Moulvibazar District
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Moulvi Bazar is a district in North-Eastern Bangladesh. It is a district of the Sylhet Division.
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[edit] Geography
Moulvi Bazar is in Sylhet, a district to the North-East of Bangladesh. It is 2707 Sq. km in area, and has a population of 1.38 million. It is situated between 24.10 degree 24.35 degree north latitude and between 90.35 degree and 91.20-degree east longitude. It is surrounded by Sylhet district in the north, Habiganj district in the west and Indian States of Assam and Tripura in the east and south respectively.
The main rivers of the district are the Manu, the Dholoi and the Juri. These rivers flow from India. Every year during the rainy season when there is excessive rainfall in India the surplus water flows through these rivers causing huge floods in the low-lying parts of Moulvi Bazar (e.g. the villages of Balikhandi and Shampashi on the Northern side of the river Manu). Unless the rivers are properly dredged the floods can be devastating.
[edit] Subdivisions
It is made up of 6 subdivisions or 'upazilas' namely Moulvibazar Sadar, Rajnagar, Sreemongal, Kamalganj, Kulaura and Baralekha. There are 67 Unions, 2064 Villages, and 4 Pourashava namely Kamalganj, Kulaura, Sreemongal, Moulvibazar. Almost 0.05 million of the tribal population belong to ‘Manipuri’, ‘Khasia’ and 'Tripura' tribes. They tend to live in the areas of Kamalganj, Sreemongal and Kulaura Upazila of this district.
[edit] History
Islam was brought to the area hundreds of years ago by the famous Muslim Saint Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA). The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Mustafa (RA) a companion of the greatest saint Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA) is located in Moulvibazar town. Originally, with the advent of a saint Hazrat, Syed Shah Mustafa Sher-E-Sowar Chabukmar Baghdadi (RA) for preaching Islam, Moulvi Bazar became famous. Moulvi Bazar got its name from the large number (360) of Muslim priests, or Moulvis, that inhabited the area following the advent of Islam.
In the year 1882, it was declared a Sub-division under the name of "South Sylhet". Later the Sub-division was renamed, during the British occupation of the region. as Moulvi Bazar. In 1984, the then President H.M.Ershad upgraded Moulvi Bazar to the status of 'district'. The First Deputy Commissioner of the district was Shakir Uddin Ahmed, and the first Police Superintendent was Mukleshur Rahman.Saifur Rahman, the longest serving finance minister of Bangladesh, hails from this district.
[edit] Economy
The main exports of Moulvi Bazar are bamboo, tea, pineapple, cane, jackfruit, oranges, agar, rubber, mangoes and lemons. Ninety-one of Bangladesh's 153 tea gardens are located in Moulvi Bazar. The area is also home to the three largest tea gardens (size and production wise) in the world. Pineapples from the Sreemongal area are famous for their flavour and natural sweetness. Sreemongal is known as the 'tea capital of Bangladesh' due to the high frequency of tea plantations found there.
[edit] Places of interest
The area is home to the shrine of Shah Mustafa, a companion of Shah Jalal, the man who brought Islam into what was then India. It is also home to many tea plantations. Moulvi Bazar town now has a shopping mall and several Indian, Chinese and American eateries.
[edit] See also
| Divisions and Districts of Bangladesh |  |
|---|---|
| Barisal Division: Barguna | Barisal | Bhola | Jhalkathi | Patuakhali | Pirojpur | |
| Chittagong Division: Bandarban | Brahmanbaria | Chandpur | Chittagong | Comilla | Cox's Bazar | Feni | Khagrachari | Lakshmipur | Noakhali | Rangamati | |
| Dhaka Division: Dhaka | Faridpur | Gazipur | Gopalganj | Jamalpur | Kishoreganj | Madaripur | Manikganj | Munshiganj | Mymensingh | Narayanganj | Narsingdi | Netrakona | Rajbari | Shariatpur | Sherpur | Tangail | |
| Khulna Division: Bagerhat | Chuadanga | Jessore | Jhenaidah | Khulna | Kushtia | Magura | Meherpur | Narail | Satkhira | |
| Rajshahi Division: Bogra | Dinajpur | Gaibandha | Jaipurhat | Kurigram | Lalmonirhat | Naogaon | Natore | Nawabganj | Nilphamari | Pabna | Panchagarh | Rajshahi | Rangpur | Sirajganj | Thakurgaon | |
| Sylhet Division: Habiganj | Moulvibazar | Sunamganj | Sylhet |
