CHITTAGONG, town and port of British India, giving its name to a district and division of Bengal. It is situated on the right bank of the Karnaphuli river, about from its mouth. It is the terminus of the Assam-Bengal railway and a port of call for the Clan line of steamers. The municipal area covers about 9sq.m. ; pop. Tea is brought from Assam for ex port to Europe; mineral oil comes in bulk from Burma, is put into tins here and distributed by rail ; other exports are jute, raw cotton, rice and hides.
The District of Chittagong occupies a strip of coast and hills between the Bay of Bengal and the mountains. Its area is in 1931 the population was 1,797,038. A few unim portant ranges rise within the north-eastern portion, the highest hill being the sacred Sitakund, 1,155ft. high. The principal rivers are the Karnaphuli, on which Chittagong town is situated, navi gable by sea-going ships as far as Chittagong port, the Halda and the Sangu. The wild animals include tigers, elephants, leopards and deer. The northern portion of the district is traversed by the Assam-Bengal railway. Tea cultivation is moderately successful; there were 21 gardens with an output of I , 2 50,00o1b. in 1921. Chittagong was a famous sea-port known to the Portuguese as Porto Grande, and described by de Barros in 1552 as "the most famous and wealthy city of the kingdom of Bengal" ; it has been generally identified with the City of Bengala mentioned by Portu guese and other writers. Conquered by the Mohammedans in the i4th century, it passed under the rule of the Arakanese in the next century. The piratical raids of the Arakanese and their Portuguese mercenaries led to the despatch of a strong force by Shaista Khan, the Mughal Nawab of Bengal, which in 1666 cap tured the town and occupied the district. The Portuguese also had a settlement at Dianga, where 600 of them were massacred by the Arakanese in 1607. Chittagong was ceded to the East India company by Nawab Mir Kasim Ali in 1760.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is an independent district occupy ing the hill country between Chittagong proper and the Lushai hills. The highest point is 4,034ft. above sea-level. Its area covers 5,138sq.m.; pop. (1931) 212,922. The inhabitants are either descendants of Arakanese or aboriginal tribes, such as Maghs, Tipperas and Chakmas : seven-tenths are Buddhists. The Hill Tracts are grouped in three circles, each under a chief, who is responsible for the collection of revenue and the internal man agement of the villages. The headquarters are at Rangamati, which was wrecked by a cyclone in October, 1897.
The Division of Chittagong lies at the north-east corner of the Bay of Bengal, extending northward along the left bank of the Meghna. It consists of the districts of Chittagong, the Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Tippera. Its area covers I I, 7 I osq.m. ; the population in 1931 was 6,826,414.