Comilla

Shalaban Bihar is evidence of the age of Comilla.

The Comilla region was once under ancient Samatata and was joined with Tripura State. This district came under the reign of the kings of the Harikela in the ninth century AD. Lamai Mainamati was ruled by the Deva dynasty (eighth century AD), and (during the 10th and mid-11th century AD). In 1732, it became the centre of the Bengal-backed domain of Jagat Manikya.[2]

The Peasants’ Movement against the king of Tripura in 1764, which originally formed under the leadership of Shamsher Gazi is a notable historical event in Comilla.[3] It came under the rule of East India Company in 1765. This district was established as the Tripura district in 1790. It was renamed Comilla in 1960. Chandpur and Brahmanbaria subdivisions of this district were transformed into districts in 1984.

World War II cemetery in Mainamati.

Communal tension spread over Comilla when a Muslim was shot in the town during the partition of Bengal in 1905. On 21 November 1921, Kazi Nazrul Islam composed patriotic songs and tried to awaken the town people by protesting the Prince of Wales's visit to India.[4] During this time, Avay Ashram, as a revolutionary institution, played a significant role. Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi visited Comilla at that time. In 1931, approximately 4000 peasants in Mohini village in Chauddagram Upazila revolted against a land revenue tax. The British Gurkha soldiers fired indiscriminately on the crowd, killing four people.[5] In a major peasant gathering, the police fired at Hasnabad of Laksam Upazila in 1932. Two people were killed and many were wounded. Comilla Victoria Government College in the city was named in memory of Queen Victoria .

Comilla Cantonment is an important military base and the oldest in East Bengal. It was widely used by the British Indian Army during World War II. It was the headquarter of the British 14th Army. There is a war cemetery, Maynamati War Cemetery,[6] in Comilla that was established after the World War II to remember the Allied soldiers who died during World War I and II, mostly from Commonwealth states and the United States. There are a number of Japanese soldiers buried there as well, from the Second World War.

Pakistani Eastern Command plan for the defense of East Pakistan from 1967 to 1971 (generic representation—some unit locations not shown.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for the liberation of Bangladesh, when Pakistan Army created the 39th ad hoc Division in mid-November, from the 14th Division units deployed in those areas, to hold on to the Comilla and Noakhali districts, and the 14th Division was tasked to defend the Sylhet and Brahmanbaria areas only.[7] Pakistan Army's 93,000 troops unconditionally surrendered to the Indian Army and India's local ally Mukti Bahini on 16 December 1971.[8] This day and event is commemorated as the Bijoy Dibos (Bengali: বিজয় দিবস) in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India.[9][10]

Comilla has a tropical savanna climate. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Aw. The climate of Comilla is generally marked with monsoons, high temperature, considerable humidity and heavy rainfall. The hot season commences early in April and continues till July. The average annual temperature in Comilla is 25.5 °C (77.9 °F). About 2,295 mm (90.35 in) of precipitation falls annually.

These are the neighbourhoods of Comilla:[16]

• Baghmara
• Bara Para
• Belghar
• Bholain (North)
• Bholain (South)
• Bijoypur
• Chapapur
• Durlovpur
• Chouara
• Galiara
• Purba Jorekaran
• Pachim Jorekaran
• Perul (North)
• Perul (South)

One of the oldest highways of the Indian Subcontinent, 'The Grand Trunk Road', passes through the city. The Dhaka–Chittagong Highway bypasses the city from the cantonment to Poduar Bazar.[17] The inter city bus terminal is located at the entrance of the city, called ShashonGacha.

Comilla is a nearby city of Laksham Junction and Akhaura Railway Junction. Rail connection is available to Dhaka, Chittagong, Brahmanbaria, and Sylhet.