Faridpur District

Faridpur district (Bengali: ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur is the headquarter of this district. The area of this district is 2072.72 km² and is bordered by Rajbari and Manikganj districts on the north, Gopalganj district on the south, Dhaka, Munshiganj and Madaripur districts on the east. The soil of this region is fertile, although once upon a time the district consisted mainly of marshland.

The main rivers are Padma, Old Kumar, Arial Khan, Gorai, Chandana, Bhubanshwar and Lohartek.

Subdivisions

Faridpur district consists of 9 upazilas, 4 municipalities, 79 union parishads, 36 wards, 92 mahallas and 1859 villages. The town consists of 9 wards and 35 mahallas. The area of the town is 20.23 km². The population of the town is 99634; male 51.73%, female 48.27%.

The district's nine upazilas:

• Alfadanga Upazila
• Bhanga Upazila
• Boalmari Upazila
• Charbhadrasan Upazila
• Faridpur Sadar Upazila
• Madhukhali Upazila
• Nagarkanda Upazila
• Sadarpur Upazila
• Saltha Upazila

History

The district is named after the Sufi saint Shah Sheikh Fariduddin, who preached there in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the early 1800s, Hazi Shariatullah started the Farayzi movement against the British rulers from this district. The movement against the British use of Indigo cultivation was also started from Faridpur under the leadership of Dudu Miah.

The district used to be called Fatehabad until 1860. The town of Faridpur came into being towards the late 1700s. Faridpur was one of the places which led the other districts in the anti-colonial movement across the 30s and 40s.

People

The total population is 1,714,496:

• Male 50.55%
• Female 49.45
• Muslim 88%
• Hindu 11%
• Others 1%.