Lakshmipur District (Bengali: লক্ষ্মীপুর জেলা; Bengali pronunciation:[lokʰːiˈpur]) is a district in Bangladesh with an area of 1,440 km2. It is bordered by Chandpur to the north, Bhola and Noakhali districts to the south, Noakhali to the east, and Barisal and Bhola districts to the west. Lakshmipur was part of Noakhali until 15 February 1984, when the western part of Noakhali was reorganised from Lakshmipur subdivision into Lakshmipur district to improve administrative efficiency.[3]
History
As with the rest of the erstwhile Noakhali district, most of the Lakshmipur area was formed relatively recently from alluvial deposits brought by the Meghna. The region was formerly under the Samatata region of ancient Bengal and later formed part of the Bhulua Kingdom, which intermittently fell under the domination of the Bengal Sultans, Tripura and Rakhine. During the 14th century, a Sufi saint called by the locals Shah Miran arrived in the district to spread Islam among the local Hindus. His dargah is in Kanchanpur village of Ramganj Upazila.
Bhulua was conquered by the Mughals in the early 17th century. In the 18th century, the East India Company took over the region and formed the district of Noakhali. The Noakhali riots began in Shyampur village of Ramganj Upazila and spread to the rest of the present district. After Partition, Lakshmipur continued to be a part of Noakhali district until 1984 when it became its own district.
Geography
Lakshmipur is roughly triangular in shape. It borders Chandpur district to the north, Noakhali district to the east, and Barisal and Bhola districts across the Meghna to the southwest. The southwestern portion of the district consists of chars formed by alluvial deposits of the Meghna, which are constantly shifting in position and size. There are very few major rivers, the two biggest being the Meghna and Dakatia. The Meghna forms the southwestern border of the district and is very wide.
The chars in the Meghna are made up of alluvial deposits that, after a few months, begin growing grass and trees and become suitable for cultivation. Most of present-day Lakshmipur district was created in the last century by the gradual merging of chars with the mainland. The terrain is flat and is mostly cultivated fields with pockets of forest cover.
Administration
The district of Lakshmipur consists of four municipalities, 58 union parishads, 514 villages, 3,539 mosques, 45 temples, and one church.[4]
The upazilas or subdivisions under this district are:[5]
According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Lakshmipur District had 459,344 households and a population of 1,937,948 with an average 4.16 people per household. Among the population, 431,467 (22.26%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 1,345 people per km². The literacy rate (age 7 and over) in Lakshmipur was 73.98%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and the sex ratio was 1,122 females per 1,000 males. Approximately, 24.90% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 150.[1]
As of the 2011 census, 96.55% of the population were Muslims and 3.44% were Hindus. The Hindu population decreased slightly from 64,000 in 1981 to 59,000 in 2011,[6] but increased to 62,000 in 2022.[1]
This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are residents, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(December 2022)
^1941 figures use Ramganj, Raipur, Lakshmipur and Ramgati thanas of erstwhile Noakhali district. District and thana (now Upazila) borders have shifted slightly since. As Ramganj was divided into Ramganj and Chatkhil upazilas in 1984, current population ratios have been used to estimate the 1941 population of the current Chatkhil upazila and religious distributions inside thanas were assumed to be homogenous.
