Barguna

Barguna stands on the bank of the Khakdon River in southern Bangladesh. The town belongs to a low, watery country where rivers, tidal channels and former Sundarbans forest meet. Beyond the built area, villages depend on fertile silt, fishing and the careful use of land recovered from jungle and marsh.

In the thirteenth century the region was still largely jungle. People began settling and cultivating in the early fourteenth century, when the area formed part of Bakla-Chandradwip. Its inhabitants later faced raids by Magh and Portuguese forces. Umed Khan, son of Shaik Khan, campaigned against the Magh and established Mughal authority under Aurangzeb, receiving control of Bakla-Chandradwip. During Alivardi Khan's rule, a group of Rakhine settlers cleared land near Baliatoli and began farming.

The name has more than one explanation. A common tradition derives it from baragun, the high tide that timber traders from the north waited for so their boats could push against the Khakdon's strong current. Another connects it with an early Magh settler.