History of Barisal Division
Barishal Division Map
There is much disagreement about the naming of Barisal. Because of the big palm trees, the English word"big" = Bangla word"baro" (baro+sal) = Barisal; Barisal from the love story of Portuguese merchant Berry and Shelly; Barisal etc for big salt balls. At Girde Bandar (Great Port) the Nawabs of Dhaka had a large salt post. English and Portuguese traders used to call the region "Barisal" because of the large outposts and large grains of salt in the district. Many believe that this Borysalt has changed to Barishal.
Realizing the historical importance of Barisal, the British government recommended the establishment of Barisal Division along with Faridpur and Khulna districts in the Bengal District Administration Report of 1913-14 AD. Later due to various political reasons it was not implemented; instead Barisal became a part of Khulna Division. During the Pakistan era, there were a total six sub-divisions in this district including Barisal. Patuakhali subdivision was converted into a district during the Pakistan era. After the independence of the country, in 1984, the remaining four subdivisions were converted into districts, and Barisal division started functioning on 1st January 1993 with six districts namely Barisal, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur, Bhola and Jhalkathi.
Barisal, the granary of Bengal, was once known as the 'Agricultural Manchester'. The economy of Bengal was related to the economy of Barisal. The fertile alluvial region was excellent for agriculture and good for habitation. Agriculture was the main source of the economy. In 1580, the traveler Ralph Fys described Bakla as very wealthy, mentioning its rice, carpus, silk textiles and large houses.
During the Liberation War in 1971, the people of this region resisted the Pak invaders with extraordinary bravery. Among the seven Bir Shrestha of Bangladesh, Bir Shrestha is the son of Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir of Babuganj Upazila of Barisal and Sepahi Mustafa Kamal of Bir Shrestha of Daulatkhan Upazila of Bhola District. The naval valor of the Hemayet forces during the war is still shining in history.
Barisal region was dominated by Hindus till 1800. Later, the arrival of Muslims from different areas, conversion and mass exodus of Hindus led to the majority of Muslims. A number of Christians and Buddhists also live here today. In ancient times Barisal was inhabited by a race called "Chandrabhadra". The present Namashudras are their descendants. An ethnic group known as the Rakhine lives in the southern region of Patuakhali, retaining its own identity in terms of social rituals and culture.
The people of Barisal region are really comfortable and food is luxurious. Family wise they are very close and sincere. They are not satisfied without a dessert after a delicious meal. There are close to 100 types of cakes made of date juice, jaggery, coconut, and milk. The people of Barisal are well known for their hospitality.
Barisal has a glorious tradition in terms of art literature. Poet Jibanand Das, Sufia Kamal, Ahsan Habib, Abu Zafar Obaidullah, Vijay Gupta, one of the greatest poets of the medieval period, Charan poet Mukund Das, are the children of Barisal Division. In other fields, the memorable personalities of this department include Shere-Bangla AK, M, Fazlul Haque, Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia, Abdur Rob Serniabad, Arz Ali Matubbar and others.
Rivers
Rivers are spread like nets in different parts of Bangladesh the Barisal division also has a large number of rivers. The notable rivers of this division are Kirtankhola, Meghna, Dhansindi.
Educational institutions
Brajmohan College is the oldest and traditional higher education institution of Barisal division. It was founded in 1889 by Ashwinikumar Dutta. At present Barisal division has two government universities (Barisal University and Patuakhali University of Science and Technology), one private university (Global University Bangladesh), two government medical colleges (Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, Patuakhali Medical College) and one textile engineering in Barisal division for higher education. College (Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College) is there. Also each district has several colleges and polytechnic institutes for higher education. At the higher secondary level, the total number of colleges in Barisal Board is 309 including 20 government colleges.
Religion
Barisal division is inhabited by Muslims and Hindus along with a few Christians, Buddhists and other religions.
Barishal Division District Upazila and Union List of Bangladesh: