Rangpur, Bangladesh

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Rangpur রংপুর
Metropolitan City
From top clockwise: Bird's eye view of Rangpur City at evening, Carmichael College, , Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur Town Hall, Public Library, Tajhat Palace
Seal
Nickname(s):  Green city
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Expandable map of Rangpur
Rangpur Location in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh Rangpur Location in Bangladesh Show map of Rangpur divisionShow map of BangladeshShow all
Coordinates: 25°34′N 89°15′E / 25.56°N 89.25°E / 25.56; 89.25Coordinates: 25°34′N 89°15′E / 25.56°N 89.25°E / 25.56; 89.25
Country	Bangladesh
Division	Rangpur Division
District	Rangpur District
Municipality	1 May 1869
City Corporation	28 June 2012
Metropolitan City	16 September 2018
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Rangpur City Corporation
• Mayor	Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa (Jatiya Party)[1]
Area
• Urban	47.67 km2 (18.41 sq mi)
• Metro	239.72 km2 (92.56 sq mi)
Elevation	34 m (111.549 ft)
Population  (2017)
• Rank	5th in Bangladesh
• Density rank	5th in Bangladesh
• Urban	407,000
• Urban density	3,871/km2 (10,030/sq mi)
• Metro	796,556
• Metro density	4,167/km2 (10,790/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Rangpuria/Rongpuria (রংপুরিয়া)
Time zone	UTC+6 (BST)
Postal code	5400[2]
Police	Rangpur Metropolitan Police
Calling Code	521
Website	rpcc.gov.bd

Rangpur (/ˈrʌŋpʊər/, /rʌŋˈpʊər/; Bengali: রংপুর, romanized: Rongpur, lit. 'City of Colour') is one of the major cities in Bangladesh and Rangpur Division. Rangpur was declared a district headquarters on December 16, 1769, and established as a municipality in 1869, making it one of the oldest municipalities in Bangladesh.^[3][4] The municipal office building was erected in 1892 under the precedence Raja Janaki Ballav, Senior Chairman of the municipality. In 1890, the Shyamasundari canal was excavated for the improvement of the town. Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu was first mayor of Rangpur City Corporation.

The city is located in the northwestern part of Bangladesh.^[3] Begum Rokeya University is situated in the southern part of the city. Previously, Rangpur was the headquarters of the Greater Rangpur district. Later, the Greater Rangpur district was broken down into the Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts. In the greater Rangpur region, little economic development took place until the 1990s, mainly because of the yearly flooding the region used to see before the building of the Teesta Barrage. Coal is found near this district. There is a large military cantonment in the vicinity of the city, along with a Ghagot park (under military surveillance), in addition to the famous Carmichael College and Rangpur Zoo in the city. Rangpur is also famous for its handicrafts industry like Shataranji which is recently declared as a GI product of Bangladesh.^[5]

History[]

The Coat of Arms of Maharaja Gopal Lal Roy as depicted on a ground floor French Door window panel of Tajhat Palace.

Etymology[]

It is said that the present name Rangpur came from the former 'Rongpur'. History has it that English colonial rulers in this region started cultivating Indigo. Due to the fertile soil in this region, Indigo cultivation was very much profitable. The locals knew that Indigo by the name of "Rongo". So thus, this Region was named "Rongopur".And from that, the name of today's Rangpur has originated. It is known from another conventional notion that the name Rangpur comes from the naming of Rangmahal (Palace of Entertainment) of Bhagadatta, son of Narakasura, king of Pragjyotisha Kingdom.^[6]

Early History[]

According to Hindu theology, the eastern kingdom of Kamarupa or Pragjyotisha existed in India, which included the present Rangpur region. During the reign of King Bhagadatta (15th century BC) Rangpur belonged to Pragjyotisha Kingdom. During the reign of King Samudragupta (340 AD) Rangpur was considered a "Tax state" of Kamarupa.^[7]

Mughal Period[]

According to Ain-i-Akbari, the Mughal period Rangpur consisted of three types of administrative areas. Rangpur was conquered by the army of Raja Man Singh, a commander of the Mughal emperor Akbar, in 1575, but it was not until 1686 it was fully integrated into the Mughal Empire. The Mughal Empire was established in the whole of Rangpur in 1611 AD. Place names Mughalbasa ("a locality of the Mughals"), and Mughalhat ("local market") organized by the Mughals bear testimony to the Mughal association and past of Rangpur and its hinterland. Later, Rangpur passed into the control of Sarker of Ghoraghat.^[8]

