After the Conquest of Gour in 1303, two disciple of Shah Jalal; Shah Bahauddin and Shah Putla Fattah, migrated to Bhadeshwar in modern-day Golapganj where their mazars remains today. In 1740, during the reign of Mughal emperorMuhammad Shah, Gulab Ram Ray of Murshidabad was appointed the Dewan of Sylhet with the permission of the Faujdar of Sylhet, Shamsher Khan, and the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. Gulab was a practising Hindu, and was informed about how Krishna Chaitanya's paternal home was in Dhakadakshin. The Dewan then ordered for a road and bridge to be made from Sylhet town to Dhakadakshin, to make it easier for those wanting to visit the place. When the Dewan reached Chaitanya's home, he built a Hindu temple and created a large pond next to it. From Hetimganj to Dhakadakshin, the road is now known as Dewan Road after Gulab himself. The Dewan's Bridge also remains today as an ancient culvert. The area was also renamed Gulabganj after the Dewan, which eventually changed to Golapganj. A thana was founded in Hetimganj originally and then moved to Golabganj Bazaar. The Golabganj Thana was formed in 1906. Revolts in Ronikeli and Bhadeshwar were held during the Nankar Rebellion. In the aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a mass grave was found in Sundisail and there remains a monument in the upazila as a memorial. It was upgraded to an upazila in 1983.
Demographics
Total 263953; male 132189, female 131764; Muslim 252167, Hindu 11725, Buddhist 21, and others 40. Indigenous communities such as manipuri and tripura belong to this upazila. According to the census 2011, Golapganj Upazila has a population of 316,149. Males constitute 50.29% of the population, and females 49.71%. 48.17% of the population is age eighteen or older. Average Household size 6.23 person and population density is 1136 person per km2. Golapganj has an average literacy rate of 57.0%, and the national average of 32.4% literate.
Agriculture 34.05%, non-agricultural laborer 6.03%, industry 0.94%, commerce 14.64%, transport and communication 4.01%, service 6.16%, construction 2.88%, religious service 0.58%, rent and remittance 18.34% and others 12.37%. Main crops are Paddy, chilli, pumpkin, arum,' barbati. Nearly extinct crops are Mustard, sesame, linseed. Main fruits are Jackfruit, mango, litchi, banana, latkon, guava, lemon, shaddock, betel nut, coconut.
, kushiyara, Sonai; Singari Beel, Bagha Beel, Fatamati Beel, Parea Beel and Sonadubi Beel are notable.
Newspapers and periodicals
Weekly; Golap, Sonar Sylhet.
Tourist spots
, Petrobangla, Kailash Tila and the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu|Dream Land Park|Sri Chaitanya Dev.' Mazar of Bahauddin, house and temple of sri chaitanya Dev, Kailash Tila and Dewan Bridge.
Health centres
Upazila health centre 1, union health centre 1, health and family planning centre 5, community clinic 11, maternity and child welfare centre 1, diagnostic centre 3, veterinary hospital 1.
