# Natore District

Natore district (Bengali: নাটোর জেলা) is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi and used to be a part of Rajshahi District.

## History

Natore was the district headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 1825. Administrative Natore subdivision was established in 1825 under Rajshahi district, on the eve of the shifting of the headquarters.
In 1845, Natore Mahakuma was established. The Natore Municipality was established in 1869.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, a battle was fought between the Pakistani army and the freedom fighters of Mukti Bahini on 29 March. About 40 members of the Pakistani army including Major Aslam and Captain Ishaq were killed. On 5 May 1971 Pakistani Army killed 42 employees of North Bengal Sugar Mills (Lalpur) including the general manager of the mill, Lieutenant Anwarul Azim. They were killed near a pond in the mill campus. The pond is now known as Shaheed Sagar, and there is a memorial beside the pond.

## Geography

Most parts of Natore district are plain land. Chalan Beel, the largest beel in Bangladesh, is a part of the district.
Natore District is 1,900.05 km$^2$ (733.61 sq mi). It is bordered by Naogaon and Bogra districts to the north, Pabna and Kushtia districts to the south, Pabna and Sirajganj districts to the east, and Rajshahi district to the west. The road distance from Natore to Dhaka is 220 kilometres. Lalpur is the lowest Average annual rainfall area of Bangladesh.

## Demographics

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Natore District has 501,957 households and a population of 1,859,922 with an average 3.66 people per household. Among the population, 305,843 (16.44%) inhabitants are under 10 years of age. The population density is 979 people per km$^2$. Natore District has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 71.51%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 97.88 males per 100 females. Approximately, 19.15% (356,166) of the population live in urban areas. Ethnic population is 11,198 (0.60%), mainly Oraon, Mal Pahari and Santal.
Religions in Natore District (2022) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Islam | Islam | 93.78% | 93.78% |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 5.76% | 5.76% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 0.42% | 0.42% |
| Other or not stated | Other or not stated | 0.04% | 0.04% |
Religion in present-day Natore District :
| Religion | 1941$^{:88–89}$ | 1941$^{:88–89}$ | 1981 | 1981 | 1991 | 1991 | 2001 | 2001 | 2011 | 2011 | 2022 | 2022 |
| Religion | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 276,237 | 74.02% | 943,224 | 88.39% | 1,255,550 | 90.47% | 1,409,634 | 92.66% | 1,590,919 | 93.22% | 1,744,274 | 93.78% |
| Hinduism | 85,731 | 22.97% | 112,918 | 10.58% | 117,530 | 8.47% | 101,550 | 6.68% | 103,747 | 6.08% | 107,124 | 5.76% |
| Tribal religion | 9,863 | 2.64% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Christianity | 855 | 0.23% | 6,295 | 0.59% | 8,432 | 0.61% | 8,282 | 0.54% | 8,054 | 0.47% | 7,844 | 0.42% |
| Others | 499 | 0.14% | 4,621 | 0.44% | 6,249 | 0.45% | 1,870 | 0.12% | 3,953 | 0.23% | 680 | 0.04% |
| Total Population | 373,185 | 100% | 1,067,058 | 100% | 1,387,761 | 100% | 1,521,336 | 100% | 1,706,673 | 100% | 1,859,922 | 100% |
Muslims make up 93.78% of the population, while Hindus are 5.76% of the population. The Muslim population has constantly increased, while the Hindu population has generally decreased.

## Economy

The economy of Natore is based on agriculture.
There are 2 sugar mills in Natore; North Bengal Sugar Mills Limited and Natore Sugar Mills Limited. They are the enterprises of the Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation. Pran Agro Ltd., Ekdala, Natore Sadar (2005) is a private food manufacturing plant of Pran-RFL Group. Jamuna Distillery Limited (1995) is another private industry of Jamuna Group. The distillery produces industrial alcohol, and is situated near Natore Sugar Mills Limited.

### Hats, bazaars and fairs

The total number of hats and bazaars are 152. There are 13 fairs. Bonpara Bazar, (which is situated 18 km from Natore town) is a traditional bazar which sits every Saturday and Tuesday Bonpara is one of the biggest hats of Natore and Bangladesh.

## Points of interest

Tourist attractions in Natore include Rani Bhabanir Rajbari, the palace of Rani Bhabani of Natore. It is a historical palace, situated in the Bongojol area nearby Natore zero (Madrasamore/old bus stand). There is a college and schools named after Rani Bhobani.
Chalan Beel is a large natural wetland. During the monsoon, the area of the Bil increases and touches four upazilas (sub-districts) of the district. The picnic parties come to Cholon Bil every season.
Uttara Gonobhaban (formerly known as Dighapotia Rajbari) is the former residence of the kings of Natore. Today it is the official residence of the Prime Minister in North Bengal.

## Administration

Natore was the district headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 1825. At the eve of that replacement, Natore was declared as a Subdivision. That event made Natore the first Subdivision of Bangladesh. Natore was established as a district in 1984.
There are seven upazilas in the district:
* Bagatipara Upazila
* Baraigram Upazila
* Gurudaspur Upazila
* Lalpur Upazila
* Naldanga Upazila
* Natore Sadar Upazila
* Singra Upazila
The town has a population of 120,000; male population percentage is 51.57%, female population percentage is 48.43%. The density of population is 4,825. Chalkbuddhnath, Station bajar, Borgasa, Alaipur, Kanaikhali, Nichabazar, Lalbazar, Madrasamor, Bongojal are the most populated areas of Natore town.
The Deputy Commissioner is Mohammad Shamim Ahmed. The Superintendent of Police is Liton Kumar Shaha and the Administrator of Zila Porishod is Advocate Sajedur Rahman Khan Chowdhury.

## Notable persons

* Rani Bhabani (1715–1802) was an independent Zamindar of Natore during 1748-1802 British India.
* Maharaja Jagadindra Nath Roy Bahadur (1868–1925) known as the Maharaja of Natore was a noted Zamindar of Natore from Bengal. He is also noted for his contribution to the game of cricket in British India.
* Jadunath Sarkar (1870–1958)
* Sarat Kumar Rai (1876–1946)
* Madar Bux (1907 – 20 January 1967) was a Bengali politician. He served in the northern city of Rajshahi
* Ashraf Ali Khan Chowdhury - Bengali lawyer and politician
* Taijul Islam Bangladeshi cricketer
* Zunaid Ahmed Palak – MP
* Farida Parveen, Bangladeshi folk singer
* Shankar Gobind Chowdhury, an Awami League politician who was the member of parliament for Natore-2 from 1991 to 1996
* M. M. Rahmatullah was a bureaucrat and politician. He was the former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and later the chairman of the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh. In 2000, he was an electoral candidate from Natore Area for the Parliament of Bangladesh (village-Hulhulia).
* Banalata Sen of Natore (fictional character)
* Sultana Zaman