A thana (Bengali: থানা, romanized: thânâ, lit. 'police station') serves as a fundamental administrative unit in Bangladesh,[1] tracing its roots back to the 18th century under British colonial rule. Although the thana system, operating akin to a sub-district, was phased out in much of the country in 1982 with the establishment of upazilas,[2] it persists in major cities, functioning as a city district governed by a police station (police jurisdiction).[3][4][5]
History edit
The term "thana" was introduced through a regulation issued on 7 November 1792 by the government of the Bengal Presidency. District magistrates were tasked with dividing their respective districts into police jurisdictions known as "thanas."[2]
After the independence of Bangladesh, thana became subdistrict in the administrative geography of Bangladesh. The Local Government Ordinance of 1982 was amended a year later, redesignating and upgrading the existing thanas as upazilas.[6] Later in 1999 geographic regions under administrations of thanas were converted into upazilas.[2] All administrative terms in this level were renamed from thana to upazila.
The word thana is now used to solely refer to police stations. Generally, there is one police station for each upazila. However, larger administrative units may have more than one police station covering different regions.[citation needed]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Schroeder, Larry (2019-05-20), "Governmental Decentralization in Bangladesh", Financing Governmental Decentralization, Routledge, pp. 1–22, ISBN 978-0-429-04296-6, retrieved 2024-05-10
- ^ a b c AMM Shawkat Ali (2012). "Thana". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ Mia, Md Aslam; Nasrin, Shamima; Zhang, Miao; Rasiah, Rajah (2015-11-01). "Chittagong, Bangladesh". Cities. 48: 31–41. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2015.05.011. ISSN 0264-2751.
City District – simply known as Thana in South Asian countries
- ^ Md Tuhin Molla (2012). "Dhaka District". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Tapan Palit (2012). "Chittagong City Corporation". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Kamal Siddiqui (2012). "Local Government". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.