British Period[]

After the East India Company gained "Deoani" in 1765, Rangpur came under British rule. The Fakir-Sannyasi rebellion took place in the Rangpur region, in which leaders like Fakir Majnu Shah played a key Role. The notable anti-colonialist rebel Devi Chaudhurani and Bhabani Pathak were from this region.^[9] In the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the rebellious sepoys spread terror among the British rulers in the region. Later, in 1930, the first Civil disobedience movement was started in different parts of Rangpur on the call of Congress. A meeting of the peasant leaders of North Bengal was held here in October 1946 and the Tebhaga movement began in November.^[10]

Pakistani Period and Liberation War[]

Rangpur was a District of East Pakistan Province during the Pakistani Period. People of Rangpur actively take part in different movements like Bengali language movement, Six point movement and 1969 Mass uprising. The first martyr from Rangpur in the liberation war was Sangku Samajhder, who was martyred on the date of 3 March 1971. Rangpur people started the Liberation War decisively on March 28 in 1971, only three days after the Pakistani crackdown by attacking the Rangpur Cantonment. During the liberation war Rangpur was under sector 6 and it was strategically important due to its close proximity to border of India.^[11][12]

Post- Indepence Period[]

The Greater Rangpur district was divided in five districts in 1984. In June 28, 2012 Rangpur Municipality was upgraded to Rangpur City Corporation and in September 16, 2018 Rangpur was granted as 8th Metropolitan city of Bangladesh.^[13][14]

Geography[]

Rangpur City is the divisional headquarters of Rangpur Division. The soil composition is mainly alluvial soil (80 percent) of the Teesta River basin, and the remaining is barind soil. The elevation of Rangpur is 34 meters.^[15] The temperature ranges from 32 degrees Celsius to 11 degrees Celsius, and the annual rainfall averages 2931 mm. Rangpur town, covering an area of around 42 square kilometers, lies on the bank of the Ghaghat river and was turned into a municipality back in 1869.

Climate[]

Rangpur has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), also in Trewartha climate classification (subtropical summer wet Cw).^[16] The 4 Seasons of Rangpur generally characterize as a Summer or pre-monsoon season with high Temperature and frequent intense thunderstorms named Nor'westers (March–May), an intense and very wet Monsoon season with substantial flooding in low lying areas (June–September), short and cooler Autumn season (October–November) and lastly, the more pleasant, mild and drier Winter season from (December–February) with warm afternoons and cool mornings, with some cold nights. The average annual temperature in Rangpur is 24.9 °C (76.8 °F). In Winters, it can be very foggy and nighttime temperature can fall below 5 °C (41.0 °F) whereas, day time temperature remains around 20 °C (68.0 °F). About 2,192 mm (86.30 in) of precipitation falls annually, almost all of them falls in the monsoon season (June to September), although there is very little rain from November to March, but small amount of Precipitation can be seen due to Western Disturbance coming from the Mediterranean Sea. Snow and frost have never been recorded in Rangpur.

Economy[]

Bangladesh Bank Rangpur office

The city is the commercial hub. Its center has several government offices and private banks, insurance companies, residential hotels, and international restaurants, such as Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, convenience food, and gift shops. It is one of the most important economic zones in Bangladesh because of its global positioning. Rangpur is one of the major Tobacco producing region in Bangladesh.^[20] The northern suburbs of Rangpur homes to tobacco companies like British American Tobacco, Akij Group, Abul Khair Group.

Demographics[]

The total population of Rangpur city corporation is 796,556. Among them, 398,282 are male and 398,274 are female. The literacy rate in Rangpur is 65%.^[22]

Education[]

Campus Rear Of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur

Major educational institutes in the city including:

Universities[]

• Begum Rokeya University

Medical & Dental Colleges[]

Polytechnic Institutes[]

Carmichael College

Academic Building of Rangpur Cadet College

Colleges[]

Affiliated Colleges[]

• International Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Rangpur

Schools[]

English Medium Schools[]

Neighbourhoods[]

Rangpur City Corporation is divided into 33 wards and different neighbourhoods (Mahallah), which can be categorized as Urban and Suburban.

Transport[]

Road[]

A BRTC double-decker bus of the City bus service in Rangpur.

Rangpur is well connected by highways to Chittagong and Dhaka, as well as other parts of Rangpur. It takes about 6 to 7 hours by road to reach the capital Dhaka by National Highway 5. Bus services to other major districts are also available from Rangpur. Highway links to India have been established through the Asian Highway 2. Rangpur also has a BRTC Double Decker bus service,^[24] which connects the suburbs of the city to city center.

