Patgram Upazila: History
In the late 17th century, Raja Mahendra Narayan (1682–1693) of Koch Bihar despatched an army led by Yajna Narayan and aided by the Bhutanese to subdue Mughal influence in the region. A battle occurred between the two forces in Patgram in which Narayan was defeated. In 1711, Mughal Bengal reconquered the areas of Patgram, Boda and Purbabhag from Koch rule. Under the command of Raja Rup Narayan (1693–1714), the Koches launched an attack on the Mughal faujdar of Rangpur. Although they suffered a defeat once again, Patgram, Boda and Purbabhag were retained by the Koches for a short period before being leased to the Mughals. Montgomery Martin recorded that Patgram was first established by the Mughal general Muajamkhan or Muazzam Khan as a fort on both side of the Dharla river to protect the region from Bhutanese raids.
A thana (police outpost headquarters) was established by the British East India Company in Patgram in 1801. The Jalpaiguri district was formed on 1 January 1869 and included the Chakla of Patgram. During the Partition of Bengal, Mirza Ghulam Hafiz advocated strongly for the inclusion of Patgram, Debiganj, Tetulia and Panchagarh to the Dominion of Pakistan. In accordance with the Radcliffe Line, Patgram was subsequently transferred from Jalpaiguri to the Lalmonirhat mahakuma of Rangpur district, East Bengal.
During Operation Searchlight, Bengali wing companies of the East Pakistan Rifles were posted at Patgram. Throughout the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, Patgram was a liberated area throughout the war and did not suffer any tragedies. Patgram was initially divided between junior commissioned officers of the East Pakistan Rifles and later taken hold by Captain Matiur Rahman. It came under Sector No. 6 led by Khademul Bashar and the Burimari area of Patgram served as the sector headquarters. Due to its peaceful environment, interim president Syed Nazrul Islam and prime minister Tajuddin Ahmad visited Patgram numerous times. Ahmad organised a public meeting in Patgram which was presided by Abid Ali and attended by the likes of Anwarul Islam Nazu.
On 18 March 1984, Patgram thana was upgraded to an upazila (sub-district) as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralisation programme.