Comilla District কুমিল্লা জেলা | |
|---|---|
| Cumilla District | |
 .jpg) .jpg)   Clockwise from top-left: Skyline ofComilla, Shah Shuja Mosque,Nawab Faizunnesa House atLaksam,Gomti River,Shalban Vihara inMainamati | |
 Location of Comilla within Bangladesh | |
 Interactive map of Comilla District | |
| Coordinates:23°16′N91°07′E / 23.27°N 91.12°E /23.27; 91.12 | |
| Country |  Bangladesh |
| Division | Chittagong Division |
| Capital | Comilla |
| Government | |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Md. Kamrul Hasan[1] |
| • District Council Chairman | Abu Taher[2] |
| • Chief Executive Officer | Md. Helal Uddin[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,146.30 km2 (1,214.79 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 6,212,216 |
| • Density | 1,974.45/km2 (5,113.81/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+06:00 (BST) |
| Postal code | 3500 |
| Area code | 081 |
| ISO 3166 code | BD-08 |
| HDI (2018) | 0.614[5] medium ·7th of 21 |
| Notable sport teams | Comilla Victorians |
| Website | www |
Comilla District, officially known asCumilla District,[6] (Bengali:কুমিল্লা জেলা) is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of theChittagong Division. It lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) southeast ofDhaka. Comilla is bordered byBrahmanbaria andNarayanganj districts to the north,Noakhali andFeni districts to the south,Tripura state of India to the east andMunshiganj andChandpur districts to the west.[7]
The name Comilla is derived from the Bengali wordKomolangko (Bengali:কমলাঙ্ক), the previous ancient name of the region, which means 'lotus pond'. The present Comilla is a district under theChittagong Division. It was once under the reign ofGangaridai andSamatata in ancient period. As far as is known from the ancient archeology found in the region,Gupta emperors ruled Comilla since the fifth century AD. It was under the control ofGauda Kingdom in 6th century AD after the fall ofGupta rule inBengal.[8] According to historians, the BuddhistDeva dynasty ruled the region from the seventh to the middle of the eighth century. In the ninth century, Comilla came under the control of the kings ofHarikela andChandra dynasty during the tenth and mid-eleventh century AD. These rulers built the Shalban Vihara in the Mainamati hills, which was a major centre of Buddhist learning. The region became a part of HinduSena andDeva dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries, and was one of the last strongholds of these dynasties after the invasion of the Delhi Sultanate.[9]
Due to its position on the edge of the Bengal Delta, the Comilla region was often contested between the Delhi Sultanate and later Bengal Sultanate and the kings of Tripura whose heartland was in the hills to the east. The arrival of numerous Muslimpirs in the district caused the local Hindu and Buddhist population to largely adopt an Islamic identity In the 15th century the Tripura kingDharma Manikya I built theDharmasagar tank in Comilla town. After the Mughal conquest of Bengal, the Mughals attacked the Tripura kingdom and conquered most of the present Comilla district, restricting the Tripura kings to the hills. The region became known as Chakla Roshanabad and was part of the Sarkar of Sonargaon of the Bengal Subah, although the Tripura kings still hadZamindari rights over much of the land. In the 18th century, the Comilla region saw the uprising ofShamsher Gazi from the current Feni district, who briefly ruled over the kingdom of Tripura and nearby lands until his execution in 1760 by the Nawabs of Bengal.[9]
In 1765, as part of their obtaining theDiwani of Bengal, the East India Company took Comilla. In order to facilitate revenue collection, the company hired a district collector in the province in 1769. Comilla then belonged to the province of Dhaka. Comilla was made under the office of the district collector in 1776. The Tripura Collector's journey began with the formation of Tippera or Tipperah district ofBengal by the British in 1790.[10] According to the Third Regulation in 1793, a civil judge was appointed for the Tripura district and in that year he was given magisterial powers. In 1837, the posts of magistrates and collectors were separated. In 1859, these two posts were merged again.[9]
In the 19th century the reforming influence of Maulana Keramat Ali largely caused the Muslims of the district to abandon all folk religious practices including the worship of minor deities andpirs. In the early 20th century theTippera Krishak Samiti helped organise the peasants of the district and won most of the seats in the district in the 1937 elections. In the 1940s, the mostly Muslim populace supported the Pakistan movement, and southern parts of the district were heavily affected by theNoakhali riots which led to a steady exodus of Hindus to India, especially neighbouring Tripura state. The district was made part of East Pakistan in 1947.[9]
After the partition in 1947, the district was renamed Comilla in 1960 and the post of district magistrate and collector was named deputy commissioner.[11] In 1971, 900 Bengali Muslim officers and men of the East Pakistan Army weremassacred in Comilla Cantonment. After a long guerilla struggle, Bangladeshi forces took Comilla from Pakistan on December 8, 1971, and Comilla became part of Bangladesh.[9]Chandpur andBrahmanbaria sub-divisions of this district became districts in 1984.
