Bagha
বাঘা
Upazila
Bagha Mosque
Bagha Mosque
Location of Bagha
Coordinates: 24°11.5′N 88°50′E / 24.1917°N 88.833°E / 24.1917; 88.833
Country Bangladesh
DivisionRajshahi
DistrictRajshahi
Thana23 March 1983
Upazila14 September 1983
Government
 • MP (Rajshahi-6)Shahriar Alam
 • Upazila ChairmanMuhammad Layeb Uddin Lavlu
Area
 • Total185.16 km2 (71.49 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total184,183
 • Density990/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+6 (BST)
Websitebagha.rajshahi.gov.bd

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

Geography

Bagha is located at 24°11′30″N 88°50′00″E / 24.1917°N 88.8333°E / 24.1917; 88.8333. It has 46,711 households and total area 185.16 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 in Kushtia District, on the south and Jalangi CD Block, in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India, on the west.[2]

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 granted 42 parganas by the rulers.[3] 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.[4]

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]

Demographics

Religions in Bagha upazila (2011)[5]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 94.70%
Hinduism
 
 5.21%
Other or not stated
 
 0.09%

According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Bagha Upazila had 46,711 households and a population of 184,183. 35,215 (19.12%) were under 10 years of age. Bagha had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 49.65%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1002 females per 1000 males. 44,173 (23.98%) lived in urban areas.[5][6]

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.[5]

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. 1 2 3 4 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 27 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tehsil Map of Murshidabad". CD Block/ Tehsil. Maps of India. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  3. ↑ বাঘা মাজার [Bagha Mazar]. Bagha Upazila (in Bengali).
  4. ↑ Shakir, SAT (2012-06-30). "Islamic Education in Early Islamic Bengal". Clio:Jahangirnagar University Journal of the Department of History. 29.
  5. 1 2 3 "Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011 Zila Report – Rajshahi" (PDF). bbs.gov.bd. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
  6. ↑ "Community Tables: Rajshahi district" (PDF). bbs.gov.bd. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2011.
  7. ↑ বাঘা উপজেলার মাদ্রাসার তালিকা [Bagha Upazila's madrasa list]. Bagha Upazila (in Bengali).
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