History of Comilla
The Comilla region was once under ancient Samata and was joined with Tripura State. This district came under the reign of the kings of the Harikela in the ninth century AD. Lalmai Mainamati was ruled by the Deva dynasty (eighth century AD), and (during the tenth and mid-eleventh century AD). In 1732 it became the center of the Bengal-backed domain of Jagat Manikya. [1]
It came under the rule of the East India Company in 1765. This district was established as a Tripura district in 1790. It was renamed Comilla in 1960. Chandpur and Brahmanbaria subdivisions of this district were transformed into districts in 1984.
Historical eventsThe Peasants Movement against the king of Tripura in 1764 under the leadership of Samsher Gazi is a notable historical event. Born in an ordinary peasant family Shamsher Gazi became the ruler of the entire Chakla Raushana Bad which was spread over the south of Comilla and the north of the Noakhali districts. Gradually he brought the whole of the Comilla district under his control. Later he conquered Nizampur Pargana, thus making himself the uncrowned king of the region between the Meghna, the Muhari, and the Manuganga rivers.
Shamsher Gazi was born to a poor Muslim peasant family in the year 1712 at Kungura village under Dakshin Shik pargana north of Chittagong which formed part of Tripura's Manikya kingdom. While working as 'Tehsildar' in the local landlord Nasir Mohammed's office Shamsher is said to have received the divine blessing of a 'Pir'.
From his very boyhood, Shamser Gazi was intelligent and brave. Chakla Raushanabad was at that time under the jurisdiction of the state of Tripura. Its zamindar was Nasir Mahmud. Nasir Mahmud brought Shamser up with love and care. Young Shamser was ambitious. Shamsher Gazi came to grief after his proposal to marry the landlord's daughter was rudely rejected and he was ordered to be nabbed. Shamsher Gazi organized an armed force. He soon captured Nasir Mohammed's domain in 1745.Towards the beginning of the British Raj, zamindari oppression made the life of the peasants and farmers miserable. Shamsher Gazi was wise, efficient, kind, and a bountiful ruler. He granted rent exemption to poor peasants, managed the economy well and this led to the reduction of the prices of essential commodities. He granted freeholds to many Hindus and Muslims. He dug numerous ponds and built many schools in and outside his capital Jagannath Sonapur. Of the ponds he dug, 'Kaiyar Sagar' was the largest.
Having consolidated his position as landlord of Dakshin Shik and Meherkul Parganas Shamsher turned his attention to Tripura and ousted King Krishna Manikya after a brief conflict in the year 1748. He encountered serious opposition from the tribal subjects in the hilly interiors of the state who fought behind the king of Tripura.
The king of Tripura Krishna Manikya sent two expeditions of the powerful Kuki armies against Shamser Gazi. Both failed before Shamser's extraordinary military acumen and heroism. Shamser Gazi conquered Udaipur, the capital of Tripura. The king fled to Agartala and sought the protection of Nawab MIR QASIM. Shamsher Gazi was killed in 1760 when he responded to a false invitation for a dialogue with the Nawab. Thus Krishna Mainkya was able to regain his lost Kingdom.
Communal tension spread over Comilla when a Muslim was shot in Comilla town during the partition of Bengal in 1905. During the preparation of a countrywide hartal on 21 November 1921, Kazi Nazrul Islam composed patriotic songs and tried to awaken the townspeople by protesting the Prince of Wales's visit to India. During this time, Avay Ashram, as a revolutionary institution, played a significant role. Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi visited Comilla at that time. In 1931, approximately four-thousand peasants in Mohini village in Chauddagram upazila revolted against a land revenue tax. The British Gurkha soldiers fired indiscriminately on the crowd, killing four people. In a huge peasant gathering, the police fired at Hasnabad of Laksham Upazila in 1932. Two people were killed and many were wounded.In 1931, on 14 December Sunity Choudhuri and Shanti Ghosh from Faizunnesa Girls School shot dead Magistrate Mr. Stevens. This was the first time that women come to the forefront in the armed struggle for freedom.
Marks of the War of Liberation mass killing site: 5, Laksham, Comilla Cantonment, Homna, Beltali, and Rasulpur; mass graves at Betiara, Muzaffar Ganj, Nagari Para, Cantonment, Krishnapur, Dhananjay, Dilabad and Laksham Bidi Factory; memorials at Comilla Victoria College, Betiara, Police Line, Cantonment, Laksham, Polytechnic Institution, and Haratali.
Comilla has several tourist attractions. Marks of rich ancient civilization have been found in Lalmai Mainamati hills. In these hills, there are plenty of archaeological sites including Shalvan Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charandra Mura, Rupban Mura, Itakhola Mura, Satera Ratna Mura, Ranir Banglar Pahar, Ananda Bazar Palaces, palaces of Bhoj King, Chandi Mura, etc. Various archaeological relics including images and metalled utensils discovered from these viharas, murals, and palaces are now preserved in the Mainamati Museum. Mainamati is a famous Buddhist archaeological site. The Mainamati Museum is a prominent tourist attraction. Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi visited Comilla in 1921. There is a World War II war cemetery in Comilla. It is protected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Administration & DevelopmentComilla is famous for different types of sweets and Batik printed cloth. The people of Comilla are multiethnic. To some extent, there is more Afghan and British heritage in Comilla. Green or hazel eyes are more common in Comilla than in other parts of Bangladesh.
It is a highly Muslim-dominated area and one can find many economically disadvantaged people. But it is the home district of many educated Bangladeshis who have achieved great success in their career as Bangladeshi expatriates or in other parts of the Nation. The majority of the denizens lead an agrarian lifestyle, depending on their fields for their livelihood. A much smaller number of Hindus are present in this area. Every Muslim festival is celebrated in a big way. Especially Eid and Ramzan. Most of the Muslims are Sunni and few are Shia. There is electricity in most of the area at present in Comilla.
In the suburb there exists the Commonwealth War Cemetery Memorials, Muktijuddha Museum at Mainamati Cantonment and Bangladesh Academy for rural development, Mainamati Museum, and Comilla Cadet College at Court Bari. Comilla Town is blessed with the memories of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam married twice in life, one at Daulatpur of Murad Nagar Upazilas of the district and the other at Comilla Town. Those places have been marked with memorial plates. Poet Rabindranath Tagore visited Comilla twice. Ustad Muhammad Hussain, Fazle Nizami, and Kolenda Das have enriched the cultural heritage of the town. Ustad Ayet Ali Khan established a musical institute here.
Marks of rich ancient civilization have been found in Lalmai Mainamati hills. In these hills, there are plenty of archaeological sites including Shalvan Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charandra Mura, Rupban Mura, Itakhola Mura, Satera Ratna Mura, Ranir Banglar Pahar, Ananda Bazar Palaces, palaces of Bhoj King, Chandi Mura, etc. Various archaeological relics including images and metalled utensils discovered from these viharas, murals, and palaces are now preserved in the Mainamati Museum. Other archaeological heritage and relics include Saptaratna Mandir (Jagannath Mandir), Shah Suja Mosque, Dharmasagar, Chandimata Mandir (on the top of Lalmai Hill of Barura), Chandala Shiva Mandir (Brahmanpara, eighteenth century), Saitshala Jami Mosque (Brahmanpara, 1719), Mazars of Panch Pir (five saints) at Shashidal (Brahmanpara, 1815), Harimangal Math (Brahmanpara, 1822), Ramnagar elongated Math (Brahmanpara, 1705), Saitshala Rammahan Mandir (Brahmanpara, 1805), Hasnabad Math.