Backergunge,Backergunje,Bakarganj,orBakerganjis a former district ofBritish Bengal,East PakistanandBangladesh.It was the southernmost district of theDacca Division.The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vastdeltaof theGangesand theBrahmaputrarivers.
| Backergunge Bakarganj বাকেরগঞ্জ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former districtof theBengal Presidency,East PakistanandBangladesh | |||||||||
| 1760–1984 | |||||||||
 Backergunge District in a 1909 Eastern Bengal map ofThe Imperial Gazetteer of India | |||||||||
| Capital | Barisal | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1901 | 11,763 km2(4,542 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1901 | 2,291,752 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 1760 | |||||||||
| 1947 | |||||||||
• Creation ofPatuakhali District | 1969 | ||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Bangladesh | ||||||||
| This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Backergunje".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. | |||||||||
Backergunge District was established in 1760 under theBengal Presidency.[1]In 1947 the district became part ofEast Pakistan.The area of the former Backergunge district is now covered by theBarisal DivisionofBangladesh.The current administrative division also contains aBarisal Districtand aBakerganj Upazila.
History
editIn 1582, under RājāTodar Mal,the region was included in thesarkarof Bākla, but subsequent Mahammadan rulers placed it in the province of Dacca (Dakha).[2]: 172
In the 17th century,Shāh Shujāh,the brother ofAurangzeb,had built a fort at Shujābād, five miles southwest of Barisāl. Early in the 18th centuryAghā Bāqarcame to possess lands in the region and established a marketplace in Buzurgumedpurpargana,which came to be known as Bakarganj, literally 'Baqar's market'.[2]: 167, 165
British rule came in 1765. The district was administered by a magistrate from the town of Backergunge near the junction of the Krishnakāti and Khairābād rivers, until 1801 when the headquarters were relocated to Barisāl.[2]: 167
The district was surveyed by Major Rennell in 1770, he described the southern half of it as wilderness devastated by raids of theMaghs.[2]
Backergunge was in the Dacca tax collectorate until 1817, when an independent collector was appointed.[2]: 172
The island ofDakhin Shahbazpurwas transferred fromNoāhkālidistrict to Backergunge in 1859, and in 1874 most ofMādāripurwas transferred toFaridpur.[2]: 167
By the beginning of the 20th century, the district contained 16 police areas (thanas), and there were five main municipalities:Barisal,Nalchiti,Jhalakati,Patuakhali,andPirojpur.[2]: 173
Geography
edit
Backergunge District was bound in the north byFaridpur Districtand in the east by theMeghnaandShahbazpurrivers.
In 1801 the Barisal subdivision was formed within the district, divided in sixthanas:Barisal, Jhalakati, Nalchiti, Bakarganj, Mehndiganj and Gaurnadi.[3]
The general aspect of the district was that of a flat even country, dotted with clusters ofbambooandarecanutpalms, and intersected by a network of dark-coloured and sluggish streams. There is not a hill or hillock in the whole district, but it derives a certain picturesque beauty from its wide expanses of cultivation, and the greenness and freshness of the vegetation. This was especially true immediately after the rains, although at no time of the year does the district presented a dried-up or burnt appearance. The villages were often surrounded by groves of bamboo,arecanut palmsandbetelvines.[1]
The level of the country was low with numerous streams, wetlands and shallow lakes around the margins of which, long grasses,reedsand other aquatic plants grow. Towards the north-west, the country was verymarshyand nothing was to be seen for miles butswampsandricefields, with a few huts scattered here and there raised on mounds of earth. In the south of the district, along the coast of theBay of Bengal,were the forest tracts of theSundarbanswheretigersandleopardsused to live.
The main rivers of the district were theMeghna,theArial Khanand theHaringhataorBaleswar,with their numerous tributaries. The Meghna includes the accumulated waters of theBrahmaputraandGanges.It flows along the eastern boundary of the district in a southerly direction until itflowsinto the Bay of Bengal. During the latter part of its course the river expands into a largeestuarycontaining many islands, the largest one beingDakshin Shahbazpur.The islands on the seafront are regularly exposed to devastation bycyclonicstorm-waves.
The Arial Khan, a branch of the Ganges, entered the district from the north, flowing generally in a south-easterly direction until it entered the estuary of the Meghna. The main channel of the Arial Khan was about 1,500 metres (1,600 yd) in width in the dry season, and from 2,000 to 3,000 metres (2,200 to 3,300 yd) in the rains. It received a number of tributaries, sending off several offshoots, and usednavigablethroughout the year by local cargo boats that were often of considerable size.
TheHaringhata,Baleswar,MadhumatiandGaraiare different local names for the same river along various parts of its course and it represent another great offshoot of the Ganges. It entered Backergunge near the north-west corner of the district, forming its western boundary, and running south with great windings in its upper reaches, until it crossed the Sundarbans, finally flowing into the Bay of Bengal forming a large and deep estuary, capable of harbouringshipsof considerable size.
In the whole of its course through the district, the river used to be navigable by local boats of large tonnage, and by large seagoing ships as high up asMorrellganj,in the neighbouring district ofJessore.Among its many tributaries in Backergunge, the most important is theKacha,navigable all the year round and flowing in a southerly direction for 30 km (19 mi) until it joined the Baleswar. Other rivers of minor importance were theBarisal,Bishkhali,Nihalganj,Khairabad,Ghagar,Kumar,etc.
All the rivers in the district were subject totidalaction from the Meghna on the north, and from the Bay of Bengal on the south, and nearly all of them are navigable at high tide by country boats of all sizes. The rise of the tide was very considerable in the estuary of the Meghna, and many of thecreeksand water-courses in the island ofDakshin Shahbazpur,which are almost dry at ebb tide, contain 5.5 to 6 m (18 to 20 ft) of water at the flood. A very strongtidal boreor wave ran up the estuary of the Meghna at spring tides, and a singular sound like thunder, known as theBarisal guns,was often heard far out at sea, about the time the tidal wave was coming in.
Population
editIn 1901, the population was 2,291,752, showing an increase of 6% over the decade. About a 68% of the inhabitants in the region wereMuslim,of which a number adhered to theFaraizisorPuritansect.TheHindupopulation numbered 713,800, of which the most numerous community were theNamasudras.TheBuddhistpopulation consisted of about 7,220Maghswho originated inArakanand first settled in Backergunge around the year 1800.[1]
A number of small tradingvillagesexisted throughout the district, and each locality has its periodical tradingfairs.Local people were mostly small land-holders and cultivated sufficient rice and other products for the support of their families.
See also
editExternal links
edit- The district of Bákarganj; its history and statistics,Henry Beveridge, 1876.
References
edit- ^abcImperial Gazetteer of India, v. 6, p. 165.
- ^abcdefgMeyer, William Stevenson; Burn, Richard; Cotton, James Sutherland; Risley, Herbert Hope (1908).Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. 6.Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 165–174.
- ^Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908).Imperial Gazetteer of India,Clarendon Press, Oxford.
