History of Dhaka

Ahsan Manzil-once the palace of the Dhaka Nawab Family is currently a museum in the old city.

The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements in the area that is now Dhaka dating from the 7th century CE. The city area was ruled by the Buddhist kingdom of Kamarupa before passing to the control of the Sena dynasty in the 9th century CE. The Dhaka area of that time was identified as Bangala. The town consisted of a few market centers like Lakshmi Bazar, Shankhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar, and a few localities of other craftsmen and businessmen like Patuatuli and 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. After Mughals, British ruled the region for around 200 years until the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Dhaka became the capital of the East Pakistan province. Since the independence of Bangladesh from West Pakistan in 1971, Dhaka has been the capital of Bangladesh.

Etymology

Dhakeshwari Temple

There are several theories on the origin of the name Dhaka. Some believe that the name came following the establishment of Dhakeshwari temple by Raja Ballal Sena in the 12th century CE and Dhakeswari is the name of a Goddess. Some argue that the Dhak (a membranophone instrument) is used as part of the Durga Puja festival in this temple and hence the name Dhaka. While others say that Dhakeshwari stands the meaning of Goddess of Dhaka; so the temple must have been named after the region.

Buddist Kingdom

This area ruled by Dhata son of Dhotuseno and King Dhatusena son of Mohonomo. It was changed from Dhata to Dacca or Dhaka (Sanskrit to Pali or English) by time to time. Dhaka (Naga of Nogbonshi King/Kshatriya Ruled India) are one of the most ancient warrior tribe of Jats. Dhaka are said to be the descendants of Dhata king. Naga families ruled between 500 BC and 500 CE and some of them onward up to the Mughal period. Dhaka's are settled on Asian continent with changing their surname (as per local language style of countries) -Dhaka, Dhake, Deka, Dahaka, Dhoke and Dhakar. Certain members of the Moriyan dynasty, dreading the power of the (usurper) Shubho, the bâlattho, had settled in various parts of the country.

Mughal rule

1814 painting of Lalbagh Fort by Charles D'Oyly showing the South wall, beside the Buriganga River. Now, the river flows at least a mile to the south.

Khan Mohammad Mirdha's Mosque is an 18th-century mosque established during Mughal rule.

During the reign of Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605), Dhaka was referred as a Thana (a military outpost). Dhaka was situated in Bhati region which hosted several rebel forces led by Bara-Bhuiyans from mid to late 16th century. After the leader of Bara-Bhuiyans, Musa Khan, was subdued by Mughal General Islam Khan Chisti in 1610, Dhaka went directly under control of Mughals. Being newly appointed Governor of Bengal, Islam Khan transferred the Bengal capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka in order to crush further rebel uprisings. He also renamed Dhaka as Jahangirnagar (City of Jahangir); Jahangir was the Mughal Emperor at that time. Due to its location right beside some main river routes, Dhaka was an important center for business. The Muslin fabric was produced and traded in this area.

As the next governor, Prince Shuja built Bara Katra between 1644 and 1646 in Dhaka to serve as his official residence. For personal and political reasons, he shifted the capital back to Rajmahal. Dhaka became a subordinate station. Due to political turmoil, Emperor Aurangzeb sent Mir Jumla to deal with Prince Shuja. He pursued Shuja upto Dhaka and reached the city on 9 May 1660. But Shuja fled to Arakan region. Jumla was ordered to become the next Governor of Bengal. Dhaka was again made the headquarter of the region.

Construction of Lalbagh Fort was commenced in 1678 CE by Prince Muhammad Azam during his 15-month long vice-royalty of Bengal, but before the work could complete, he was recalled by Emperor Aurangzeb. The largest expansion of the city took place under the next Mughal governor Shaista Khan. The city then stretched for 12 miles in length and 8 miles in breadth and is believed to have had a population of nearly a million people. The historical Chawk Mosque, located in the bazaar area of the old town of Dhaka, was originally built during this period and may be the earliest dated mosque built on a high vaulted foundation in Bengal.