Railway[]

Rangpur Express is leaving Bangabandhu setu East station

The Rangpur Railway Station is the main railway station providing trains on national routes operated by the state-run Bangladesh Railway. The Rangpur Express^[25] is a Bangladeshi Intercity train which runs between Rangpur and Dhaka. Other trains running between Rangpur and Dhaka are, Kurigram Express and Lalmoni Express.

Air[]

The city of Rangpur is served by Saidpur Airport, located at the north of the city. Saidpur airport is a domestic airport. Saidpur Airport is connected through several private airlines such as Novoair, US-Bangla Airlines, Regent Airways & Biman Bangladesh Airlines a government airline with Capital city of Bangladesh Dhaka. A massive renovation work is going on at Saidpur Airport ahead of its planning to become the new International Airport for Northern Bangladesh region.

Places of Interest[]

• Tajhat Palace
• Rangpur Zoo
• Chikli vata Lake
• Collectorate Surovi Park
• Rangpur Town Hall
• Shrine of Maulana Karamat Ali jaunpuri RA.
• Carmichael College
  Vinnojagat Amusement Park

• 

  Tajhat Palace

• 

  Rangpur Town Hall

• 

  Entrance of Rangpur Zoo

• 

  Dinosaur statue at Vinnojagat Amusement Park

• 

  Chikli Vata Lake

Dialect[]

Many Rangpur natives speak in the Rangpuri language.^{[citation needed]} Rangpuri is an Indic language spoken by half a million Rajbongshi people in Bangladesh and five million in India, where they are known as Rajbanshi. Many are bilingual in either Bengali or Assamese. The main dialects are Western Rajbangsi, Central Rajbangsi, Eastern Rajbangsi and Hill Rajbangsi (also known as Koch language). The vast majority of Rangpur's inhabitants, however, speak Bengali and are Bengali, Rajbangsi is limited to the Rajbangsi people, which itself is in a dialect continuum with Bengali and is largely intelligible.

Sports[]

Rangpur Cricket Garden

The most popular sport in Rangpur is cricket, although football is also popular. There is a 10,000-capacity Rangpur Stadium is used for football and other sports. Another local stadium is Cricket Garden,^[26] which is mainly used for cricket. There are also a few sports training academies in the city. In domestic Twenty20 cricket, Rangpur has a Bangladesh Premier League franchise known as Rangpur Riders. In December 2012, bought the Rangpur franchise for $1.01 m. Notable players from Rangpur who have played for the national team include Nasir Hossain,^[27] Suhrawadi Shuvo.^[28]

Notable people[]

Gallary[]

• 

  Shapla Chottor.

• 

  Zilla Porishod Building.

• 

  Jahaj Company area (downtown Rangpur) at night

• 

  Parjatan Motel.

• 

  Terminal Mosque (Masjid).

• 

  Rangpur Modern.

• 

  Begum Rokeya Memorial Centre.

• 

  Jadu Nibash - an ancient house

• 

  Ekattorer Boddho Bhumi - Memorial of Town Hall Massacre during 1971

• 

  Begum Rokeya University at night

• 

  Tajhat Palace

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rangpur.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Rangpur".

• Rangpur City Corporation
• Rangpur oriented website
• Abdus Sattar (2012). "Rangpur District". In Sirajul Islam; Ahmed A. Jamal (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

v t Largest cities or towns in Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011[1]
	Rank	Name	Division	Pop.	Rank	Name	Division	Pop.
Dhaka Chittagong	1	Dhaka	Dhaka	8,906,039	11	Savar	Dhaka	296,851	Khulna Sylhet
	2	Chittagong	Chittagong	2,592,439	12	Comilla	Chittagong	296,010
	3	Khulna	Khulna	664,728	13	Narayanganj	Dhaka	286,330
	4	Sylhet	Sylhet	531,663	14	Siddhirganj	Dhaka	256,760
	5	Rajshahi	Rajshahi	451,425	15	Jessore	Khulna	237,478
	6	Tongi	Dhaka	406,420	16	Cox's Bazar	Chittagong	223,522
	7	Bogra	Rajshahi	400,983	17	Gazipur	Dhaka	213,061
	8	Mymensingh	Mymensingh	389,918	18	Brahmanbaria	Chittagong	193,814
	9	Barisal	Barisal	339,308	19	Dinajpur	Rangpur	191,329
	10	Rangpur	Rangpur	307,053	20	Narsingdi	Dhaka	185,128