THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-
-Vidya Bhushan Rawat
For millions of Indians, Ganga starts from Gaumukh and culminates its journey at Gangasagar in Bay of Bengal at Sundarban. Every year, thousands of pilgrims’ throng to Gangasagar to visit the beautiful Sagardweep on the auspicious day of Makarsakranti, in January, but in all technical terms, Ganga has a supremely fascinating journey during its making in Uttarakhand Himalayas as well as in its culmination in Bangladesh before flowing into Bay of Bengal at the Bhola Island. The fact of the matter is that ‘only a miniscule volume of about 1150 cumecs (1.5%) of the mainstream discharge actually flows down through the Bhagirathi-Hooghly, whereas the mainstream Ganga flows beyond the Farakka barrage into Bangladesh (76,500 cumecs)
Ganga at Godagari
Right from Farakka onwards, the main stem of Ganga till Lalgola in India, the river virtually works as the borderline between 
India and Bangladesh but after Godagari in Bangladesh, the river pass through mostly inside Bangladesh. Mahananda river emerging from the hills near Darjeeling passes through different places to enter into Panchgarh, Bangladesh on the Siliguri border. The river then again enter into Indian territory and pass through various district of Bihar and Bengal and finally flows in to Ganga or Padma as Bangladesh people call it, at a place called Godagari. There is another notion that Ganga becomes Padma once its enters into Bangladesh but it is a misconception because the history of the Ganges is much before the creation of the boundaries between India and Bangladesh. We need to understand the culture and mythology of the Ganges is extremely powerful and shared a common linkage between the Himalayas and Bay of Bengal areas. Look at the similarities. The stream that rises at Gaumukh in the Himalayas is Bhagirathi and interestingly, the mouth of the distributary of Ganga at Giria in the Murshidabad district which break from the main stem and then move towards West Bengal is known as Bhagirtahi in the beginning till Nabodweep in the Nadia district and afterwards as Hooghly till it empty in Ganga Sagar, Bay of Bengal.
The Godagari Ferry Ghat is very much similar and there are boating to the Charland i.e. the newly created island due to split of the river. So, between Lalgola in India and Godagari in Bangladesh, there are actually two Ganges flowing as between these two stems is a ‘Charland’ or simply the mud-island created by the floods etc. These Charland are extremely fertile particularly mustered and vegetables but also one time paddy crop. Both these two stems actually meet near Godagari and then move as Ganga towards Rajshahi, one of the cleanest and most beautiful places in Bangladesh. The river bank is beautiful though there seems to be no keenness to light them in the night and provide the people a glimpse of the historic river. Rajshahi can create magic with the river bank if the local municipality take initiative regarding the same. There are makeshift shops, tea vendors on the bank of the river but it is absolute dark so one cant even see the river once there is dark outside.
Nearly 25 kilometers from Rajshahi, there is the biggest Shiva Temple built up by the Puthia dynasty patronized by Raja Man Singh who was the governor of undivided Bengal under emperor Akbar. A visit to this temple shows not only the beautiful architect but also a big Shivalinga and behind the temple is beautiful Govinda Sarovar. Just a couple of yards away is another temple dedicated to Radhe-Krisha. Rajbari here look extraordinary. I had an opportunity to go inside the temple and have the darshan of Shivlinga. It is good that these places are under the Archeological Department of Bangladesh but they need more protection and preservation.
About 100 kilometers from Rajshahi in the Naugaon district of Bangladesh, is the historic Paharpur Buddha Monastery. It is also known as Sompura Mahavihara. Built by Pal dynasty king Dharmpala (781-821). Rajshahi is the most important testament of rise and decline of Buddhism in this region which was undivided Bengal that included Bangladesh of today, Bihar and Odisha. A visit to Paharpur’s Sompura Monastery just fill you with great pride which reflect the historical role played by Buddhism to enlighten India. Today, these regions not only lack in quality education but also entrenched in deep rooted prejudices and superstitions. The decline of Buddhism definitely paved the way for the forces of darkness and bigotry.
As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh has a Himalayan region which are the districts of Dinajpur (major part of it actually came to India and now part of West Bengal). There is a beautiful temple known as Kantajew temple dedicated to Krishna and his wife Rukmani. It was built by Maharaja Pran Nath and was built between 1704-1722. People visit this temple regularly and offer Puja. The Kanchanjunga peak of the Himalayas is visible from this part but alas it was a cloudy sky all through the day when I visited the place.
