Jagannathpur Upazila
Encyclopedia
Jagannathpur is an upazila located in the district of Sunamganj
Sunamganj District
The district of Sunamganj consists 3562 mosques, 560 temples and 61 churches.-History:The name Sunamganj is derived from its founder, Sipahi Sunamuddin, who established a bazaar on the bank of the river Surma. In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Rarh Kingdom that included Sylhet,...

 in the division of Sylhet
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...

, north east of 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...

. The upazila is boundaried by Chhatak
Chhatak Upazila
Chhatak is an Upazila of Sunamganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Chhatak is located at . It has 43727 units of house hold and total area 434.76 km².-Demographics:...

 in the north, to the east Bishwanath
Bishwanath Upazila
Bishwanath is an Upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Bishwanath is located at . It has 26346 units of house hold and total area 214.5 km².-Demographics:...

, to the south east is Balaganj
Balaganj Upazila
Balaganj is an upazila of Sylhet District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-History:Balaganj the home of Osmany, Mohammad Ataul Ghani commander-in-chief of the Liberation Forces and of the Bangladesh Armed Forces...

, Nabiganj
Nabiganj Upazila
Nabiganj is an Upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Nabiganj is located at . It has 41358 units of house hold and total area 439.6 km².-Demographics:...

 on the south, to the west Derai
Derai Upazila
Derai is an Upazila of Sunamganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Derai is located at . It has 30041 units of house hold and total area 420.93 km².-Demographics:...

 and Sunamganj Sadar
Sunamganj Sadar Upazila
Sunamganj Sadar is an Upazila of Sunamganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.- Geography :Sunamganj Sadar is located at . It has 50664 units of house hold and total area 560.76 km².- Demographics :...

 in the north west.

Early history

Jagannathpur was founded a kingdom during end of the 11th century by the King of Laur Kingdom Bijoy Manikka. He was a very faithful follower of Hindu saint Jagannath Misrah. Jagannath Misrah established a Mandir (Hindu worship place) Bashu Deva, under the control of Bijoy Manikka. First of all Bijoy Manikka established a kingdom on the boundary of jogannathpur, a place called Pandua, which is now called Perua. After Jagannath Misra established the Bashu Deva Mandir the king Bijoy Manikka called the kingdom Jagannathpur after the name of the great Hindu saint Jagannath Misra. We find the time length of the kingdom of Jagannathpur from the currency which was made by Bijoy Manikka at the time. The kingdom of Jagannathpur was ruled by the great kings of the Laur kingdoms. In the 19th century a writer Achyut Charan Chowdhury said in his book of 'Sreehatter Itibritta' the Laur kingdom was an ancient kingdom of Kamruf under the king of [Bhaghadutta] who ruled the Laur kingdom of the time length of Mahabaraths. In that founded by a historian under the hill in a place of Needhanpur was an ancient plate which had the proof of the kingdoms existence.
After the Bhaghadutta passed away the Laur kingdom was ruled by his family up until the 19th king down the family. After a long while during the time which the 19th king ruled Laur it was found out that Bijoy Manikka to be king of Laur. Historians say he is the son of the Bhaghadutha family. There is much more evidence that say {Bijoy Manikka} was the founder of the kingdom Jagannathpur.

Spread of Islam

In the year 1303 the great saint Hazrat Shah Jalal
Hazrat Shah Jalal
Shah Jalal is a saint of Bengal particularly in the region of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Jalal's name is associated with the Muslim conquest of Sylhet, for which he is given the most credit. He was buried at Sylhet...

(rahmah) came from Yamon and conquered the kingdom of Gaur(now known as Sylhet). After about a decade of Muslim governments of Sylhet with Shah Jalal's (rahmah) blessing many of his companions spread out around the country to spread the message of Islam to everyone. At that time 8 spiritual companions of Shah Jalal (rahmah) came to the boundary of Jagannathpur and preached to the people the message of Islam. One of the companions (Syed Shamsuddin) stayed at Syedpur. Shah Kamal stayed village of Shaharpara, Dhawor Boksh Katib stayed in the village of Dhawrai, Feson Uddin on the village of Fechi, Shams Uddin Behari stayed village of Atghor, Shah Kala Manik stayed at the village of Maniharagow, Shah Kalu and Shah Chand stayed in Meerpur.

ShaharparaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
Shaharpara is a village in the northeastern part of Sunamganj District, Bangladesh and is approximately one hour drive away from Sylhet. It is at the heart of Sylhet Division and nestled beside the river Ratna.

Most of its inhabitants are related to each other; this is because most of them have descended from three sons, Shah Jalaluddin, Shah Moazzamuddin and Shah Jamaluddin, of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan and their surnames are Shah, Khwaja, Kamali or Kamaly, Qureshi, Mufti and Siddiqi after their ancestor Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan, commonly known as Hazrat Shah Kamal (who is of Meccan origin and is believed to have travelled to Bengal in search of his father, Hazrat Khwaja Burhanuddin Qahafan, commonly known as Khwaja Burhanuddin Qattal, who came to Sylhet in 1303 with Hazrat Shah Jalal. Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan settled on the bank of river Ratna and this is how the name of the village "Shaharpara" had been given (again derived from his name). Their keeping of family ties and relations with other clans are strikingly similar to that of Arab tribes. Outside of Shaharpara, descendants of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan are settled in the village Patli Aurangabad and Muftibari in Dargah Mahallah in Sylhet. In 1303, Hazrat Shah Jalal (Shaikh-al-Mushaek Shah Jalal ad-Din Yamani) vanquished Sylhet (Gaur) with aid of his 360 disciples and the Mughal military might. After about a decade of Muslim governance of Sylhet, an expedition of 12 Sufi disciples was sent to Sunamganj under the leadership of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan, commonly known as Shah Kamal, son of Hazrat Khwaja Burhanuddin Qahafan, who was a commander and companion of Hazrat Shah Jalal. The expedition suffered due a turbulent rainfall of monsoon season and thus Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan ended up in a village called Tilak in Jagannathpur upazillah in Sunamganj District with his disciples. It is assumed that the expedition was less adventurous because Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan was accompanied by his Arab wife, who was not accustomed to the local weather. Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan with his 12 disciples settled on the bank of river Ratna in Tilak. These twelve Sufi disciples of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan are as follows:

1. Pir Kallu Shah, 2. Shah Chand, 3. Dawar Bakhsh Khatib, 4. Dilwar Bakhsh Khatib, 5. Shaikh Shamsuddin Bihari, 6. Shah Faizullah, 7. Shah Jalaluddin, 8. Syed Tajuddin, 9. Syed Bahauddin, 10. Syed Ruknuddin, 11. Syed Shamsuddin and 12. Shah Manik.

As Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan settled in Tilak, his settlement was given his first name, which is nowadays known as Shaharpara, though initially it was Shahpara; eventually, Tilak and other hamlets were incorporated into Shaharpara and Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan founded a mosque and khanqa in Shaharpara proper. Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan came to Sylhet with his wife from Mecca in Saudi Arabia and she begot three sons and daughter. Three sons of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan were Shah Jalaluddin Qureshi, Shah Moazamuddin Qureshi and Shah Jamaluddin Qureshi. State of Moazzamabad (Iqlim-i-Moazzamabad) was established by Shah Moazzamuddin Qureshi. Descendants of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan are settled in Shaharpara, Patli and Dargah Mahallah in Sylhet and they formed very distinguished families that are known as Kamalis of Shaharpara, Qureshis of Patli and Muftis of Sylhet. Kamali, Qureshi, Mufti, Khwaja, Siddiqui and Shah are the surnames invariably used the descendants of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan. Descendants of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan have mainly extended to five families: Mullah Family, Shahjee Family and Bogla Family in Shaharpara, Qureshi Family in Patli and Mufti Family in Sylhet Dargah Mahallah. Maulana Shah Shamsuddin Qureshi, who was a descendant of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan, established the Qureshi Family in Patli and Maulana Shah Zia Uddin, another descendant of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan, established the Mufti Family in Dargah Mahallah, Sylhet.

