Faridpur, Bangladesh

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Faridpur is a district of Bangladesh in Dhaka division with an area of 2072.72 sq km, is bounded by Rajbari and Manikganj districts on the north, Gopalganj district on the south, Dhaka, Munshiganj and Madaripur districts on the east, Norail, Magura and Rajbari districts on the west.Main rivers are Padma, Old Kumar, Arial khan, Gorai, Chandana, Bhubanshwar and Lohartek; Main lakes are Dhol Samudra, Beel Ramkeli, Shakuner Beel, Ghoradar Beel.

1 History
2 Population
3 Weather
4 Map of Faridpur
5 Education
6 See also

[edit] History

The district is named after the Sufi Shah Sheikh Fariduddin, who preached there in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the early 1800s, Hazi Shariatullah started the Farayzi movement against the British rulers from this district. The movement against the British enforcement of Indigo cultivation was also initiated from Faridpur under the leadership of Dudu Miah.

The district was previously called Fatehabad until 1860. The town of Faridpur came into being towards the late 1700s. It was declared a municipality in the 1860s. The town had a prison since 1825 and the District School there was founded in 1840 - making it one of the oldest schools of the country.

Faridpur has yielded many great political leaders and personalities. One of the most important of them is Ambika Charan Majumder who was also President of All India Congress Party and was also one of its founders. Other important people would include Chowdhury Moyezuddin Bishwash and his sons Chowdhury Abd-Allah Zaheeruddin Lal Mia, Chowdhury Yusuf Ali Mohon Mia and Chowdhury Enayet Hossain Tara Mia and others such as Tomizuddin Khan, Khan Bahadur Ismail and many others.

There were many important land lords in Faridpur district. Most of them were of Hindu origin. The most prominent Hindu landlords were Ishan Sarker and his descendants from Ishan Gopalpur Union, the Sikdars of Kanaipur, the lords of Choddo and Baish Roshi and Bhanga.

The most powerful Muslim Zamindars included the Nawab of Boalmari and Chowdhury Moyezuddin Bishwash who played a huge role in building up protest against Colonial rule. He was one of the patrons of the Congress party and also a valiant fighter. He also brought about many social reforms in Faridpur, including initiating the revival of Islamic practices, abolition of various racist policies against the Muslims and helped bring about equality among Hindus and Muslims in the town and nearby areas. He also built many schools, madrasas and orphanages. It is said that his territories extended well beyond the district and would total to over 4000 square Km.

Faridpur was one of the places which led the other districts in the anti-colonial movement across the 30s and 40s.