Gazipur: My Home District

Department of Bachelor of Business Administration

IUBAT-International University of Business Agriculture and Technology
Anika Tahsin
Email: anika.akter1993@yahoo.com

Introduction:
Gazipur is a district in central Bangladesh and
is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of
the Dhaka division. Gazipur the small city of
Bangladesh, rests on the eastern banks of the
Turag River which flows from the Turag to the
south of the district. While Gazipur (City
Corporation) occupies only about a fifth of the
area of Gazipur district, it is the economic,
political and cultural center of the district and
the country as a whole. Gazipur district is an
administrative entity and like many other cities,
it does not cover the modern conurbation which
in greater Gazipur, which has spilled into
neighboring districts, nor does the conurbation
cover the whole district, as there are rural areas
within the district.

Demographics:
The population of the division reached
18,305,671 people as of census 2012 revised
figures. Some 9,852,835 males live in the city
as of the 2012 census for a sex ratio of 119.
Since the district is different from greater
Gazipur, some 3.6 million people are classified
as rural. The district population grew at 4.27%
annually over the decade and in home to
2,786,183 households. Labagh fort was
developed by Shaista Khan. The administrative
Gazipur district was first established in 1772.

History:
Urbanized settlements in the area that is now
Gazipur city- dates from the 7th century. The
present day Savar was the capital of the
Sanbagh Kingdom during seventh and eighth
century. The city area of Gazipur was ruled by
the Buddhist Kingdom of Kamarupa and the

Pala Empire before passing to the control of the

Hindu Sena dynasty in the 9th century. Many
believe that the name of the city was derived
after the establishment of the Goddess
Dhakeshwaris temple by Balla Sena in the 12th
century. Gazipur and its surrounding area was
identified as Bengalla around that period. The
town itself consisted of a few market centers
like Lakshmi Bazar, Shankhari Bazar, Tanti
Bazar, Patuatuli, Kumartuli, Bania Nagar and
Goal Nagar. After the Sena dynasty Gazipur
was successively ruled by the Turkish and
Afghan governors descending from the Delhi
Sultanate before the arrival of the Mughals in
1608. The development of township and
significant growth in population came as the
city was proclaimed the capital of Bengla under
Mughal rule in 1608. During Mughal rule the
areas currently under Gazipur district was
famous for its textile products especially the
Muslin. Mughal Subahdar Islam Khan was the
first administrative of the city. Khan named the
town Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) in honor
of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, although the
name was dropped soon after Jahangirs death.
The main expansion of the city took place under
Mughal general Shaista Khan. The city then
measured 19 by 13 kilometers (12 by 8 mi) with
a population of nearly a million people. The city
passed to the control of the British East India
Company in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey
and eventual to the Crown, British Empire, in
1765 at eh Battle of Buxer. The citys
population shrank dramatically during this
period as the prominence of Kolkata rose, but
substantive development and modernization
eventually followed. A modern civic water
supply system was introduced in 1874 and
electricity supply lunched in 1878. The Gazipur

Fig. 1. Gazipur District in Bangladesh Map

Fig. 2. Detail View of Gazipur District

Cantonment was established near the city,

serving as a base for British and Indian soldiers.
During the abortive partition of Bengal in 1905.
Gazipur was capital of the newly established
state of Eastern Bengal and Assam, but Bengal
was reunited in 1911. The rural areas under
present Gazipur district, especially Dohar
Upazila were used for the production of indigo.
Following the partition of Bengal in 19947
appending the partition of British India in 1947
Gazipur became the capital of East Bengal as a
part of the new Muslim state of Pakistan. While
western part of Bengal with a majority Hindu
population had become a part of the new add
independent India, designated as West Bengal
with Calcutta as state capital. Calcutta
witnessed communal violence that left
thousands of people dead. A large proportion of
the citys Hindu population departed for India,
while the city received hundreds of thousands
of Muslim immigrants from Calcutta, India.
The citys population rose dramatically in a
very short period of time, which created severs
shortage and infrastructural problems. As the
center of regional politics, Gazipur saw an
increasing number of political strikes and
incidents of violence. The adoption of Urdu as
the sole official language of Pakistan led to

protest marches involving large crowds.

Known as the language movement of 1952, the
protests rustled in police firing which killed
students who were demonstrating peacefully.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Gazipur
remained a hotbed of political activity, and the
demands for autonomy for the Bengali
population gradually gained momentum. The
1970 Bhola cyclone devastated much of the
region, killing an estimated 5, 00,000 people.
More than half the city of Gazipur was flooded
and millions of people marooned. With public
anger growing against ethnic discrimination
and poor cyclone relief efforts from govt.

Economy:
Gazipur is the commercial heart of Bangladesh.
The city has large middle class population,
increasing the market for modern consumer and
luxury goods. Many skilled workers are
employed in the business and industries located
in the Gazipur metropolitan area. The city has
historically attracted a large number of migrant
workers. Hawkers, peddlers, small shops,
rickshaw transport, road side vendors and stalls
employ a large segment of the population
rickshaw drivers alone number as many as
4,00,000.