Barisal Division


Barisal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of, and a population of 9,325,820 at the 2022 census. It is the least populous division in Bangladesh. It is bounded by Dhaka Division on the north, the Bay of Bengal on the south, Chittagong Division on the east and Khulna Division on the west. The administrative capital, Barisal city, lies in the Padma River delta on an offshoot of the Arial Khan River. Barisal division is criss-crossed by numerous rivers that earned it the nickname Dhan-Nodi-Khal, Ei tin-e Borishal.

Etymology

Barisal Division is named after its headquarters, the city of Barisal. The toponym Barisal is etymologically derived from the Perso-Arabic phrase "Bahr-e-Sawal," translating to "the ship of questions". This appellation is rooted in the interactions of Semitic Arab maritime traders, who, in their nautical endeavours, referred to their sea-bound merchant vessels as bahr, which has endured as a term in the lexicon of the Bengali language to this day. The perilous and turbulent waters of Bengal's southern seacoast, notorious for their treacherous waves, presented a hazardous maritime route. As such, upon encountering this tempestuous stretch of coastline, the Arab traders would often be prompted to pose various queries regarding the safety, conditions, and navigability of the route. Over time, this word was corrupted to the name Barisal.

History

Ancient period

The modern Barisal division area was the part of Vanga and Gangaridai empire in ancient times. The historic land of Vaṅga, situated in present-day Barisal division. After the fall of Gupta rule in Bengal, the region became a part of Gauda Kingdom in the 6th century. Later the region came under the rule of Khadgas, Palas, Chandras and Varmans in the early mediaeval period. In ancient times, the region was known as the name Bangala from which probably the medieval name 'Bakla' derived. According to the epigraphical records of Sena period, the modern Barisal was known as Anuttara Banga, an ancient division of Bengal region. After the Sena Dynasty, Barisal was ruled by Deva kings in the 12th-13th century.

Early Middle Ages

In early times, the Barisal region was composed of an amalgamation of marshlands formed by the merging of islands brought into existence and built up by alluvial soils washed down the great channels of the combined Brahmaputra-Ganges-Meghna river systems.
In the early 13th century, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji led the Muslim conquest of Barisal, and soon later Muhammad bin Tughluq completely conquered eastern Bengal. The Hindu chieftains from northwest Bengal were dislodged from power and they dispersed over Barisal region and founded the kingdom of Bakla.
During the Mughal intervention in Bengal, Hindu society was concentrated to northern and western Barisal. Barisal's southern portion was still covered by forests and laced with lagoons. The northwest was also the only part of Bakarganj where the Hindu population exceeded Muslims in early British censuses.

Mughal period

Barisal saw a second wave of immigration in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. This time, it was Muslim pioneers who assumed the leading role. Establishing Dhaka as the provincial Mughal capital of the region, in the early 17th century the Barisal region was more accessible to businessmen and developers than at any previous time. However, piracy in this region along the coasts and rivers of southeastern Bengal by Arakanese and renegade Portuguese seamen inhibited any sustained attempts by Mughal governors to push into the Barisal forests.
After 1666, when Mughal naval forces cleared the Meghna estuary of such external threats, the Barisal interior lay ripe for colonization. Land developers acquired grants of plots of land, taluq, from provincial authorities. Abundant and easily obtainable by purchase from the late 17th century, these grants tended to be regarded by their possessors taluqdar. As taluqdars brought their taluqs into agricultural production, these men passed up the land revenue through a class of non-cultivating intermediaries, or zamindar. Zamindars typically resided in the provincial capital, where they had ready access to the chief provincial revenue officer, or dewan.
In a second pattern of land development, Muslim pirs or Qazi went directly into uncultivated regions, organized the local population for clearing the jungles, and only later, after having established themselves as local men of influence, entered into relations with the Mughal authorities. Relationships between Muslim pirs and Mughal authorities were not always harmonious, since a pir's natural ties of authority and patronage usually lay with the peasant masses beneath him rather than with the governors and bureaucrats. For example, in remote Jhalakati Thana in the eastern Bakarganj many of 18th-century pirs and Educationist, Islamic scholars came under the authority, among them named Saiyid Faqir and Faizus Ahmed Khan from wielded enormous influence with the cultivators of the all-Muslim village of Saiyidpur, Hizla and Muladi named after the pirs. But a difficulty arose, noted a 1906 village survey of Pir Fakir of Saiyidpur village, because "the people of this part looked upon the Fakir as their guide and did not pay rent to the Nawab." In this situation, one Lala Chet Singh, a captain in the employ of the governor, "succeeded in persuading the Fakir to leave the country."

