Ishwardi Upazila

While many theories have been proposed about Ishwardi's etymology, no consensus has emerged.

According to Banglapedia, the name 'Ishwardi' means God's place.[2]

Community Report on Pabna District (2013) says-[3]

Nothing is definitely known about the origin of the upazila name. It is learnt that in the past, Isa khan, the Mughal general with his soldiers arrived at the place where the present upazila headquarters is located. At that time there was scarcity of drinking water and Isa khan dug a big lake (meaning dighi in Bengali) for his soldiers. This lake or dighi was popularly known as Isa dighi. In course of time the area in and around the dighi became known as Ishwardi due to phonetic corruption.

— Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Community Report- Pabna District, Population & Housing Census, 2011, page 44

The upazila occupies an area of 250.89 sq. km. It is located between 24º03′ and 24º15′ north latitudes and between 89º00′ and 89º11′ east longitudes. The upazila is bounded on the north by Baraigram upazila and Lalpur upazila of Natore district, on the east by Atgharia upazila and Pabna Sadar upazila, on the south by Kumarkhali upazila and Mirpur upazila of Kushtia district and on the west by Bheramara upazila of Kushtia district.[3] The river Padma flows beside Ishwardi and detaches this upazila from Kushtia district.

A weather observatory was established in Ishwardi in 1963. Since then, the observatory is recording weather data. Its International Station Number is 41907. Highest maximum temperature ever recorded in Ishwardi is 44 °C and lowest minimum temperature ever recorded is 3.5 °C; which were recorded on May 13, 1970 and January 27, 1964 respectively. Highest 24 hour rainfall of 351 mm was recorded on July 11, 1976 in Ishwardi.[4]

As of the 2011 Bangladesh census, Ishwardi has a population of 3,13,932, among whom 66,255 live in the urban areas and 2,47,677 live in the rural areas. The male population is 1,57,897 and female population is 1,56,035. This Upazila has a household of 73,373. Among them, urban household number is 15,332 and rural household number is 58,041. Ishwardi has an average literacy rate of 54.96% (7+ years), which is highest in Pabna district and also higher than the national average of 51.77% literate.[8]

Among the total population of Ishwardi, 305033 confirmed to be Muslim, 8024 confirmed to be Hindu, 507 confirmed to be Christian, 11 confirmed to be Buddhist and 357 did not state in the 2011 Population and Housing census.[9]

Majority of Ishwardi's inhabitants are ethnic Bengali who speak Bangla. Along with them, some Urdu speaking Bihari people also live here.

Ishwardi is a vast fertile plain which is suitable for agriculture. Paddy, wheat, sugarcane, betel leaf and vegetables are the main crops of this region.[2] In addition, Litchi orchards are common in Ishwardi's households. People harvest Litchi commercially in their large orchards. This summer fruit is also considered as the 'cash crop' of Ishwardi.[16]

Ishwardi is a hub for agricultural research institutes. The headquarter of Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute (BSRI) is located here. This institute conducts research on crops like sugarcane, palm, date, stevia, sugar beet, nipa palm etc.[17] Many varieties of these crops are developed and released from here.[18] Bangladesh’s only Pulses Research Center (PRC) is also situated here.[19] In this institute, scientists research on different species of pulses.

Along with these, Ishwardi contains regional research center of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute[19] and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture.[20] Moreover, Horticultural Center[21] and Sericulture Development Board[22] conduct their activity here.

Ishwardi is well connected to the country's major cities by highways, railways and rivers. Lalon Shah Bridge and Hardinge Bridge connects Ishwardi Upazila to the south-western part of Bangladesh by highway and railway respectively. Ishwardi Railway Junction is one of the largest railway junctions in Bangladesh.

A port was also established in on the banks of Padma River to facilitate construction and future operation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The port became fully operational in 2020.[23][24]

Ishwardi Airport is an airport located in Ishwardi which is currently not functional.[25]

Ishwardi Upazila has a handful of educational institutions. Some of the well-known secondary schools in Ishwardi are Ikkshu Gabeshawana High School, Bangladesh Railway Government Chandraprabha Vidyapitha, Govt. Sara Marwari Model High School[31] and North Bengal Paper Mills High School.[32] Among the higher secondary schools (or colleges, as they are termed in Bangladesh), Ishwardi Govt. College[33] and Ishwardi Women’s College are reputed. In addition, Bangladesh Open University operates their branch in Ishwardi. Besides, a Vocational Training Institute is also situated here.[34] Apart from these, there are some madrasahs in Ishwardi namely Mazdia Babul Ulum Islamia Fazil Madrasah, Ishwardi Alia Madrasah, Autapara A B Senior Alim Madrasah and so on.

Celebrated Indian novelist Amiya Bhushan Majumdar's novel Garh Shrikhanda is based on the socio-economic condition of the Padma riparian areas of Ishwardi. This novel dates back to the 1940s. It was published in 1957 by Dey's Publishing at Kolkata.[35]

• Shankha Ghosh, Indian poet and literary critic, passed matriculation from Chandraprabha Vidyapitha, Ishwardi.[36]
• Amiya Bhushan Majumdar, celebrated Indian novelist.[37]
• Mozid Mahmud, poet, was born at Char Gargari village in 1966.[38]
• Shamsur Rahman Sherif, MP, ex-minister of Ministry of Land, has been the Member of Parliament for constituency Pabna-4 since 1996.[39]
• Nuruzzaman Biswas - Bangladeshi politician & MP.

Ishwardi Airport, an airport located at Ishwardi upazila in Pabna district.

• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Divisions of Bangladesh