However, twelve Sufi disciples of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan were conferred with a mission to propagate Islam in the vicinity of Shaharpara and, on completion of their mission, they were instructed to marry local women and raise their own family.

Pir Kallu Shah, in accordance with the instruction from Hazrat Shah Kamal Qahafan, settled within a walking distance of Shaharpara and the village was named Pirergaon. He was too old to marry so at one point he went to his native Patna (Pataliputra) in Bihar, India and died there. His tomb is in Azimabad, Patna, Bihar in India. His son, Shah Chand, established a village on the bank of the river Bharang (a tributary of the river Ratna) and the village later named as Chand Bharang on the periphery of Bishwanath upazillah [5:55, Shreehatté Islam Jyoti, Siddiqui M A U].

Dawar Bakhsh Khatib and Dilwar Bakhsh Khatib were brothers and learned Islamic scholars, who relentlessly campaigned in villages northeast of Shaharpara and enticed huge followers. Finally, both the brothers married and settled in a village that was named after the elder brother, Dawar Bakhsh Khatib, as Dawarshahi, Dawarshai and presently Dawarai, and the Khan Family of Dawarai or Dawarshahi are descendants of Dawar Bakhsh Khatib and Dilwar Bakhsh Khatib.

Shaikh Shamsuddin, who was also known as Shaikh Shamsuddin Bihari because he met and swore oath of allegiance to Shah Kamal Qattani in the city of Patna (also known by its ancient name Pataliputra) and joined his entourage in Bihar. It is also assumed that he was a native of Bihar and to distinguish him from Syed Shamsuddin, Bihari was post-fixed to his name. Shaikh Shamsuddin was well-read and committed to his faith. He was very much a Sufi mendicant and engaged in dawa by himself without much thinking of his personal safety. One day a gang of Hindu thugs took advantage of his vulnerability: he was harassed and incarcerated him in the village of Aatghar. Although, Shaikh Shamsuddin was alone and defenceless, his conviction in faith saved him from this cowardice attack on him. Miraculously, a sister of one of the attackers was taken by a surprised paroxysm; this caused a sudden confusion amongst assailants, who was divided into two camps. One group believed that wrath of God fell on them and they should seek forgiveness from Shaikh Shamsuddin and the other group wanted to test him by asking him to cure their sister. The latter won and Shaikh Shamsuddin was given the task to heal the young lady. It is said that Shaikh Shamsuddin got a bowl of water in front of him, did a prayer and splash the water on the face of the shuddered lady and she slowly recovered from the seizure. On her recovery, she demanded to marry her saviour and her demand was fulfilled. Eventually, the attackers of Shaikh Shamsuddin embraced Islam and Shaikh Shamsuddin settled in Aatghar near Khan-bari Bazaar on the periphery of Jagannathpur and Bishwanath upazilas. Four of the eight Khan Families of Aatghar are descendants of Shaikh Shamsuddin and the remaining four descendants of his in-law.

Shah Faizullah was also a learned and pious awlia (saint), who settled in a village near Shahrpara and it later named Faizi (commonly known as Fesi). He was actively involved in spreading the message of Islam and, apart from this, very little is known about him.

Shah Jalaluddin was another companion of Hazrat Shah Kamal Qattani and he was active in northeast of Shaharpara. Shah Jalaluddin established an outer-watch post or armoury (Quchi) far afield beyond the boarder of Shaharpara, which is nowadays on the periphery of Jagannathpur and Balaganj upazilla. Gradually a settlement was formed around the Quchi and later it was named Quchipur (commonly known as Kuskipur). Shah Jalaluddin’s tomb is there and his descendants are settled in Quchipur.

