Dhobaura Upazila: History
Since ancient times, Dhobaura has been inhabited by the Garo people. During the Mughal period, a mosque was built in the village of Darsha which is now in ruins.
Dhobaura was formerly known as Jikkowa Bazar. In the mid-18th century, the area was home to Babu Gauriballabh Sen, a prominent agriculturalist. At that time several dhobis led by a dhobi named Sita lived on the bank of a pond (today known as Sita Dighi) that was part of Sen's agricultural land. One day, Sita went missing and could not be found. Her body was found a few days later, floating in the pond. Thinking it was a ghostly incident, Sita's dhobis left the bank and migrated to an unknown place without informing anyone. The village then came to be known as Dhobaura, meaning floating dhoba in the Bengali language. A mouza centered in Dhobaura was later established and not long after it became a union parishad. In 1976, Dhobaura became a thana and in 1983 it was upgraded to an upazila.
From 1937 to 1949, Moni Singh's tanka movement spread to Dhobaura. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a confrontation took place between the freedom fighters and the Pakistan Army on 19 July 1971. 11 people were killed, including two freedom fighters. On 3 October at midnight, the Pakistani army's surprise attacke on the Mukti Bahini camp at Guatala Bazar, led to the death of four freedom fighters. A mass killing was conducted the next day in the same place as well as in Taraikandi Ferry Ghat leading to 120 deaths. 7 mass graves were discovered in Guatala, Taraikandi, Zigatala, Defulia Para, Digalbagh, Milagara, and Goborchena.