Gaibandha is a district in Northern Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. It is a part of the Rangpur Division.
Gaibandha was established in 1875 when the subdivision was transferred from Bhabaniganj to Gaibandha. Gaibandha municipality was established in 1923. The literacy rate among the town people is 61.9%.

Geography

Gaibandha has a total area of 2179.27 square kilometres. It has boundaries with the Kurigram

Kurigram District

Kurigram is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is located in the Rangpur Division.-Geography:Kurigram District is located in the northern region of Bangladesh along the border of India. The area of this district is 2,296.10 km² and population is 1,782,277...

 and Rangpur

Rangpur District

The district of Rangpur have 4924 mosques, 480 temples, 43 churches and six tombs.In an anthropologic view most people of Rangpur are having Rajbagshi blood in their veins...

 to the north, Bogra District

Bogra District

Bogra is a northern district of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. It is called the gateway to the north Bengal. It is an industrial city where many small and mid sized industries are housed. Bogra district was a part of the ancient Pundravardhana territory and Bogra was the capital of...

 to the south, Dinajpur

Dinajpur District, Bangladesh

Dinajpur is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division.- Geography :Dinajpur is bounded by Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the north, Gaibandha and Joypurhat districts in the south, Nilphamari and Rangpurdistricts in the east, and the state of West Bengal, India...

 and Rangpur

Rangpur District

The district of Rangpur have 4924 mosques, 480 temples, 43 churches and six tombs.In an anthropologic view most people of Rangpur are having Rajbagshi blood in their veins...

 districts to the west, and Jamalpur

Jamalpur District

Jamalpur is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. The main Jamalpur town consists of 12 wards and 80 mahallas. The municipality was established in 1869. The area of the town is 53.28 km². The town has a population of 116754; male 51.06%, female 48.94%. Density of population is 2191 per...

 and Kurigram

Kurigram District

Kurigram is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is located in the Rangpur Division.-Geography:Kurigram District is located in the northern region of Bangladesh along the border of India. The area of this district is 2,296.10 km² and population is 1,782,277...

 districts, and the Brahmaputra River

Brahmaputra River

The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...

 to the east.

Literacy and Educational Institutions

The average literacy rate is 24.3%; among them: male 31.6% and female 16.5%. Among educational institutions, there are 3 government colleges, 41 non-government colleges, 4 government high schools, 287 non-government high schools, 31 junior high schools, 498 madrasas, 737 government primary schools, 546 non-government primary schools, 14 kindergartens, 83 satellite schools, 32 community schools, 1 primary teacher's training institute.

Sub-districts

Gaibandha District is divided into 7 upazilas/thanas, which are further divided into 82 union parishads, and 1244 villages. The upazilas/thanas of the district are:

1. Fulchhari
2. Gaibandha sadar
3. Gobindaganj
4. Palashbari
5. Sadullapur
6. Saghata
7. Sundarganj
It also has 3 municipalities, which have a total of 18 wards and 56 mahallas. The municipalities are:
1. Gaibandha Sadar
2. Gobindaganj
3. Sundarganj

Demographics

The total population of the district, according to a 2003 estimate , is 2,117,959. Out of that, males constitute 50.26% and females 49.74%.

Religion

The district of Gaibandha consists 3682 mosques, 335 temples, 26 churches and 15 Buddhist temples.

Economy

The main occupations of Gaibandha district are agriculture 44.45%, agricultural laborer 27.72%, wage laborer 2.58%, transport 1.89%, commerce 9.11%, service 4.49% and others 9.76%. Total cultivable lands are 149475 hectares, fallow land are 67565.16 hectares; the amount of crop: single crop 20.5%, double crop 58.5% and treble crop 21%; land under irrigation 27.16%. Main crops are Paddy, wheat, jute, sugarcane, potato, brinjal, mustard seed, chili, onion, garlic and vegetables. There are 277 poultries, 273 dairies, 245 fisheries, 5 hatcheries, 16 nurseries and 2 artificial cattle breeding centers.

Cultural Organizations

There are 124 clubs, 11 public libraries, 25 theatre groups, 23 cultural organizations, 6 literary organizations, 18 women's organizations, 25 cinema halls and 6 theatre stages, 10 opera parties, 1 Shilpakala academy, 1 Shishu academy, 5 children organizations, 61 playgrounds.

Communication Facilities

The total measurements of all kinds of roads are: metal roads 365 km, semi metal 93 km, mud road 3684 km; waterways 64 nautical mile; railways 54 km; flood protection dam 76 km.

Well Known Persons

Some well known as well as nationally and internationally acclaimed persons were born in this district. They are Akhtaruzzaman Elias(writer), Abu Hossain Sarker(chief minister of East Pakistan), Abdul Hafiz, Gobindo Lal Das , Tulsi Lahiri, Dr. Md. Shahidul Islam (x-DG, BARI), Palash Chandro Sarker(writer), Advocate Rahmat Ullah Azad, Jibon Sarker Durjoy(textile engineer),Late Dr.Mofizur Rahman (M.P 1970).Arif Al Mamun(Play boy with Nupur)

History

Archaeological heritage and relics in this district include Vardhan Kuthi, Gobindaganj (17th century), house of Naldanga Zamindar along with its Shiva Linga made of black basalt, Vrisa Mandir of white stone and a large pond, Mosque of Shah Sultan Gazi at Mirer Bagan (1308), house of Bamandanga Zamindar, Mosque at Jamalpur, large pond at Faridpur, Masta Mosque at Gobindaganj.

Historical events This region was a part of the Mourya, Pala, Gupta and Kamarupa kingdoms at different times. Movement was held in 1783 in this district against collection of excess taxes. Anti British movement (1921) and tebhaga movement (1946) were initiated in the district. Fayezuddin and Puti Sheikh were killed by Police firing in 1949 in a movement to stop collection of tolls at hats and bazars. A Peasant Convention was held at Fulchhari in 1956 under the leadership of maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani.

Gaibandha has a glorious history of anti-British movement. Among 200 andama celuler jail prisoner 7 are from gaibangha, they are

• 1) Shri SachindraKar Nandi,
• 2) Jogesh Chandra Das
• 3) Hem Chandra Bakshi
• 4) Shri NagendraMohan Mustafi
• 5) Shri SachindraKar Nandi
• 6) Shri Satish ChandraBasu Roy and
• 7) Shri HariDas Saha