Chapainawabganj (), often colloquially simply called Chapai ( pronounced Cām̐pāi) is a district of the Rajshahi Division. This district is the north-western most part of Bangladesh. The north and western part of Chapainawabganj is bounded by Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal, the east by Naogaon district, and south-east by Rajshahi district.

History

Chapainawabganj made the Goura capital of ancient Bengal alongside Malda. This region had strategic and commercial importance due to its location at the junction of the rivers Mahananda and Padma. Because of its importance, Alivardi Khan, the fourth Nawab of Bengal, founded Nawabganj town which in course of time became part of the name of the broader region. Until 1947, Nawabganj was a thana under the Malda district of the Rajshahi Division in the British Raj. After the 1947 parition of Bengal and British exist, Chapainawabganj directly became one of the sub-districts of the Rajshahi district until 1984. It was granted its own district-hood in 1984 by the government of Bangladesh, under the Rajshahi Division of the country.

The gateway of North Bengal from the western side, Chapai region (alongside Malda region) was once the capital of the historic Goura-Bangla region, with land classified as Tal, Diara, and Barind. The ruins of the ancient city of Gauda remains in this disctrict.

Chapai is part of the ancient regions of Pundra, Varendra and Gaura. As well as parts of the Pundra Kingdom, the ancient-most known kingdom native to Bangladesh; and being at the heart of the capital of the Gauda Kingdom and the Bengal Sultanate. The cities of Gauda and Pundra had been the capital of Bengal in ancient and medieval ages. The boundaries of Gauda has changed in different ages since 5th century BC, at times stretching far and wide, however, Chapai remains at the heart of it. The natives of Chapai speak the North-Central Varendri dialect of the Bengali language (also called Gaudi Bangla).

After the fall of the Gupta Empire, in the early 7th century AD, Emperor Shaskanka (often considered the first sovereign of unified Bengal) as well as successive Kings of Gauda ruled Bengal from the Gauda region independently for more than three decades, after which the Palas arose from this region after the century of anarchy. From the middle of 8th century to the end of 11th century, for over four hundred years, the native Pala Empire ruled Bengal from this region. The Pala rulers took the historic title of Gaudeswar, meaning 'King of Gauda.' It was during their reign that the Jagadalla Vihara monastery in Barind flourished paralleling with Nalanda, Vikramshila, and Devikot monastaries. This period of Bengal is known as the 1st Bengali Golden Age. The native, devout-Buddhist Pala Dynasty eventually fell to the invasion of the south-Indian born Sena Empire. The Sena rulers were Brahminic Hindus, and in the habit of moving from place to place within their kingdom. During the rule of Lakshman Sen, this region became known as Lakshmanabati. The Sena kings ruled Bengal until Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered Bengal in 1204 AD. Thereafter, the Muslim rule lasted for about five hundred years. During the early part of the Bengal Sultanate, Gauda was its capital, and numerous mosques and other buildings were built here. The ancient city of Gauda residing within Chapai and Malda, was abandoned soon into Mughal rule, after a change in course of the Ganges left the city disease-ridden.

Nawab Sirajuddaulah, the last sovereign of pre-colonial independent Bengal, was defeated by Robert Clive at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which marked the beginning of British rule. Malda district was formed in 1813 out of the outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur, and Rajshahi districts. At the time of Dr. B. Hamilton (1808–09), the present thanas of Gazole, Malda, Bamongola, and parts of Habibpur were included in the district of Dinajpur and the thanas of Harischandrapur, Kharba, Ratua, Manikchak, and Kaliachak were included in the district of Purnia. In consequence of the prevalence of serious crimes in the Kaliachak and Sahebganj thanas and near rivers, in 1813, a joint magistrate and deputy collector were appointed at English Bazar (Malda city) with jurisdiction over a number of police stations centred around that place and taken away from the two districts. Thus, the district of Malda was born.

The year 1832 saw the establishment of a separate treasury, and in 1859 a full-fledged magistrate and collector was posted. Until 1876, the Malda district formed part of the Rajshahi Division, and from 1876 to 1905 it formed part of Bhagalpur Division; within the rule of the British Raj. In 1905, Malda district was again transferred to Rajshahi Division, and until 1947, Malda remained in this division. In August 1947, this district was affected by the Partition of Bengal. Between 12 and 15 August of 1947, whether the district would become part of the dominion of India or Pakistan was unknown, as the announcement of the Radcliffe line did not make this point clear. During these few days, the then-Malda district was under a magistrate of East Pakistan, until the details of the Radcliffe award were published on 17 August, 1947 and it became part of West Bengal, India, but five thanas of this district became part of East Bengal, Pakistan, returning once again toRajshahi but this time directly, forming the Chapainawabganj sub-district, and after the independence of Bangladesh, eventually becoming its own district in 1984 under the Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh.

Chapai has witnessed different empires which were raised, flourished, and then cast down near oblivion by a successor kingdom built up on the relics of its predecessor on its soil, both native and foreign. Evidence include legions of relics of a predecessor kingdom being used in the monuments of the successor kingdoms. Chapai awaits the advent of tourists and people of archaeological interest with its wealth to be enjoyed and its huge potential to be explored.

