Chuadanga District () is a district in south western Bangladesh, specifically Khulna Division, Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian state of West Bengal to the west, Meherpur District to the northwest, Jessore District to the south, Jhenaidah District to the east, and Kushtia District to the north. Before partition Chuadanga was one of the five subdivisions of Nadia district.
History
According to the accounts of Greek historians and geographers and Ptolemy's map, the present-day Chuadanga district was in the immediate eastern part of the westernmost stream. In this region, there existed a powerful kingdom called Gangariddhi and a notable city called Gange .
Some archaeological remains have been discovered by excavations in Chandraketugarh and its surrounding areas in the 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Based on these archaeological remains, researchers believe that the present-day Bi-Ganga was the capital of the Gangariddhi kingdom mentioned in Greek history. Again, some archaeological remains from the 4th century have been discovered in Jessore and Gopalganj districts, and it has been possible to prove that Chuadanga district was a part of that ancient territory. Before the arrival of the Guptas, this region was probably ruled by the ruler of Pushkaranadhipati. In the 6th century, this region belonged to a different kingdom. The extent of this kingdom was from Comilla to the present-day state of Orissa in India. This region was then known as Samatata or Banga.
Chuadanga was part of the kingdom of Shashanka from the first decade of the 7th century to the middle of the second century. The capital of this kingdom was Kansona in Murshidabad district.
During the reign of Ballal Sen (1160 - 1178), Chuadanga was under the Sena kingdom. After his death, his son Lakshman Sen became king. After that, the kings of the Sena dynasty ruled for a short time. During the reign of Lakshman Sen, Ikhtiyar Uddin attacked the then summer capital of the Sena kingdom, "Naudih" , and occupied this region. But he could not establish Muslim rule. Chuadanga was not under Muslim rule during the subsequent reigns either.
In 1281 AD, the Sultan of Delhi, Ghiyasuddin Balban, defeated and killed Mughisuddin Toghari, the ruler of Bengal, and annexed the entire Bangladesh, including present-day Chuadanga, to his empire. Chuadanga district was under Sultanate rule until 1414. Later, during the reign of the Shah and the Habshi Sultans, Chuadanga was under their rule. In 1576, when Dawood Karrani was defeated and killed by the Mughal army, Bengal came under Mughal rule. In 1695, Shobha Singh, the landlord of Medinipur, and an Afghan chieftain, Rahim Khan, took up arms against the Mughal power in southwestern Bengal. They were able to drive the Mughal army from southwestern Bengal, including Chuadanga.
During the reign of King Laxman Sen, Ikhtiyar Uddin Mohammad Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked Nabadwip and occupied most of Nadia. After the occupation of Nabadwip by Bangladesh, many missionaries arrived in this country. During this time, many dervishes arrived around Chuadanga. They came and started preaching Islam. Their graves still exist in various places.
Later, it came under the rule of Pratap Aditya, one of the Bar Bhuiyan kings of Bengal. Some time later, it came under the rule of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals leased this area to Bhavananda Majumdar, the founder of the Nadia dynasty. Bhavananda's descendant Krishnachandra Roy became the king of Nadia in 1728. At that time, many places in Chuadanga were part of the zamindari of Rani Bhabani.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the weakness of the Mughals, Subadar Murshid Quli ruled Bengal almost independently. Then Shuja Uddin and Sarfaraz Khan became the Subadars of Bengal. At this time, chaos prevailed in the state, and Alivardi Khan seized the throne of Bengal. During Alivardi Khan's reign, many people, tired of the bargi attacks, left Murshidabad and settled around Chuadanga. When peace returned to the country, many stayed here permanently.
After the fall of Siraj-ud-Daula in 1757, more people came here in fear of their lives and started living in different places. The population of the area gradually increased. In 1765, the East India Company obtained the Diwan of Bengal, Bihar, Odissa. Later, on the proposal of Sir John Shoaib, the Collector system was introduced to facilitate the collection of revenue. At this time, Nadia district was first formed. It was in 1787.
After the conquest of Nabadwip by Ikhtiyar Uddin Mohammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, numerous saints, dervishes and common people started coming to Chuadanga. During the reign of Alivardi Khair, many people, who were disturbed by the bargi attacks, came to Chuadanga by river and started living locally. In 1730, Marwaris from Madras settled in Chuadanga to run businesses. In 1740, during the reign of Nawab Alivardi Khar, Chungo Mallik settled with his family along the Mathabhanga river from Itebari Maharajpur on the border of Murshidabad district. After he settled, the population of this city started to increase gradually. At that time, more people used to travel by water.
Nadia district was formed on 21 March 1787. During the rule of the East India Company, the Kushtia region including Chuadanga, was part of Rajshahi district. The Sepoy Mutiny occurred in 1857 and the Indigo Rebellion in 1860/61. At this time, Nadia district was divided into four subdivisions for the suppression of the Indigo Rebellion and for administrative purposes. These were Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Chuadanga and Meherpur. When the railway was opened in Kushtia in 1864, Kushtia subdivision was added to Nadia district from Pabna district as the 5th subdivision. After the establishment of Chuadanga subdivision in 1861, H.J.S. Cotton became the first subdivision administrator. The headquarters of the first subdivision was Damurhuda. and Jhenaidah on the south and southeast. On its southwest lies the Nadia District (in the state of West Bengal in India). In January 2018, the district had the lowest temperature in Bangladesh.
Administration
thumb|Chuadanga District upazila geocode map
Until the Partition of India in 1947, Chuadanga sub-division was within Nadia district.
Deputy Commissioner (DC): Mohammad Aminul Islam Khan
Subdistricts
Chuadanga district is divided into four Upazilas, which run cities of the same name.
- Chuadanga Sadar Upazila
- Alamdanga Upazila
- Jibannagar Upazila
- Damurhuda Upazila