Kamalganj () is an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas ...

(sub-district) of

Moulvibazar District Moulvibazar District, () also spelled Moulavibazar, or Maulavibazar, (previous name: South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It is bordered by the Indian states ...

in the Division of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Etymology

There was a local

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

by the name of Kinkar Nath Ray who appointed a

naib Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the Ge ...

by the name of Kamal Narayan in order to develop the land. Kamal established a ganj (treasured neighbourhood) named after himself. In 1922, Kamalganj was made a

thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...

and in 1983, an

History

Kamalganj was a part of the ancient ''Ita Kingdom'' founded by Raja Bhanu Narayan. The final

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of the Ita Kingdom, Raja Subid Narayan lost a battle in 1610 in which the region became under the rule of

Khwaja Usman Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī (), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamindar ruling over the northern parts of Bengal, including Greater M ...

. However, this rule was short-lived after Mughal General

Islam Khan I Shaikh Alauddin Chisti (1570–1613; popularly known as Islam Khan Chisti) was a Mughal general and the Subahdar of Bihar and later Bengal. He transferred the capital of Bengal from Rajmahal to Sonargaon and founded the city of Jahangirnagar. ...

's attack in 1612. The battle between the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and Khwaja Usman was held in Patanushar, Kamalganj. This led to the death of Afghan leader Khwaja Usman. A peasant rebellion (krishokproja bidraho) against zamindar of Prithimpasa led by Manipuri leader Panchanan Singh, Baikunthanath Sharma ,Themba Singh and Qasim Ali was held in the 1900s in Bhanubil, Kamalganj.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of Bangladesh 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 r ...

, Kamalganj Upazila had 51,895 households and a population of 259,130. 62,862 (24.26%) were under 10 years of age. Kamalganj had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 48.61%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1028 females per 1000 males. 30,197 (11.65%) lived in urban areas. Ethnic population was 23,134 (8.93%), of which Manipuri were 15,672, Khasi 1046 and

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

916. 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 a ...

, Kamalganj has a population of 191,672. Males constitute 50.98% of the population, and females 49.02%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 102,877. Kamalganj has an average literacy rate of 28.6% (7+ years), compared to the national average of 32.4%. Manipuri Cultural Complex

Majority of the residents are

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

although there is a minority of indigenous peoples such as the Khasi, Manipuris,

Bishnupriya Manipuris The Bishnupriyas, also known as the Bishnupriya Manipuris or Bishnupriya Meiteis, is an ethnic group found in the parts of Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Manipur and in northeastern Bangladesh. They speak Bishnupriya Manipuri, a ...

, Tripuris and Garos.

Economy and tourism

Kamalganj is home to many tourist attractions and natural geography. It contains many tea gardens. Almost around there are fourteen (14) tea garden here.Kamalganj is mainly famous for its natural beauty. This natural place has many tourist spots viz the

Lawachara National Park Lawachara National Park () is a national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh, located at Kamalganj Upazila and Moulvibazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located within the West Bhanugach Reserved Forest. Lawachara ...

,Madhabpur Lake, Bir Shrestho Hamidur Rahman Monument,Hum Hum Waterfall (Rajkandi Reserve Forest), Grand Sultan Tea Resort & Golf,Camillia Lake,Noor Jahan Tea Garden Other sites include the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

s of Shah Kala in Bhadair-Deul (near Shamshernagar Rail Station), Shah Ghayb (north of Bhanugach Rail Station) and Shah Ghazi Malik in Bhadair-Deul. The ruins of the Ita Kingdom can be found across Kamalganj. The forts of Khwaja Usman, his grave and false tomb can be found in Patanushar in the areas of Srisurya and Usmangarh.

Administration

Kamalganj Upazila is divided into Kamalganj Municipality and 9

union parishad Union council (), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads (district councils) being the largest rural authori ...

s: Adampur, Ali Nagar, Islampur, Kamalganj, Madhabpur, Munshi Bazar, Patanushar, Rahimpur, and Shamshernagar. The union parishads are subdivided into 116 mauzas and 253 villages. Kamalganj Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 27

mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, Quarter (country subdivision), quarter, Ward (country subdivision), ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. ...

Notable residents

Chowdhury Gulam Akbar Chowdhury Gulam Akbar (; 16 September 1921 – 29 December 1988) was a Bangladeshi writer. He served in the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh as the collector of Bengali folk literature. Early life Gulam Akbar was born on 16 September 1921 in Dargah ...

, writer, was born in Dargahpur village in 1921. * Mohammad Keramat Ali, former Member of the Pakistan National Assembly *

Surendra Kumar Sinha Surendra Kumar Sinha (born 1 February 1951), commonly known as SK Sinha is a Bangladeshi lawyer and jurist who served as the 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh. He resigned from the position in November 2017 amid the 16th amendment verdict controv ...

, 21st

Chief Justice of Bangladesh The chief justice of Bangladesh ( – ) is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the head of the country's judiciary, overseeing both the Supreme Court and all subordinate courts. The chief justice is appointed by the ...

Ashraf Hussain Munshi Muhammad Ashraf Hussain (; 1892-1965), was a Bengali poet, researcher and a collector of puthis and folk literature. He was also known for his contribution in the study of the Sylheti Nagri script. Early life Ashraf Hussain was born in ...

, poet, writer, researcher *

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

opponent and

Baro-Bhuyan The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

chieftain

Gallery

Bhanugach railway station.jpg, Bhanugach railway station Safat Ali Senior Fazil Madrasah.jpg, Safat Ali Senior Fazil Madrasah, Keramatnagar

References

External links

Website of Kamalganj Upazila
{{Upazilas of Sylhet Division