Geography

Geographical location Chapainawabganj is the most western district of Bangladesh. Rajshahi and Naogaon is on the east, while on the Indian side is Malda of West Bengal, the rest of India is on the north. Western side is surrounded by the river Padma and Malda district and Murshidabad of West Bengal (India), India is on the southern side. Chapai Nawabganj is situated between the latitude 24'22 to 24'57 and longitude 87'23 to 88'23. Chapainawabganj is regarded as one of the mango cities of Bangladesh, due to the abundant cultivation of mangoes in this district.

Climate Chapainawabganj is very close to the big city Rajshahi and the climate of both districts are very close. Under Köppen climate classification, Rajshahi has a tropical wet and dry climate. The climate of Rajshahi is generally marked with monsoons, high temperature, considerable humidity and moderate rainfall. The hot season commences early in March and continues till the middle of July. The maximum mean temperature observed is about during the months of April, May, June and July and the minimum temperature recorded in January is about . The highest rainfall is observed during the months of monsoon. The annual rainfall in the district is about .

Topography Chapainawabganj District (Rajshahi Division) has an area of 1702.55 km2. Many rivers flows over this area. The main rivers are the Ganges, and Mahananda.Google Map Most of the land of this area are plain land with many small ponds and water reservoirs. But, recently, the geography has changed due to the erosion by the river Padma (Ganges). Overload of river sediment caused by farrakka barrage eroded the river banks and created a large area of land full of sand which almost looks like a small desert in this area. Four to five small union parisad like narayonpur, johurpur, sundorpur, baghdanga has shifted to the other side of the river Padma.

Based on formation of soil, Chapai Nawabganj can be divided into two different parts: Borendra area and Diyar area.

The east part of the river Mohananda is part of Borind Track and known as Borendra area. Borendra area is one of the oldest well known areas not only in Bangladesh but also all over the sub-continent. Borendra area was formed during the formation of the triangle of Bengal. Chapai Nawabganj sadar, part of Gomostapur Upozilla and Nachol constitutes the borendra area. The main crops of this area is the rice.

The region in the river Padma basin is known as diyar. The area formed for the continuous change of path of the river Padma. The soil of this area are very fertile and people can cultivate multiple times a year of different type of crops. Main crops are rice, wheat, melons– the most famous corn is Kalai. Mango gardens are increasing rapidly beside these crops now. This area was also famous for the cultivation of indigo and silk.

Rivers and waters

Padma River The Ganges river originates in the Himalayas and flows through Northern and Eastern India. This river then enters into Bangladesh at Shibganj and takes the name Padma. The Farakka Barrage was built 10 miles upstream of where Padma enters into Bangladesh which decreased the water level of Padma. But still in rainy season, this river becomes very dangerous as the water level grows high and floods the area nearby.

Mahananda River Mahananda River entered to this district through Bholahat Upozilla and flows through the district and finally falls to the river Padma at Godagari, Rajshahi district. Nawabganj town is situated on the bank of this river and the economy of this district is driven by this river too.

Pagla The Pagla River also flows from India and enters into Bangladesh in this district at Tattipur, Moraganga (dead gangis). After flowing a mile, it mixes with the river Mahananda.

Punarbhaba River The Punarbhaba River flows through Dinajpur and Naogoan of Bangladesh and then enters into Chapainawabganj.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Chapai Nawabganj District has 448,028 households and a population of 1,835,528 with an average 4.07 people per household. Among the population, 367,283 (20.01%) inhabitants are under 10 years of age. The population density is 1,078 people per km2. Chapai Nawabganj District has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 72.00%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 93.56 males per 100 females. Approximately, 25.46% (467,327) of the population live in urban areas. Ethnic population is 23,278 (1.27%), of which 6,510 are Oraon, 6,409 Santal, 4,196 Barman and 1,187 Rajuar.

Religion

+Religion in present-day Chapai Nawabganj DistrictReligion194119811991200120112022%%%%%%Islam 285,91473.63%867,56492.99%1,104,41594.28%1,356,52495.17%1,571,15195.36%1,753,99395.56%Hinduism 87,33722.49%57,3236.14%54,8944.69%60,8094.27%66,6024.04%72,1783.93%Ethnic religion 14,9873.86%Christianity 17~0%2,1220.23%2,7750.23%4,4930.32%5,7250.35%7,2160.39%Others 480.02%5,9110.64%9,3850.80%3,4960.24%4,0430.25%2,1410.12%Total Population388,303100%932920100%1171469100%1425322100%1647521100%1,835,528100%

According to 2022 Bangladeshi census, Muslims composed 95.56% of the population and Hindus 3.93%.

Post-compulsory education

Chapainawabganj has only one university at its boro Indara Moor. Exim Bank Agricultural University Bangladesh (EBAUB) was established in 2013 to provide students of this area with education specializing in agriculture. It also provides undergraduate degrees in Agricultural Economics, Business Administration and Law. Along with Nawabganj Govt. College and Shah Neyamotullah College, EXIM Bank Agricultural University is considered to be the pinnacle of educational institutions in this district.

Notable colleges in Chapainawabganj District: Adina Fazlul Haque Govt. College Nawabganj Government College Chapainawabganj Polytechnic Institute Rahanpur Homoeopathic Medical College Nawabganj City College Shibganj Mohila Degree College