Narail is an ancient town. Agriculture, culture and tradition, this district is resplendent in its glory, open fields, lush green fields, soft, clear black water of numerous beels including Ichamati, Chachuri, Jaldhara, Madhumati, Chitra, Nabaganga and Kajla rivers have given this district a unique identity.
From Narail, it was reported that among the folk traditions of Narail, Jatragan, Palagan, Naukabaich, Hadudu Khel, Lathi Khel, Haluigan, bullfighting, various fairs, pithaguls, Kavigan, Jarigan, Ghazirgan, Rain songs, etc. are particularly notable.
Narail is currently a district town. It was elevated to district status on 1 March 1984 from the then subdivision. Shalikha and Mohammadpur thanas of Magura district are located in the north of this district, Terkhada, Dighalia and Mollar Hat of Khulna district in the south, Faridpur and Gopalganj in the east and Abhaynagar, Bagharpara and Kotwali thanas of Jessore district in the west. Narail district has an area of 976 square kilometers and a population of 659681, of which 333816 are males and 325865 are females. Narail can be said to be a fairly rich river region. In addition to Madhumati, Chitra, Kajla, Nalia, Naragati, Nabaganga, Kaliganga and Atharbanki, the Gal and Halikax Canal of the Shiromani branch flowed through this district. Of these, 3/4 of the rivers are said to be dead, while the other 8/7 rivers are now flowing.
According to geologists, the present Narail district is one of the islands that formed the Gangetic delta about one million years ago by the alluvial soil of the Ganges River. At that time, Narail district was included in the present Sundarbans along the seashore. Even sixty or seventy years ago, fossils of deer, tigers and other animals were found by digging ponds or wells in different parts of this district, and this proves that the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in this riverine district were extensive.
According to history, during the Gupta era, the eastern border of the Narail region up to the Madhumati River, including the entire Jessore, was included in the Gupta Empire and it lasted from 340 to 375 AD. King Shashanka ruled Bengal until 600 AD and his capital was Karna Subarna Nagar, also known as Lakshmanavarti. Then Emperor Harsha Vardhan defeated Shashanka and conquered this region.
It can be said that Narail district including greater Jessore was included in the kingdoms of Shashanga and Haryavardhan. It is known that for approximately 150 years, small areas in the Narail district were ruled by force. Not only this region but the whole of Bangladesh, two such kings were the Patalbhedi Raja of Nayabari and the Raja of Ujirpur Kashiara.
Later, the region was ruled by the Pala dynasty. After the fall of the Pala dynasty, the Sena kings from Karnataka came to power. In 1200 AD, the Turkish military leader Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji's conquest of Bangladesh brought an end to the reign of Raja Lakshman Sone. Then came the Muslim rule.
At that time, like other regions of Bengal, there was a 37-year Pathan period and then a Sultanate period for about two hundred years. During the British period, Jessore emerged as a district in 1786. At that time, the entire greater Jessore, except for the eastern part of Narail, was part of Jessore, including the greater Khulna district. In 1993, the western part of Bhushan and Faridpur district, including Naldi Pargana, was included in Jessore. In 1842, Khulna was made a separate subdivision and the southern part of Kalia Thana of Narail was included in it. During the Indigo Rebellion in 1861, Narail was established as a separate subdivision.
The Narail subdivision headquarters in Mahishkhola Mouza was chosen for the location of the subdivision headquarters. The actual Narail Mouza was 3 kilometers away from the city, where the prasad of the Narail zamindars was located, and on the other side, the residence of the subdivision administrator was the indigo farmers' hut.
According to the 1901 census, Narail subdivision-Narail, Bara Kalia, Lohagara thana was formed with a population of 352289. According to the 1939 data, Narail was a prosperous subdivision in the eastern part of the five subdivisions of the former Jessore. In the context of the complete demarcation of the boundaries in 1935, Bidali, Porali and Sheikhhati unions were attached to Narail thana and Porali union was attached to Kalia thana.
After the partition of the country in 1947, four thanas of Narail, Lohagara, Kalia, Alfadanga and Narail, remained in the Narail subdivision. In 1960, Alfadanga was again separated from Narail and included with Faridpur. In this way, the geographical boundaries of Narail have been narrowed at various times.
Currently, Narail district consists of 4 police stations: Lohagara, Kalia, Naragati and Narail Sadar.
Although Narail was officially declared a district on March 1, 1948, it was established as a full-fledged district on July 1, 1984, as a result of many struggles, strikes, rallies, and hunger strikes.
Narail district has special features in the field of education and culture. For example, the literacy rate of the district is 29% while the literacy rate of the country is 24%. There are a total of 6 colleges including 1 government and 1 women's college. Out of 75 schools, 2 are government, 9 are girls' and 7 are junior girls' schools.
There is also 1 women's madrasa and 1 Kamil madrasa. About one and a half dozen historical monuments are notable. Among them, Jora Bangla of Rayattam, Dargah of Naldi Gazi, Patalvedi Raja's house, Lohagara ancient Jora Bangla, Raja Keshab Roy's house, Lakshmipasha Kalibari are some of them.
Along with this, there were the legendary fakir dervishes and religious preachers of Narail, including Fakir Osman, Sadhak Lengta Shah, Buro Dewan, Gangadhar Pagal. There were four zamindars in different parts of Narail, such as the zamindar of Narail, the zamindar of Hatbaria, the zamindar of Kalara and the zamindar of Naldi, in addition to 7 talukdars or small zamindars under them.
During the indigo cultivation period, there were about 20 indigo sahibs' cottages in all of Narail. The entire district consists of about 150 villages and towns.
