Dhaka is the largest city and the national capital of Bangladesh. Pop. (2013 est.) 7.000.940.
Dhaka lies on the Burhi Ganga River in Dhaka district, a densely populated rural area with unusually fertile soil. The city is a processing and marketing center for the agricultural products of the district, principally rice and jute. The minor industries of the city and the surrounding district are mainly traditional handicrafts, such as gold and silver work, shell carving, and the making of mother-of-pearl buttons. There are rail connections between the city and other parts of the district, but the most common means of transportation is the close network of rivers and canals that crisscross the area. There is an international airport just northwest of Dhaka.
The cultural center of Bangladesh, Dhaka is the site of the University of Dhaka, founded in 1921. The university library has a large collection of old Persian and Sanskrit manuscripts.
The eastern section of Bengal, which included Dhaka, was combined with Assam, to the east, in 1905, to make up a new province called Eastern Bengal and Assam. The city was its capital until 1912, when the province was dissolved and Bengal was reunified as the presidency of Bengal. In 1947, Dhaka became the capital of the eastern region of the newly created independent country of Pakistan. The city was made the legislative capital of Pakistan in 1962. In 1971, when East Pakistan seceded and became Bangladesh, Dhaka became its capital.
