Nalchity is an upazila of Jhalokati District in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh.

History

Some family members of Isa Khan moved from Sarail to Nalchity. Abdul Ghani Khan, a 14th-generation descendant of Isa Khan, is the current head of this branch of the family. The region later became a free looting field and slave trading zone for Magh and Portuguese pirates. In 1654, Shah Shuja built two forts in one night in the village of Shujabad to better control the region, and to counter piracy. One was built with mud, and the other with bricks. The ruins of the forts are visible from the Barisal-Jhalokati highway. In 1924, the British authorities established a thana (police administrative headquarters) in Nalchity. On 7 March 1927, the British Raj police killed twenty Bengali Muslims in a mosque compound in the village of Kulkati. The event is known as the Ponabalia Massacre. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the Pakistan Army shot down 13 Bengalis on 13 May. In midnight on 30 June, Bengali freedom fighters raided the Nalchity Police Station and freedom fighter Yunus was killed in the affray. Nalchity was liberated on 8 December. Nalchity Thana was upgraded to an upazila (sub-district) in 1983 as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Mohammad Ershad's decentralisation programme. Nalchi Upazila is the second municipality of Bangladesh.

Geography

Nalchity is located at 22.6222°N, 90.2708°W. It has 38,006 households and a total area of 231.42 km2.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of Bangladesh, Nalchity Upazila had 43,066 households and a population of 193,556. 43,364 (22.40%) were under 10 years of age. Nalchity has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 67.2%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1051 females per 1000 males. 30,805 (15.92%) lived in urban areas. According to the 1991 Bangladesh census, Nalchity had a population of 203,563. Males constituted 50.02% of the population, and females 49.98%. The population aged 18 or over was 100,836. Nalchity had an average literacy rate of 47.1% (7+ years), compared to the national average of 32.4%.

Administration

Nalchity Upazila is divided into Nalchity Municipality and ten union parishads: Bhairabpasha, Dapdapia, Kulkati, Kusanghal, Mollahat, Magar, Nachan Mohal, Ranapasha, Siddhakati, and Subidpur. The union parishads are subdivided into 118 mauzas and 138 villages. Nalchity Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 21 mahallas. The current mayor of Nalchity is Wahed Kabir Khan while the MP of the region is Amir Hossain Amu (2024). Salah Uddin Khan Salim is the Upazila Chairman. The Upazila is part of the 4 sub-districts of Jhalakati Zilla Parishad. The current elected chairman of the Zilla Parishad is Adv. Khan Saifullah Panir.

Notable people