Rowangchhari Upazila


Rowangchhari is an upazila of Bandarban District in southeastern Bangladesh, part of the Chittagong Division.
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History

In the 16th century, the Marma people emigrated here from the Kingdom of Mrauk U in Arakan. Where the Rakhaing stream meets the Tarachha canal, the Marmas established a settlement known as Rakhaing Wah, meaning the "Rakhaing river mouth". Bengalis from the nearby Chittagong District later arrived in the area for trade and commercial purposes. Over time, Rakhaing Wah grew into a haat bazaar and became known to Bengalis as Rowangchhari.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a brawl took place in Nowapatang Union leading to the death of T. N. Ali, a Bengali freedom fighter. Shamsul Islam ibn Amir Hamzah of Main Road and Dr S. A. Mahiuddin ibn Muhammad Abdur Rashid of Rowangchhari Bazar also fought in the war. There are also seven other individuals from Rowangchhari not mentioned in the official gazette that are said to have taken part. These are: Tarachha's Muhammad Ibrahim ibn Jalal Ahmad, Foraq Ahmad ibn Kala Mia, Qazi Muhammad Thanaullah ibn Qazi Ahmad Safa, Liaqat Ali ibn Faiz Ahmad and Muhammad Abdul Wadud ibn Siraj Ahmad, Rowangchhari Bazar's Abul Hasan Mir ibn Habibullah Mir, Abdul Aziz Chowdhury ibn Ashab Mia Chowdhury and Ejahan Mia ibn Dudu Mia.
In 1976, Rowangchhari was established as a thana. Its status was upgraded to upazila in 1983 as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralisation programme.

Geography

Rowangchhari is located at. It has a total area of 442.88 km2.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Rowangchhari Upazila had 7,310 households and a population of 27,721. 9.58% of the population were under 5 years of age. Rowangchhari had a literacy rate of 55.27%: 65.14% for males and 45.20% for females, and a sex ratio of 101.89 males for every 100 females. 5,452 lived in urban areas.

Ethnicity and religion

UnionMuslimBuddhistChristianHinduOthers
Alekkhyong Union3714,5581,006750
Nowapatang Union833,687774100
Rowangchhari Union4265,8592,305941
Tarachha Union1,3014,629857311,653

? Buddhist majority
As of the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Rowangchhari upazila had a population of 27,721. The ethnic population was 24,808, of which Marma were 13,716,Tanchangya 3,990, Tripura 2,143, Bom 1,882 and Mru 1,685.
Rowangchhari is an ethnically diverse sub-district of Bangladesh. It is home to the Marma people who speak Arakanese, the Bawm who speak Bawm, the Tanchangya who speak Tanchangya, the Mru who speak Mru, the Khumi who speak Khumi Chin, the Khyang who speak Shö and the Bengalis who speak the Chittagonian dialect of Bengali.
UnionBengaliMarmaMroTripuraOthers
Alekkhyong Union6082,38707642,252
Nowapatang Union1062,64505201,283
Rowangchhari Union8104,19524023,276
Tarachha Union1,3894,4891,683457453

? Marma majority

Administration

Rowangchhari Upazila is divided into four union parishads: Alikhong, Nowapatang, Rowangchhari, and Tarachha. The union parishads are subdivided into 13 mauzas and 178 villages.
NameDateNotes
Kya Shai Aung25/5/1985-
Hla Thowai Hri Marma23/2/2009-16/4/2014-
Kyaba Maung Marma17/4/2014-
Mausang Marma30/3/2017-24/4/2019Panel chairman, first female
Chohaimong Marma9/5/2019-present-

Facilities

There are 43 churches, 41 Buddhist temples, 5 Hindu temples and 12 mosques in Rowangchhari. There are two madrasas in Rowangchhari; the North Chhaingya Nurani Madrasa and the West Chhaingya Nurani Madrasa. The mosques are:
  1. Rowangchhari Jame Mosque, Rowangchhari Bazar
  2. Rowangchhari Wagaipar Jame Mosque
  3. North Chhaingya Jame Mosque
  4. South Chhaingya Jame Mosque
  5. Middle Chhaingya Jame Mosque
  6. East Chhaingya Jame Mosque
  7. Gherau Bazar Jame Mosque
  8. Betchhara Bazar Jame Mosque
  9. Tarachha Mukh Jame Mosque
  10. Muramnango Police Camp Jame Mosque
  11. Banchhaya Jame Mosque, Alekkhang Union
  12. Kachhaptali Para Army Camp Jame Mosque, Alekkhang Union
The upazila includes several notable natural and cultural sites such as the Ramjadi Temple, reached by a 350-foot stair climb outside Bandarban town, and Devtakhum, a deep 600-foot-long khum hidden in dense forest. The area also features Tinap Saitar, Bangladesh's largest waterfall by water flow, along with Shilbandha Jharna and the trekking routes toward Sippi Pahar and Ronin Para.