Feni is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It was a part of the Greater Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong and Tripura. , the district's estimated population stood at 1,437,371, making it the ninth-most populous district in

Chittagong 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 ...

. The administrative hub of the district is in Feni City, which also serves as the headquarters of

Feni Sadar Upazila Feni Sadar ( bn, ফেনী সদর) is an upazila of Feni District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The district headquarters and all other administrative offices are located here. Geography Feni Sadar is located at . It has 57 ...

in the central section of the district. The original name of the district was Shamshernagar, which served as a

mahakuma {{Unreferenced, date=December 2015 Mahakuma ( bn, মহকুমা) is an administrative division of India denoting a sub-district. Subdivisions of Bangladesh Mahakuma was a term of administration under district containing some sub-district ...

under the district of Noakhali (greater part), Comilla (few part) and Chittagong District (at rest) until 6 December 1984. It is the 64th Number Districts of Bangladesh. The district consists of six sub-districts: Sonagazi, Fulgazi, Parshuram, Daganbhuiyan, Chhagalnaiya and

Feni Sadar Feni Sadar ( bn, ফেনী সদর) is an upazila of Feni District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The district headquarters and all other administrative offices are located here. Geography Feni Sadar is located at . It has 57, ...

History

In the opinion of most historians, the area of this district is more ancient than the other areas of the greater

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

region. Many archaeological

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

were found in this district which proves the claim. In ancient times, maximum area of the Noakhali region was under water except this area. Before 1984, it was a mahakuma of Noakhali district. In 1872–74, Amirgaon thana which was established by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

was facing river

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

. Then it was moved to Khaiarat which was situated by the river Feni. Then this area was known as Feni because of the river. It was established as a mahakuma with three thanas named Mirsarai, Chhagalnaiya and Amirgaon in 1875. Later, Mirsarai was included in

Chittagong 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 ...

. In 1976, a new mahakuma was established and the Khaiarat thana was moved to this new mahakuma and the mahakuma was named Feni. The first headquarter of the mahakuma was in Amirgaon thana. It was moved to Feni in 1881. During the administrative reconstruction in 1984, all the were upgraded to districts and Feni became one of them.

Etymology

The name "Feni" was derived from Feni river. The name "Feni" ( ফেনী in

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...

) can be found in the literary works of poets during the 16th century as river stream and as a

ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

for

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

crossing. Kbindra Parameshwar used the word describing the description of Paragalpur. In 17th century, in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

book "

Baharistan-i-Ghaibi The ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' ( fa, ), written by Mirza Nathan, is a 17th-century chronicle on the history of Bengal, Cooch Behar, Assam and Bihar under the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1605-1627). Unlike other history books of the Mughal Empi ...

" , written by Mirza Nathan the word "Feni" became "Feni". In the literary works of poets, the word was used as a river.

Geography

Feni has a total area of 928.34 km². It has boundaries with

Comilla District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to t ...

and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the north, Chittagong District and

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

in the south, Chittagong District and Tripura state in the east and

Noakhali District Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

in the west. Feni District has 6 upazilas and 43 unions. Feni, Mahuri, Kuhuri, Silonia and Kalidas Pahalia river are some of the major rivers of the district. Total forest area in the district is 2179.22 hectares.

Administration

Feni District has 6

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 ...

s, 6

thanas Thanas is an Albanian and Ukrainian (''Танас'') given name and onomastic toponym element. The definite form is ''Thanasi''. It is derived from the Greek ''Athanasios'', with the Latin derived equivalent ''Tanush''. Thanas is also considered to ...

, 5

municipalities 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 ...

, 43 unions, 564

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s and 540 mouzas.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Feni District had a population of 1,437,371, of which 694,128 were males and 743,243 females. Rural population was 1,143,629 (79.56%) while the urban population was 293,742 (20.44%). Feni district had a literacy rate of 59.63% for the population 7 years and above: 61.11% for males and 58.28% for females. Majority of the people of this area are Muslim. 94.12% are Muslims, 5.83% Hindus. The population density is about 1451 people per square kilometer.

Economy

The main occupation of the people of the district are agriculture & Foreign Remittance. The main source of incomes are: agriculture 21%, non-agricultural labourer 2.57%, industry 35%, commerce 15.98%, transport and communication 4.66%, construction 1.86%, religious service 0.43%, rent and remittance 11.53% and others 12.19%. There are two industrial areas in this district. Total number of heavy industries are 4, medium industries are 17, small industries are 826 and cottage industries are 3419. There is a gas field in Dhalia union of Feni sadar area. Total area of agriculture land is 75,922

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s and arable land is 74,720 hectare.

Education

The literacy rate of the district is 59.60%. There are many of degree college, 10 higher secondary colleges, one girls' cadet college, one polytechnic institute, one computer institute, 155 high schools, 19 junior secondary schools, 97

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, one teachers training college, one primary teacher's training institute and 528 government primary schools. Major educational institutions are: ;College
Feni Medical College (1997-2004)
*

Feni College Feni Government College is a traditional higher education institute of Feni District of Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in southeastern Bengal. It is located in the heart of Feni City. History In 1918, various initia ...

* Alhaz Abdul Haque Chowdhury Degree College *

Feni Girls' Cadet College Feni Girls' Cadet College is a military high school for girls, located in Feni Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh. Cadet colleges are autonomous residential institutions that impart an all round education to the young learners at the secondary and higher ...