After traversing about 150 kilometres from Rajshahi, the Ganga enter into a place known as Doulatdiar where it conflates with river Jamuna and then the combined water of these two great rivers is known as Padma.
Ganga-Jamuna Sangam at Doulatdiar and rise of Padma
Doulatdiar is a village at district Rajbari where the Ganga and Jamuna merge in each other and adopt the new name of Padma or locally and traditionally Podda. Located at about 75 kilometers from Capital city of Dhaka, Doulatdiar, here too, river Jamuna has more water in it than in compare to Ganga, very much similar to what we see at Prayagraj or Allahabad. It is important to understand Jamuna in Bangladesh. Frankly, it again has an interesting relationship with the Hindu mythology. Ganga and Jamuna are precious and sacred for the Hindus world over. In Bangladesh, the river Brahmputra when enter into its territory and meet with Teesta River at Chilmari and form a new channel is known as Jamuna. After flowing nearly 225 kilometres, Jamuna meets Ganga at Goalando or Doulatdiar.
Interestingly, this Ganga Jamuna confluence is much bigger than that of Prayag but there is a striking similarity between the two. At both Prayag as well as Dauladiar ferry ghat, the Jamuna is the bigger river but the difference is that at Prayagraj, Yamuna or Jamuna merge itself in Ganga and adopt her name while at Daulatdiar, the Ganga and the Jamuna both adopt a new name after their massive merger which is known as Padma.
Prior to independence, the ‘confluence’ of Ganga and Jamuna was at Goalundo, an extremely important trade town which came on Eastern India Railway map in 1909 when the Calcutta-Howarah network was linked to it for providing a connect to Dhaka. The people would deboard at Gualando and then move towards Narayanganj on steamer and then catch a bus or other road transport for Dhaka. Bangladesh from the very beginning is a country that uses waterways in abundance.
Situated at around 75 kilometres from capital Dhaka city on the confluence of Ganga and Jamuna, Daulatdia is linked to Dhaka national high way through a ferry at Paturia Ferry Ghat, about 45 minutes run on boat. Today, a massive bridge on Padma has made the road transport and connectivity easier but destroyed the thriving tourism business, hotels and waterways in the town where lakhs of people have been rendered workless.
Sadly, Daulatdia village is ‘famous’ globally for the ‘biggest’ brothel’ in Bangladesh where sex work is legal. Various reports have emerged about the plight of the sex workers living here. There are pimps and dalals all around, right from the Paturia ferry ghat till the Dauladia ferry ghats, autowallahs, ready to take you for a ‘comfortable’ service. Prostitution is legalized in Bangladesh and perhaps one cannot term this is a ‘profession’ but certainly a large number of the girls here have been forced into the flash trade.
The water at the confluence looks better but the air is thick and layers of white thick air set in during the day particularly in the winters. The summers too are said to be extremely hot and dry in the region. Both side of the ferry ghats are the private buses plying for various destinations including Dhaka.
Goualundo and Doulatdiar are twin towns and well known. The British developed a Railway track between Howrah to Goalando in 1909 to connect Calcutta to Dhaka, two extremely important cities of undivided Bengal.
Padma-Meghna Estuary at Chandpur
The Padma now moves towards Chandpur where it has another massive confluence with river Meghna which arrive here from Bhairab Bazar after the old Brahmaputra River flows into it. After the split in the Brahmputra river, the main river merge with Teesta and is known as Jamuna while the other part rarely has enough water resource and finally flows into Meghna at Bhairab Bazar.
Actually, Meghna River is born at a place called Markuli in its border district of Sylhet, where two rivers Surma and Kushiyara, coming from Barak valley in India, conflate and the combined flow the river after Markuli is known as Meghna. Markuli is a small town in the Baniachang upazila in Habiganj Sylhet Division.
Chandpur is one of the most famous port cities of Bangladesh as two most powerful rivers Padma and Meghna meets here. Actually, it is the confluence of three rivers. The third river that merge into Padma and Meghna is Dakatiya River. Every year, the heavy flood results in soil erosion and create Char land. Chandpur has witnessed the natural creation of Char lands but they are only temporary and can be eroded by the nature alone. James Rennel, the British Surveyor realized the importance of this town and got it declared as Subdivision in 1878. The city which was made a district in 1984, can now be termed as the ‘Headquarter of Hilsa’. There is a Fisheries Research Institute here.
