Dhaka City 5.14

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. It is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the east banks of the Buriganga River in the Ganges delta, Dhaka has an estimated population of more than 15 million people, making it the largest city in Bangladesh and the 9th largest city in the world. It is known as the City of Mosques, and with 400,000 cycle-rickshaws running on its streets every day, the city is described as the Rickshaw Capital of the World. Dhaka is also one of the world's most densely populated cites.

Old Dhaka was founded in the 17th century as the Mughal capital of Bengal. It was named Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) and served as the centre of the worldwide muslin trade. The modern city, however, developed chiefly under British rule in the 19th century. After the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka became the capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam but lost its status as a provincial capital again after the partition was annulled in 1911. After the partition of British India, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan, and later, in 1971, the capital of independent Bangladesh. During the intervening period, the city witnessed widespread turmoil; this included many impositions of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, military suppression, devastation during war, and natural calamities.

Modern Dhaka is the seat of the Bangladeshi republic and home to the Government of Bangladesh, the Parliament of Bangladesh and the Supreme and High Courts of Bangladesh. It is a major economic hub and one of the two principal financial and industrial centres of the country, along with Chittagong. Dhaka is also a flourishing centre of the arts and culture in South Asia and hosts a thriving contemporary art scene. Although it has the most developed urban infrastructure in the country, it suffers from chronic urban problems of poverty, pollution and overpopulation due to increasing rural-to-urban migration in Bangladesh. The city is modernizing its transport and communications, and has been attracting large volumes of foreign investments in recent years. Dhaka has also emerged as one of the fastest growing cities in the world.