Beanibazar Upazila: History
Beanibazar was part of the Kamarupa Kingdom in ancient times along with North Bengal and Mymensingh. The Nidhanpur copperplate inscription records a 7th-century land grant to 200 Brahmins near the Kushiyara River by King Bhaskaravarman.
The historic Panchakhanda pargana covered all of Beanibazar as well as surrounding areas. In the medieval period, the scarcely inhabited area of Panchakhanda was a feudal monarchy under Kalidas Pal and his descendants who assumed the title Raja. The ruins of the Pal royal palace and the large dighi (reservoir) that it sits beside were constructed by Kalidas's great-grandson, Varanasi Pal, in the 7th century BS (c. 1200s CE). They can still be seen in Beanibazar today. The Pals significantly developed and cultivated Panchakhanda allowing the migration of groups such as the Mahimals (who were led by their two Sardars Raghai and Basai) into the area. Mahimals subsequently maintained a presence in the region into modern times. Three generations after Varanasi Pal, during the reign of Ramjivan Pal, Panchakhanda came under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Bengal. Pratapchandra Pal of this family converted to Islam and founded the Muslim branch of the Pal dynasty in the Baghprachanda Khan mouza.
The name Beanibazar is derived from the existing Bihani Bazaar ("Morning Market") which was founded by the local landowner Krishna Kishore Pal Chowdhury. On 29 December 1912, a cultivator in Nidhanpur village discovered what he thought was a clue to the location of a hidden treasure, during the process of building his buffalo shed. He took the plates to a local landholder who brought them to the attention of authorities in Silchar, thus rediscovering the Nidhanpur copperplate inscriptions.
On 18 May 1940, one of the five thanas of the Karimganj Mahakuma, Jolodhup, was planned to also be split into two – Beanibazar and Barlekha. Beanibazar was given to the Sylhet Mahakuma while Barlekha went to South Sylhet Mahakuma. The upazila was the headquarters of the Nankar Rebellion. Beanibazar became an upazila in 1983. In the 1990s, coins of a Sultan of Bengal by the name of Nasiruddin Ibrahim Shah (r. 1415/16 – 1416/17) were discovered in Beanibazar. In 2009, the Beanibazar Sporting Club and Beanibazar Cancer & General Hospital were founded.