Mymensingh District


Mymensingh District is a district in Mymensingh Division Bangladesh, and is bordered in the north by Meghalaya, India and the Garo Hills, in the south by Gazipur District, in the east by the districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj and in the west by the districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur and Tangail. Mymensingh is the 8th administrative divisional headquarters and 12th city corporation of Bangladesh. According to Ministry of Public Administration, Mymensingh is ranked 4th in district status. The density of Mymensingh city is 44,458/km2 which is the second most densely populated city in Bangladesh. Mymensingh attracts 25 percent of health tourists visiting Bangladesh. It was once known as the largest district of the Indian subcontinent. Mymensingh town is the district headquarters.

Geography

The district covers an area of 4363.48 km2. It is mostly plain land, in the north along the border there are several small valleys between high forests.
The temperature ranges from 12 to 33 °C, and the annual rainfall averages 2,174 mm.
Mymensingh district is situated in northern Bangladesh, at the heart of Mymensingh Division. It shares borders with the Garo Hills of India's Meghalaya state to the north, Gazipur District to the south, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts to the east, and Sherpur, Jamalpur, and Tangail districts to the west.
The district's geology is defined by its location along an older course of the Brahmaputra, the main stream of which flowed through the district until the late 18th century. Consequently the majority of the district's geological formations are various alluvial deposits. The part of the district southwest of the Old Brahmaputra consists largely of the Madhupur tract which has comparatively elevated and harder soil. The northernmost part of the district, namely the part corresponding roughly to Haluaghat and Dhobaura upazilas, is mostly coarser sand with a tiny portion of the foothills of the Garo Hills, comprising Dihing and Dupi Tila formations, along the Indian border.
The delineation of Greater Mymensingh is: the north front line is just at the foot of Garo hills of Meghalaya of India, the south this area excludes Gazipur District, the east ends in the rich watery land of Bangladesh the natives call 'Haor', the west ends in the ancient single wood forest and the Chars of Jamalpur District border north-west of the Mymensingh district.

Forests

The Madhupur jungle is a slightly elevated tract, extending from the north of Dhaka district into the heart of Mymensingh; its average height is about 60 ft above the level of the surrounding country, and it nowhere exceeds 100 ft. The jungle contains abundance of sal, valuable both as timber and charcoal. Sal trees are particularly beneficial because they absorb more carbon than any other native tree, making them a crucial part of mitigating the severe pollution in Dhaka city. The only other elevated area in the district is along the northern border, where Susang Durgapur is located in Netrokona district, part of Greater Mymensingh. Haluaghat upazila in Mymensingh borders India and the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. The region is mostly covered by dense, thorny jungle, although some parts are barren and rocky.

Rivers

Mymensingh district has several rivers and numerous smaller khals and beels. The Old Brahmaputra river flows through the district in a southeasterly direction, entering the district at its tripoint with Jamalpur and Sherpur districts, passing through Mymensingh town, and finally turning southwards to form part of the border with Kishoreganj district. The city of Mymensingh stands on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra, as beginning in 1787 the main flow of the Brahmaputra shifted to the Jamuna River which flows west of the greater Mymensingh region. After about hundred years, a port city of sea vessels from England lost its status as the river became a seasonal flow. Some former residences of colonial officials along the riverside in the city are now government buildings.
The Kangsha River, which arises in the Garo Hills and enters the plain in Sherpur district, flows eastward through the northern part of the district. It forms the border between Phulpur Upazila and Haluaghat and Dhobaura upazilas, as well as part of the border with Netrokona district. The Nitai river, a tributary of the Kangsha, also arises in the Garo Hills and flows southward through Dhobaura Upazila, with its lowermost course forming part of the border with Netrokona District before its confluence with the Kangsha. The Narsunda River, a distributary of the Old Brahmaputra, flows first northeast, then bends near Ishwarganj to go southeasterly, before turning east again while flowing through Nandail Upazila and entering Kishoreganj District.

