Bhaluka

About Bhaluka

Bhaluka (Bengali: ভালুকা) is an upazila of Mymensingh District, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest small-scale business hubs in the area.

Etymology

Bhaluka Upazila is named after the Bhaluka village and Bhaluka Bazar located in the union. There are three main theories behind its etymology:

During the British rule, indigo planters established indigo factories in various locations to serve their interests. After setting up an indigo factory in the area (known as Neelkuthi), the planters frequently went hunting. In the forest, they encountered tigers and bears. The Bengali word for bear is ভালুক (Bhaluk), so Bhaluka is considered a corruption of Bhaluk.

The revenue office (kachari bari) of the eastern bazaar was under the name of Bhawal's zamindar. It was known as Bhawal-er Kachari. Some believe this was shortened to Bhaluka.

As the area is inhabited by the Koch people, another theory suggests that Bhaluka was named after the tribal Koch chief Bhaluk Chand Mandal.

History

During the reigns of the Palas and Senas, Bhaluka was administered by a samanta. It came under Muslim rule during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah in the early fourteenth century.

Khan Saheb Abedullah Chowdhury was a notable zamindar of Bhaluka. He, along with his wife, Halimunnesa Chowdhurani, made significant contributions to the development of Bhaluka. Under the leadership of Abedullah Chowdhury and with the assistance of Mansur Ali Khan, Zayed Ali, and Zayed Khan, the Bhaluka Bazar (marketplace) was established. However, the Bhaluka Bazar area was divided into two parts, each controlled by different zamindars (landowners). The western bazaar was under Maharaja Shashikanta of the Muktagacha Zamindari, while the entirety of Bhaluka, along with the eastern bazaar, was under the Bhawal Zamindari. In the forests of the former part, there was a mazar whose custodian was Innat Faqir, the father of Wahid Ali Faqir. There was a courthouse in the eastern bazaar, where rent was collected for the Zamindar of Bhawal. The village next to the marketplace also came to be known as Bhaluka. Separating from Gafargaon Thana, Bhaluka became its own administrative thana of Mymensingh Subdivision in 1917. Maulvi AKM Nazir Hosain was appointed as the Sub-Registrar of Bhaluka.

Their son Aftabuddin Chowdhury served as a member of the National Assembly from 1965 to 1969 representing the Pakistan Muslim League and later as an MP in Bangladesh from the same party. The Dhaka-Mymensingh highway was constructed during the regime of Ayub Khan following a proposal by Chowdhury.

During the Bangladesh War of 1971, Afsar Uddin Ahmed, the Sub-sector Commander of Sector 11, gathered arms and ammunition and established the Afsar Bahini to challenge the Pakistan Army. Mohammad Abdul Mannan, a Civil Engineering student and the vice president of the student wing at Rajshahi Engineering College, was the first to collect three units of 303 rifles from the nearest thana and requested Afsar Uddin to train everyone. Shah Ali Akbar was also a fighter from Bhaluka. Together with Mohammad Abdul Mannan and Afsar Uddin Ahmed, he organized the Mukti Bahini in Bhaluka. The Pakistan Army established military camps at Mallikbari, Tashka, Tamat, and Bhaluka Bazar. A memorial monument was erected at Bhaluka Bus Stand. Bhaluka Thana was upgraded to an upazila in August 1983.

In 2010, work began on the Kadigarh National Park located in Palgaon, Kachina Union.

Geography

Bhaluka covers a total area of 444.05 km2. It is bordered by Fulbaria and Trishal Upazilas to the north, Sreepur Upazila to the south, Gaffargaon Upazila to the east, and Sakhipur and Ghatail Upazilas to the west. The main rivers flowing through the upazila are Sutia, Khiru, Lalti, and Bajua.

Administration

Bhaluka, established as a Thana in 1917, was upgraded to an upazila in 1983.

Bhaluka Upazila comprises Bhaluka Municipality and 11 union parishads: Bhaluka, Birunia, Dakatia, Dhitpur,

Source: Wikipedia →