Jamalpur, the renowned prestigious land of Nakshi Katha, administratively, is a district under the Mymensingh division. Like the other districts of Mymensingh division, Jamalpur also shares a border with the seven sisters member province (state) Meghalaya of India.
Jamalpur, 20th district of Bangladesh, Settled by erstwhile President Ziaur Rahman on December 26, 1978, engrosses a land of 2031.98 Square Kilometres and possesses a population of 2,292,674 with a male, female ratio chronologically 49.2% and 50.8%.
Jamalpur geographically is positioned on the bank of Brahmaputra and between 24°34′ and 25°26′ North and between 89°40′ and 90°12′ East. Kurigram and Sherpur ring the district on North, Tangail in the south, Mymensingh and Sherpur in East, The river Jamuna, Bogra and Sirajganj, and Gaibandha in the west.
According to the most recent report, literacy rate of Jamalpur is 38.5%.
Significant rivers incorporate Old Brahmaputra, Uranium, and merchandise Digi, Banal, Henoyona, Haeckel, Kaisar Reel, Chiropranticel, MariachiEel, Karaganda and Handbill Lake.
At first, the father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman promised to settle Jamalpur Mahakuma as a district. Still, due to political plot, President Zia, later on, had to accomplish the promise.
With five parliamentary constituencies, seven Upazilas,seven municipalities and eight police stations the district has been doing splendid.
Jamalpur, a fertile riverine land blessed with Hills, is home to ethnic communities like Garo, Hajong, and Koch and once used to be robust terrain of hills and condensed thick forest. The topography and the geographical infrastructure of this particular territory Jamalpur was not that much gargantuan as it possesses now!
The gauged cultivable land of Jamalpur is 156952 hectares. About 25% of the cultivable land can be considered as sediment deposited land. Jamalpur’s naval area (including rivers and reservoirs) is 150.01 square kilometers, and the 16.17 square kilometers land is regarded as the forest area of Jamalpur.
An expert assumption corresponding to the inhibition in this area goes that the human settlement has been found in this hilly high land since the BC era. And all the ethnic communities exist here by heredity.
When the Sena dynasty actively seemed dominant (1100-1203), Kulinism appeared. Kulinism is nothing but Hindu elitism. And that’s when human settlement found existence here in this very land and initiated further. Koach feudalist kings operated the administration in this area until the last decade of the fifteenth century.
However, after the proclamation of the district’s settlement in 1978, the district office (administrative) started its activities from May 1, 1979.
Throughout the country, it is a very well recognized fact that Nakshikatha is intuitively incorporated in the lifestyle of the people of Jamalpur. The bliss and pain, the rapture and dejection, misery, and daily life stories are uniquely uniformed in every Katha designed by Jamalpuri women.
To get a proper understanding of the history of Jamalpur district, one must get to know about the contribution of the famous Aulia Hazrat Shah Jamal (R:) and preacher Shah Kamal (R:)! During the reign of King Akbar in Delhi, he kept his network active in Jamalpur to preach Islam from far away. The ancient name of Jamalpur city is Singhjani. Hazrat Shah Jamal (R:) There is no Mouza, no village market in the name of Shah Jamal. People from Jamalpur is very fortunate as such righteous, pious man lived in their land Jamalpur. This district has been named after him. Jamalpuri people should be proud as well for such strong roots they possess.
Jamalpuri People maintaining their reputation of brevity fought valiantly in the 1971 Liberation war. They showed their patronization towards the struggle of all Bangladeshi people to get their rightful rights as they did previously in the Fakir Sannyasi restraining (1772-1790), Specially the indigo injustice movement (1829) and the advent of rail (1899).
Remarkably, the people of Jamalpur anyway managed to survive the famine of 1874 so successfully as well.
Bengali freedom fighters, including armies and guerillas following the instruction of Sector Commander Colonel Abu Taher exchanged a battle with the Pakistani military on November 13 at Kamalpur of Bakshiganj Upazila. Taher got seriously wounded.
The weak Pakistani military base at Kamalpur demolished on December 4, following a massive attack of more than 21 days in which battle, 220 members of Pakistani troops surrendered under following an order by Captain Ahsan Malik.
On December 10, 1971, Pakistani troops received an order to withdraw and leave for Dhaka. During the retreat, Pakistani Commander Abdul-Qadir Niazi ended up in enemy custody what supported Bangladeshi freedom fighters with a mindful boost.
The major tradition of Jamalpur includes handicrafts and Nakshikatha. Jamalpur’s remarkable practices are as follows: casa art, Pottery industry, tant art, transportation facilities using horses, buffaloes, and cows. Sweets are a kind of famous dessert here. Most remarkably, the ancient tradition of Madarganj Upazila ( a sub-district of Jamalpur district) is that horses are kept as domestic animals there, and goods are transported in horse carts at short distances. The name of a pretty significant game of this area is called “Moidaba,” in which game cows are used as cocoons.
| At a glance of Jamalpur | ||
| 01 | Area | 2031.98 sq km |
| 02 | Population | 2,292,674
Men: 49.2% Women: 50.8% |
| 03 | Founding Year | December 26, 1978 |
| 03 | Density | 1,100/km2
(2,900/sq mi) |
| 04 | Literacy Rate | 38.5% |
| 05 | Seats in the Parliament | 5 |
| 06 | Postcode | 2000 |
| 07 | Sector in Liberation War | |
Sub-districts or Upazila (8)
- Jamalpur Sadar
- Islampur
- Motherganj
- Bokshiganj
- Melandah
- Dewanganj
- Sarisabari
Place to Interest
- Dewanganj Sugar Mill
- Doyamoye Temple
- Gandhi Asrom
- Jamuna Fertilizer Factory
- Lauchapara Picnic Spot
- Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jamal (Rh.)
- Shrine of Hazrat Shah Kamal (Rh.)
Notable personalities
Jamalpur district has given birth to many talented, nationally, and internationally renowned personalities. Among them, notables are..
- Anwar Hossain (The crownless Emperor of Bengal)
- Amjad Hossain (National Film Award-winning playwright)
- Abdulla Al Mamun (late dramatist,
- Nazrul Islam Babu(famous lyricist and singer-actress)
- Andrej Uldar M. Huda (dramatist)
- Hasan Hafizur Rahman (Poet, the history of liberation war, the writer of the liberation war)
- Abdul Karim(the late Speaker)
- Abdul Jabbar, the chief engineer
- Abdul Jabbar, the late Prime Minister
- Atyur Rahman, Economist and former Governor of Bangladesh Bank
- Ghulam Rabbani, Secretary
- Maulana Abdur Rashid,
- Mohammad Mojibrahman
- Abul Kalam Azad Pramukh,
Written & edited by Niaz Mahmud Sakib.