Rajshahi Division

This article is about the division. For the district, see Rajshahi District. For the metropolis, see Rajshahi.

Rajshahi Division (Bengali: রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of 18,174.4 square kilometres (7,017.2 sq mi)^[6] and a population at the 2022 Census of 20,353,119.^[7] Rajshahi Division consists of 8 districts, 70 upazilas (the next lower administrative tier) and 1,092 unions (the lowest administrative tier).

Rajshahi Division রাজশাহী বিভাগ Varendra
Division of Bangladesh
Clockwise from the top: Somapura Mahavihara, Choto Sona Mosque, Jamuna Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant & Hardinge Bridge, Uttara Ganabhaban and Gokul Medh
Nickname:  Land of Zamindars
Rajshahi Division in Bangladesh Districts of Rajshahi Division
Coordinates: 25°00′N 89°00′E
Country	Bangladesh
Established	1829
Capital and largest city	Rajshahi
Government
• Divisional Commissioner	Dr. Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir[1]
• Deputy Inspector General (DIG)	Mohammad Shahjahan
• Parliamentary constituency	Jatiya Sangsad (39 seats)
Area
• Division of Bangladesh	18,174.4 km2 (7,017.2 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Division of Bangladesh	20,353,116 (Enumerated)
• Urban [2]	4,840,396
• Rural [2]	15,511,404
• Metro [2]	553,241
• Adjusted Population[2]	20,794,019
Languages
• Official language	Bengali[3]
•  Minority languages	List[4] Santali Koda Maithili Paharia Kol Urdu
Time zone	UTC+6 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	BD-E
HDI (2017)	0.602[5] medium
Notable sport teams	Rajshahi Kings, Rajshahi Division
Website	rajshahidiv.gov.bd

The region has historically been dominated by various feudal Rajas, Maharajas and Zamindars.^[8] Formerly comprising 16 districts, a new division (Rangpur Division) was formed with the 8 northern districts of the old Rajshahi Division from early 2010.^[6]

Etymology and names

The Rajshahi Division is named after Rajshahi District. Dominated by various feudal Rajas, Maharajas and zamindars of mixed origins throughout history,^[8] the name is a compound of the words Raj and Shahi, both of which can be translated into reign or kingdom. Archaic spellings in the English language also included Rajeshae.

History

Rajshahi Division was created in 1829 by the local British Government. It was the largest division in Bengal Province. During partition of Bengal in 1947, the division was partitioned in two halves. The eastern half remained as Rajshahi division, while its western half became Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, India. In January 2010, Rangpur Division split from Rajshahi division.

Demographics

Religion in Rajshahi division (2022)[2]
Religion			Percent
Muslims			93.71%
Hindus			5.70%
Christians			0.41%
Others			0.18%

At the time of the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Rajshahi division had a population of 20,351,864. Muslims are 19,071,092 which is 93.71% of the population, while Hindus are 1,159,152 which is 5.70% of the population. Other religions (almost entirely Christianity and indigenous faiths) are 0.59% of the population and are mainly found among the ethnic minorities.^[2]

Districts

• Natore
• Rajshahi
• Sirajganj
• Pabna
• Bogura
• Chapainawabganj
• Naogaon
• Joypurhat

Education

Notable schools in Rajshahi invoice:

Universities

• University of Rajshahi
• Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET)
• Rajshahi Medical University
• Pabna University of Science and Technology
• Bangladesh Army University of Engineering & Technology
• Rajshahi Science & Technology University^[9]
• Bogura Science and Technology University, Bogura
• North Bengal International University

Medical Colleges

• Rajshahi Medical College
• Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, Bogra
• Pabna Medical College
• Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College, Sirajganj

Colleges

• Rajshahi College
• Rajshahi Cadet College
• Pabna Cadet College
• Joypurhat Girls Cadet College, Joypurhat
• Govt. Azizul Haque College, Bogra
• Rajshahi Government City College
• New Government Degree College, Rajshahi
• Govt. Edward College, Pabna
• Joypurhat Government College

Schools

• Bogra Zilla School
• Pabna Zilla School

Notable residents

• Montazur Rahman Akbar, film-maker^[10]
• Group Captain (Rtd.) Saiful Azam, fighter pilot, Member of Parliament (MP) for Pabna-3^[11]
• Manzoor Alam Beg, photographer^[12]
• Apu Biswas
• Mohammad Ali Bogra
• General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE, former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army
• Pramatha Chaudhuri, writer
• Samson H. Chowdhury, business mangate
• Zahid Hasan, stage actor
• Amjad Hossain, (Member of National Assembly of Pakistan), organiser of Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971.
• A. B. Mirza Azizul Islam, advisor of military-backed 2007-2008 caretaker government
• Taijul Islam, player for the Bangladesh national cricket team
• Abdul Jalil, politician
• James
• Air Vice Marshal (Rtd.) A. K. Khandker, first Chief of Staff of Bangladesh Air Force (1971–1975), Former Minister, Ministry Planning of Bangladesh
• Mahiya Mahi
• Amiya Bhushan Majumdar, Indian novelist
• Partha Pratim Majumder
• Bande Ali Mia, poet
• Bidya Sinha Saha Mim
• Mohammed Fazle Rabbee, cardiologist, intellectual
• Mushfiqur Rahim
• Arifur Rahman
• Tarique Rahman
• Ziaur Rahman
• Sqn Ldr Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, Pakistani war hero of Indo-Pak War of 1965

See also

• List of mosques in Rajshahi Division
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Divisions of Bangladesh
• Upazila
• Administrative geography of Bangladesh