* Shaheen Academy School & College * Hazari College ;Diploma Institute * Feni Polytechnic Institute *Institute of Computer Science & Technology.Feni * Compact Polytechnic Institute *

Feni Computer Institute Feni Computer Institute (Bengali language, Bengali: ফেনী কম্পিউটার ইনস্টিটিউট, also known as FCI) is the first and only ICT based polytechnic institute for Diploma in Engineering courses in Bangladesh ...

;High School *

Feni Government Pilot High School Feni Government Pilot High School is a secondary school in the Feni District of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the worl ...

* Feni Govt. Girls' High School * Chhagalnaya Govt. Pilot High School *Chhagalnaiya Govt. Girls High School * Dharmapur Educational Estate *Atatürk Government High School *Baligaon High School * Motobi Adarsha High School *Hokdi Ideal Schools *Adarsha High School, Farhadnagar ;Madrasah *Aftab bibi Fazil Madrasah

Health

There are one modern government general hospital, 5 upazila health complexes, one heart foundation hospital, one diabetic hospital, one chest disease clinic (

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

), one

trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergen ...

, one mother and child care center, one nursing training institute, 19 union health centers, 33 union family care centers and 114 community clinics. There was a private medical college name
Feni Medical College
from 1997 to 2004.

Transport

There is direct connection to the district from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. Total length of national highway is 31 km (Dhaka-Chittagong) and 20 km (Feni-Noakhali). Total length of concrete road is 1044.85 km, half-concrete road is 87.96 km and

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

is 2,132.96 km. Star line travels, S. Alam travels, Keya travels, Saudia travels, Shyamoli travels, Sohag travels, Unique travels, Green Line travels etc. are major inter-division bus travel agencies. Mahanagar Pravati, Paharika, Meghna, Udayan, Mahanagar Godhuli. Turnanishitha, Chattagram Mail, Karnaphuli, Jalalabad, Sagarika and Mymensingh Express are the trains servicing the district to travel various district.

Member of the 11th parliament

Reference:

Notable people

* Abul Kalam Azad Chowdhury former

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

Anwarullah Chowdhury Anwarullah Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi academic. He served as the 24th Vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka. He was the ambassador of Bangladesh to Bahrain. Education and career Chowdhury earned his master's degree in Sociology from the Uni ...

Vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

Aurangzeb Chowdhury Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury, (G), NBP, OSP, BCGM, PCGM, BCGMS, ndc, psc, BN, (born 28 September 1959) is a former four star Admiral of Bangladesh and the former Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Navy. Previously, he held the post of Director Gen ...

, Chief of Navy *

Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury (1906 – 15 April 1966) was a politician, journalist, sportsman and writer from erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh, who served in the political spheres of British India and Pakistan. Early life and education Chow ...

, first health minister of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, one of the founders of

Mohammedan Sporting Club (Kolkata) Mohammedan Sporting Club is an Indian multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Its football team competes in I-League, the second-tier of Indian football, as well as in Calcutta Football League (CFL), the oldest football league in Asi ...

Selim Al Deen Selim Al Deen (18 August 1949 – 14 January 2008) was a Bangladeshi playwright and theatre artist. He was the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at Jahangirnagar University. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Awar ...

, notable playwright and theater artist * Kamal Ahmed Majumdar, Bangladeshi Politician * Shahidullah Kaiser, novelist and journalist *

Shamsunnahar Mahmud Shamsunnahar Mahmud (c. 1908 — April 10, 1964) was a writer, politician and educator in Bengal during the early 20th century. She was a leader of the women's rights movement in Bengal pioneered by Begum Rokeya. Shamsunnahar Hall of the Unive ...

, politician and educator *

Selina Parvin Selina Parvin (31 March 193114 December 1971) was a Bangladeshi journalist and poet. She is one of the intellectual martyrs killed by Al-Badr on 14 December, immediately before the victory after the 9-month-long war of independence of Banglades ...

, writer and journalist *

Zahir Raihan Mohammad Zahirullah (19 August 1935 – disappeared 30 January 1972), known as Zahir Raihan, was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is most notable for his documentary ''Stop Genocide'' (1971), made during the Bangladesh Liberatio ...

, movie director and writer *

Mohammad Saifuddin Mohammad Saifuddin ( bn, মোহাম্মদ সাইফুদ্দিন; born 1 November 1996) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. In December 2015, he was named in Bangladesh's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He made his intern ...

, Bangladeshi cricketer *

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a ...

, Bengali language movement protester *

, former editor of the Pakistan Observer (later the Bangladesh Observer). Ekushey Padak winning journalist *

Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...

, former prime minister of Bangladesh *

Shihab Shaheen Shihab Shaheen ( bn, শিহাব শাহীন) is a Bangladeshi film director, producer and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2001 with a television drama ''"Ghurni"''. He made his breakthrough with the television serial, ''R ...

, Bangladeshi filmmaker and director. * Iqbal Sobhan, Bangladeshi Journalist *

Joynal Hazari Joynal Abedin Hazari (24 August 1945 – 27 December 2021) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a member of the Bangladesh Awami League and served as a member of Jatiya Sangsad, representing the Feni-2 constituency. He won election in 1986, 199 ...

, Bangladeshi Politician * Saber H Chowdhury, Politician and former Chairman of BCB * Abdul Awal, Bangladeshi Politician *

Khawaja Ahmed Khawaja Ahmed ( bn, খাজা আহমেদ) was a Bangladeshi politician and journalist. He participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War and served in the 1st Jatiya Sangsad, National Parliament of Bangladesh. Early life and education Ahm ...

, member of the 1st Bangladeshi Parliament

Notes

References

External links

Feni District Administration
{{Authority control Districts of Chittagong Division Districts of Bangladesh