Jessore

Jessore (যশোর, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district and the third largest and second developed city in Khulna Division. It is one of the industrious and developed cities in Bangladesh. Jessore city consists of 9 wards and 73 mahalls. Jashore municipality was established in 1864. The area of the town is 21.15 km2. It has a population of about 298,000 according to the record of Jessore municipality. Jessore also has a domestic airport named as Jessore Airport.

Name
The present-day city of Jashore was originally known as Kasba. The current name was originally acquired from the name of the surrounding pargana and zamindari estate of Jashore, or Jesar, when Kasba became its capital. The district's name was also applied to its two previous capitals, which are now known as Ishwaripur and Murali, respectively, so early mentions of jashore are not referring to the modern town.

The name "Jashore" is traditionally explained as a derivation from the Sanskrit name Yaśohara, meaning "glory-depriving". The name originally applied to the town now called Ishwaripur, which was founded sometime after 1573-74 by Vikramaditya, father of Pratapaditya. According to J. Westland, "glory-depriving" may have been used in the sense of "so glorious that it makes other cities seem humble in comparison". An inscription at Kanhaynagar records a similar epithet for that place: ruchira-ruchi-hara, or "depriving of beauty that which is beautiful".

History
The Ain-i Akbari lists a pargana of Jesar as part of sarkar Khalifatabad. This Jesar is a reference to today's Ishwaripur. Ishwaripur is also the Jesar mentioned in the Bahāristān-i Ghaibī. The zamindars of Jesar later shifted their capital to Murali and then to nearby Kasba, and the name "Jessore" was transferred to each of them in succession. One or both of these shifts had happened by around 1660, when shows a "Jessoor" in the same spot as today's city; however, because Murali and Kasba are so close together, it's uncertain which one specifically is being shown here.

It was the capital of Pratapaditya, the one and only Hindu ruler of the 12 Bhuiyas of Bengal, who had also famously fought against Mughal intrusion in East Bengal. He was defeated by Mughal forces and his territories were annexed into the Mughal Empire.

It was the first district to be freed and taken back by Bengali rule in the Liberation War, on 8 December 1971.

Demographics
According to the 2022 Bangladesh census, Jessore city had a population of 209,330.

According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Jessore city had 45,930 households and a population of 201,796. 33,717 (16.71%) were under 10 years of age. Jessore had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 76.44%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 926 females per 1000 males.

Education

 * Jashore University of Science and Technology
 * Jessore Medical College
 * Army Medical College, Jessore
 * Michael Madhusudan College
 * BAF Shaheen College Jashore
 * Jessore Zilla School
 * Cantonment College, Jashore

Transport
The city is the transport hub of the district and southern Bangladesh.

To the north it is connected by national highway N7 to Jhenaidah, about 50 km away. N702 runs northeast 45 km to Magura. To the east it is connected by regional highway N806 to Narail, about 32 km away. N7 continues southeast to divisional headquarters Khulna, about 55 km away. Regional highway R755 runs south 45 km to Chuknagar on the R760 between Satkhira and Khulna. N706 runs west to Benapole, 37 km away, on the border with India.

Jessore Junction railway station is on the main line connecting Darshana and Khulna. In July 2023, it was served by between 8 and 12 intercity trains a day.

Jessore Airport served over 19 thousand passengers in December 2022. It is located in the western part of the city, 7 km from downtown, and maintains scheduled passenger flights to Dhaka.