Chandpur was part of the Tripura state under Comilla district before 1947, but today is part of the Chittagong division. It is a thriving city made lively due to its strategic location. It is a link between Bangladesh to its territories of Indigenous people. Chandpur can be termed as the real place of ‘Triveni’ i.e. where three rivers merge together, an extremely rare phenomenon. In the Hindu mythologies most of the sacred places have been termed as ‘Triveni’ as the third river is always ‘mystical’ but here we do have clear Triveni, Dakatiya, Padma and Meghna. Dakatiya river basically divide the Chandpur town and its two historical parts. On the one side is old market while the other side has a park and Raktsthal, a memorial dedicated to Bangla uprising against Pakistan that ultimately led to formation of the new nation. In this war memorial, apart from popular language protest of Dhaka is also visible but a celebrated memory of the surrender of Pakistan forces under General A K Niazi in front of General Jagjit Singh Arora of the Indian army. I am happy that this memorial celebrate and acknowledge the heroism of Indian armed forces that played an unforgettable role in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Hope that important part of history is not forgotten amidst the new political realities that emerges in Bangladesh after August 2024 revolution.
Chandpur can be termed as the headquarter of river ‘Hilsa’. It is a big port from where you can get ‘Launch’ for various cities. Waterways are most popular and comfortable mode of transport in Bangladesh. The ships have all the modern amenities and provide you an extremely relax and comfortable journey.
The tides are normally high in the morning hours but the rivers’ merging point is massive. Both Meghna and Padma bring volumes of water along with them and hence it is also termed as Meghna-Patma Estuary. About seven kilometers from the ‘Muhana’ or the main Chandpur town is the charland, now known as Mini Cox Bazar though there is nothing called a market there except a few vendors selling soft drinks but a number of locals and tourists come to this place perhaps to find some ‘isolation’ and ‘seclusion’, which has become impossible in the crowded urban locations. Chandpur, therefore becomes an extremely important port in Bangladesh.
Meghna river move forward from here to its final journey. Interestingly, like in the Himalayas, Ganga is made of various rivers and each of them is named as Ganga by the people, we find a similarity at the end too. Ganga, Jamuna, Padma and Meghna have the same waters and at the end Meghna too splits into various small rivers to finally merge in the Bay of Bengal. From Chandpur to Bay of Bengal, Meghna covers around 264 kilometers and interestingly empty itself in Bay of Bengal through four ‘mouth’s namely: Tetulia, Ilisha, Hatia and Bamni mostly in and around Bhola Island.
The historic City of Dhaka
At the outskirts of Dhaka is the old linkage of the city with its Buddhist past, apart from a town settled by Mughal King Aurangzeb. Sonargaon was the original capital city of this part. Prior to the entry of Nawabs and Mughals, this city has its historic Buddhist and Hindu linkages. Many says that the foundation of this city were laid down some 800 years ago by the King Ballal Shah. At Dhakeshwari Temple which is also termed as Bangladesh’s national temple, the priest Rajiv Chakrwarty narrated me this story that Dhaka city emerged from Dhakeshwari Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Kali. In the Hindu mythologies, we worship all the rivers says the priest
गंगा सिंधु सरस्वती च यमुना गोदावरी नर्मदा
कावेरी सरयू महेन्द्रतनया चर्मण्यवती वेदिका।
क्षिप्रा वेत्रवती महासुरनदी ख्याता जया गण्डकी
पूर्णाः पूर्णजलैः समुद्रसहिताः कुर्वन्तु मे मंगलम् ।।
इस श्लोक का अर्थ भी यही है कि उपर्युक्त सभी जल से परिपूर्ण नदियां, समुद्र सहित मेरा कल्याण करें। गंगा की महिमा तो वर्णनातीत है। उसे प्रणाम कर अपना जीवन सार्थक करने की परंपरा अति प्राचीन है ।
Dhaka has historical monuments of the Mughal era but the city also emerged as the conscious keeper of the Bangla identity and national pride during the War of Liberation in 1971. Dhaka University is the witness to the first uprising against the imposition of the Urdu Language in Pakistan. In 1952, the then Governor General of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah had visited the Dhaka University and spoke to a big gathering. “ Now onwards, Urdu shall be the national language of Pakistan’, said Jinnah and he could not complete his further sentences as people started shouting slogans and rising in rage against the announcement. Jinnah has to return humiliated. Historical buildings face deep neglect today. Dhaka University’s department of Physics is hosted at Lord Curzon Building. Near the university Law faculty is the memorial for the 1952 language martyrs but unfortunately the place is just crying for attention. The memorial has layers of dust over it and amidst that somebody has written something in ‘Arabic’ which reflect the irony of the situation.
