Revival of extensive Kapasia carpus cotton glorious heritage

Kapasia (Gazipur) Correspondent :
Kapasia is a unique oldest town in Bangladesh. The entire region of Kapasia is included in the ancient territories of this country. This region has a glorious history. From the pre-Muslim era, throughout the entire period of Muslim rule, from Tok in the north to Kishoreganj in the east and Sonargaon in the south, the legendary muslin cloth was produced throughout the area. For that very fine muslin cloth, fine fiber corpus cotton was produced on both banks of Shitalakshya river. Karpus is another name for cotton in Sanskrit and Hebrew, Karbas in Persian, Kapas in Bengali and Hindi. Cotton plant is called Kapasi. Most researchers believe that Kapasia got its name from this corpus word. Carpus cotton was extensively cultivated in this region since BC. Kapasia was a major trading center for the production and sale of muslin. Carpas and silk fabrics made the economy of ancient Bengal strong. Kapasia’s soil and climate were well suited for cotton production. Many believe that the place got its name from Kapasia because of the abundant production of Carpus cotton. Muslin cloth was appreciated all over the world. Just as the begums of the Sultans of Bengal were fond of that muslin, so were the begums of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. It was their favorite cloth. This garment was the pride of beauty.
In the 2nd century BC, the Greek geographer Diogoras made excellent comments about the textiles and dyeing materials of the Capasia region in his writings. But during the British rule, this glorious muslin industry was systematically destroyed.
Kapasia was one of the largest trading centers for the production and sale of muslin cloth. Carpus cotton, a fine cloth produced in Kapasia, was exported to Arabia and Europe. Over time, Kapasia lost this tradition. Even after a long time, an official initiative has been taken to bring back the lost Karpas tradition of Kapasia Upazila. The upazila administration has taken the initiative to revive carpus cotton cultivation in Kapasia upazila with the sincere desire of Kapasia MP Simin Hossain Rimi and the efforts of Upazila Nirbahi Officer AKM Golam Morshed Khan.
Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) AKM Golam Morshed Khan said, the name of Kapasia upazila of Gazipur is originally derived from cotton called Karpas. In order to restore the lost heritage, honorable members of parliament, upazila administration, cotton development board and farmers will play a major role in the economic development of Karpus cotton cultivation in the upazila. At present, 110 bighas of Karpus cotton is being cultivated in the four unions of Kapasia. It will be cultivated in each village of each union of the upazila. Farmers are reaping the benefits of growing cotton on once uncultivated and fallow land.
The production of cotton, the main material used to make muslin, the famous cloth of the ancient kings, started mainly in Kapasia. However, with the passage of time, cotton cultivation is disappearing from Capasia. Corpus cotton was the main material used to make traditional muslin cloth. In the beginning, cotton cultivation in this region was a bit slow, but now people’s interest in cotton cultivation is increasing.
Md. Mofiz Mollah, a cotton grower of Amraid area of Rayed Union, said that for the first time, I cultivated cotton on two bigha land. Regarding the cost of cotton cultivation, he said that it costs at least 3 to 5 thousand taka for cotton cultivation in 1 bigha of land in a period of 3 months.
However, the agriculture office bears all the expenses including fertilizers, seeds, pesticides for cotton cultivation. All we need is hard work. That is why the profit in cotton cultivation is very high. There is no chance of damage other than natural disasters. Besides, cotton cultivation is more profitable than rice and banana cultivation.