Dhaka District

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For the city, see Dhaka.

Dhaka District
ঢাকা জেলা

District

Coordinates: 23.79°N 90.30°ECoordinates: 23.79°N 90.30°E

Country Bangladesh
Division Dhaka Division

Area
• Total 1,463.6 km2 (565.1 sq mi)

Population
(2011)[1]
• Total 12,043,977
• Rank 1
• Density 8,200/km2 (21,300/sq mi)
 Demonym(s) Dhakai, Dhakaiya

ISO 3166-2 BD-13

Dhaka District (Bengali: ঢাকা জেলা, Dhaka jela) is a district in central Bangladesh,[2] 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 centre of the district and the country as a whole. Dhaka district
consist with Dhaka city, Keraniganj , Nababganj, Dohar, Savar and Dhamrai upazila. 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 neighbouring districts, nor does
the conurbation cover the whole district, as there are rural areas within the district.

Contents

 1History
 2Demographics
 3Administration
 4Subdivisions
 5Geography
 6Religion
 7Economy
 8Places of interest
o 8.1Lalbagh Fort
o 8.2Ahsan Manzil Palace Museum
o 8.3Jatiyo Smriti Soudho
o 8.4Star Mosque
o 8.5Satmasjid
o 8.6National Museum
o 8.7Bara Katra
 9See also
 10References

History[edit]
Main article: History of Dhaka

Lalbagh Fort was developed by Shaista Khan.

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 centres 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.
The development of townships and a significant growth in population came as the city was
proclaimed the capital of Bengal under Mughal rule in 1608. During Mughal rule the areas currently
under Dhaka district was famous for its textile products – especially the Muslin.
Mughal subahdar Islam Khan was the first administrator of the city. Khan named the town "Jahangir
Nagar" (City of Jahangir) in honour of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, although this name was
dropped soon after Jahangir's death. The main expansion of the city took place under Mughal
general Shaista Khan. The city then measured 19 by 13 kilometres (12 by 8 mi), with a population of
nearly a million people. The city passed to the control of the British East India Company in 1757 after
the Battle of Plassey and eventually to the Crown, British Empire, in 1765 at the Battle of Buxar. The
city's population shrank dramatically during this period as the prominence of Kolkata rose, but
substantive development and modernisation eventually followed. A modern civic water supply
system was introduced in 1874 and electricity supply launched in 1878. The Dhaka Cantonment was
established near the city, serving as a base for British and Indian soldiers.

Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban houses the national parliament.

During the abortive Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka was declared to be the capital of the newly
established state of Eastern Bengal and Assam, but Bengal was reunited in 1911. The rural areas
under present Dhaka district, especially Dohar Upazila were used for the production of indigo.
Following the partition of Bengal in (1947) appending the partition of British India in 1947, Dhaka
became the capital of East Bengal as a part of the new Muslim state of Pakistan, while western part
of Bengal with a majority Hindu population had become a part of the new and independent India,
designated as West Bengal with Calcutta as state capital. Calcutta witnessed 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 Calcutta, India.
The city's population rose dramatically in a very short period of time, which created severe shortages
and infrastructural problems.[3] As the centre of regional politics, Dhaka saw an increasing number of
political strikes and incidents of violence. The adoption of Urdu as the sole official language of
Pakistan led to protest marches involving large crowds. Known as the language movement of 1952,
the protests resulted in police firing which killed students who were demonstrating
peacefully.[4] Throughout the 1950s and '60s, Dhaka remained a hotbed of political activity, and the
demands for autonomy for the Bengali population gradually gained momentum.
The 1970 Bhola cyclone devastated much of the region, killing an estimated 500,000 people. More
than half the city of Dhaka was flooded and millions of people marooned.[citation needed] With public anger
growing against ethnic discrimination and poor cyclone relief efforts from the central government,
Bengali politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman held a nationalist rally on 7 March 1971 at the Race
Course Ground. An estimated one million people attended the gathering, leading to Ziaur Rahman's
26 March declaration of Bangladesh's independence.[4][5] 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.[6]
During the Bangladesh Liberation War the Pakistan army arrested and killed
fourteen Muktijoddhas from Dhamrai Bazar. A mass grave created during the war still exists in the
western side of Kalampur Bazar.[7] The Pak army also burnt down many houses in Konakhola, Basta,
Brahmankirtha, Goalkhali and Khagail Kholamora villages of Keraniganj Upazila.
The fall of Dhaka city to the allied forces led by Jagjit Singh Aurora on 16 December marked the
surrender of Pakistan army. The post-independence period has seen a rapid and massive growth of
the city population, attracting migrant workers from rural areas across Bangladesh.[3] A real estate
boom has followed the expansion of city limits and the development of new settlements such
as Gulshan, Banani and Motijheel.[3]

Demographics[edit]
The population of the division reached 18,305,671 people as of Census 2012 revised figures.[citation
needed]
Some 9,852,835 males live in the city as of the 2012 census, for a sex ratio of 119. Since the
district is different from Greater Dhaka, some 3.6 million people are classified as rural. The district
population grew at 4.73% annually over the decade, and is home to 2,786,183 households.

Administration[edit]
 Administrator of Zila Porishod: Hasina Doula[8]
 Deputy Commissioner (DC): MOHAMMAD SALAH UDDIN[9]