Bandarban District Explained

Bandarban
Native Name:Bengali: বান্দরবান
Native Name Lang:bn
Type:District
Map Caption1:Expandable map of Bandarban District
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Bandarban in Bangladesh
Coordinates:21.8°N 116°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Bangladesh
Subdivision Type1:Division
Subdivision Name1:Chittagong Division
Established Title:As a District
Established Date:18 April 1981
Leader Title:MP
Leader Name:Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing
Leader Party:Awami League
Leader Title1:Deputy Commissioner
Leader Name1:Yasmin Parvin Tibriji[1]
Leader Title2:District Council Chairman
Leader Name2:Kya Show Hla
Leader Title3:Chief Executive Officer
Leader Name3:A. T. M. Kawser Hossain[2]
Area Total Km2:4479.01
Population Total:481109
Population As Of:2022 census
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:BST
Utc Offset1:+06:00
Blank Name Sec1:HDI (2019)
Blank Info Sec1:0.574[3]
· 19th of 20

Bandarban (Bengali: বান্দরবান, Chakma:) is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division.[4] It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others being Rangamati District and Khagrachhari District. Bandarban district (4,479 km2) is not only the most remote district of the country, but also the least populous (population 388,000).[5] There is an army contingent at Bandarban Cantonment.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Bandarban District had 106,167 households and a population of 510,109, 40.4% of whom lived in urban areas. The population density was 107 people per km2. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 63.4%, compared to the national average of 74.7%.[6]

As per the 2011 census, there were 215,934 Bengalis and 142,401 (40.67%) indigenous people in the district.[7] There are more than fifteen ethnic minorities living in the district besides the Bengalis, including: Marma, who are Arakanese descendants or Rakhine and are also known as Magh, Mru (also known as Mro or Murong), Bawm, Khyang, Tripura (also known as Tipra or Tipperah), Lushei (also known as Lushai), Khumi, Chak, Kuki, Chakma and Tanchangya (also spelt as Tenchungya).

The Mru, also known as Murong, who are famous for their music and dance. The Mru in major numbers have converted to the youngest religion in Bangladesh – Khrama (or Crama) – a religion that prohibits much of their old ways. They are proposed as the original inhabitants of Bandarban.[8] [9]

Religious composition

Religion in present-day Bandarban district!Religion!Population (1941)[10] !Percentage (1941)!Population (2011)[11] !Percentage (2023)
Tribal 57,79394.50%15,7264.05%
2,5954.24%197,08745.68%
3690.60%13,1376.38%
00.00%39,33310.13%
------123,05233.69%
Others 3990.65%00.00%
Total Population61,156100%338,335100%
Religion199120012011Perc 2011PGR 91-11
Muslim90,800147,062150,08740.75%79.5%
Hindu8,10510,79620,1374.4%62.1%
Christian16,76928,54639,33310.1%134.6%
Buddhist 87,613103,997135,05230.7%40.4%
Others8,2827,71915,7264.0%89.9%
Total230,569298,120388,335100.0%68.4%
The religious composition of the population in 2022 was 45.68% Muslim, 33.52% Buddhist, 9.78% Christian, 9.42% Hindu and 2.51% others.[12] Religious institutions is Mosque 2,070, Buddhist 900 (256 temples, 644 pagodas), Hindu temple 94 and Church 2.[13]

Tourism

The India - Myanmar Sabroom - Cox's Bazar railway link has been proposed to connect Sabroom - Khargachari - Rangamati - Bandarban - Satkania - Cox's Bazar and another rail link connecting Bandarban to Tuipang, India.

Bandarban lies, by bus, eight hours away from Dhaka, two hours from Chittagong and three hours from Cox's Bazar. It is also possible to get there by a six-hour bus ride from Rangamati. The Buddha Dhatu Jadi, the Buddhist temple in Bangladesh, located in Balaghata, 4 km from the town. This place attracts many tourists every year. This Theravada Buddhist temple is made completely in the style of South-East Asia and houses the second largest statue of the Buddha in Bangladesh. The waterfall named Shoilo Propat at Milanchari is another place tourists like to visit. The numerous Buddhist temples, known as kyang in local tongue, and bhihars in the town include the highly notable the Rajvihar (royal vihar) at Jadipara and the Ujanipara Bhihar. Bawm villages around Chimbuk, and Mru villages a little further off, are also lie within a day's journey from the town. Prantik Lake, Jibannagar and Kyachlong Lake are some more places of interest. Boat ride on the river Shangu is one of the main attractions here for tourists.

Notable persons

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: List of Deputy Commissioners . 2 April 2021 . 8 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108083518/http://pmis.mopa.gov.bd/pmis/Forms/dclist.php . dead .
  2. Web site: Bandarban District Hill Council . Bangladesh National Portal . 26 March 2021.
  3. Web site: Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 18 March 2020.
  4. Book: Rahman, Atikur . 2012 . Bandarban District . Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh . Islam . Sirajul . Sirajul Islam . Jamal . Ahmed A. . Second . Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  5. Book: Chowdhury, Sifatul Quader . 2012. Chittagong Hill Tracts. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh . Islam . Sirajul . Sirajul Islam . Jamal . Ahmed A. . Second . Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  6. Book: Population and Housing Census 2022: Preliminary Report . August 2022 . Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics . viii, 29, 38, 45 . 978-984-35-2977-0.
  7. News: bn:৪৭ জেলায় আদিবাসীর সংখ্যা কমেছে!. http://archive.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2012-08-17/news/282516 . Prothom Alo . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180814070003/http://archive.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2012-08-17/news/282516 . 14 August 2018 . 27 August 2018.
  8. Zaman . Mustafa . 24 February 2006 . Mother Tongue at Stake . Star Weekend Magazine . 5 . 83.
  9. http://www.newagebd.com/2006/aug/18/aug18/xtra_inner3.html From the land of the sunrise – the New Age
  10. Web site: Census of India, 1941 Volume VI Bengal Province .
  11. Web site: Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011 Zila Report – Naogaon . bbs.gov.bd . Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
  12. Web site: . District Statistics 2011: Bandarban . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141113184808/http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/District%20Statistics/Bandarban.pdf . 13 November 2014 . 14 July 2014 . Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
  13. Web site: Is this the Bangladesh we wanted? Analyzing the Hindu Population Gap (2001-2011). 12 April 2014.