| Rajshahi District | |
| Native Name: | রাজশাহী জেলা |
| Native Name Lang: | bn |
| Official Name: | Rajshahi District |
| Type: | District of Bangladesh |
| Map Caption1: | Expandable map of Rajshahi District |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Rajshahi District in Bangladesh |
| Coordinates: | 24.4°N 88.5°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Bangladesh |
| Subdivision Type1: | Division |
| Subdivision Name1: | Rajshahi Division |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Abdul Jalil |
| Leader Title1: | District Council Chairman |
| Leader Name1: | Muhammad Ali Sarkar [1] |
| Leader Title2: | Chief Executive Officer |
| Leader Name2: | A. B. M. Sharif Uddin |
| Area Total Km2: | 2407.01 |
| Population Total: | 2909622 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 census |
| Population Density Km2: | 1208 |
| Timezone1: | BST |
| Utc Offset1: | +06:00 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | HDI (2019) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0.642[2] · 6th of 20 |
Rajshahi District (Bengali: রাজশাহী জেলা) is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division.[3] The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District.
Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore District to the east, Chapai Nababganj District to west and a small part of Kushtia District and the river Padma to the south. The district consists of alluvial plain.
There are ten rivers in this district, totaling 146 km in length. The main river is the Padma (Ganges). Other rivers include Mahananda, Baral and Barnai.
The Mughal Emperor Akbar gave the Rajshahi region to the Puṭhia Raj family to govern under the governor "Pitambar".
In 1772, the Rajshahi District was established. Parts of it eventually became the districts of Bogura, Malda, Natore, Naogaon, Nawabganj, and Pabna. On 1 April 1876, Rajshahi town was made into the municipal town.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, the town was the site of battles between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistan Army. Between 26 and 30 March, Pakistan's forces killed 31 people in Godagaɽi upazila. A battle on 30 March resulted in the death of an East Pakistan Rifles member. On 13 April, the Pakistan army killed Rajshahi Cadet College Professor AB Siddiqi. On 24 May, it attacked Tahirpur Haṭ in Bagmara upazila, killing 25 people. Mukti Bahini commander Havilder Shafiq led an attack on a Pakistani boat on 8 August, killing 18 personnel. Pakistan then killed two members of Bangladesh Ansar and established a camp in the Zoha Hall of Rajshahi University, where they massacred hundreds of civilians. The Pakistan army also established camps inside Rajshahi Cadet College, Roy Saheb brickfield, Sardaha Pilot School, and Sardah Police Academy. It tortured members of Mukti Bahini and civilians in the camps, and killed hundreds of refugees on the banks of the Padma river who were fleeing to India. In a battle between Mukti Bahini and Pakistan near Kabasmul, a Pakistani army major was killed. Pakistan retaliated by killing 44 civilians in Gaganbari and Palsa. On 17 December, Pakistan surrendered to the Indian Army Captain Nanda in Naṭore, a day after its forces signed the Pakistani instrument of Surrender in Dhaka. Its camp in Rajshahi University was taken over by Mukti Bahini members On 18 December, the Pakistan army stationed in Pabna and Rajshahi districts surrendered. Surrender ceremonies took place on 20 December.[4]
Rajshahi town was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 13 August 1987. In 1997, the government of Bangladesh made the town into a full city corporation, Rajshahi City Corporation. In 2016, Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, a professor at University of Rajshahi, and a 65 year old Sufi preacher, Shahidullah, were killed by Islamic extremists.[5]
According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Rajshahi District had 775,260 households and a population of 2,909,622, 37.6% of whom lived in urban areas. The population density was 4,100 people per km2. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 75.1%, compared to the national average of 74.7%.[6]
| 435,829 | 75.18% | 2,430,194 | 93.64% | ||
| 111,991 | 19.32% | 122,394 | 4.72% | ||
| Tribal religion | 31,439 | 5.42% | 14,645 | 0.56% | |
| 216 | 0.04% | 27,830 | 1.07% | ||
| Others | 258 | 0.04% | 134 | 0.01% | |
| Total Population | 579,733 | 100% | 2,595,197 | 100% |
Muslims are the majority population. The Christian population has grown quickly, while the number of those following ethnic religions has declined significantly. Ethnic minorities were 49,312 (1.90%), mainly Santals and Oraons.
Sub-district or upazilas and thanas of Rajshahi are
Rajshahi district has well organized internal communication as well as connection to other parts of Bangladesh. There are 96 metalled roads with a total length of about 1270 km, 108 semi-metalled roads of about 546 km length, and six railways of about 63 km total length.
There are Govt. Approved Bengali daily newspapers and Newsportals Published from the city, including Sonali Sangbad, Sunshine, Dainik Barta, Uttorbongo Protidin, Sonar Desh, Natun Provat, and Amader Rajshahi.[8]
The government-run Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar have transmission centres in Rajshahi.
A local FM radio station, Radio Padma, transmits at 99.2 MHz frequency. Radio Foorti transmits at 88.0 MHz.
Rajshahi City Press Club, Rajshahi Press Club, Rajshahi Metropolitan Press club and Rajshahi Padma Press Club.
Rajshahi Metropolitan is widely known as Silk City of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board (In Bengali : Jatio Resham Board) is situated at Rajshahi. There are seven silk factories in the BSCIC Industrial Town in Rajshahi.[9] An inter-city train is named Silk City Express after Rajshahi; it serves the route between Rajshahi and Dhaka.[10] Rajshahi is also notable for producing mangos and silk.[11]