Sarail Upazila

Sarail (সরাইল) is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District located in the Chittagong Division and near the Dhaka Division, Bangladesh.

History
The leader of the Baro-Bhuiyan zamindars, Isa Khan, had his first and temporary capital situated in Sarail. During the Mughal era, Sarail was a mahallah (district) of the Sylhet Sarkar.

During the dewani of Dewan Shahbaz Khan in 1650, the Hatirpul was constructed. It was a bridge built over the canal mainly for elephant pass. The Mughal dewans used to communicate by the elephant in this road and also took rest near this bridge. In 1662, the Arifil Mosque was constructed by Shah Arif. There are unknown tombs located near the mosque, supposedly belonging to the wives of Isa Khan.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the Pakistani Army killed about 70 innocent people in the Bitghar area. On 5 May, the freedom fighters raided the Pakistani Army's camp in the Shahbazpur area and killed 9 Pakistani soldiers; one freedom fighter was killed during this raid. A number of Pakistani Army officers and the chairman of the Sarail Peace Committee were also killed. The freedom fighters set up a mine bomb north of Kalikaccha Bazar. This exploded and destroyed two military vehicles. Three mass graves remain in Sarail. Memorial monuments were established in the upazila's Bitghar area, the Annada Government High School, the Sarail Degree College and also a monument dedicated to the martyr Sheikh Mesbahuddin Saraili.

In 1990, Sarail was made an upazila of Bangladesh.

Geography
Sarail is located at 24.11833°N, 91.125°W. It has 43,854 households and a total area of 227.22 km2.

Demographics
According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Sarail Upazila had 58,622 households and a population of 315,208. 102,749 (32.60%) were under 10 years of age. Sarail had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 40.85%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1068 females per 1000 males. 46,927 (14.89%) lived in urban areas.

According to the 1991 Bangladesh census, Sarail had a population of 254,481. Males constituted 50.32% of the population, and females 49.68%. The population aged 18 or over was 120,249. Sarail had an average literacy rate of 22.6% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%.

Administration
Sarail Upazila is divided into nine union parishads: Auraol, Chunta, Kalikachchha, Noagaon, Pakshimul, Panishor, Sarail, Shahbazpur, and Shahjadapur. The union parishads are subdivided into 67 mauzas and 141 villages.

Upazila Chairman: Rafique Uddin Thakur

Notable residents

 * Nurul Amin, Prime Minister Of Pakistan
 * Dewan Mahbub Ali,Dewan Mahbub Ali (Qutub Mia) was an elected member of the National Assembly (MLA) of the United Front in 1954. He was the leader of world opinion formation at the peace conference in Budapest, Hungary in the liberation war of 1971, he was the former general secretary of the Adamji Jute Mill Workers Union, the former vice-president of the central committee of NAP, and a prominent lawyer.


 * Sheuly Azad, Member of Parliament, lives in West Kuttapara.
 * Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan
 * Ullaskar Dutta, Indian revolutionary
 * Isa Khan, first chief of the Baro-Bhuiyan confederacy which resisted the Mughal rule in Bengal
 * Ismail Khan, brother of Isa Khan
 * Masum Khan, zamindar and Mughal Army officer
 * Musa Khan, second chief of the Baro-Bhuiyans of Bengal
 * Habibur Rahman Milon, journalist
 * Ahmed Rafiq, writer and researcher
 * Taher Uddin Thakur, Minister of State for Information