Comilla has a total area of 3146.30.17 square kilometres. It is bounded byBrahmanbaria district andNarayanganj district ofChittagong division to the north,Munshiganj district of Dhaka division andChandpur district to the west,Noakhali andFeni districts to the south and the Indian state ofTripura to the east. The district headquarters of Comilla is located close to the Indian border, with the town ofSonamura on the other side. Major rivers passing through Comilla include theGumti and the LittleFeni, and theMeghna on the far northwest. It is hot in summer and cold in winter.[7]
The district is primarily composed of plain land. Most of the district is situated on a bed of old elevated alluvial deposits called Chandina alluvium, while the northwestern part of the district is more recent alluvium deposited by the Meghna, while the far east consists of harder valley alluvium. The Lalmai Hills running parallel to the Tripura hills lie in the east of the district.[9]
The administrative headquarters of Comilla are located in the city ofComilla which has a total area of 11.47 square kilometres. It consists of 18mouzas and 3wards. Comillathana was officially converted into an upazila in 1983 which contains one municipality, 18 wards, 19 union parishads, 452 mouzas, and 458 villages.[7]
Deputy Commissioner (DC): Md Jahangir Alam[12]
Comilla district consists of the followingUpazilas:[13]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 2,802,944 | — |
| 1981 | 3,355,953 | +2.61% |
| 1991 | 4,032,666 | +1.85% |
| 2001 | 4,595,557 | +1.32% |
| 2011 | 5,387,288 | +1.60% |
| 2022 | 6,212,216 | +1.30% |
| Sources:[4][14] | ||
According to the2022 Census of Bangladesh, Comilla District had 1,407,368 households and a population of 6,212,216 with an average 4.33 people per household. Among the population, 1,356,351 (21.83%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 1,974 people per km2. Comilla District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 76.68%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1142 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 20.43% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 2,044.[4]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam | 95.56% | |||
| Hinduism | 4.33% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.11% | |||
| Religion | 1941[15]: 102–103 [a] | 1981[14] | 1991[14] | 2001[14] | 2011[14] | 2022[4] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 1,407,494 | 80.41% | 3,119,300 | 92.95% | 3,784,774 | 93.85% | 4,348,227 | 94.62% | 5,123,410 | 95.10% | 5,936,391 | 95.56% |
Hinduism | 340,010 | 19.43% | 230,947 | 6.88% | 237,818 | 5.90% | 241,742 | 5.26% | 258,105 | 4.79% | 269,214 | 4.33% |
| Others[b] | 2,804 | 0.16% | 5,706 | 0.17% | 10,074 | 0.25% | 5,588 | 0.12% | 5,773 | 0.11% | 6,611 | 0.11% |
| Total Population | 1,750,308 | 100% | 3,355,953 | 100% | 4,032,666 | 100% | 4,595,557 | 100% | 5,387,288 | 100% | 6,212,216 | 100% |
Muslims make up 95.56% of the population, while Hindus are 4.33% of the total population. Formerly a centre of Buddhism, there are now 5,801 Buddhists in the district, concentrated in Lalmai and Laksam upazilas.[14]
Mainly based on agriculture, the economy ofComilla has flourished through trade and cottage industries, especially the 'Khadi' textile. For the economic development of the region the "Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority" has established the "Comilla Export Processing Zone" spread over an area of 104.44 hectares (258.1 acres) in theComilla Airport area in 2000.[16] The export zone employs 20 thousand people as of 2013.[17]
Landmarks include Kotbari, acantonment, ormilitary installation andKandirpar, considered the heart of the Comilla district. Ancient Buddhistmonastery ruins are the major attraction ofMainamati, near Kotbari. There is an ancient Hindu Temple namedComilla Jagannath Temple located on East Bibirbazar Road. There is also the recently constructedAllah Chattar, a tower inMuradnagar.
A Second World War cemetery,Mainamati War Cemetery, lies about 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from Comilla Cantonment, which was a frontier military base in the fight against the Japanese who had occupied Burma.British Army soldiers killed during the fight with theJapanese Army at theBurma (Myanmar) frontier were buried here.[18] Pashchimgaon Nawab Bari, the place of only lady JaminderNawab Faizunnesa, a poet, educationist and a philanthropist.[19]
Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh, passed a significant time of his life in this town. Both his wives, Promila Devi and Nargis, hailed from this district.[20]
Comilla Victoria College andComilla Zilla School are here, the latter since 1837.[21]Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) is situated in Kotbari. The area saw the development ofComilla Model.[22]
The following people were either born or stayed in this district for a significant span of their lifetime:
| Barisal Division |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Chittagong Division | ||
| Dhaka Division | ||
| Khulna Division | ||
| Mymensingh Division | ||
| Rajshahi Division | ||
| Rangpur Division | ||
| Sylhet Division | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
