Chittagong /tʃɪtəɡɒŋ/ (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম Bengali
pronunciation: [tʃɔt̠t̠ɔgram])
is a major coastal seaport city
and financial centre in
southeastern Bangladesh. The city
has a population of more than 2.5 million[1] while the metropolitan area has a
population of 4,009,423 at the 2011 Census,[1] making it the second
largest city in the country. It is the capital of an
eponymous district and division.
The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill
Tracts and the Bay of Bengal. Much of Chittagong Division
is located within the ecological Indo-Burma zone on the boundary of
the India Plate and Burma Plate. This makes Chittagong the
crossroads of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The port city has
been known by various names in history, including Chatigaon, Chatigam,
Chattagrama, Islamabad, Chattala, Chaityabhumi and Porto Grande De Bengala.
The natural harbour of Chittagong is an
ancient gateway to the region of Bengal. It was noted as one of the
largest Eastern ports
by the Roman geographer Ptolemy in the 1st
century. As part of the rich seafaring tradition of the Bengali people, coastal Chittagong was
settled and ruled by Indian and Bengali kingdoms. Arab traders
saw well-developed currency, banking and shipping in Chittagong during the 9th
century. Early cosmopolitan Muslims established
dominance over the port as an entrepot of maritime trade,[5] while Arakan, Bengal and Tripura competed for control of the
wider hinterland. Muslim conquest took place in the 14th century. Chittagong
became the principal port of the Bengal Sultanate. It was used by several
leading medieval global explorers, including Ibn Battuta and Niccolò de' Conti.
Later, Mrauk U, with
assistance from Portuguese trading
posts, gained control of the area. The Mughal conquest of Chittagong
reestablished Bengali control and ushered an era of stability and trade. The
city was renamed as Islamabad. This diverse history is reflected in the rural
Chittagonian dialect of Bengali, which has a nearly 50% Arabic-origin
vocabulary, as well as Persian and Portuguese loanwords.[6]
Ceded to the British East
India Company in 1760, Chittagong became the chief port of
Eastern Bengal and Assam under
the British Raj, as well as a hub of railways.
A notable anti-colonial uprising took place in 1930. It was an important base
for Allied Forces during the Burma Campaign in World War II. Rapid industrialization
followed the war, as Chittagong became part of East Pakistan. During
Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971, Chittagong was site of the country’s
declaration of independence.
Modern Chittagong is an important economic hub in South
Asia. It is home to the Chittagong
Stock Exchange and many of Bangladesh's oldest and
largest companies.
The Port of Chittagong is
the largest international seaport on the Bay of Bengal.[7] It is the largest base of
the Bangladesh Navy.
However, despite having a high and growing urban per capita GDP in South Asia[8] and being one of the fastest
growing cities in the world,[9] it has a poverty rate of 11.3%, as
of 2010. Chittagong is reputed as a relatively clean city, but still confronts
substantial logistical and socioeconomic problems. The mountainous hinterland
of Chittagong is the most biodiverse region in Bangladesh, with 2000 endemic
plants and various critically endangered wildlife.
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