Rangpur Division (Bengali: রংপুর বিভাগ) became Bangladesh's seventh division on January 25, 2010. Before that, it had been the northern 8 districts of the Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight districts: Rangpur[1], Dinajpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, and Lalmonirhat. There are 58 Upazillas or subdistrics under these eight districts. Rangpur is the northernmost division of Bangladesh and has a population of 15,665,000 at the 2011 Census.

The major cities of this new division are Rangpur and Dinajpur. Rangpur has well-known educational institutions, such as Carmichael College, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Rangpur Medical College, Rangpur Cadet College, and Begum Rokeya University.

The central City - Rangpur - has a historical importance and indentity. Mansingh, commander of Emperor Akbar, conquered part of Rangpur in 1575. Rangpur came completely under the Mughal empire in 1686. Mughalbasa and Mughalhat of Kurigram district still bear marks of the Mughal rule in the region. During the Mughal rule Rangpur was under the sarker of Ghoraghat. Rangapur Ghoraghat has been mentioned in the Riyaz-us-Salatin. During the early period of the company rule fakir-sannyasi resistance and peasant rebellion were held in Rangpur.

 Tajhat Rajbari

town hall

Rangpur was conquered by the army of Raja Man Singh, a commander of the Mughal emperor, Akbar, in 1575, but it was only until 1686 that it was fully integrated into the Mughal Empire. Names of places like Mughalbasa (literal meaning being a locality of the Mughals), and Mughalhat (literal meaning a “local market” organized by the Mughals) bear testimony to the Mughal Association and past of Rangpur and its hinterland. Later on, Rangpur passed under the control of “Sarker” of Ghoraghat. During the period of the British East India Company, the Sannyasi Rebellion took place.