Syed Taj-ud-Din, Syed Bahauddin, Syed Ruknuddin and Syed Shamsuddin were brothers, sons of Syed Ala-uddin and nephews of Shah Kamal Qattani. Their father came to Sylhet with Hazrat Shah Jalal, but they came with Hazrat Shah Kamal Qattani from Baghdad in Iraq. Despite their relationship with Hazrat Shah Kamal Qattani, they were too instructed to engage themselves to promulgate Islam and in so doing they spread in different parts of Sylhet. Syed Tajuddin’s tomb is in Aurangapur (commonly known as (Orompur) in Balaganj and his descendants are found in Aurangapur and many different parts of Sylhet Division, including Shaharpara and Syedpur.

Syed Baha-ud-Din’s tombe is in the village of Bhadeshwar in Gulapganj upazillah of Sylhet District. It is believed that the name Bhadeshwar is corrupt of Bahadinshahr, which derived from (Syed) Baha-uddin and historians are silent on his descendants.

Syed Rukn-ud-Din’s tomb is in the village of Kadamhati in Maulvi Bazar District of Sylhet Division and his descendants are settled there. Syed Mustafa Ali, a renowned novelist, was a descendant of Syed Ruknuddin.

Syed Shams-ud-Din was the youngest of all brothers; some historian indicates that he was in his teen when he came to Sylhet and thus his name was not included when history Shah Jalal and his companions were initially penned. Nevertheless, Shah Kamal Qattani loved his youngest nephew and Syed Shamsuddin was not sent away like others. Syed Shamsuddin lived with his uncle, Shah Kamal Qattani, in Shaharpara till Syed Shamsuddin reached his maturity. His marriage was arranged with a daughter of Shah Dawood Qureshi of Dawoodpur in Renga, Sylhet and Syed Shamsuddin lived in Shaharpara for some years his marriage and then sojourned in Dawoodpur with his in-law’s family. Eventually, Syed Shamsuddin returned to Shaharpara and he was instructed settle with his family in a village west of Shaharpara and this village was later named Syedpur, which is in Jagannathpur upazillah, Sunamgaj District of Sylhet Division.

Shah Manik was very devoted to Hazrat Shah Kamal; he expressed his wish to live in Shaharpara with his spiritual mentor and he stayed in Shaharpara for many years. Finally, Shah Manik settled in a place near Shaharpara and it is nowadays called Manik Hara or Mani Hara. Historians are silent on his descendants.

Source of information derived from Syed Mujtaba Ali, Shreehatte Islam Jyoti and Dr Ghulam Saklayn, Bangladesh Sufi Sadhak.[1]