Prince Azim-ush-Shan became the Governor of Bengal in 1697. Due to conflict with Diwan Murshid Quli Khan, he shifted his office from Dhaka to Patna. Murshid Khan aslo shifted his office to Mauksusabad and later renamed it Murshidabad. But in 1716 he became the Governor of Bengal. A new position of Naib-Nazim (Deputy Governor) was created to administer Dhaka.

The first Naib-Nazim of Dhaka was Khan Muhammad Ali Khan. The Naib-Nazims were appointed by the Governors until Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent Governor of Bengal, lost control to the British in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Jasarat Khan was Naib-Nazim from 1756 to 1762 and again from 1765 to 1778. The last incumbent Ghaziuddin Haider was appointed in 1834. The office of Naib Nazim of Dhaka was officially abolished in 1843.

British rule

Map of Dacca, from 1924

The city passed to the control of the British East India Company in 1765 after the Battle of Plassey. The city then became known by its anglicized name, Dacca. Owing to the war, the city's population shrank dramatically in a short period of time. Although an important city in the Bengal province, Dhaka remained smaller than Kolkata, which served as the capital of British India for a long period of time. Under British rule, many modern educational institutions, public works and townships were developed. A modern water supply system was introduced in 1874 and electricity supply in 1878. The Dhaka Cantonment was established near the city, serving as a base for the soldiers of the British Indian Army. Dhaka served as a strategic link to the frontier of the northeastern states of Tripura and Assam.

East Bengal/Pakistan's capital

Following the partition of Bengal in 1905 and again in 1946, Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal. On August 15, 1947 East Bengal became a part of the new Muslim state of Pakistan. The city witnessed serious communal violence that left thousands of people dead. A large proportion of the city's Hindu population departed for India, while the city received hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. The city's population catapulted in a very short period of time, creating severe shortages and infrastructural problems. As the centre of regional politics, Dhaka saw an increasing number of political strikes and incidents of violence. The proposal to adopt Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan led to protest marches and strikes involving hundreds of thousands of people in BengaliLanguage Movement. The protests soon degenerated into widespread violence after police firing killed students who were demonstrating peacefully. Martial law was be imposed throughout the city for a long period of time.

The Shaheed Minar, located near Dhaka Medical College, commemorates the Language Movement of 1952.

The arrest of the Bengali politician (later to become known as the father of the nation) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1968 would also spark intensive political protests and violence against the military regime of Ayub Khan. The 1970 Bhola cyclone devastated much of the region, killing numerous people. More than half the city of Dhaka was flooded and waterlogged, with millions of people marooned. The following year saw Sheikh Mujib hold a massive nationalist gathering on March 7, 1971 at the Race Course Ground that attracted an estimated one million people. Galvanising public anger against ethnic and regional discrimination and poor cyclone relief efforts from the central government, the gathering preceded the March 26 declaration of Bangladesh's independence. In response, the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight, which led to the arrests, torture and killing of hundreds of thousands of people, mainly Hindus and Bengali intellectuals. The fall of the city to the Indian Army on December 16 marked the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh.

Post-independence

Despite independence, political turmoil continued to plague the people of Dhaka. The Pakistan Army's operations had killed or displaced millions of people, and the new state struggled to cope with the humanitarian challenges. The year 1975 saw the killing of Sheikh Mujib and three military coups. The city would see the restoration of order under military rule, but political disorder would heighten in the mid-1980s with the pro-democracy movement led by the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Political and student strikes and protests routinely disrupted the lives of Dhaka's people. However, the post-independence period has also seen a massive growth of the population, attracting migrant workers from rural areas across Bangladesh. A real estate boom has followed the development of new settlements such as Gulshan, Banani and Motijheel. In 1985, Dhaka hosted the inaugural summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It has also hosted the summits of the D8 group and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

External links

• Dhaka City Corporation