Dhaka District

Dhaka District (Bengali: ঢাকা জেলা, Dhaka Jela also Dhaka Zila) is a district located in central Bangladesh, and is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, rests on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River which flows from the Turag to the south of the district. While Dhaka (city corporation) occupies only about a fifth of the area of Dhaka district, it is the economic, political and cultural center of the district and the country as a whole. Dhaka District is an administrative entity, and like many other cities, it does not cover the modern conurbation which is Greater Dhaka, which has spilled into neighboring districts, nor does the conurbation cover the whole district, as there are rural areas within the district.

History

The administrative Dhaka District was first established in 1772. But, the existence of urbanised settlements in the area that is now Dhaka city — dates from the 7th century. The present day Savar was the capital of the Sanbagh Kingdom during seventh and eighth century. The city area of Dhaka was ruled by the Buddhist kingdom of Kamarupa and the Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 9th century. Many believe that the name of the city was derived after the establishment of the Goddess Dhakeshwari's temple by Ballal Sena in the 12th century. Dhaka and its surrounding area was identified as Bengalla around that period. The town itself consisted of a few market centers like Lakshmi Bazar, Shankhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar, Patuatuli, Kumartuli, Bania Nagar and Goal Nagar. After the Sena dynasty, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkish and Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate before the arrival of the Mughals in 1608.

Dhaka

Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা, pronounced: [ˈd̪ʱaka]; English /dɑːkə/, /dækə/; formerly spelled as Dacca) is the capital of Bangladesh. It is the principal city of Dhaka District and Dhaka Division. Dhaka is one of world's most populated cities, with a population of about 7 million people. The Greater Dhaka Area covers a population of 17 million people. The historic quarter of Dhaka stands on the east bank of the Buriganga River. It is located in the central part of the Bengal delta. Bengali Muslims make up the majority of the population, followed by Bengali Hindu, Bengali Buddhist, Bengali Christian and Bahai Faith communities.

The city's name was Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) in the 17th century. It was the Mughal capital of Bengal for 75 years; and flourished in trade and culture as a cosmopolitan commercial capital and the hub of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. The city hosted two major caravansaries of the subcontinent: the Bara Katra and Choto Katra, located on the riverfront of the Buriganga. The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid out gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces and forts. Dhaka became known as the City of Mosques in Bengal. It was also described as the Venice of the East. The old city was home to various Eurasian merchant groups. At the height of its medieval glory, Dhaka was regarded as one of the wealthiest and most prosperous cities in the world. It was central to the economy of Mughal Bengal, which generated 50% of Mughal GDP.

Dhaka (disambiguation)

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh.

Dhaka may also refer to:

Places

Bangladesh

Pakistan

India

Other

See also

Dhaka clan

Dhaka is a gotra (clan) of Jats found in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states of India.They are mainly found in Hanumangarh , Ganganagar , Barmer, Jodhpur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu districts of Rajasthan.

Origin

According to Ompal Singh Tugania's book based on the records of Bhats which is a community of bards and genealogists in North India, Dhaka's are one of few Jat clans having origin from Chauhans.According to Dr Naval Viyogi In a period of third century AD many hoards of Taka coins have been recovered from Nagpur region, which were introduced by the Taka Nagas of North-West. Linguists have informed that these Taka people reached and ruled in the region of Dhaka of Bangla Desh, since the word ' Dhaka' is a linguistic (Pali) variation of Taka. In the second act of Sanskrit play mrcchakatika a dialect has been used by author, known as Takki. Taki, Takka or Dhakka is the Prakrit dialect which has been called by Pischal language of East Bengal spoken around Dhaka, but there is another interpretation too, since word 'Ta' has been changed to 'Dha' due to the tendency of change from Sanskrit to Pali or Prakrit as cited above, hence the original word is Taka from which Dhaka has been derived.