Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা, pronounced: [ˈɖʱaka]; English /dɑːkə/, /dækə/; formerly known as Dacca)[6] is the capital of Bangladesh. It is the principal city of Dhaka District and Dhaka Division. The Dhaka Metropolitan Area is the 11th largest city proper in the world, with a population of 12 million people. The Greater Dhaka Area covers a population of 17 million people.[7] 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 Muslimsmake up the majority of the population, followed by Bengali Hindu, Buddhist, Bengali Christian and Bahai Faith communities.
During the Mughal Empire in the 17th century, the city was known as Jahangir Nagar. It was the cosmopolitan capital of Bengaland a hub of the worldwide muslin trade, with Bengali, Armenian, Persian, Greek, French, English, Gujarati, Dutch, Portuguese and Danish merchants. The British East India Company took control of the city in 1793. The modern-city developed in the late-19th century under British rule. It was the capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam between 1905 and 1911. It became the administrative capital of East Pakistan after the Partition of British India in 1947. During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Dhaka emerged as the capital of an independent Bangladesh.[8][9]
Modern Dhaka is the center of political, economic and cultural life in Bangladesh. It is a major financial center in South Asia. Dhaka was the 2012 ISESCO Asian Capital of Culture.[10] It is served by Shahjalal International Airport and connected to theport city of Chittagong by the Grand Trunk Road and the Bangladesh Railway. One of the most densely populated and fastest growing mega cities in the world, it faces many social and economic challenges common to a developing world metropolis, including traffic congestion, crime, urban pollution, poverty and overpopulation.Source :Wikepidia
With a daily traffic of over 600,000 cycle rickshaws, Dhaka is nicknamed as the Rickshaw Capital of the World.[1