Char Bazar is an area in Karimganj Town. The term
Char is a Bengali word means a riverine land developed from the silting of a river. Char Bazar was formed by the River Kushiara in the past. The journey of Char Bazar as a commercial center started probably in the first quarter of the 20th century when the Puran Bazar or old market of Karimganj shifted from Bonomali or Nalukandi to the present place known as Santar Bazar.
About a quarter-century before the set up of Char Bazar, in the year 1874, Karimganj was formed into a sub-division of erstwhile Sylhet District. During the same year, the district of Sylhet was attached to the colonial state of Assam, separating it from the Bengal. The ganj or small town of Karimganj was made its Headquarter. Now the administrative and commercial importance of Karimganj further increased. Again, the establishment of port and regular arrival of ships from Kolkata, Dhaka, and other places gave new impetus to the business activities at Karimganj. The market areas expanded towards the east of the Santar Bazar. A series of markets name Dasspatty, Masjid Road, Maulavi Patti, Purba Bazar, Char Bazar developed. The Assam Bengal Railway line connected Karimganj with Chitagong in 1896. The English Railway Company set up a goods yard at Char Bazar, almost one and half K.M. away from Karimganj Junction.Goods used to be carried from ships, and loaded into trains at Char Bazar for far flung places like Tinsukia. Char Bazar was not only famous for its railway yard, in fact, it was more important and known for its dry fish market. The dry fish market of Char Bazar was burst ling with buyers and sellers till few years back. However, the fate of Char Bazar started to decline from the end of the 20th century. Now ships are not frequent to Kushiara, and railway yards at Char Bazar standing as an unused and almost ruined yard. Today, the consolation is that many laboures from Bihar spend their nights in the sheds and unused bogies of trains.
Recently, Char Bazar was in the news because Hindutva brigade led by the local Councilor want to establish a public park at the site of a decayed Masjid. They have taken this illegal attempt at a time when the Masjid Committee surveyed, and preparing to rebuild the Masjid. The Char Bazar Masjid was established in the 2nd quarter of 20th century. In those, pre-partition days more than half of the shop owner of Char Bazar dry fish market were Muslims, from Dhaka and other places of eastern Bengal. The Partition of India saw most of the Muslim traders permanently deserting their shops and business establishments for east Pakistan. Muslims from nearby Hadargram locality continued to attend the Masjid at Char Bazar even after the mayhem of the division. But the notorious communal riot that broke out in 1969-70 at Karimganj Town especially in Hadargram area witness further exodus of Muslims from that area.As a result the already panicked small Muslim population of Hadargram and Purba Bazar stopped visiting the Masjid. Because the locality of Char Bazar became fully inhabited by the members of the Majority community. Two decades ago, a new Masjid Committee was formed to revive the Masjid. Many members of the Hindu Community welcomed that initiative. They even expressed their desire to help in the reconstruction process. The local court declared the remnants of the building and site as the property of the Masjid in an earlier occasion when some people try encroach the site. This time again Court has intervened and stopped the evil design of the vested interest to occupy the site of the Masjid.
