Serajdikhan Upazila

Serajdikhan Upazila (munshiganj district) area 180.19 sq km, located in between 23°30' and 23°40' north latitudes and in between 90°15' and 90°27' east longitudes. It is bounded by keraniganj upazila on the north, lohajang and sreenagar upazilas on the south, tongibari and narayanganj sadar upazilas on the east, Sreenagar and nawabganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 288107; male 143559, female 144548; Muslim 249032, Hindu 37200, Buddhist 1, Christian 1862 and others 12.

Water bodies Main rivers: ichamati, dhaleshwari.

Administration Serajdikhan Thana was formed in 1914 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	14	122	178	3829	284278	1599	58.0	54.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
0.95	2	3829	4031	58.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kayain 47	4303	12414	12869	65.1
Kola 54	1757	4669	4838	53.1
Chitrakot 27	3845	6826	7539	67.0
Jainsar 40	3195	8056	8169	56.6
Bayaragadi 20	2516	5833	6088	55.2
Balur Char 06	5763	24967	22018	39.4
Basail 13	4160	12368	12431	57.3
Madhyapara 67	2055	7111	7252	50.4
Malkhanagar 74	1319	8209	8391	55.9
Rasunia 88	3143	11066	11192	56.7
Rajanagar 81	3411	10979	11055	60.7
Latabdi 61	3910	10735	11143	47.4
Sekharnagar 94	2729	9193	10264	64.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics A single domed mosque of Mughal period at Kusumpur (Talukdar Bari Mosque), Tajpur Mosque, Patharghata Mosque, Kazishal Mosque, Pulghata Bridge, Math at village Fegnasar, Math at the house of Kankata De at village Tajpur, Panchasikhar Mahadeva Mandir at Taltala. A large shiva-linga (phallus of the God Shiva) is placed inside this temple.

Historical events The anti-British movement was very strong in this upazila. The Congress activists used to make bombs at Ichhapur and Madhyapara villages and distributed these to the activists of the adjacent areas. While making bombs at village Madhyapara there occurred the incidental explosion of a bomb. At the intelligence of the explosion a military camp of the British Gorkha soldiers was set up at the junction of three roads on the western side of Ichapura Bazar, in order to suppress terrorist activities.

War of Liberaion In 1971 Abdul Aziz of village Shialdi was shot dead for uttering the slogan 'Jai Bangla' at the sight of the Pak army. Abdul Aziz was the first martyr of the upazila in the war of liberation. On 27 March 1971 the freedom fighters took control over the police station (thana) and captured all arms and ammunitions. On 19 May the Pak army reestablished the control over the thana. On 20 May the Pak army killed a number of teachers of the upazila. On November 19 an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at the thana compound in which one Pakistani soldier and one razakar were killed. A memorial monument named Shahid (Martyr) Abdul Aziz memorial monument has been built at Shialdi of the upazila.

For details: see সিরাজদিখাঁন উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Kusumpur Mosque, Tajpur Mosque, Patharghata Mosque, Vishwa Jami Mosque (Rajanagar union), Panch Pir Dargah (Serajdikhan), Shekharnagar Kali Mandir, Shulpur Church, holy bathing place at Malighata are notable.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 54.9%; male 54.9%, female 54.9%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 17, primary school 106, madrasa 10. Noted educational institutions: Rai Bahadur Sreenath Institution (1918), Malkhanagar High School (1889), Ichhapur' High School (1892), Rajdia Abhoy Pilot High School (1918), Rasunia High School (1942), Khasmahal Baluchar High School (1957), Chhatiantali High School (1965), Basail High School (1966), Adarsha High School (1970), Sheikh Mohammad Miah Hossain High School (1972), Sekharnagar Girls' High School (1972), Shulpur High School (1973), Malpadia High School (1973), Islampur Senior Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Monthly: Vikrampur (Kathaltali); defunct monthly: Palli-bijnan (Jainsar), Hindu Intelligencer (Malkhanagar), Mukti (Malkhanagar).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 140, museum 1, theatre group 1, cinema hall 1, women's organisation 1. Noted institutions: Munsur Khan Library (Ichhapur), museum (Kusumpur).

Tourists spots Garden of Malkhanagar Union, Shulpur Church, Sekharnagar Kali Bari.

Main sources of income Agriculture 40.91%, non-agricultural labourer 2.37%, industry 2.26%, commerce 18.08%, transport and communication 3.11%, service 9.08%, construction 3.09%, religious service 0.19%, rent and remittance 10.69% and others 10.22%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 44.62%, landless 55.38%; agricultural landowner: urban 21.79% and rural 44.95%.

Main crops Potato, paddy, jute, sesame.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sugarcane, kalai, lentil, khesari, pea, linseed.

Main fruits Mango, banana, jackfruit.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 67, dairy 52, poultry 64, hatchery 3.

Communication facilities Pucca road 100.23 km, semi-pucca road 45.85 km, mud road 425.88 km; waterway 170.33 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, welding factory, cold storage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, potteries, weaving, jute work, wood work, mat work, brass and metal work, bidi factory, bamboo and cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 20, fairs 11, most noted of which are Taltala Hat, Serajdikhan Hat, Rajanagar Hat, Ichhapur Hat, Sekharnagar Kalipuja mela, Shekharnagar Majhipara Chaitra Sankranti Mela, Sujanagar Dutta Bari Mela, Taltala Dashami Mela, Kauamara Rathjatra Mela, Kusumpur Baishakhi Mela, Ichhapur and Kathantali Book Fair.

Main exports Potato, Jute.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 89.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.5%, tap 1.0% and others 2.5%.

Sanitation 81.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 16.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Natural disasters The tornado of March 1968 hit a number of villages from Kanthaltali to Malapdia and caused heavy damages to properties of the affected villages.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 6, family planning centre 11, veterinary hospital 1, clinic 3, diagnostic centre 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are caritas, asa, World Vision, proshika, brac. [Shamsul Haque Howlader]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Serajdikhan Upazila 2007.