History of Noakhali

Bhulua became a focal point of Bengal during the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Pundra, Harikela and Samatata leading it to become the initial name of the region as a whole.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Portuguese pirates led by Sebastian Gonzales took control of the ara but were later defeated by Governor Shaista Khan.

[6]: 40 Islam was said to have first reached the region under the Delhi Sultanate, when Governor Tughral Tughan Khan militarily assisted the nearby Twipra Kingdom in 1279.

They had cordial relationships, with the Maharajas of Tripura allowing the Bhulua kings to place the Raj Tika (royal mark) on their foreheads during their coronation.

In this period, a Sufi pir and Syed from Baghdad arrived to Bhulua riding on top of a tiger and was thus known by the people as Sher Alam.

The Hindu ruler gifted to Syed Sher Alam, two droṇs of land and a large rent-free house in Danaikot, Feni.

Balaram Manikya's court poet was Abdur Razzaq of Balukia in Bedrabad, who wrote Sayful Mulk o Lal Banu in 1770 CE.

[6] Unlike the former kings of Bhulua, Balaram refused to attend the coronation of the Twipra Raja Amar Manikya, as he perceived him to be an illegitimate ruler and essentially declared total independence from Tripura.

Present-day Noakhali was a part of the Sarkar of Sonargaon and divided into three parganas: Bhalwa Jawar (Bhulua), Jogidia (Jugdia) and Dandra.

Khan appointed Shaykh Abdul Wahid as the main commander of the entire expedition, which in total was made up 50 elephants, 3000 matchlockers and 4000 cavalry.

Ananta Manikya set up defences around Bhalwa with the Magh Raja's assistance, before proceeding forward to the Dakatia banks where he built a fort.

Manikya's chief minister, Mirza Yusuf Barlas, surrendered to the Mughal forces and was rewarded by Abdul Wahid as a mansabdar of 500 soldiers and 300 horses.

Having no time to defend themselves, Manikya retreated further to seek refuge with the Magh Raja Min Razagyi but was defeated at the banks of the Feni River.

[3] During the governorship of Qasim Khan Chishti, Shaykh Abdul Wahid sent his son on a mission to raid Tripura whilst he set off to meet with the Governor at Jahangirnagar, leaving a Mutasaddi to take care of Bhalwa.

The Mutasaddi sent a messenger to Jahangirnagar, warning them of the raid, but Governor Qasim Khan Chishti thought it was probably an excuse for Abdul Wahid to leave his presence.

Chishti then sent a force of 4000 of his own matchlockers and 2000 horsemen, that were commanded by his son, Shaykh Farid and General Abdun Nabi towards Bhalwa, safely through the Lakhya River.

[19] Mirza Baqi, the former Bakhshi of the Subahdar of Bengal Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang, was appointed as the Thanadar of Bhalwa in addition to being given a mansabdari of 500 soldiers with 400 horses.

With the permission of Subahdar Islam Khan II, the Thanadar of Jugdia used gunfire to drive away 400 of Narapati's jalias and allow Rai to cross the Feni River and enter the Mughal territory.

Mangat Rai's Portuguese allies also began migrating from Chittagong to Bhalwa, where they accepted Islam and culturally assimilated with the local population.

[20] During the 1665 Mughal conquest of nearby Chittagong, the Firingis led by Captain Moor set fire to Arakanese fleets and fled to Bhulua where Farhad gave them refuge.

These were: Amurabad-Dunderah, Amirabad-Noabad-Bulwah, Ammerabad-Dunderah, Allahabad (Elahabad), Bedarabad, Bulwah (Bhulua), Baboopoor (Babupur), Denderah (Dandra), Gopaulnagar-Bulwah (Gopalnagar-Bhulua), Jogdeah (Jugdia), Kunchenpoor (Kanchanpur), Kudwah-Bulwah, Mirzanagur of Gopaulnagur (Mirzanagar) and Shaistehnagur (Shaistanagar).

[3] ভুলুয়া শহর হয় অতি দিব্যস্থান Bhulua shohor hoy oti dibbosthan সেই সে শহর হয় অতি ভাল জান Shei she shohor hoy oti bhalo jan সৈয়দ কাজী আছে যত মুসলমান Soiyod Qazi acche joto musolman নানা জাতি আছে যত ব্রাম্মন সজ্জন Nana jati acche joto Brahmon shojjon By 1756, the British East India Company had built weaving factories near the Feni River in Jugdia.

The advent of the British East India Company with its "exploitation and oppression" alongside zamindari subjugation, made life of the peasants and farmers difficult and despondent.

[30] Viewed as a "notorious plunderer" in the Tippera District, Noakhali and Chittagong areas,[31] he was later arrested by Mir Qasim by subterfuge for his excesses and put to death by a cannon.

In the 18th century, Nurullah of Chittagong wrote a eulogistic poem titled Sifatnama which contained information about the erstwhile upper-class families of Feni.

British troops and policemen were finally despatched from Noakhali, Tipperah (Comilla) and Chittagong to suppress them but the Kukis had already fled to the jungles of the princely state and they never returned ever again.

The southern part of Sudharam also suffered from land loss, and a number of Chhagalnaiya residents began leaving their colonial homeland, subsequently migrating to Hill Tippera.

The All-India Muslim League gained a lot of support in Noakhali, with local leaders such as Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Shamsunnahar Mahmud, Khan Bahadur Abdul Gofran.

The prime minister of Bengal, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, answering a question from Dhirendranath Datta in the assembly early in 1947 stated that there had been cases of forcible conversion in Noakhali, running into the thousands.

About 75 Bengali freedom fighters were killed in Noakhali during a direct encounter with the Pakistan army on 15 June 1971, in front of the Sonapur Ahmadia School.