Dhaka city has its lifeline in Buri Ganga River, which branch out from river Dhaleshwari, a distributary of river Jamuna. You can understand how river split and create multiple distributaries to finally drain at the Bay of Bengal. Dhaleshwari, one distributary of Meghna passes through Dhaka city. Basically, it is a channel that has kept Dhaka’s link to other cities. Again, another channel with in the older part of the city is called Burhi Ganga which host the Launch Ghat of the city. Launch Ghat in Bangladesh is known for hosting the bigger ships while the Ferry Ghat are meant for smaller boats and shorter journey. The water stinks and Buri Ganga seems to be the most polluted rivers of the world.
At Sadarghat Launch, you can find luxurious Cruize as well as comfortable trollers for different part of the country. Dhaka is linked to Barisal, Bhola, Chandpur, Rajshahi, Chittagong cities by waterways. This is the most comfortable and easily accessible of the transport system in Bangladesh so far. It is reported that plastic waste, untreated water, sewage overflow directly pollutes the Buriganga river. A five-minute stay over the river become unbearable with power stink from the river. Though there is enough ‘water’ in the river, sadly, it is a river of waste, plastic and all left over material. It is sad that a historical city like Dhaka is suffering from absolute air pollution and thick layer of the smog force you to keep the mask on, very much like Delhi in the post Diwali period.
Beautiful journey to Bhola
Burhi Ganga finally flows into Meghna River and massive Meghna, carrying water from Ganga, Jamuna and Padma then move towards its final destination in the Bay of Bengal, Bhola Island. From Dhaka, the easiest way to reach Bhola is through the ‘Launch’, the big ships which have all the facilities and are extremely comfortable. It takes nearly 6 hour to reach Bhola islands which is the largest islands of Bangladesh. Bhola today face threat of soil erosion and climate change. It is surrounded by various distributaries of Meghna and form estuary with them. These Meghna estuaries are known as four ‘mouths’ named as Ilsha, Hatia, Tetulia and Bamni. Each of these rivers are massive and virtually look like sea. You can’t really find where they are coming and where they are flowing. It is water all the way. Bangladesh is a country located between the violent rivers and powerful Bay of Bengal. A majority of the rivers rising from Himalayas actually end their journey at the Bay of Bengal so the rising level of water both at the rivers and in the sea is a threat for the communities living on the banks of the rivers.
About 10 kilometers from the Bhola’s Ilshi ferry ghat is a place called ‘Majher Char’ where nearly 10000 families live. The only way to connect to Bhola island is through the local ferry services which take nearly 30-45 minutes to reach the island. The boat ride is one of the riskiest that I came through. There seems to be no regulation as people throng to catch the boat. It is over crowded with not only people but also the essential commodities goods that local vendors carry. In the morning hours when the tides rise high, the boat jerks many times but then for the locals it is a journey as usual but an outsider it takes your breathe out. There is no fixed ghat and we can see the soil erosion as usual space. About a dozen villagers particularly the youths see us and come to narrate their plight. Sir, about 200 families have lost their houses and fertile land in recent soil erosion by the river Meghna here. These houses were located about two to three kilometers from the current embankment of the river at village Majher Char. The villagers warn that if protective measures are not taken, we might not see this village for another two to three kilometers by march end due to rising level of both the river water and sea water. Estuaries are basically melting points of rivers and seas and therefore a rise in the water level is already threatening people and their livelihood.
I also visited the Tetulia river, another mouth of Meghna at the other side of Bhola Island. There too, a char island is created and soil erosion is visible. Bhola to Ganga Sagar is actually Sundarban region which is about 60% in Bangladesh territory and 40% in India. There are beautiful mangroves and huge biodiversity. Bhola is a district town and very much similar to Sagardweep or Ganga Sagar Island. Sundarban was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.