Climate

History

The early history of Mymensingh is little known. Due to its general isolation from the more populous centres of Bengal, this territory was always loosely-controlled by the state and was a frontier area dividing the more populous regions of Bengal from the Garo Hills. The region was part of the kingdom of Kamarupa, but after the breakup of Kamarupa, the region was conquered by the Bengal Sultanate. Between the 14th and 18th centuries, the lands of Mymensingh were generally ruled by political adventurers who came to Mymensingh after a defeat. The territory was nominally under Mughal control, but the Mughal state had very little influence in the region, separated as it was from the rest of Bengal by the mighty Brahmaputra, which at the time still flowed in its old channel through present-day Mymensingh.
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, many families which would later become prominent zamindars arrived in the region and were granted ownership of lands by the Bengal Sultans. In the early 16th century, most of the district was under the control of the Baro-Bhuiyans, specifically Isa Khan. After his submission to the Mughal Empire, Isa Khan's son Musa Khan was granted ownership of much of northern and eastern Bangladesh, including Mymensingh. Mymensingh was part of the Sarkar of Bazuha in Bengal Subah and was also known as Tappe Hazradi. The northern part of the district at the foot of the Garo Hills was part of the Susang pargana, ruled by the Maharajas of Susang.
The district was acquired by the East India Company with the Dewani Grant from the Mughal Emperor in 1765. At that time its greater part was included in the Niabat and a small portion in the Zamindaries of Atia, Kagmari, Pukuria and Patilandaha. At the time of Permanent Settlement, it included northwest Garo Hills and the Brahmanbaria subdivision of the Present Comilla district but did not include north Tangail and north-west part of Jamalpur.
After the 1770 Famine, the Fakir-Sannyasi rebellion took place, where armed Fakirs and Sanyasis fought against the colonial power and the Zamindars, who at the time were still largely independent. Some of these armed godmen found employment as retainers of the Zamindars,, and often fought for them, while also sometimes fighting their own employers. Because of the constant fighting and instability, often the Zamindars relied on the British administration to help maintain their power, which resulted in the British gaining more and more influence over the Zamindars.
Furthermore, starting in the 1780s, the Brahmaputra began to shift back to its old channel in the Jamuna, which led to a decrease in agricultural output in the region. However the Zamindars still needed to maintain their revenue and began exploiting the peasants even more. This led to the Pagalpanthi peasant movement among the many Muslims, Hindus and tribal peoples of the areas. The Pagalpanthis were a syncretic group who combined Hinduism, Islam and local folk religion and also resisted the oppression of the Zamindars. The Pagalpanthis soon began to rebel against the Zamindars and Britishers, but were eventually crushed.
In 1799, Taluk Amirabad was transferred to Tippera. In 1809, Patiladaha, situated north-east of the Brahmaputra came to district form Rangpur. In 1811, the river Banar and Brahmaputra were declared boundary between Dhaka and Mymensingh district and the river Brahmaputra and Meghna as boundary between Tippera and Mymensingh and Dhaka. In 1811 west Garo Hills were transferred to Rangpur district. In 1812 Patiladaha was retransferred to Rangpur. In 1830, Parganas Sarail, Daudpur, Haripur, Bejra, and Satarakhandal, were transferred to Tippera for Public convenience. In 1855, due to change in river course part of Serajganj thana was transferred from Mymensingh to Pabna and in 1866, the whole of it was transferred to Pabna. In 1866, thana Dewanganj was transferred to Mymensingh from Bogra and thana Atia from Dhaka. In 1867 for the administrative convenience boundaries of five subdivisions and Thanas were notified. In 1874, on the basis of survey, the district boundaries were notified. In 1874, the Jamuna River was declared the western boundary between Mymensingh and Bogra and as such, 165 villages were transferred to Bogra. In 1875, the Jamuna was made the boundary between Mymensingh and Rangpur and the portion of Patiladaha, east of the river, was transferred to this district form Rangpur. In 1877, the Jamuna was declared as the boundary between Pabna and Mymensingh in the west.
On 1 December 1969, the Tangail subdivision was separated from Mymensingh District to become Tangail District. Then in 1977, another new district Jamalpur was formed. In 1984, Kishoreganj and Netrokona districts were caved out of from Mymensingh district.

Timeline

Mymensingh district was established in 1787, which was later on reorganised into six districts, namely, Tangail, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Netrokona, and Mymensingh. Currently, Mymensingh district has a city corporation, eight municipalities and thirteen upazilas. One of the most eminent District Magistrate and Collector of Mymensingh district was Gurusaday Dutt, Esq., ICS, the first Indian to come first in any part of the Open Competitive Services Examination then held in England.
No.Upazila nameArea Population
1Bhaluka444.05583,953
2Trishal338.98491,467
3Haluaghat356.07316,528
4Muktagacha314.71460,381
5Dhobaura251.05217,466
6Fulbaria402.41495,894
7Gaffargaon401.16463,248
8Gauripur374.07357,331
9Ishwarganj286.19404,598
10Mymensingh Sadar388.45998,340
11Nandail326.13421,277
12Phulpur312.53350,967
13Tarakanda313.68337,297