connected to Agartala, India via railway by 2017. In 2013–14, Bangladesh exported TK 2.26 billion through the Akhaura Land Port to India.

Education

Shahid Shriti Degree College, Akhaura Upazila 2018-09-01

There are several schools and colleges in Akhaura. As in 2016, there is no university in Akhaura upazila. According to Banglapedia, Bangladesh Railway Government High School, founded in 1920, is a notable secondary school.

References

{{Brahmanbaria District Towns in Bangladesh Bangladesh–India border crossings Upazilas of Brahmanbaria District