Commilla

Comilla District Infrmation

Area: 3085.17 square kilometers.

Bounded by: Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts on the north, Noakhali and Feni districts on the south, Tripura (state of Isndia) on the east, Munshiganj and Chandpur districts on the west.

Profile: The Comilla region was once under ancient Samatat and was joined with Tripura State. This district came under the reign of the kings of the Harikela in the ninth century AD. Lalmai Mainamati was ruled by Deva dynasty (eighth century AD), and Chandra dynasty (during tenth and mid eleventh century AD). It came under the rule of East India Company in 1765. This district was established as Tripura district in 1790. It was renamed Comilla in 1960. Chandpur and Brahmanbaria subdivisions of this district were transformed into districts in 1984. Comilla district has 5 municipalities, 54 wards, 148 mahallas, 12 upazilas, 1 thana, 180 union parishads, 2704 mouzas and 3624 villages.

Comilla District is located in Chittagong Division. Districts in Chittagong Division are Bandarban, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Khagrachhari, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, and Rangamati.

Upazilla/ Thana: Barura Upazila, Brahmanpara Upazila, Burichang Upazila, Chandina Upazila, Chauddagram Upazila, Comilla Sadar Upazila, Daudkandi Upazila, Debidwar Upazila, Homna Upazila, Laksham Upazila, Muradnagar Upazila, Nangalko Upazila

History: Peasants Movement against the king of Tripura in 1764 under the leadership of Samsher Gazi is a notable historical event. Communal tension spread over Comilla when a Muslim was shot at Comilla town during the partiition of bengal in 1905. During the preparation of a countrywide hartal on 21 November 1921, protesting the visit of India by Prince of Wales, Kazi Nazrul Islam composed patriotic songs and tried to awaken the town people. During this time Avay Ashram, as a revolutionary institution, played significant role. Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi visited Comilla at that time. In 1931, the British Gurkha soldiers fired indiscriminately and killed four persons of village Mohini of Chauddagram upazila when about four thousand peasants of this village revolted against paying land revenue. In a huge peasant gathering the police fired at Hasnabad of Laksham Upazila in 1932. Two persons were killed and many wounded in this firing.

Places to see: Marks of rich ancient civilization have been found in Lalmai Mainamati hills. In these hills there are plenty of archaeological sites including Shalvan Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charandra Mura, Rupban Mura, Itakhola Mura, Satera Ratna Mura, Ranir Banglar Pahar, Ananda Bazar Palaces, palaces of Bhoj King, Chandi Mura, etc. Various archaeological relics including images and metalled utensils discovered from these viharas, muras and palaces are now preserved in the Mainamati Museum. Other archaeological heritage and relics include Saptaratna Mandir (Jagannath Mandir), Shah Suja Mosque, Dharmasagar, Chandimata Mandir (on the top of Lalmai Hill of Barura), Chandala Shiva Mandir (Brahmanpara, eighteenth century), Saitshala Jami Mosque (Brahmanpara, 1719), Mazars of Panch Pir (five saints) at Shashidal (Brahmanpara, 1815), Harimangal Math (Brahmanpara, 1822), Ramnagar elongated Math (Brahmanpara, 1705), Saitshala Rammahan Mandir (Brahmanpara, 1805), Hasnabad Math and Hatiabhanga Fort (Daudkandi).

Rivers: meghna, gumti and dakatia.

Comilla District

Comilla District is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometers south east of Dhaka. Established as a district of Bengal by the British in 1790, it included the Sub-divisions of Brahmanbaria and Chandpur which eventually became separate districts in 1984.

Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to the south, Tripura of India to the east, and Munshiganj and Chandpur districts to the west.

Geography and climate

Comilla has a total area of 3085.17 square kilometers. It is bounded by Burchiganj and Tripura on the north, Laksham and Chauddagram on the south, and Barura on the west. Major rivers passing through Comilla include Gumti and Little Feni.

