G*ibandha (Bengali: গাইবান্ধা জেলা, G*ibandha Jela or G*ibandha Zila) is a district in Northern Bangladesh. G*ibandha subdivision was established in 1875. G*ibandha was previously known as Bhabanigonj. The name was changed from Bhabanigonj to G*ibandha in 1875. G*ibandha was established as a district on 15 February 1984.[2] G*ibandha is the administrative headquarters and largest urban centre of t
his district. There are two opinions about the name of G*ibandha. The most famous opinion is: around five thousand years ago, capital of Matsya Kingdom of King Birat was in Gobindaganj area. Bengali: মৎস্য (Matsya) means fish and Bengali: দেশ (desh) means country. Fishes were abundant in his kingdom so the term Bengali: মৎস্য দেশ (Matsya Desh) was created. According to Mahabharata, king Birat had 60,000 cows which were frequently robbed by robbers. To protect his cattle from robbers, king Birat established a huge cattle-shed. The cattle were tied up alongside the rivers of this area. গাই (G*i) means ‘cow’ and Bengali: বান্ধা (Bandha) means "to tie up". From this reason the area was called G*ibandha. In ancient times, this area was under water which was filled by the silt of Teesta, Brahmaputra and Jamuna river over time. This statement can be found in the description of famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang and astronomical books of Ptolemy. The flood of 1787 and the earthquake of 1898 made a major change in the landscape of this area which changed the flow of Teesta river, filled up a vast 15 miles area between Ghoraghat Upazila of Dinajpur and Tulshighat of G*ibandha and created small rivers like Kartoa, Ghaghot and Katakhali. During the regime of British Empire, Governor Warren Hastings established 24 thanas under Rangpur district collectorate in 1793. According to the 1873 report of E.G Glazier, collector of Rangpur, three of the thanas was established in today's G*ibandha. Two of them, Gobindogonj and Sadullapur were established in Idrakpur pargana and the other named as Bhabaniganj was established in the Patildaho pargana. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it was very difficult to stop the activities of the rebels from Rangpur. So Bhabaniganj thana was established in the bank of Bramhaputra river for administrative reason. On 27 May 1858, Bhabaniganj was established as a mahakuma. At first there were only two thanas: Sadullapur and Bhabaniganj. Gobindonganj was included in Bogra district 13 April 1821 but later on 12 August 1871, it was included in Bhabaniganj. Saghata, Phulchari, Palasbari and at last in 1870 Sundarganj was included in Bhabaniganj. In 1872, river corrosion started in the eastside of Bramhaputra river. As a result, the mahakuma was moved from its original place and re-established in G*ibandha which was 12 km away from Bhabaniganj mahakuma. The sadar area was under control of three landlords. The Patiladaho paragana was under control of Tagore family who was said to be related to the Rabindranath Tagore family, the Baharbondo pargana was under landlord Manindro Nandi, ruled by Krishnanath's wife Maharani Swarnamoyee of Kasim Bazar and the Muktipur pargana was under control of landlord Lahiri family of Thanshinghopur. There was a collision between the landlords regarding the establishment of the mahakuma. At last by the initiatives of government officials, the administrative building and the court were established in Baharbondo pargana which was donated by queen Swarnamoyee. When the Bhabaniganj mouza was beginning to destroy by river erosion, the name of this mahakuma was changed from Bhabanigonj to G*ibandha. In the 80's when the mahakumas were changed to districts, G*ibandha mahakuma was also established as a district. G*ibandha has a total area of 2,179.27 square kilometres (841.42 sq mi). It has boundaries with the Kurigram and Rangpur to the north, Bogra District to the south, Joypurhat District, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts to the west, and Jamalpur and Kurigram districts, and the Jamuna River to the east. G*ibandha has seven upazilas and 82 unions. Jamuna, Teesta, Kartoa and Ghaghot are notable rivers in this district. Total river area of this district is 107.71 square kilometres (41.59 sq mi). There are total five rivers in G*ibandha. The total length of the rivers is 107.71 km. Bramhaputra, Teesta and Ghaghot are the main rivers. In the report Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1808–09, there were some forests in this area but there is no more any forest in today's G*ibandha. 20% of the district has clay soil which can be found in the Khiar area of Gobindaganj upazila, the rest of the land has sandy and peat and loam soil. The climate of this area is extremely intriguing and rainfall is high. No mineral resources has been found yet in this district. The main occupations of the people of G*ibandha district are agriculture 44.45%, agricultural laborer 27.72%, wage laborer 2.58%, transport 1.89%, commerce 9.11%, service 4.49% and others 9.76%. There are 2123 small industries, 5 medium industries and 1 large industry in G*ibandha. There are 4046 poultries, 10730 dairies, 245 fisheries, 18 hatcheries, 16 plant nurseries and 8 artificial cattle breeding centers. Total amount of lands are 217040 hectare, arable land 160,397 hectares, irritable land are 139640 hectares, fallow land are 56643 hectares and total water reservoir are 5050.30 hectares; the amount of crop: single crop 20.5%, double crop 58.5% and treble crop 21%; land under irrigation 27.16%. Main crops are paddy, wheat, jute, sugarcane, potato, brinjal, mustard seed, chili, onion, garlic and vegetables. Jute is mainly produced in Gobindoganj, Palashbari and the northern side of this district. The production of aush rice and to***co has decreased a lot in recent years but production of banana has increased significantly in Gobindoganj and Palashbari.