Independent

After Bijoy Manikka the historian said we do not know much about both the kingdoms and how it was or who ever ruled it, but in the fist half of the 14th century there is a name funded in the historian kings from both the kingdoms ruled by king Dibboh Shingho. The king Dibboh Shingho established a new capital in Laur village Nabogram and he ruled both the kingdoms from there. After Dibboh Shingho his son Ramanath Shingho became king and ruled both the kingdoms. Ramanath Shingho had 3 sons. One of his sons became a Hindu saint and moved to Khashi in Bharat. The other son ruled the kingdom of Laur. Ramanath Shingho then came to Jagannathpur with his last son Keshab Shingho. Ramanath Shinghi and his son stayed in Jagannathpur and his Son Keshab Shingho became king of the Jagannathpur kingdom. At his time of being king another small kingdom was established near the Azmirigonj named Baniachong kingdom. The name of the king of this Kingdom was also called Keshab. Which is why many writers and historians get mixed up with the names of the kings and say both the kingdoms are ruled by the family of Laur kingdom, however this is not right. If the writers read the full history properly they will find the family backgrounds are different and they will find that the King of Jagannathpur's sons name Shoni or Shonay. His son was named Projapothi. And in other ways the king od Baniachong Keshab's sons name was Dhokkho. His son was called Nondhon. Which is why historians have got to know that the two families weren't one they were two different families from two different kings.(Ok going back to Jagannathpur now) After Keshab Shingho became king and at his time time of being king the kingdom og Jagannathpur spread over many other lands. The king Keshab Shingho also established many many army like camps to guard his kingdom. Out of all of his army like camps there were Khatalkhay, Meerpur, Phaykphara, Khuwazpur etc which were the main camps. He also established a market place at the suburbs of river Khushiyara called Noyarhat. After Keshab Shingho passed his son Shoni SHingho became king taking after his father and After Shoni Shingho his son Projapothi Shingho took after him and became king. Projapothi respected and desired his mother a lot. Which is why he then changed Noyarhat and named it Ranirhat after his mother to keep her memories. Ranirhat slowly changed and became known as Ranigonj. After Projapothi passed his son Dhurbar Shingo became king. At the time of his period the kings around made big pools then Shurbar Shingho made a big pool too and felt very proud, the people around also praised him for making this pool. At the time from the Mughol empire gave him the name Khaa. Also the other people who made these big pools were also given the knick name of Khaa. After Dhurbar Shingho passed his son Raj Shingho became king. He had three sons. One called Joy Shingho, the other called Bijjoy Shingho, the last called Promanondha Shingho who was the step brother of Bijjoy and Joy Shingho. After Raj shingho passed his elder son Joy Shingho became king of Jagannathpur kingdom. Joy Shingho was known as Ghobind Shingho. At his time of being king the Laur king who had no children or other family passed away. After the king of Laur passed the people knows as Khashiya took over his kingdom. They kicked the people of Laur out of the kingdom and took over. These people then went to Baniachong kingdom which at the time the king was Ghobind Khaa. Ghobind Khaa then went with his soldired to attack Laur and kicked the group of Khashiya out of Laur. After he kicked Khashiya out he took over Laur. At this time Joy Shingho the king of Jagannathpur got this message and wanted the Laur kingdom as it was their families however they didn't get it because their empire wasn't very big and couldn't do anything to Ghobind Khaa's empire. Joy Shingho then took a complaint to Delhi (Barath) to the Mughol empire. After he went their in and they found that in their record the Laur kingdom wasn't left to anyone. They found in their record that Jagannathpur was ruled by the people of Laur. After this complaint the Mughol empire sent a message to the Ghobind Khaa to go to Delhi. Theys sent a messanger to collect him and the king Ghobind Khaa killed him. After this the Mughol empire sent their soldiers in a civil way and had Ghobind Khaa arrested from the market at Azmirigonj and took him to Delhi. After they took him to Delhi the empire kings had a meeting and said that Ghobind Shingho (Joy Shingho) can have the Laur kingdom. They then gave the king of Baniachong Ghobind Khaa a sentence of being killed to death. After a couple of days the empire killed Ghobindh Shingho thinking he is Ghobind Khaa. (They missintepreted the names and killed the wrong person). They realised this after a while and the Mughol empire wanted to get Ghobhind Khaa and kill him. The army chief of Mughol empire knew Ghbind Khaa as they had a personal realationship and because of him Ghobind Khaa's sentence got changed to converting to a Muslim..

Contributions

Amongst many well respected notables from Jagannathpur include Bajendra Narayan Chowdhury, Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi and Abdus Samad Azad, Achafur Aaja Chowdhury, Sohul Uddin Ahmed (Soil Miah), Abdus Subhan chowdhury,Nandro Kumar Dotto, Abu Khaled Chowdhury, Muhammed Azizur Rahman Dara who were politicians of their time, and P C Goswami - a pioneer of modern education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 in Sylhet, he founded the Madan Mohan College. Radha Raman Dutta, a lyricist who extensively contributed to dhamal dance art form, was born in Jagannathpur in the village of Keshabpur in 1833. Syed Shahnoor, a renowned lyricist was born in the village of Jalalsab in Nabiganj Upazillah, but he spent most of his life in Jagannathpur in the village of Syedpur. Peer Shah Mohammed Iskandor Miah, a lyricist, was born in Jagannathput in the village of terautia (Mukambhari) in 1936, he came to UK in 1963, he has been living in Oldham. In his free time he has been writing for the people, he has written more the four thousand lyrics in 14 books, which are published in Bangladesh in the city of Sylhet. His lyric books are called '"Iskandar geeti in bangla ইস্কন্দর গিতী.

