Padma Division (Bengali: পদ্মা বিভাগ) was a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the southern parts of the existing Dhaka Division, comprising Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur districts of Dhaka Division.[1][2] The headquarters of the division is proposed to be in Faridpur. This division was proposed to named after its affiliated river Padma.[3]
Padma Division
পদ্মা বিভাগ Gangarid-Fatehabad | |
|---|---|
 Proposed Padma Division in Bangladesh | |
| Coordinates: Pe:GNS-enwiki 23°36′N 89°50′E / 23.60°N 89.84°E | |
| Country |  Bangladesh |
| Capital | Faridpur |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,913.44 km2 (2,669.29 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+6 (BST) |
History
editThe proposed Padma division was once under Gangaridai and Vanga Kingdom of ancient Bengal with its capital at Kotalipara in present day Gopalganj district of Bangladesh.[4] Later, it was ruled by local Hindu rajas and Muslim sultans until the Mughal conquest of Bengal in the 16th century, after which many nobles and merchants from North India settled in the area. In 1582 in the reign of Emperor Akbar, the province of Bengal was formed into 33 sarkars or financial sub-divisions, and Faridpur area appears to have been included within the sarkar of Muhammad Abud and was known as Fatehabad.
In 1765, the British took over the financial administration of Faridpur, together with the rest of Bengal. The greater portion of Faridpur was then comprised within Dhaka District. In 1811, Faridpur was separated from Dacca collectorate. The district was initially known as Fatehabad.[5] Under British rule in 1860, the district was named as Faridpur after 12th-century Sufi saint, Shah Sheikh Fariduddin.[6][7] In 1984, with the decentralization program of the Bangladesh government, Faridpur district was reorganized into five separate districts: Rajbari, Gopalgonj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Faridpur.
On 7 May 2017 Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain announced that the new Division would be renamed as Padma Division after Padma River, a major river in Bangladesh and the main distributary of the Padma River, flowing generally northeast of the proposed division.[8][9]
Administrative districts
editThe Division was proposed to be subdivided into five districts (zilas) and thence into 30 sub-districts (upazilas).
| Name | Capital | Area (km2) | Population 1991 Census |
Population 2001 Census |
Population 2011 Census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faridpur District | Faridpur | 2,052.68 | 1,505,686 | 1,756,470 | 1,912,969 |
| Gopalganj District | Gopalganj | 1,468.74 | 1,060,791 | 1,165,273 | 1,172,415 |
| Madaripur District | Madaripur | 1,125.69 | 1,069,176 | 1,146,349 | 1,165,952 |
| Rajbari District | Rajbari | 1,092.28 | 835,173 | 951,906 | 1,049,778 |
| Shariatpur District | Shariatpur | 1,174.05 | 953,021 | 1,082,300 | 1,155,824 |
| Total | 5 | 6,913.44 | 5,423,847 | 6,102,298 | 6,456,938 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "3 new divisions to be formed". The Independent (Bangladesh). Dhaka. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ "People want Faridpur division early". The News Today. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ দেশের নবম বিভাগ পদ্মা. The Daily Ittefaq.
- ^ "Kotalipara, Banglapedia".
- ^ "Faridpur" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Kamal Siddiqui. "Local Government". In Sirajul Islam (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ "Faridpur". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Faridpur will be made as 'Padma division' soon: Mosharraf". Daily Sun.
- ^ বিভাগ হচ্ছে ফরিদপুর তিন মাসের মধ্যে সিটির নির্বাচন. Prothom Alo (in Bengali).