Agailjhara Upazila

Geography

Agailjhara Upazila covers 155.47 km2. It is located between 22°54' and 23°03' north and between 90°03' and 90°13' east. It is bordered by Gournadi Upazila to the northeast, Wazirpur Upazila to the south, and Kotalipara Upazila of Gopalganj district to the west.

History

Agailjhara was formerly part of Gournadi Upazila. In the 16th century, the Faujdar of Bakla Sabi Khan settled in the village of Gaila with members of the Mughal Army. The village of Seral was settled by Firoz Khan, a descendant of Sher Shah Suri, who lost to the Mughals. In 1921, a historic farmers convention was held in Agailjhara High English School presided by Khan Bahadur Hasem Ali Khan and advised by A. K. Fazlul Huq. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, 8 people were murdered in the village of Kodaldhoa. A thana (police station headquarters) was formed in Agailjhara on 16 June 1981. The status of Agailjhara Thana was upgraded to upazila (sub-district) on 7 November 1983 as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralisation programme.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Agailjhara Upazila had 38,310 households and a population of 156,423. 8.19% of the population were under 5 years of age. Agailjhara had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 82.10%: 84.84% for males and 79.54% for females, and a sex ratio of 94.84 males for every 100 females. 31,906 (20.40%) lived in urban areas.

As of the 2011 Census of Bangladesh, Agailijhara upazila has a population of 149,456 living in 32,839 households. Agailijhara has an average literacy rate of 56.67% (7+ years) and a sex ratio of 1064 females per 1000 males. 10,857 (7.26%) of the population lives in urban areas.

According to the 1991 Bangladesh census, Agailjhara had a population of 147,343 distributed among 30,560 households. 50.93% of the population was male, and 49.07% was female. There were 76,524 people aged 18 or over. Agailjhara had an average literacy rate of 42.4% (7+ years schooling), compared to the national average of 32.4%.

In the 2001 Bangladesh census, Agailjhara had a total population of 155,661 whereby males accounted for 50.23% (78,193) of the community, while 49.76% (77,468) were women.

Religion

🟩 Muslim majority

🟧 Hindu majority

Islam is the predominant religion with 82,720 people identifying as Muslims, 63,175 as Hindus, 3,553 as Christians and 8 people worshipping other faiths. Agailjhara Upazila has the highest percentage share of Hindus among the 10 upazilas of Barisal district but both the absolute numbers and the share of population has decreased since 1981.

Administration

UNO: Fariha Tanzin.

Agailjhara formed as a thana on 16 June 1981 and became an upazila on 7 November 1983.

Agailjhara Upazila is divided into five union parishads: Bagdha, Bakal, Gaila, Rajiher, and Ratnapur. The union parishads are subdivided into 78 mauzas and 96 villages.

Education

Agailjhara is home to many notable schools, including Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabat Degree College, Askar Kalibari Secondary School and College (established in 1943), Goila High School (1893), and Agailjhara B. H. P. Academy (1919).

Secondary schools

List of secondary schools in Agailjhara Upazila:

Agailjhara Bhegai Halder Public Academy

Agailjhara Sreemalati Matree Mangal Girls High School

Askar Kalibari Secondary School & College

Bagdha Secondary School and College

Bahadurpur High School

Bakal Niranjan Bairagi High School

Barapaika Secondary School

Basail Secondary School

Batra Premchand Girls High School

Chhoygram Secondary School

Dumuria Secondary school

Goila secondary School

Jamina Mohammed Secondary School

Jobarpar Secondary School

Kagasura Secondary School

Kathira Adarsha Biddya Niketon

Kodaldhoa Secondary School

Mollapara High School

Naghirpar Secondary School

Paisa High School

Rajihar Secondary School

Ramananderak High School

Notable people

Vijay Gupta, 15th-century Bengali poet

Sabih Khan, 17th-century Faujdar of Bakla

Serniabat family

Abdur Rab Serniabat (1921–1975), three-time minister and lawyer

Abul Hasanat Abdullah (born 1944), parliamentarian

Abul Khair Abdullah, 5th mayor of Barisal

Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah (born 1974), 4th mayor of Barisal