THE REGION AND ITS PEOPLE
Sylhet, beyond the postcard
In Bangladesh’s northeast, Sylhet is known for its tea gardens, rivers and green hills. Its story also reaches across borders and generations, through faith, language, migration and the people who call the region home.
A SHORT HISTORY
How Sylhet took shape
Sylhet’s past includes the Surma valley, Sufi traditions, colonial tea estates and a border that changed in the twentieth century.
The name of Shah Jalal is closely associated with Sylhet’s early Muslim history. His shrine remains an important place of pilgrimage and a part of the city’s identity.
In 1874, British administrators transferred Sylhet from Bengal to Assam. Tea cultivation and transport links expanded during the colonial period, while the region’s language and cultural ties continued to cross administrative boundaries.
A referendum in July 1947 asked voters whether Sylhet should remain in Assam or join East Bengal. The vote favoured East Bengal; after partition, most of the former district joined East Pakistan, while much of Karimganj remained in India. Families and communities on both sides continued to share a history. In 1971, Sylhet became part of independent Bangladesh.
LANGUAGE & CULTURE
A voice of its own
Sylheti is spoken in the region and among communities around the world. Stories, songs, food and family ties carry that heritage forward.
Sylheti language
Discover the sounds and expressions that many Sylhetis use in everyday life, at home and abroad.
Sylheti Nagri
The historic Nagri script has a place in Sylhet’s literary and cultural memory. Learn about its letters and writing.
LAND & PEOPLE
Tea, water and connection
Tea estates are among Sylhet’s best known landscapes. Rivers, wetlands and the hills near the Indian border shape how people travel, work and spend time outdoors.
The region’s connections extend far beyond Bangladesh. Sylheti communities abroad, especially in the United Kingdom, maintain family and cultural links with home. Across the border, the history of Karimganj remains entwined with Sylhet’s.
KEEP EXPLORING
Find your way around Sylhet
Start with a guide, explore places on the ground or see the region on a map.
Further reading
For more on the region’s history, see Banglapedia’s Shah Jalal entry, its overview of colonial records, and a scholarly study of the 1947 referendum.