Purush Pal
Purush Pal is a village in Mathiura Union, Beanibazar Upazila, Sylhet district, Bangladesh.
History
There two different traditional anecdotal accounts as to how the name Purushpal became into existence and how the village was formed.
First, it is believed that in Middle Ages, a group of Brahman men, i.e. purush, came from northern parts of India and established a settlement, which eventually developed into a village. As it was predominantly a settlement of purush, i.e. men; their zealous effort to befriend people from neighbouring villages, particularly women from different tribes and caste earned them the reputation of friend, i.e. paal; thus their settlement attained the name of Purushpaal, deriving from the compound of words purush + paal = Purushpaal.
Second, the name Purush Pal came from Paresh Paul, who was the founder of the village by the end of the 13th century. As Hazrat Shah Jalal arrived in Sylhet in 1303 CE with his 360 dervish disciples, the local inhabitants of Bangladesh, particularly from animist and pagan denomination, had begun to accept Islam as their region. Likewise, the people of Pareshpaul embraced Islam as their religion; this way, most of the village inhabitants became Muslim. However, a sizeable village population remained Hindu, who sold their village homestead after 1947 and migrated to urban parts of the country, mainly to the city of Sylhet, Maulvi Bazar, Srimangal, Sunamganj and Chhatak. It is said that some of the wealthy Hindus have migrated to Shillong, Karimganj and Kolkata in India. There is no written record as to where the village pioneers, Paul Family, has migrated and settled.
Geography
Purush Pal Village is located in Mathiura Union, Beanibazar Upazila, at 24°49′30″N 92°09′45″E / 24.8250°N 92.1625°E.
Demographics
As of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Village Purush Pal had a population of around 5000, 49.5% of whom are male and 50.5% are female. Around 55.2% of the population are over the age of 18. Purush Pal village has an average literacy rate of 30.4% (7+ years) compared to the national average of 32.4%. The total area of around 25 km². There are around 5000 people / around 200 families living in this village.
Purush Pal village is divided into three parts, called Mazor (middle or west), Pubor (east) and Kuna (south). Most people in Purush Pal practice Islam.
Purush Pal is one of the Villages in Sylhet which has the largest numbers of expatriates living in the UK, USA, Canada and other countries.
Educational institutions
There is one primary school and one madrasa in Purush Pal.
- Purush Pal Wasiria Government Primary School.
Purush Pal Wasiria Government Primary School was established in 1955. Again it was rebuilt in 1980. Name of school named by ( Wasir Ali ) Currently it is run by the government of Bangladesh. It has good reputation and good academic results. Academic education starts/available in this school from year one to year five.
- Purush Pal Hafizia Madrasa.
This is an Islamic School in Purush Pal village. Villagers who have immigrated and live in the UK financially helped to found this school in around 1995. Aim was to grant free Islamic education about Holy Quran Memorizing (Hafiz). Every year lots of students learning Holy Quran from this Madrasa.
Graveyards and cemeteries
The village has three big cemeteries, Mazor Para, Kunapara and Pubor Para, as well as a smaller graveyard.
Occupation of residents
Most people in Purush Pal are organic food farmers.