Bagha Upazila

Bagha (Bengali: বাঘা) is an upazila of the Rajshahi District, located in Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division.[1]

Bagha
বাঘা
Upazila
Bagha is located in Bangladesh
Bagha
Bagha
Location in Bangladesh
Coordinates: 24°11.5′N 88°50′E
Country Bangladesh
DivisionRajshahi Division
DistrictRajshahi District
Thana23 March 1983
Upazila14 September 1983
Government
 • MP (Rajshahi-6)Shahriar Alam
 • Upazila ChairmanMuhammad Layeb Uddin Lavlu
Area
 • Total184.25 km2 (71.14 sq mi)
Population
 (1991)
 • Total153,931
 • Density840/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+6 (BST)
Websitebagha.rajshahi.gov.bd

Geography

Bagha is located at 24.1917°N 88.8333°E / 24.1917; 88.8333. It has 29056 households and total area 184.25 km2.

Bagha Upazila is bounded by Charghat Upazila and Bagatipara Upazila, the latter in Natore District, on the north, Lalpur and Bagatipara Upazilas, both in Natore District, on the east, Daulatpur Upazila, Kushtia in Khushtia District, on the south and Jalangi CD Block, in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India, on the west.[2]

Demographics

According to 2011 Bangladesh census, Bagha had a population of 184,183. Males constituted 49.96% of the population and females 50.04%. Muslims formed 94.70% of the population, while Hindus 5.21%, Christians 0.03% and others 0.07%. Bagha had a literacy rate of 49.65% for the population 7 years old and above.[3]

History
An ancient graveyard containing the tombs of Shah Dawlah and his companions who settled in Bagha to call the locals towards Islam.

Alaipur village of Bagha was the headquarters of Laskar Khan Jaigirdar during the sixteenth century. Hazrat Shah Doulah settled at Bagha and started preaching Islam after being granted42 parganas by the rulers.[4] He also established a famous madrasa here.[1] Bagha thana of present-day Rajshahi district was a thriving centre of learning in the early Muslim period. The place became famous after Shah Muazzam Danishmand (Maulana Shah Daula) from Baghdad settled there during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah (1519–32) and built his khanqah there. An inscription table of the time of Sultan Nusrat Shah was discovered there that records the construction of a Jam’i mosque in 930 A.H. (1523-24 A.D.) One Abdul Latif visited the Bagha madrasah in 1609. There he met an elderly Sufi named Hawadah Main (Maulana Hamid Danishmand) son of Maulana Shah Daula, who was running a madrasah and a khanqah in a peaceful environment. Probably the madrasah was established during the reign of Nusrat Shah.[5]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, temporary camps were founded by the Pakistan Army in places such as Narayanpur, Bagha, Pakuria, Arani, Alaipur and Chawkrajapur, and many brawls took place in these camps against the 400 Bengali freedom fighters of Bagha. 7 of these freedom fighters were murdered.[1]

Administration

Bagha Upazila is divided into two Municipal Corporations and seven Union Parishads.

Municipal Corporations:

  1. Arani Municipality
  2. Bagha Municipality

Union Parishads:

  1. Arani
  2. Bajubagha
  3. Bausa
  4. Gargari
  5. Manigram
  6. Pakuria
  7. Chakrajapur

The union parishads are subdivided into 99 mauzas and 78 villages.[6]

Chairmen
List of chairmen
Number Name Started
01 Muhammad Abdul Aziz 15/8/1985
02 Muhammad Bayezul Islam Khan 18/2/1990
03 Muhammad Bayezul Islam Khan 23/2/2009
04 Muhammad Layeb Uddin Labhlu Present

Economy and tourism
The historic 10-domed Shahi Mosque of Bagha

Bagha Upazila is home to 343 mosques, most notably the ancient Bagha Mosque complex which also contains the mazar (mausoleum) of Shah Dawlah, a key figure who propagated Islam in the region. The mazar of Dilal Bukhari is in Alaipur. The indigo factory (nilkuthi) at Mirganj is a relic of the colonial period, and is currently used as a silk factory.[1] Bagha Museum is also a tourist spot of Bagha Upazila.

Bagha Museum

Education

There a number of madrasas in Bagha Upazila which provide educational services to the local community. Some of these include:[7]

List of madrasas
Name Headteacher
Darul Uloom Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Yunus Ali
Parsaota Alim Madrasa Muhammad Bazlul Karim
Bagha Fazil Madrasa Muhammad Abdul Ghafur Miah
Bausha Hedatipara Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Abdur Rashid
Arani Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Abu Hanif
Arani Chakarpara Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Shamimuzzaman
Sultanpur Gorasthan Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Abdul Mannaf
Jot Qadirpur Dakhil Madrasa Mosammat Rafiyah Sultanah
Manigram Dakhil Madrasa Muhammad Tahurul Islam

Notable people

See also

References
  1. AKM Kaisaruzzaman (2012). "Bagha Upazila". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  2. "Tehsil Map of Murshidabad". CD Block/ Tehsil. Maps of India. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  3. "Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011: Zila Report – Rajshahi" (PDF). Table P01 : Household and Population by Sex and Residence, Table P05 : Population by Religion, Age group and Residence, Table P09 : Literacy of Population 7 Years & Above by Religion, Sex and Residence. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  4. বাঘা মাজার [Bagha Mazar]. Bagha Upazila (in Bengali).
  5. Shakir, SAT (2012-06-30). "Islamic Education in Early Islamic Bengal". Clio:Jahangirnagar University Journal of the Department of History. 29.
  6. "District Statistics 2011: Rajshahi" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  7. বাঘা উপজেলার মাদ্রাসার তালিকা [Bagha Upazila's madrasa list]. Bagha Upazila (in Bengali).
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