Munshiganj District

Munshiganj District (Bengali: মুন্সীগঞ্জ জেলা) is a district of Dhaka Division. It is located in central Bangladesh. This region is also historically known as Bikrampur.^[5]

Munshiganj District মুন্সীগঞ্জ জেলা
District of Bangladesh
Clockwise from top-left: Idrakpur Fort, Project Hilsha, Honda Manufacturing Plant, Padma Bridge, Mirkadim Bridge and Baba Adam's Mosque
Nickname:  Bikrampur
Location of Munshiganj District in Bangladesh
Expandable map of Munshiganj District
Coordinates: 23.46°N 90.54°E / 23.46; 90.54
Country	Bangladesh
Division	Dhaka
Headquarters	Munshiganj
Government
• Deputy Commissioner	Fatema Tul Zannat [1]
Area [2]
• Total	954.96 km2 (368.71 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[3]
• Total	1,625,416
• Density	1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Munshiganji, Bikrompuira, Bikrampuri, Dhakaiya
Time zone	UTC+06:00 (BST)
Postal code	1500
Area code	0691
ISO 3166 code	BD-35
HDI (2018)	0.649[4] medium · 3rd of 21

Geography

It is a part of Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District and Narayanganj District in the north, Madaripur District and Shariatpur District in the south, Chandpur District and Comilla District in the east and Dhaka District and Faridpur District in the west. ^[6]

Total land area is 235,974 acres (954 km²), out of which 138472 acres (560 km²) are cultivable and 5609 acres (23 km²) are fallow land. It has no forest area. 40,277 acres (163 km²) of land is irrigated while 26,242 acres (106 km²) of land is under river. It has 14 rivers of 155 km passing through.^{[citation needed]}

Water bodies

Main rivers include the Padma River, Meghna River, Dhaleswari River and the Ichamati River.^[6]

Boating

Boating is one of the traditions of the people in Munshiganj District. A traditional boat race is held in the Dhaleshwari River which thousands of people come to see. The boat race was held in a 3 km area from the Mirkadim Municipality to Munshiganj launch harbor. Boats with 60 oarsmen, 50 oarsmen and 25 oarsmen participate in the competition every year^[7]

Administration

It consists of 6 upazilas, 67 union parishads, 603 wards, 662 mouzas, 906 villages, 73 mahallas and 2 municipalities.^[8]

The district consists of 6 upazilas:^[6]

1. Lohajang Upazila
2. Sreenagar Upazila
3. Munshiganj Sadar Upazila
4. Sirajdikhan Upazila
5. Tongibari Upazila
6. Gazaria Upazila

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1974	908,285	—
1981	1,065,573	+2.31%
1991	1,188,387	+1.10%
2001	1,293,972	+0.85%
2011	1,445,660	+1.11%
2022	1,625,416	+1.07%
Sources:[3][9]

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Munshiganj District had 399,631 households and a population of 1,625,416 with an average 3.98 people per household. Among the population, 303,978 (18.70%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 1,702 people per km². Munshiganj District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 77.90%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1,061 females per 1,000 males. Approximately, 18.09% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 4,808.^[3][2]

Religion

Religions in Munshiganj District (2022)[2]
Religion			Percent
Islam			92.34%
Hinduism			7.52%
Other or not stated			0.14%

Religion in present-day Munshiganj District

Religion	1941[10]: 96–97 [a]		1981[9]		1991[9]		2001[9]		2011[9]		2022[3]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	513,766	58.54%	940,114	88.23%	1,070,443	90.08%	1,181,012	91.27%	1,328,838	91.92%	1,500,984	92.34%
Hinduism	362,986	41.36%	1,23,367	11.58%	114,409	9.63%	110,804	8.56%	114,655	7.93%	122,238	7.52%
Others [b]	891	0.10%	2,092	0.19%	3,535	0.29%	2,156	0.17%	2,167	0.15%	2,194	0.14%
Total Population	877,643	100%	1,065,573	100%	1,188,387	100%	1,293,972	100%	1,445,660	100%	1,625,416	100%

92.34% are Muslims, 7.52% Hindus.

Notable people

Revolutionary nationalists

• M. Hamidullah Khan, Bangladesh Forces, Sector Commander, Sector 11, Bangladesh War of Independence 1971^[11]

Social and scientific

• Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Bengali biologist, physicist and botanist^[12]
• Chashi Nazrul Islam, filmmaker
• Humayun Azad, linguist, poet and novelist^[13]
• Aasif Ridwan Khan, Bangladeshi architect
• Nurul Kabir, journalist, writer and editor of New Age (Bangladesh)

Art, culture and sports

• AKM Nowsheruzzaman, national football player
• Atiśa, Buddhist religious leader and master
• Brojen Das, the first Bangladeshi and Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it four times
• Alauddin Ali, music composer and director
• Imdadul Haq Milan, writer
• Buddhadeb Bosu, writer, poet, playwright, essayist
• Ananta Jalil, actor, director, producer, businessman, and philanthropist
• Tahsan Rahman Khan, singer-songwriter, composer, actor and model.
• Tele Samad, actor
• Azmeri Haque Badhon, actress, dentist
• Shimul Yousuf, actress, singer
• Nazma Anwar, actor
• Pratap Shankar Hazra, national football and hockey player
• Sharifuzzaman, national football player

Public affairs

• A. N. M. Hamidullah, first governor, Bangladesh Bank ^[14]
• Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser of the non-political 2007-2008 Caretaker government of Bangladesh.^[15]
• Iajuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
• A.Q.M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, President of Bangladesh
• M. A. Naser, engineering educator, Vice Chancellor of BUET, Ekushey Padak recipient

See also

• Districts of Bangladesh
• Munshiganj Vihara
• Idrakpur Fort

Notes

1. 1941 figures are for Munshiganj subdivision of erstwhile Dhaka district, which roughly corresponds to the present district. District and thana borders have shifted slightly since 1941.
2. Including Jainism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Ad-Dharmis, or not stated