Sylhet District
| Sylhet সিলেট ꠍꠤꠟꠐ | |
|---|---|
| District | |
 Two landmarks of the city: Keane Bridge and Ali Amjad's Clock | |
| Nickname(s): Jalalabad | |
 Location of Sylhet in Bangladesh | |
| Coordinates: 24°53′N 91°52′E / 24.883°N 91.867°ECoordinates: 24°53′N 91°52′E / 24.883°N 91.867°E | |
| Country |
 |
| Division | Sylhet Division |
| Established | 1782 |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 3,452.07 km2 (1,332.85 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 3,957,000[2] |
| Demonym(s) | Sylheti |
| Literacy rate | |
| • Total | 66% |
| Time zone | UTC+6 (BST) |
| Postal code | 3100 |
| Website |
sylhet |
Sylhet (Bengali: সিলেট, Sylheti: ꠍꠤꠟꠐ), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal province. In that year, Sylhet was included in the newly created Assam Province, and it remained as part of Assam up to 1947 (except during the brief break-up of Bengal province in 1905–11). In 1947, Sylhet became a part of East Pakistan as a result of a referendum (except the sub-division of Karimganj) as part of Chittagong Division.[3] It was subdivided into four districts in 1983-84. It was converted into a Division in 1995.[3]
Geography
Sylhet is the chief town of the division, where the division headquarters as well as Sylhet district headquarters are located. Its most famous natural touristic spot is Jaflong and it is also home to the grave of the Muslim saint, Hazrat Shah Jalal Yamani, located in Sylhet town.
Subdivisions
Sylhet District is divided into thirteen sub-districts or Upazilas.
They are:[3]
Religion
The district of Sylhet has 6,754 mosques, 453 temples, 96 churches and four Buddhist temples.
Notable people
- Shah Jalal, Sufi saint and mystic.
- Shah Paran, Sufi saint.
- Nurul Islam Nahid, Education Minister of Bangladesh
- Syed Mujtaba Ali, Bengali author, journalist, travel enthusiast, academician, scholar and linguist
- Kari Amir Uddin Ahmed, folk musician & mystic poet
- Govinda Chandra Dev (1 February 1907 – 26 March 1971), known as G. C. Dev , was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dhaka. He was assassinated at the onset of Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 by the Pakistan Army.
- Abdul Malik (physician), National Professor, Brigadier (rtd.), Cardiologist, Founder and President of National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh.
- Rushanara Ali, first Bangladeshi to be elected as an MP for the British parliament.
- Ajmal Masroor, television presenter, politician and imam , Parliamentary candidate for a UK Parliament constituency.
- Lutfur Rahman (politician), the first elected mayor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets council.
- Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury,former minister and adviser to the president of Bangladesh.
- Humayun Rashid Choudhury, Awami League leader and former speaker of National parliament.
- Dilwar Khan, poet.
- Salman Shah, film actor, model.
- Shuvro Dev, playback singer.
- Syed Ahmed (businessman), businessman, British TV personality.
- Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, Mayor of Sylhet since 2003, AL.
See also
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylhet District. |
- ↑ Bangladesh at GeoHive Archived 26 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://population.city/bangladesh/sylhet/
- 1 2 3 Ashfaq Hossain (2012). "Sylhet District". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
