Chittagong

Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chaṭṭagrām) is the major sea-port and second largest city of Bangladesh. It is located in the south-eastern portion of the country near Myanmar (Burma). The city was built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, which ends nearby, in the Bay of Bengal. Chittagong has a population of over 3.5 million, and is continuing to grow. One of the cleanest cities of Bangladesh, it has had an ancient reputation of great mystique and beauty.

History

The city of Chittagong attracted the attention of the outside world from ancient and very early times. The Arabs knew its port in the ninth century AD, and fell in love with its beauty, settling and integrating into the culture. De Barros, the first of the great Portuguese chroniclers of Asia, described Chittagong in 1552 as "the most famous and wealthy city of the kingdom of Bengal, by reason of its port at which meets the traffic of all that eastern region." The city was described by the famous Chinese traveler-poet, Huen Tsang (7th century A.D) as "a sleeping beauty emerging from mists and water".

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The ancient history of Chittagong is not very clear. Burmese chronicles speak of a long line of kings over the region of Arakan, which included Chittagong, during the 6th and 7th century AD. Historian Lama Taranath mentions a Buddhist king Gopichandra who had his capital at Chittagong in the 10th century. Whatever might have been its early history, Chittagong's history becomes clear with the advent of the Muslims to the region.

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Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq divided Bengal into three administrative units - Lakhnauti, Satgaon and Sonargaon. In 1338 Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah captured power at Sonargaon and soon after occupied Chittagong. He constructed a highway from Chandpur to Chittagong and adorned Chittagong with mosques and tombs. In 1538 the Arakanese regained possession of Chittagong after the fall of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah at the hands of Sher Shah. The Mughals conquered Chittagong in 1666, gaining control of the region. During the period from 1538 to 1666, the Portuguese made inroads into Chittagong and virtually ruled the city. During these 128 years, Chittagong became the home of Portuguese and Magh pirates.

Related Topics:
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq - Mughals

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The re-occupation of Chittagong by the Mughals restored peace and order to the city. However, during the period of Portuguese occupation, Chittagong, and especially its port, acquired great fame as a major centre of business and trade. During the 18th and 19th centuries under British rule however, Chittagong lost its importance in the region, handing it over to Calcutta, which instead was developed as the virtual capital of the East India Company.

Related Topics:
Mughals - Portuguese - Calcutta

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In 1905, Chittagong once again came into prominence after the partition of Bengal and the creation of the new province between Eastern Bengal and Assam. Due to the construction of the Assam Bengal Railway, which connected the port of Chittagong with its natural hinterland, Chittagong as a whole received a great boost and much of the development of the city in the first quarter of the twentieth century can be attributed to this connection.

Related Topics:
Bengal - Assam

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The history of Chittagong shows repeated attempts by the local people to free themselves from the colonial rule of the British. In 1857, at the time of the Sepoy Revolt, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th companies of the 34th Bengal Infantry Regiment were stationed at Chittagong. On the night of 18 November 1857, the three above-named companies rose in rebellion and after releasing all the prisoners from jail, the Sepoys left Chittagong carrying with them three government elephants, and much ammunition and treasure. They marched along the borders of Hill Tippera into Sylhet and Cachar. Unfortunately they were either all killed or captured by the Kuki scouts and the Sylhet Light Infantry, later known as the 10th Gurkha Rifles.

Related Topics:
Sepoy Revolt - 18 November - 1857 - Sylhet

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Chittagong also contributed significantly to the liberation of India and Pakistan from British Rule. Among the Swadeshi revolutionary groups, one of the most active and famous was the Chittagong group led by Surya Sen (fondly known to people as Masterda).

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During the Second World War, the British used Chittagong as an important military base. Consequently it became the target of Japanese attacks. The aerodrome at Patenga in the city was bombarded for two successive days in April 1942 and again on the 20th and 24 December 1942. As a result Chittagong was declared a non-family area and the head-quarters of the Divisional Commissioner was shifted to Comilla, and that of the Assam Bengal Railway to Dhaka. All valuable government documents were shifted to Mymensingh.

Related Topics:
World War - Japanese - 24 December - 1942 - Mymensingh

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The World War transformed Chittagong from a sleepy little town to a place of great activity. The massive military presence of the allied forces, drawn mostly from Britain, Australia and America could be seen on the streets of Chittagong. Frequent air raids by the Japanese warplanes, blackouts at night, and the presence of refugees from areas occupied by the Japanese, all combined to transform city life. The War, though it helped some people to amass huge fortunes as military contractors, brought much misery in its wake for the people in general, as a result of the Great Famine of 1943. The famine, it is largely believed, was man-made, and was engineered by the British Government to force people to the army recruiting centres to give the Government much needed manpower.

Related Topics:
World War - Britain - Australia - America

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Chittagong once again emerged in the spotlight in 1971 when East Bengal Regiment revolted against Pakistan Army after arms shipment for non-bengali segment of the Pakistan army reached Chittagong port. This mutiny led to the declaration of the liberation war of 1971 from Chittagong Radio station at Kalurghat by Major Ziaur Rahman. The incident eventually led to the birth of Bangladesh under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the harbor and the Pakistan airbase were bombed by Indian Navy planes. After the liberation of Bangladesh and the surrender of Pakistani troops, Chittagong needed a massive rehabilitation and reconstruction programme. This was carried out on a high priority basis, as the major outlet to the sea could not be allowed to remain out of commission for long. Within a couple of years after independence, Chittagong became generally very much operational, both as a city and as a port.

Related Topics:
Bangladesh Liberation War - Harbor - Airbase - Indian Navy - Bangladesh

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