British era

In 1797, the area was established as Bakerganj District but later renamed as Barisal District and Pir of Hizla-Muladi, Faizus Ahmed Khan stayed back and settled in Muladi-Hizla village.

Pakistani era

In 1948, a part of Bakerganj District area was renamed as Barisal and other was Patuakhali District as one of five districts of Khulna Division.

Bangladesh

The Greater Barisal region was created as Barisal Division on 1 January 1993.

Economy

Barisal is known as the "Granary of Bengal" for its rice production. It is still an important rice-producing area of the country. Since the Middle Ages, Barisal has acted as a trans-shipment center for hides, rice, dried beans, dried peas, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes for Bengal. Bakery, textile, and pharmaceutical products are the output of a few industrial installations. There are Sher-e Bangla Medical College and B. M. College. Barisal is also a river port once connecting Calcutta-Barisal-Dhaka and many other routes. Today Barisal River port is the most important hub of steamer and motor launch service of Southern Bangladesh.

Points of interest

beach is the main tourist spot in the division. It is a sea beach from which one can watch the sun both rise and set over the ocean.
Durga Sagar is a man-made pond where a number of migratory birds arrive every winter.
Guthia Mosque is a mosque complex built over a land area of, comparing to the land area of the national mosque Baitul Mukarram.
Char Kukri-Mukri Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in southern Char Fasson Upazila of Bangladesh, located on Char Kukri Mukri island in the Bay of Bengal in the south of the country.

Administration

The division is subdivided into six districts and then into 42 sub-districts. Lower level administrative areas are 353 union parishads, 3,159 mouzas, 12 municipalities, 25 wards and 4,163 villages.
NameCapitalArea Population
1991 Census		Population
2001 Census		Population
2011 Census		Population
2022 Census
Barisal DistrictBarisal2,570,446
Barguna DistrictBarguna1,010,531
Bhola DistrictBhola1,932,518
Jhalokati DistrictJhalokati661,160
Patuakhali DistrictPatuakhali1,727,254
Pirojpur DistrictPirojpur1,198,195
Total Districts69,100,104

Transport

Numerous rivers and canals force the inhabitants to use boats as the main medium of transportation. The main rivers are the Arial Khan, Bishkhali, Burishwar, Tentulia, Paira, Haringhata, Baleshwar, Kirtankhola, Katcha, and Agunmukha. It is linked by steamers with Dhaka and with Chittagong to the southeast. Road communication has improved significantly over last decades with the building of many bridges. The Barisal airport has regular service to Dhaka.

Education

Barisal Division has the highest literacy rate of any division in the country, 65.7% as of the 2011 Bangladesh census.There are three public universities in the division:
There are also three private universities:
There are 258 colleges in the division. They include:
The division also contains specialized tertiary educational institutions: Two medical schools:
The Division also have four government polytechnic institutes & many private Polytechnic institutes;
Three government textile colleges;
One Public Engineering college;
One military/Cadet college;
Three law colleges;
  • Barishal Law College
  • Patuakhali Law College
  • Pirojpur Law College
four teacher training colleges;
  • Govt. Teachers Training College, Barisal
  • Principal Nazrul Islam Teachers Training College, Char Fashion, Bhola.
  • Lalmia Teachers Training College, College Road, Barguna.
  • Mathbaria Teachers Training College, Pirojpur.
  • Pirojpur Teachers Training College, Pirojpur.
  • Dokhinbongho Teachers Training College, Sher-e-Bangla Road, Patuakhali.