'Administrations

A separate Thana
Administrative divisions of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is divided as follows#divisions 7 #districts 64 #subdistricts #Union ParishadsDhaka City has 90 wards and 725 mahallas.-Former regions:...

 was established at Jagannathpur in 1 October 1992 by a gazette notification by Anamul Hawk of Parrargow. This was upgraded first as an Upazilla in March 1983, and then as a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 on the 29 September 1999.

Elections

In 2005, after the death of Abdus Samad Azad
Abdus Samad Azad
Abdus Samad Azad was a diplomat and politician from Bangladesh. Azad was elected to Bangladesh's parliament five times from 1970 to 2001. He was also elected Member of Lower Assembly in the Parliament of then East Pakistan...

 (Awami League) on April 27, large numbers of candidates from different parties contested in the by-election of the Sunamganj-3 seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. Wall writings have appeared in favour of some of the candidates in Jagannathpur. Awami League however, did not participate in the voting, the leading candidates were Shazzadur Rahman, Anamul Hawk, Syed Ali Ahmed and others. Candidates held rallies in different areas, and posters were held all over market places. HM Ershad started a three-day campaign for Ali Ahmed. The total number of voters was 218,450. Shahinur Pasha Chowdhury won the election with 42,944 votes, while MA Mannan received 38,875 votes. The post-election violence during the evening left 30 people injured, which seven were admitted to Sunamganj Sadar hospital. The post-election was described as vulnerable and caused controversy surrounding information about the personal and financial background. Awami League won back the seat it lost in Sunamganj-3 during the 2008 general election, when MA Mannan won with 147,827 votes.

Awami League

Geography

Jagannathpur is located at 24.7667°N 91.5431°E . It has 28546 units of house hold and total area 368.27 km².

Demographics

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census
1991 Bangladesh census
In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and age distribution, marital status, economically active...

, Jagannathpur has a population of 188,139. Males constitute are 51.13% of the population, and females 48.87%. This Upazila's 18+ population is 95,285. Jagannathpur has an average literacy rate of 27.9% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate. Religious statistics as of 1991 was, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 81.75%, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 18.10%, Buddhist 0.02%, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 0.01%.

It has a total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 225,271 as of 2001, with a male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...

 percentage of 51.7% and female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...

 48.3%. The literacy rate is 45.3%, which is the highest in Sunamganj
Sunamganj District
The district of Sunamganj consists 3562 mosques, 560 temples and 61 churches.-History:The name Sunamganj is derived from its founder, Sipahi Sunamuddin, who established a bazaar on the bank of the river Surma. In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Rarh Kingdom that included Sylhet,...

, and one of the highest in Sylhet
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...

.

Immigration and Migration

Migration process has been constant and steady in Jagannathpur Upazillah and it can be characterised as a two-way traffic for centuries. People from villages have been migrating to towns and cities, whilst people from other parts of Bangladesh, especially from Comilla, Noakhali, Barisal, Faridpur and Mymensingh, are filling up the vacuum created by relocation of the native people. It has been identified that migration is occurring amongst people of two specific categories and they are moving out of rural to urban areas for employment and economic reasons.

Category 1 consists of people who have acquired education and seek employment. A large section of the first educated mass and elite alike have migrated to Sunamganj Municipality. Majority of the lawyers and government employees from Jagannathpur have migrated to Sunamganj town from the time of creation of Pakistan in 1947 and before the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

Category 2 consists of well-heeled mass and elite, mainly of immigrant community and they have purchased second homes in the city of Sylhet and partially relocated in the city and abroad. The necessity of moving to city was felt in the years immediately after the independence of Bangladesh due to targeted robberies and harassing of so-called ‘Londoni’ families and villages during the entire decade of 1970s. Another contributory factor was communications. Jagannathpur was isolated from both Sunamganj and Sylhet towns till 1990s and amenities were very scarce. The second and third generations of category 1 and 2 are also migrating to the metropolis of Dhaka. The trend of migrating to Dhaka culminated with the millennium development activities from the eve of 2000 CE.

