Sirajganj (Bengali: সিরাজগঞ্জ) is a city in north-western Bangladesh on the right bank of the Jamuna River, located in Rajshahi Division. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirajganj District, and with a population of 450,000 is the 12th largest city in Bangladesh.

Sirajganj
সিরাজগঞ্জ
City
Clockwise from top-left: Jamuna Bridge, Jamuna Eco Park, Hard Point, Bank of Jamuna River, China Barrage
Sirajganj is located in Bangladesh
Sirajganj
Sirajganj
Coordinates: 24°27′N 89°45′E / 24.450°N 89.750°E / 24.450; 89.750
Country Bangladesh
DivisionRajshahi Division
DistrictSirajganj District
EstablishmentEarly 1800s
Municipality1869
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • MayorSayed Abdur Rouf Mukta[1]
Area
 • Total28.49 km2 (11.00 sq mi)
Elevation
16 m (52 ft)
Population
 • Total450,000
 • Density16,000/km2 (41,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+6 (BST)

It is about 110 kilometres (68 mi) north west of the capital, Dhaka. It is the city where Pakistani Brig. Jehanzeb Arbab looted the bank back in 1971 during Bangladesh liberation war. It was once a principal centre of the jute trade.

History

During British rule, Sirajganj was a town in the Pabna District of Eastern Bengal and Assam. Its location on the right bank of the Jamuna River or main stream of the Brahmaputra was a six-hour journey by steamer from the railway terminal at Goalundo. It was the chief river mart for jute in northern Bengal, with several jute presses. The jute mills were closed after the 1897 Assam earthquake. The population according to the 1901 census of India was 23,114.[2]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1974 90,517—    
1981 97,141+1.01%
1991 112,690+1.50%
2001 131,634+1.57%
2011 167,200+2.42%
2022 450,000+9.42%
Sources:[3]

According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Sirajganj city had 37,442 households and a population of 167,200. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 62.2%, compared to the national average of 51.8%.[4][5]

Religion

Religions in Sirajganj city (2011)[3]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 90.21%
Hinduism
 
 9.68%
Other or not stated
 
 0.11%

Muslims make up 90.21% of the population, while Hindus are 9.68% of the population. The Hindu population has remained relatively constant while the Muslim population has constantly increased. The remaining 0.11% people follow other religions, mainly Christianity and Sarnaism. There are 300 mosques, 15 temples and 1 Christian cemetery in the city.[3]

Language

Most of the people of this city are Bengalis, nearly 99.94%. They speak a local dialect of Bengali called Sirajganji dialect. The remaining 0.06% people are tribals, mainly Oraon and Mahato. The tribal population is 132.

Languages in Sirajganj city (2011)[3]
Language Percent
Bengali
 
 99.94%
Others
 
 0.06%

Points of interest

Transport

In the later half of the 19th century, Sirajganj was an important river port. It was the main collection point for jute produced in northern Bengal and western Mymensingh. After the 1897 Assam earthquake, which damaged infrastructure and shifted the course of the river farther from the city, its significance declined. It was eclipsed by Narayanganj, another river port, which also had a rail connection.[6]

Not until 1915 was Sirajganj connected to the railway network, with the opening of the Sara-Sirajganj line.[6] As of 2022, there is an Intercity train to Dhaka six days a week.[7]

East-west national highway N405 passes just south of the city. It runs east, across the Jamuna Bridge, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) to the Joydebpur–Jamalpur Highway at Elenga, and west about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to the Dhaka–Banglabandha Highway.[8]

Education

There are two medical schools in the city, the public Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College, established in 2014, and the private North Bengal Medical College & Hospital, established in 2000. As of May 2019, they are respectively allowed to admit 51 and 85 students annually.[9]

There are eight colleges in the city. They include Sirajganj Government College, founded in 1940, Islamia Government College (1887), and Government Rashidazzoha Womens College.[10][11]

According to Banglapedia, B.L. Government High School, founded in 1869, Jnandayini High School (1884), Saleha Ishaque Government Girls' High School, and Victoria High School (1898) are notable secondary schools.[11]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ সিরাজগঞ্জের তিনটিতে আ.লীগ একটিতে বিদ্রোহী প্রার্থী জয়ী [In Sirajganj, the AL won three, in one the rebel candidate won]. jagonews24.com (in Bengali). 18 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sirajganj" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011 Zila Report – Sirajganj" (PDF). bbs.gov.bd. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
  4. ↑ "Population and Housing Census 2011 - Volume 3: Urban Area Report" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. August 2014. p. 262.
  5. ↑ "Population and Housing Census 2011: Bangladesh at a Glance" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 Ali, Tariq Omar (2018). A Local History of Global Capital: Jute and Peasant Life in the Bengal Delta. Princeton University Press. pp. 69–70, 72. ISBN 978-1-4008-8928-0.
  7. ↑ "Sirajganj Bazar Schedule". Bangladesh Railway.
  8. ↑ "RHD Road Network, Rajshahi Zone". Roads and Highways Department. 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Statistical Year Book Bangladesh 2018" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. May 2019. pp. 485–486.
  10. ↑ "List of Colleges". Department of Secondary and Higher Education. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  11. 1 2 Islam, Kamrul (2012). "Sirajganj Sadar Upazila". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  12. 1 2 ভাষা ও সংস্কৃতি [Language and culture]. Sirajganj District (in Bengali).
  13. ↑ Shazu, Shah Alam (1 December 2010). "'I always work in my own way'". The Daily Star.
  14. ↑ Shazu, Shah Alam (4 October 2017). "Birthday felicitations for Zahid Hasan!". The Daily Star.
  15. ↑ Hossain, Selina; Islam, Nurul; Hossain, Mobarak, eds. (2000). Bangla Academy Dictionary of Writers. Bangla Academy. p. 115. ISBN 984-07-4052-0.
  16. ↑ "Ex-AL lawmaker Mirza Latif passes away". The Daily Star. 7 November 2007.
  17. ↑ Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi (2014). The Defining Moments in Bengal: 1920–1947. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908934-5. Ismail Husain Siraji of Sirajganj town in Pabna district of East Bengal
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sirajganj District.
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