Sunamganj District () is a district located in north-eastern Bangladesh in Sylhet Division.

History In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Laur Kingdom. After the conquest of Sylhet (Kingdom of Gauiurh) in 1303 by Muslims under the spiritual guidance of Shah Jalal, Shah Kamal Quhafah established a capital in Shaharpara with the aid of his twelve disciples and his second son, Shah Muazzamuddin Qureshi, who also maintained a second sub-administration office at Nizgaon on the bank of the river Surma, present day Shologhar (there is now Shologhar Masjid and madrasa) in Sunamganj town, which was administered by one of his descendants. Between the latter part of 1300 CE and 1765 CE, the present-day Sunamganj district was a part of Iqlim-e-Muazzamabad, i.e., the state of Muazzamabad, which was an independent state until 1620 when it was conquered by the mighty Mughal of Delhi. The last sultan of Muazzamabad was Hamid Qureshi Khan, who was a descendant of Shah Kamal Quhafah and he was widely known by his appellation of Shamsher Khan. After the fall of Jalalabad (present-day Sylhet), Shamsher Khan accepted the post of Nawab-cum-Fauzadar and remained so until his death at the Battle of Giria on 29 April 1740 along with Sarfaraz Khan, Nawab of Bengal.Ali, Syed Murtaja, Hazrat Shah Jalal and Sylheter Itihas, 66: 1988

Administration

District The district administrator is appointed from amongst non-civil servants, usually from amongst the member of political party that is in power at the time of appointment and endorsed by the central government. The deputy commissioner is appointed from amongst career civil servants and administers all subordinate branches of the administration such as Upazila parishad Mr.Black was the first district commissioner of Sunamganj.

Subdistricts Sunamganj District comprises 12 sub-districts or upazilas: Bishwamvarpur Chhatak Derai Dharamapasha Dowarabazar Jagannathpur Jamalganj Madhyanagar Shalla Shantiganj Sunamganj Sadar Tahirpur

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Sunamganj District had 528,550 households and a population of 2,695,496 with an average 5.09 people per household. Among the population, 614,526 (22.80%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 719 people per km2. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 64.92%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and the sex ratio was 96.43 males per 100 females. Approximately, 14.92% of the population lived in urban areas.

+Religion in present-day Sunamganj DistrictReligion194119811991200120112022%%%%%%Islam 417,50565.45%1,178,10982.46%1,428,72983.62%1,715,03385.16%2,144,53586.89%2,377,34988.20%Hinduism 217,99334.17%246,44417.25%272,54515.95%294,76514.64%319,37612.94%315,04411.69%Others 2,3990.38%4,2340.29%7,2890.43%3,9400.20%4,0570.17%3,1030.11%Total Population637,897100%1,428,787100%1,708,563100%2,013,738100%2,467,968100%2,695,496100%

Muslims make up 88.20% of the population, while Hindus are 11.69% of the population. There is a minority of 2,600 Christians in the district, mainly in Madhyanagar, Tahirpur and Sunamganj Sadar upazilas. The ethnic population was 5,308, of which 2,003 were Garo and 1,506 Hudi.

Education

University Sunamganj Science and Technology University

Medical College Sunamganj Medical College

Healthcare

The district has 12 government hospitals and 22 health centers. The infant mortality rate is 62 per 1000 child births. The average lifespan of the district's residents is 62 years.

Notable people Advaita Acharya (1434–1559), religious leader and author Asaddor Ali (1929–2005), writer, researcher and historian Shahed Ali, author and novelist Abdus Samad Azad (1922–2005), former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dewan Mohammad Azraf, educator, philosopher and National Professor of Bangladesh Syeda Shahar Banu (1914–1983), language activist Apsana Begum (born 1990), Member of the British Parliament for Poplar and Limehouse Kakon Bibi, fighter, Bir Protik Anwar Choudhury (born 1959), former Governor of the Cayman Islands and High Commissioner of the UK to Bangladesh Phani Bhoushon Choudhury (1954–2016), chief of the Criminal Investigation Department Mahmud Ali (1919–2006), politician Nazir Ahmed Chowdhury, footballer Nirmalendu Chowdhury (1922–1981), musician, composer, lyricist and singer Akshay Kumar Das (born 1903), East Pakistani state minister of finance Ramkanai Das, classical and folk musician Shushama Das, folk musician Suhasini Das, social worker and activist Sumankumar Dash (born 1982), Bangla Academy Literary Award recipient Radharaman Dutta, musician and mystic poet Dhruba Esh (born 1967), cover artist and writer Satikanta Guha (1910–1991), educator Shah Abdul Karim, musician and songwriter Ayub Ali Master (1880–1980), social reformer in Britain A. Zahur Miah, Member of Parliament, politician Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, adviser to the Bangladesh Interim government Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi (1915–2003), social reformer in Britain Abdur Raees (1931–1988), former Member of Parliament in Pakistan and Bangladesh Alaur Rahman, vocalist and music composer Luthfur Rahman (born 1976), deputy leader of Manchester, England Hason Raja, musician and mystic poet Manik Lal Ray, communist politician,Report. Retrieved 16 March 2025Report. Retrieved 16 March 2025 teacher pioneer of mass-education, fighter Barun Roy (1922–2009), parliamentarian Suranjit Sengupta (1945–2017), first Railway Minister of Bangladesh Hassan Shahriar, journalist and political analyst Durbin Shah, lyricist of Sufi traditional songs Munawwar Ali, politician

Notes

References