Rajshahi Division
Bangladesh's driest region on the Barind Tract, famous for Rajshahi silk and mango production, newly connected by Padma Bridge.
Rajshahi Division occupies the Barind Tract—Bangladesh's driest region, where the Ganges plain gives way to red laterite soils that require irrigation for reliable cultivation. The Padma River (the Ganges in Bangladesh) forms the division's southern boundary, historically isolating Rajshahi from Dhaka before the 2022 bridge completion. Rajshahi city, the divisional capital, developed as an administrative center under British rule and hosts Rajshahi University, one of Bangladesh's most prestigious. The silk industry that once defined Rajshahi's economy—the famous 'Rajshahi silk'—declined as synthetic fabrics captured markets, though artisanal production continues. Mango cultivation replaced silk as the division's signature export: the Chapainawabganj district produces varieties that command premium prices across South Asia. The Varendra Research Museum in Rajshahi city holds archaeological collections from the Pala Empire (8th-12th centuries), when Bengal was a Buddhist kingdom rather than the Islamic-majority region it became. The division shares a long border with India's West Bengal, creating cross-border trade and smuggling dynamics that formal statistics undercount. The August 2024 political upheaval saw protests in Rajshahi University that contributed to the national movement. Groundwater depletion from irrigation creates long-term sustainability questions that the Barind Integrated Area Development Authority attempts to address. By 2026, the Padma Bridge may finally integrate Rajshahi into national economic networks, but competition with established industrial zones will determine whether connectivity translates into investment.