About 95 per cent of the Bangladeshi community in the UK
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...

 originate from the Sylhet region
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...

, and Jagannathpur is one of the upazilas in Sunamganj which has the highest number of expatriates in the UK. They mainly settled in towns and cities such as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in particular Tower Hamlets, people from Jagannathpur mainly can be found in the Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...

 area (Spitalfields and Banglatown), Newham and Redbridge and Birmingham, Oldham, Haslingden and Sunderland. A wave of immigration from Jagannathpur began after the post war shortages of industrial labour in England. This was combined with a further a sudden industrial boom of the cotton industry, mainly young men were given the opportunity to immigrate to the UK and work in the cotton mills. Migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

 took place for various reason such as for a better quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...

 or wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...

, escape poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

, and send money back home for financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...

 support. Many people of Jagannathpur had previously resided in the villages, and agricultural business was a major occupation
Occupation
Occupation may refer to:*Job , a regular activity performed for payment, that occupies one's time**Employment, a person under service of another by hire**Career, a course through life**Profession, a vocation founded upon specialized training...

 as many farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

s owned a vast amount of rich paddy field
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...

s and estates.

Due to immigration, there has been a large shift in the demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 and statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

 of Jaganathpur, and also the entire region of Sylhet. The second generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....

 settlers live in the UK and regard it as their home. Despite the cultural barriers and the perceived isolation there has been a paramount of success breeding from the people of Jaganathpur and other parts of Sylhet. They have overcome institutionalised racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

 barriers, social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...

 barriers and religious barriers to produce a successful and highly educated young population. Most of whom are now entrepreneurs, doctors
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

s, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

s, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s, biomedical scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

s and other professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

s. A fair amount of people from Jaganathpur have found success and fame through the catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...

 industry and are very successful restaurateurs throughout the country, although the industry is known as Indian, the majority are in fact Bangladeshi origin and essence, as over 85 per cent of Indian restaurants in the UK are owned and managed by Bangladeshi Sylhetis.

Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi who was a pioneer in the curry industry and was from Jagannathpur, including Anwar Choudhury
Anwar Choudhury
Anwar Choudhury is the Director of International Institutions at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was a High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and was the first British Head of Mission to be of Bangladeshi origin...

 - the first Bangladeshi born British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Cllr Ghulam Murtuza - the first Bangladeshi born Mayor in the London Borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...

 of Tower Hamlets, and Ahmed Fakhruddin - late veteran community activist was also from Jagannathpur.

Administrative

In the upazila of Jagannathpur, there are up to 9 parishads (Union Councils), which includes Jagannathpur Municipality, Asharkhandhi, Haldipur
Haldipur
Haldipur is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India. It is located in the Honavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. A sea port is coming up in this place.-Demographics:...

, Khalkhali, Mirpur, Pailgaon, Patli, Raniganj and Syedpur-Shaharpara Shaharpara
Shaharpara
Shaharpara is a village in the northeastern part of Sunamganj District, Bangladesh and is approximately one hour drive away from Sylhet. It is at the heart of Sylhet Division and nestled beside the river Ratna....

. Based on the 2001 census
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...

, there are 310 village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

s in Jagannathpur, 9 wards, 43 mahallah
Mahallah
Mahalla or Mahallya or Mohalla is an Arabic language country subdivision or neighbourhood term. Used in the South Asia as Mohalla.* Mahalla * Mahalla * Mahalle * El-Mahalla El-Kubra...

s, 8 unions and 263 mauzas. There are approximately 35,682 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....

s present in Jagannathpur. In Jagannathpur there are three colleges which includes the Modon Muhan College, there are 15 secondary schools (2 junior), up to 119 primary schools under government control, 21 private schools and 34 madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...

s. There are 14 post offices available in the area, including 12 bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

s. There are 247 mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s in the upazila, and also 5 Hindu temples.
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