Administration

The headquarters of Comilla are located in the city of Comilla which has a total area of 11.47 square kilometers. It consists of 18 mouzas and 3 wards. Comilla thana was officially converted into an upazilla in 1983 which contains one municipality 18 wards, 19 union parishads, 452 mouzas and 458 villages.

Economy

Mainly based on agriculture, the economy of Comilla has been flourished through trade and cottage industries, especially the 'Khadi' textile. For the economic development of the region the "Bangladesh Export Promotion Zone Authority" has established the "Comilla Export Processing Zone" spread over an area of 104.44 hectares (258 Acres) in the Comilla old Airport Area.

Places of Interest

Important landmarks include Kotbari, a cantonment, or military installation and Kandirpar, considered the heart of the Comilla district. Ancient Buddhist Monastery ruins are the major attraction of Mainamati, near Kotbari. There is also a Second World War cemetery located about 3.1 km away from Comilla Cantonment, which was a frontier military base in the fight against the Japanese who had occupied Burma. British Army soldiers killed during the fight with the Japanese Army at the Burma (Myanmar) frontier were buried here. Pashchimgaon Nawab Bari, the place of only lady Jaminder Faizunnesa, a poet, educationist and a great donor.

Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh, passed significant time of his life in this town. Both his wives, Promila Devi and Nargis, hailed from this district.

Comilla Victoria College and Comilla Zilla School are two ancient and famous college and school in the country. Comilla Zilla School was established in the year of 1837. Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) is situated in Kotbari.

Situated by the bank of the river Ghumti, Comilla is also famous for some tanks such as 'Dhormo Sagor', 'Ranir Dighi', 'Nanuar Dighi', 'Ujir Dighi' etc.

Mainamati

About eight km. to the west of Comilla town and 114 km. south-east of Dhaka lie the low hills of Mainamati-Lalmai ridge - an old centre of Buddhist culture. On the slopes of these hills lie scattered runis that testity to as a early Buddhist civilization (8th to 12th century). At Salban in the middle of the ridge, excavations have laid bare a large Buddhist Vihara (monastery) and an imposing central shrine. Further explorations have revealed valuable information on the rule of the Chandra and Deva dynasties which flourished here from the 8th to 12th century A.D. The whole range of hillocks run for about 18 km and is studded with more than 50 such sites. A site museum houses the archaeological finds that include terracotta plaques, bronze statues and caskets, coins, jewellery, utensils, pottery and votive stupas embossed with Buddhist inscriptions.

Lalmai Moinamoti and Shalbon Bihar

They are famous historical and archeological places around Comilla. These are a series of hillocks, where the Northern part is called Moinamoti and the Southern part is called Lalmai; and Shalbon Bihar is in the Middle of Lalmai and Moinamoti, which the was established in 8th century by King Buddadev. Salban Vihara, almost in the middle of the Mainarnati-Lalmai hill range consists of 115 cells, built around a spacious

courtyard with cruciform temple in the centre facing its only gateway complex to the north resembling that of the Paharpur Monastery. Kotila Mura situated on a flattened hillock, about 5 km north of Salban Vihara inside the Comilla Cantonment is a picturesque Buddhist establishment. Here three stupas are found side by side representing the Buddhist "Trinity" or three jewels i.e. the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Charpatra Mura is an isolated small oblong shrine situated about 2.5 km. north-west of kotila Mura stupas. The only approach to the shrine is from the East through a gateway, which leads to a spacious hall. If you are in Comilla and already visited Lalmai, Moinamoti then dont miss to go Moinamoti museum where you will find the historical things found in Lalmai & Moinamoti of 7th & 8th centuries. The Mainamati site Museum has a rich and varied collection of copper plates, gold and silver coins and 86 bronze objects. Over 150 bronze statues have been recovered mostly from the monastic cells, bronze stupas, stone sculptures and hundreds of terracotta plaques each measuring on an average of 9" high and 8" to 12" wide. Mainamati is only 114 km. from Dhaka City and is just a day's trip by road on way to Chittagong.