Derai ( bn, দিরাই) 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) ...

in northeastern

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 ...

, part of the

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 ...

History

Derai was previously known as Babaganj Bazar. It was home to two influential Hindu residents; Jitarāma and Dvidarāma, who renamed the area to Derai Bazar. On 10 December 1892, the

Assam Gazette The ''Assam Gazette'' is a public journal of the Government of Assam published weekly by the Department of Stationery and Printing. As a public journal, the ''Gazette'' prints official notices from the government. The gazette is printed by the ...

notification #5954 recognised the name of the area as Derai. In 1938, the Nankar Rebellion started in Derai and surrounding areas. Derai was made a

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 1942. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a brawl took place in Derai between the Pakistan Army and Bengali freedom fighting forces. Among the freedom fighters here, Commander Ataur Rahman and Abdul Khaliq were wounded with Azimullah, Kuti Miah and Gopendra Das being killed. Derai was heavily affected by the 1974 floods and that of

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. The Jamiah Hafizia Hussainiya Madrasa was founded in 1978. In 1982, Derai

was made an upazila. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was also very damaging to Derai.

Demographics

As of the

2001 Bangladesh census In 2001, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, ten years after the 1991 census. They recorded data from all of the districts, upazilas, and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on populatio ...

, Derai has a population of 202791; male 105252, female 97539; Muslim 144136, Hindu 58576, Buddhist 33 and others 46. Males constitute 51.38% of the population, and females 48.62%.

Education

Derai has an average literacy rate of 25.3% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Administration

Derai thana was formed in 1942 and it was turned into an upazila in 1982. Derai Upazila is divided into Derai Municipality and nine

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: Bhatipara, Charnarchar, Derai Sarmangal, Jagdal, Karimpur, Kulanj, Rafinagar, Rajanagar, and Taral. The union parishads are subdivided into 137 mauzas and 232 villages. Derai Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 29

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 ...

Upazila Chairmen

Notable people

Gulzar Ahmed Chowdhury Gulzar Ahmed Chowdhury ( bn, গুলজ়ার আহমদ চৌধুরী; died 26 November 2019) was a politician in the Sunamganj District of the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. He was elected member of parliament for the Sunamganj-3 ...

, former Member of Parliament *

Suranjit Sengupta Suranjit Sengupta (5 May 1945 – 5 February 2017) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He resigned in 2012 as the first Railway Minister of Bangladesh. He was the member of parliament from Sunamganj-2 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad ...

, politician, lawyer *

Joya Sengupta Jaya Sengupta (born 21 September 1943) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician, doctor, and Member of Parliament of Bangladesh. Her husband was Suranjit Sengupta, a senior leader of Bangladesh Awami League and former Minister of Bangladesh Railw ...

, politician *

Kakon Bibi Noorjahan Kakon Bibi Bir Protik ( bn, কাঁকন বিবি, kha, Kaket Hanchiata) was a Bangladeshi freedom fighter and secret agent of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. She was arrested and brutally tortured by the Pakistan ar ...

, secret agent * Mifta Uddin Chowdhury Rumi, politician and justice * Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, politician * Nasum Ahmed, cricketer * Shah Abdul Karim, folk minstrel

References

Upazilas of Sunamganj District {{Sylhet-geo-stub