Islampur Upazila: History
Islampur was historically part of the Patiladaha pargana. A Sufi saint by the name of Islam Shah was said to have spread Islam to this area, and the area was visited by the Mughal governor of Bengal Islam Khan Chishti in the 17th century. Eventually, a mouza by the name of Islampur was established here, and after that, a bazaar known as Islampur Bazar was established. The dargahs of Shah Kamal in Durmut Union and Ita Pir are still preserved to this day. In 1831, the Nurul Huda Alim Madrasa was founded in Dengargarh, Islampur which was a leading institution facilitating the education of Islampuris. During the English period, a cutchery was built south of the Sadar road and west of the present Islampur Government College which was used for government purposes. This upazila is associated with the history of indigo cultivation and the atrocities of the indigo lords during the English period. In 1914, a thana was established in Islampur. Palbandha Union is one and a half miles away from the upazila headquarters. The tyrannical Nilkar Sahibs forced the cultivators to cultivate indigo in the 266 acres of land of this union and surrounding vast farmlands. This area had the most indigo cultivation in the entire region of Greater Mymensingh. Remains of indigo kilns and traces of indigo preparation tools still exist to this day.
On 27 April 1971, the Pakistan Army entered Islampur and killed 30 pro-independence fighters. It was captured by pro-independence fighters on 7 December. On 3 November 1983, the status of Islampur Thana was upgraded to upazila (sub-district) as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralisation programme. Islampur Municipality was founded in 1998, and it was upgraded from C-class to B-class in 2011.