History of Chittagong: Difference between revisions

Chittagong has been a seaport since ancient times. The region was home to the ancient Bengali Buddhist

The Mughal commandar

Chittaong grew at the beginning of the twentieth century after the partition of Bengal and the creation of the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam.^[4] The construction of the Assam Bengal Railway to Chittagong facilitated further development of economic growth in the city. However, revolutionaries and opposition movements grew during this time. Many people in Chittagong supported Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements.

Samatata

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Harikela

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Vesali period

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Arab trade

Arab Muslim traders frequented Chittagong since the 9th century. In 1154,

Sultan Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah gave permission for the Portuguese settlement in Chittagong to be established in 1528. Chittagong became the first European colonial enclave in Bengal.^[6][7]

Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited Chittagong in 1345.^[8]

Maritime silk route

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Portuguese settlements

In October 1521, two separate Portuguese missions went to the court of Sultan Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah to establish diplomatic relations with Bengal. One was led by explorer Rafael Perestrello and another one by captain Lopo de Brito.^[9] Brito's representative, Goncalo Tavares, obtained a duty-free arrangement for trade in Bengal for the Portuguese merchants. ^[10] The two Portuguese embassies, both claiming official status, created confusion and led to a fight between them at Chittagong.^[9]

By the early 18th century, the Potuguese settlements were located at Dianga, Feringhee Bazar in Chittagong district and in the municipal ward of Jamal Khan in Chittagong. According to a 1567 note of Caesar Federeci, every year thirty or thirty five ships anchored in

The Mughal conquest of Chittagong in 1666 brought an end to the Portuguese dominance of more than 130 years in city.[12]

Arakanese conquest

The Arakanese

British rule

1930 Chittagong uprising

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Revolution was never far from the surface and one group of Bengali youths under the leadership of

Surya Sen devised the strategy of capturing the two main armouries in Chittagong and then destroying the telegraph and telephone office, followed by capital punishment of the notorious members of the "European Club", the majority of whom were government or military officials involved in maintaining British Raj in India. Firearms retailers were also to be raided; and rail and communication lines were scheduled to be disrupted. The plan was put into action at 10 o'clock on 18 April 1930. As per plan, the armoury of the police was captured by a group of revolutionaries led by Ganesh Ghosh and another group of ten, led by Lokenath Baul took over the Auxiliary Force armoury. They could not locate the ammunition. The revolutionaries also succeeded in dislocating telephone and telegraph communications and disrupting the movement of the trains. Total sixtyfive revolutionaries took part in the raid, which was undertaken in the name of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong branch. After the successful raids, all the revolutionary groups gathered outside the police armoury where Surya Sen took a military salute, hoisted the National Flag and proclaimed a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The revolutionaries left Chittagong town before dawn and marched towards the Chittagong hill ranges, looking for a safe place.^[15]

After a few days, the police traced some of the revolutionaries. They were surrounded by several thousand troops while taking shelter in the Jalalabad hills on the outskirts of Chittagong on the afternoon of 22 April 1930. Over 80 British troops and 12 of the revolutionaries were killed in the ensuing gunfight. Surya Sen decided to disperse into neighbouring villages in small groups and the revolutionaries escaped accordingly. Very few revolutionaries fled to

Many of the revolutionaries managed to reorganize the broken group. On 24 September 1932, 8 young rebels led by Pritilata Waddedar attacked the European Club. Twenty-two officials and 220 non- officials were killed by the revolutionaries in separate incidents during 1930-32.

The so-called "first armoury raid case" (i.e. The Great Chittagong Uprising) concluded in January 1932 and the judgement was delivered on 1 March 1932. The sentences were deportation for life for 12, three years' imprisonment for 2 and the rest of a total of 32 persons on trial were acquitted. The Chittagong revolutionaries suffered a fatal blow when Masterda Surya Sen was arrested on 16 February 1933 from Gairala village, because of a tip-off from a traitor in the group. The traitor, Netra Sen, was stabbed to death at his home by the revolutionaries before he could collect his Rupee 10,000 reward. Masterda Surya Sen was tried and was hanged on 12 January 1934^[16] after immense torture. His body was not cremated but thrown into Bay of Bengal by the British.

World War II

During World War II, the British used Chittagong as an important military base. Frequent bombardment by the Japanese Air Force,^{[clarification needed]} notably in April 1942 and again on 20 and 24 December 1942, resulted in military relocation to Comilla. Nevertheless, the war had a major negative impact on the city, with the growth of refugees and unevenness in fortune, reflected in the Great Famine of 1943.^[2]

Post-war expansion

After the war, rapid industrialisation and development saw the city grow beyond its previous municipal area, particularly in the southwest up to Patenga, where

The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) was established by the government of East Pakistan in 1959 to manage this growth and drew up a master plan to be reviewed every five years to plan its urban development. By 1961 the CDA had drawn up a regional plan covering an area of 212 square miles (550 km²) and a master plan covering an area of 100 square miles (260 km²).[2] Over the decades, especially after the losses of 1971, the master plan developed into several specific areas of management, including the Multi-Sectoral Investment Plan for drainage and flood-protection of Chittagong City and a plan for easing the traffic congestion and making the system more efficient.^[2]

University of Chittagong was founded in November 1966.^[17]

Bangladesh

In 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Chittagong suffered massive losses in people and buildings given that they denied the occupation army access to the port. The first public announcement was made over the radio from the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra located at Kalurghat, Chittagong. Following the independence of Bangladesh, the city underwent a major rehabilitation and reconstruction programme and regained its status as an important port within a few years.^[2]

References