Shariatpur ( bn, শরিয়তপুর জেলা, ''Shariatpur Jela'' also ''Shariatpur Zila'') is a district in the Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. It is bounded by

Munshiganj Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

district on the north,

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...

district on the south,

Chandpur district Chandpur District () is a district located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was a part of the Cumilla District until 15 February 1984.Musa, Muhammad. Brahmanbariar Itibrittyo, Shetu Prokashoni, Brahmanbaria,1998. History During the rul ...

on the east, Madaripur district on the west. Water bodies Main rivers:

Padma The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

Meghna The Meghna River ( bn, মেঘনা নদী) is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, ...

, Palong (Kirtinasha) and Jayanti. Of the six upazilas of the district

Bhedarganj Upazila Bhedarganj ( bn, ভেদরগঞ্জ, Bhedorgonj) is an upazila (sub-district) of Shariatpur District in central Bangladesh, located in the Dhaka Division. It is a part of the Greater Faridpur region and is named after its administrative cent ...

is the largest () and Damudya Upazila is the smallest ().

History

Shariatpur was named after

Haji Shariatullah Haji Shariatullah ( bn, হাজী শরীয়তুল্লাহ; 17811840) was a prominent religious leader and Islamic scholar from Bengal in the eastern subcontinent, who is best known as the founder of the Faraizi movement. In 1884, ...

(1781–1840), who was the founder of

Faraizi Movement The Faraizi movement ( bn, ফরায়েজি আন্দোলন, fôrayeji andolon) was a movement led by Haji Shariatullah in Eastern Bengal to give up un-Islamic practices and act upon their duties as Muslims ( ''farāʾiḍ''). F ...

and an eminent Islamic reformer/revivalist during

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. It was established as a district on 1 March 1984. In 1971 the Pak army in collaboration with their local agents conducted mass killing and plundering; they also set many houses of the district on fire. During

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

a number of encounters were held in

Shariatpur Sadar Upazila Shariatpur Sadar ( bn, শরিয়তপুর সদর) is an upazila of Shariatpur District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is ...

between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in which about 313 Pak soldiers were killed. A number of freedom fighters were killed in two encounters and one frontal battle with the Pak army in

. Nine freedom fighters including Ahsanul Hoque and Abdul Wahab were killed in an encounter with the Pak army at a place on the southern side of Damudya College. Muktijoddha and

Mujib Bahini The Mujib Bahini, also known as Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF), was an armed force formed during the Bangladesh Liberation War to fight against Pakistan in 1971. The force was mainly composed of activists drawn from the Awami League and its st ...

jointly conducted attack on the Pak army by guerrilla technique in the upazila. Five freedom fighters were killed in an encounter with the Pak army in Gosairhat Upazila. The freedom fighters of Naria raided the Naria Police Station and captured all the arms and ammunitions of the thana. In retaliation, the Pak army sacked the nearby villages. During

a number of encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in Zanjira Upazila in which a number of freedom fighters were killed.

Geography

Shariatpur District is bounded on the north by

Munshiganj District Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

Barisal District Barisal District, officially spelled Barishal District from April 2018, is a district in south-central Bangladesh, formerly called Bakerganj district, established in 1797. Its headquarters are in the city of Barisal, which is also the headqua ...

on the south,

Chandpur District Chandpur District () is a district located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was a part of the Cumilla District until 15 February 1984.Musa, Muhammad. Brahmanbariar Itibrittyo, Shetu Prokashoni, Brahmanbaria,1998. History During the rul ...

on the east,

Madaripur District Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh. History Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakergan ...

on the west. Main rivers are

, Palong, Jayanti, Kirtinasha, and Dharmaganj. Area of Shariatpur district is . It consists of 6

upazilas 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 ...

, 6

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 ...

, 65

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 ...

, 616

Mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

, 1243

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 ...

s, 213,677

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

Demography

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 ...

, Shariatpur district had a population was 1,155,824, of which 559,075 were males and 596,749 females. Rural population was 1,024,780 (88.66%) while the urban population was 131,044 (11.34%). Shariatpur district had a literacy rate of 47.26% for the population 7 years and above: 47.96% for males and 46.62% for females. Muslims make up 96.40% of the population, while Hindus are 3.58% of the population. The Muslim population has constantly increased while the Hindu population has stayed relatively constant.

Administration

There are six upazilas (sub-districts) under this district, namely: #

# Damudya Upazila #

Naria Upazila Naria ( bn, নড়িয়া) is an upazila of Shariatpur District of the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh. It is named after its administrative centre, the town of Naria. History Naria was historically a part of the Idilpur division of the Chan ...

# Zanjira Upazila #

# Gosairhat Upazila

Education

There are 772 primary schools, 19 lower secondary schools, 83 secondary schools and 42 Madrasas in Shariatpur. There are also 3 Public and 13 Private Colleges, 1 polytechnic Institute, 1 Vocational School and College, 1 Private University and one private medical college. The literacy rate (7+ year) 60% (Male 63%, Female 57%) and literacy rate (15+ year) 41% (Male 47%, Female 36%).

Notable Personalities

* T.M. Giasuddin Ahmed, former MP * Shawkat Ali former MP (politician & former Deputy Speaker) * Iqbal Hossain Apu, MP * K.M. Hemayet Ullah Auranga, politician & former MP * Aminul Islam Biplob (cricketer) *

Khuda Buksh Khuda Buksh (1 February 1912 – 13 May 1974) was an eminent Bengali life insurance salesman and humanitarian from the Indian subcontinent. For four decades he represented the "life and soul of the insurance industry" throughout the region ...

(1912–1974) regarded as father of insurance in Bangladesh *

Pulin Behari Das Pulin Behari Das (28 January 1877 – 17 August 1949) was an Bengali revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. Early life Pulin came from a middle class Bengali Hindu family. Though they held some landed proper ...

(revolutionary) * Jogesh Chandra Ghosh (scholar, Ayurveda physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist) * AKM Shahidul Haque (Former Inspector General of Police, Bangladesh) * B.M Muzammel Haque, politician & former MP *

Farzana Islam Farzana Islam (born 1957) is a Bangladeshi academic. She is a former vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University during 2014-2022. In 2014, she became the first female vice-chancellor of a public university in Bangladesh. She allegedly accused of ...

, (academician) * Sardar AKM Nasiruddin, former MP * Kamrun Nesa Nilu, former MP * Master Majibur Rahman, former MP *

Abdur Razzaq Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

(former minister of water resources) * Nahim Razzaq, MP *

AKM Enamul Haque Shamim AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem (born 29 March 1965) is a Bangladesh Awami League 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 popula ...

, MP *

Siraj Sikder Siraj Sikder (27 October 1944 – 2 January 1975) was a Bangladeshi revolutionary politician. Early life Sikder was born on 27 October 1944 in Bhedarganj, Shariatpur District, East Bengal. His father was Abdur Razzaq Sikder, and belonged t ...

(politician) *

Abdul Haque Faridi Abul Faraḥ Muḥammad ʿAbdul Ḥaque Farīdī (25 May 1903 – 5 February 1996) was a Bangladeshi educator and author. In recognition of his contributions in the field of linguistics, he was awarded a Bangla Academy Fellowship. Faridi was th ...

(academic & former Myayor of Jajira)

Notes

References

{{Authority control Districts of Bangladesh