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Geographic Background

Sylhet district
Sylhet is an ancient hometown of 360 Awalis, with the great saint Hazrat Shahjalal (ra) and Hazrat Shahpuran (R). Information about this district is available from the visit of Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang's 640th anniversary. In the tenth century Maharajah Srichandra, inscribed on the west side of the copper plate, showed that he won this district. Historians believe that Sylhet or Srihatta was known to be a remarkable trade center before long. In 14th century, Sultan of Yemen, Hazrat Shahjalal (R) conquered Sylhet and started preaching Islam. Besides, the war with the Mughals, the Nankar revolt, the language movement, and the liberation war, the contribution of this district is immense.

The famous Muslim traveler, Al-Burmani, named him Sylhet in his book 'Kitabul Hind'. It was known from many ancient times that this district was known as 'Sreehatta', according to Hindu mythology, 'Sree' means 'suffix' or 'beauty' and meaning 'hand'. Where Sri Hansen was found, it is Shreehastha, which has been named as Shreehatta in the evolution of time. This area is called Sylhet due to the abundance of stone, which is called Shilah and due to the abundance of stone. Sylhet word sequence means seal and prefix heats means that market is market. Since ancient times, the district stone (shil) and hats (business and commerce) were prevalent, so many people think that the word 'shil' and 'hat' together with the word 'Sylhet' has originated.

Sylhet district was established on 17 March 1772. Until 1874, this district was affiliated with the Dhaka Division. In that year Sylhet was included in the indigenous Assam province. During the partition of the country in 1947, Sylhet district was transferred to East Pakistan after the referendum. Sylhet district was then under Chittagong division. In 1983-84, Greater Sylhet district was divided into 4 new districts and on 1 August 1995, Sylhet division was formed.

From the colonial period, Sylhet started developing rapidly. After the devastating earthquake of June 12, 1897, the whole city was destroyed, but later the railway connection with the extensive development of Rathaghat. The distinction of the tea garden and the development of the district of Sylhet in the 1950-60s has been progressing rapidly, which is still continuing.

There are many haor-bills, small towers, and canals in the district of Surma-Kushiyara. There is a special part of the country's biggest Haor Hakaluki. Agriculture is particularly rich in rice production, the district is rich in natural fisheries. In the northeast corner of the district, the footprint of the Khasia-Jyotimaya mountain. The soil here is particularly suitable for tea cultivation and its beauty is attracting tourists. Sylhet's Jaflong, Lalakhal, Bholaganj, Jyotthapur, tea gardens located in different places and other sights are considered as excellent resort and tourism spot.

Besides, Sylhet district is a district unique in natural resources like natural gas, oil, limestone, hard rock, balus and others. Besides attracting mineral resources, attracting foreign tourists will earn a lot of revenue while concentrating in the tourism sector. Not only revenue, the development of the tourism industry can also be blown in the minds of native tourists, which can lead to the possibility of formation of a country which is dynamic and fast.

Sylhet district: area 3,490.40 sq km. Khasia-Jyotimaya Hills of India on the north, Moulvibazar district on the south, Cachar and Karimganj districts of India on the east, Sunamganj and Habiganj districts on the west. Annual average maximum temperature is 33.20 s, minimum temperature is 13.60 s, annual total rainfall of 3334 mm. Sylhet's main and longest river surma (350 km), the other major river is Kushiyara. There are a total of 82 haor-bills in this district. Among them, Singhua Bills (12.65 sq km), Chatla Bills (11.86 sq km) are worth mentioning. Total reserve for sale in Sylhet 236.42 sq km. Part of the Khasia and the Jyotimaya hills in India are special in the northeast corner of the district. There are several small hills and tilas in Sylhet, among which are Tilah (54 meters), Shari Tila (92 m), Lalakhal Tila (135 m), Tilah section (77.7 m) of Dhaka South, worth mentioning.

Sylhet (district town) consists of 27 wards and 210 mahalsas. Size 10.49 sq km. Population 285308; Males constitute 54.68%, females 45.32%. Density of population per square kilometer 27224 people Literacy rate among the town people is 66.9%. Sylhet developed rapidly during the colonial era. Sylhet municipality was created in 1878. On 12 June 1897, a severe earthquake almost completely destroyed the entire city. Later on, the European-style, more beautiful and modern city developed on the ruins. In the late 1890s several rastaghat were made. In 1912-15, when the Assam Bengal Railway was connected to Sylhet, a branch of Sylhet was completely eliminated with the other parts of the country. Due to the tea industry, the importance of Sylhet city has increased in the early twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the urbanization of expatriate Sylhet and Sylhet city started happening and now and it continues.

Administration: Sylhet district was established on 17 March 1772. Until 1874, Sylhet district was included in the division of Dhaka Division. On September 12 of that year, Sylhet was connected with the indigenous Assam province. Sylhet was part of Assam since 1947 (excluding the Kaltuku period of partition of Bengal from 1905 to 1911). During the partition of India in 1947, in the referendum, Sylhet district was affiliated with East Pakistan. Then Sylhet was administrative in Sylhet division. During the administrative reconstruction of 1983-84, the greater Sylhet district was divided into four (four) new districts. These new districts are: Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj and Moulvibazar. On 1 August 1995, Sylhet became the sixth division of the country and basically the border of Greater Sylhet district was included in the new Sylhet division. Upazila-12, municipality-4, ward-37, mahalna-233, union-105, mouja-163, village-3249. Upazilas: Balaganj, Bishwanath, Gowainghat, Beanibazar, Companiganj, Fenchuganj, Golapganj, Jimalpur, Kainighat, Sylhet Sadar, South Surma and Zakiganj.

Archaeological heritage and relics: Jummatapur's Extraordinary Memorial, Ghanduar Dhibi, Gaybi Mosque, Hazrat Shahjalal (R) and Shahparan (ra) Dargah, Abu Torab Mosque, Nababi Mosque, Mughal Mosque of Akhalia, Dhaka Temple, Three Temples

Historical events: Sylhet is an ancient township. Sylhet's name was Jalalabad during the Sultan period. In the tenth century Maharajah Shrimantra inscribed by West Bengal Tagore, it was revealed that he conquered Sylhet. Historians believe that Sylhet or Srihatta (rich hats) had long been present as a flourishing trade center. In ancient Srihatta there was a huge immigration to Bengal. In 14th century, Sultan of Yemen, Hazrat Shahjalal (R) conquered Sylhet and started preaching Islam. In the Mughal era, Pathan Bir Khawaja Osman fought against the Mughals who attacked the local communities in Sylhet. During the uprising in 1857, the rebels in Sylhet failed to fight against the Britishers. Nankar revolt is an important event in the history of Sylhet. The nankaras were the landslides of zamindars. This tradition was abolished in 1950, when several other rebellions, including the Nankar rebellion took place.

In Sylhet, when Sylhet was a part of Assam, in 1927, the politicians of Sylhet (ML.A.) gave the right to speak in the provincial assembly in Bengal. After the creation of Pakistan, in 1947, an editorial for the state language of Al-Islamah was published in Sylhet's local newspaper.