Bhola is a district town with 1.8 million population. It actually became district in 1984 though initially it was under Noakhali in 1845 and later included as subdivision of Barisal district in 1869.. The climate is much better than the highly polluted Dhaka city but the only way to reach Bhola is through the efficient and comfortable waterways.
Ganga: World Heritage
It has been a memorable journey for me to cover the entire stretch of Ganga from its source till the end at Bay of Bengal. This journey took me to not only to various communities and individuals but had been an eye opener in many senses. It gave the idea of Ganga and how it becomes such a mighty, revered and powerful identity of South Asia. The impact of Ganga on our life and culture remains unprecedented and its importance and impact does not dilute even when it is in the different territory. Though Padma or Podda as it is locally called in Bangladesh, particularly after Daulatdiar, there are songs on the beauty of Padma. Immortal novelist Manik Bandopahdyay who was born in Dumka, now a part of Jharkhand state, India, wrote ‘Padma Nodir Majhe’ which was later immortalized on celluloid by director Gautam Ghosh and legendary Utpal Dutt. Even Ravindranath Tagore was fascinated by the beauty of Padma.
It is true that whether we call it Ganga or Padma, Podda or Meghna, it is the holy water of the Himalayas that make them truly the life giver. I loved Bhupen Hazarika’s immortal rendition, ‘ Vistar hai apaar’.
विस्तार है आपार, प्रजा दोनों पार
करे हाहाकार निःशब्द सदा
ओ गंगा तुम, गंगा बहती हो क्यूँ?
विस्तार है आपार, प्रजा दोनों पार
करे हाहाकार निःशब्द सदा
ओ गंगा तुम, गंगा बहती हो क्यूँ?
नैतिकता नष्ट हुई, मानवता भ्रष्ट हुई
निर्लज्ज भाव से बहती हो क्यूँ ?
इतिहास की पुकार, करे हुंकार
ओ गंगा की धार, निर्बल जन को
सबल-संग्रामी, समग्रोगामी
बनाती नहीं हो क्यूँ ?
॥ विस्तार है अपार, प्रजा दोनों पार..॥
अनपढ़ जन, अक्षरहिन
अनगीन जन, खाद्यविहीन
नेत्रविहीन दिक्षमौन हो क्यूँ ?
इतिहास की पुकार, करे हुंकार
ओ गंगा की धार, निर्बल जन को
सबल-संग्रामी, समग्रोगामी
बनाती नहीं हो क्यूँ ?
॥ विस्तार है अपार, प्रजा दोनों पार..॥
व्यक्ति रहे व्यक्ति केंद्रित
सकल समाज व्यक्तित्व रहित
निष्प्राण समाज को छोड़ती न क्यूँ ?
इतिहास की पुकार, करे हुंकार
ओ गंगा की धार, निर्बल जन को
सबल-संग्रामी, समग्रोगामी
बनाती नहीं हो क्यूँ ?
॥ विस्तार है अपार, प्रजा दोनों पार..॥
रुदस्विनी क्यूँ न रहीं ?
तुम निश्चय चितन नहीं
प्राणों में प्रेरणा देती न क्यूँ ?
उनमद अवमी कुरुक्षेत्रग्रमी
गंगे जननी, नव भारत में
भीष्मरूपी सुतसमरजयी जनती नहीं हो क्यूँ ?
॥ विस्तार है अपार, प्रजा दोनों पार..॥
विस्तार है अपार, प्रजा दोनों पार
करे हाहाकार, निःशब्द सदा
ओ गंगा तुम, गंगा बहती हो क्यूँ?
ओ गंगा तुम, ओ गंगा तुम
गंगा तुम, ओ गंगा तुम
गंगा… बहती हो क्यूँ ?
-भूपेन हजारिका
I used to wonder why Bhupen Hazarika said this about Ganga. The fact is that Bhupen grew up in Assam on the banks of Brahamputra but when we see the mighty rivers in Bangladesh which look like ocean, then, one can understand that for the believers every river is Ganga, holy and sacred. In the Himalayas, people term rivers as Ganga and when we come in the plains, we have the same feeling about the tributaries and distributaries of Ganga. So Ganga is truly a world Heritage link Himalayas to Sundarban. That way, Himalayas, Ganga and Sundarbans are our identity and heritage. Let us celebrate the extraordinary creations of nature and protect and preserve them so that future generations too feel blessed with the might and beauty of Ganges and all its tributaries as well as distributaries.
