History Of Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital and one of the oldest cities of Bangladesh. 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 and shaivite Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE. After the Sena dynasty, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkic and Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate, followed by the Bengal Sultanate, before the arrival of the Mughals in 1608. The city became proto-industrialised and declared capital of the Mughal Bengal. After Mughals, British ruled the region for 200 years until the independence of India. In 1947, Dhaka became the capital of the East Bengal province under the Dominion of Pakistan. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Dhaka became the capital of the new state.

Etymology

The origin story of the name ''Dhaka'' is not definite. But there are several assumptions.
* The name came following the establishment of Dhakeshwari temple built by Raja Ballal Sena in the 12th century and ''Dhakeswari'' is the name of Goddess Durga. ''Dhakeshwari'' may also mean ''Goddess of Dhaka''; so the temple might have been named after the region.
* '' Dhak'' (a membranophone instrument) is used as part of the Durga Puja festival in this temple and hence the name ''Dhaka''.
* The plant named ''Dhak'' ('' Butea monosperma'') which was widely found in that area.
* In the 4th century, at Allahabad Prsahasti (also Prayag Prashasti), an eulogy for the Gupta Emperor Samudragupta, the poet-laureate Harisen mentioned ''Dabaka'' and ''Dabaka'' eventually became ''Dhaka''.
* Rajatarangini, written by a Kashmiri Brahman, Kalhana says the region was originally known as ''Dhakka''. The word ''Dhakka'' means ''watchtower''. Bikrampur and Sonargaon — the earlier strongholds of Bengal rulers were situated nearby. So Dhaka was likely used as the watchtower for the fortification purpose.

Kamarupa kingdom

Kamarupa kingdom, also known as ''Pragjyotisa'', existed between 350 and 1140 CE. According to the chronicle of Yogini Tantra, the southern boundary of the kingdom stretched up to the junction of Brahmaputra River and Shitalakshya River which covered the Dhaka region. Pala dynasty was the last dynasty to rule the whole Kamarupa region. During their reign between the 8th century until the late 11th century, Vikrampur, a region 12 miles from Dhaka, was their capital. The Pala rulers were Buddhists, but majority of their subjects were Hindus.

Sena kingdom

Sena dynasty's founder, Hemanta Sen, was part of the Pala dynasty until their empire began to weaken. He usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. Then largely Hindu community populated the lower Dhaka region. Still existent localities like ''Laksmibazar'', ''Banglabazar'', ''Sutrapur'', ''Jaluanagar'', ''Banianagar'', ''Goalnagar'', ''Tantibazar'', ''Shankhari Bazaar'', ''Sutarnagar'', ''Kamarnagar'', ''Patuatuli'' and ''Kumartuli'' are the examples of settlements of Hindu craftsmen and professionals in that era. According to popular legend, Dhakeshwari Temple was built by Ballal Sena, the second Sena ruler. Another tradition says, there were fifty two bazaars and fifty three streets and the region acquired the name of ''"Baunno Bazaar O Teppun Gulli"''.

Sultanate period

Upon arrival of Islam in this region, Turkish and Afghan rulers reigned the area from the early 14th century until the late 16th century. An Afghan fort (also known as Old Fort of Dhaka) was built at that time which was later converted to the present-form of Old Dhaka Central Jail in 1820 by the British. A 17th-century historian, Mirza Nathan, described the fort in his book Baharistan-i-Ghaibi as "surrounded by mud walls and the largest and strongest in pre-Mughal era".

In 1412, Shah Ali Baghdadi, a saint arrived in Delhi and then came to Dhaka where he became a disciple of Shah Bahar of the Chishti Order. His shrine is still at Mirpur Thana area.

Binat Bibi Mosque was built in 1454 at Narinda area of Dhaka during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal, Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (r. 1435–1459). It is the oldest brick structure that still exists in the city.

According to the inscription found near the present-day Old Central Jail area, the gate of ''Naswallagali Mosque'' was renovated in 1459.

Around 1550 a Portuguese historian, João de Barros, first inserted Dhaka into the map in his book ''Décadas da Ásia'' (Decades of Asia).

Mughal rule and rise as the capital of Bengal

Bengal Sultanate came into the domain of Mughal Empire during the reign of Emperor Akbar after the Battle of Tukaroi (1575) and Battle of Rajmahal (1576) defeating the Karrani dynasty.The History of India: The Hindú and Mahometan Periods By Mountstuart Elphinstone, Edward Byles Cowell, Published by J. Murray, Calcutta 1889, Public Domain But Dhaka was situated in Bhati region of Bengal which hosted several rebel forces led by Isa Khan (1529–1599) of Bara-Bhuiyans from mid to late 16th century. Raja Man Singh, the general of Akbar, stayed in Dhaka during 1602–1604 to fight against the Bara-Bhuiyan rebels. Singh built the four Siva temples at the site of ruined original Dhakeshwari Temple. After the next leader of Bara-Bhuiyans, Musa Khan, was subdued by Mughal General Islam Khan Chisti in 1608, Dhaka went directly under control of Mughals. It was referred as a ''Thana'' (a military outpost).

The newly appointed subahdar of Bengal Subah, Islam Khan transferred the capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka in 1610. He also renamed Dhaka as ''Jahangirnagar'' (''City of Jahangir'') after the Emperor Jahangir. Due to its location right beside some main river routes, Dhaka was an important centre for business. The Muslin fabric was produced and traded in this area. He successfully crushed the regional revolts in Jessore, Bakla (present-day Barisal) and Bhulua (present-day Noakhali) and brought almost the entire province under the Mughal domain.

Subahdar Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang (r. 1617–1624) began the construction of a fort (at the premise of Old Dhaka Central Jail). Rebel prince Shah Jahan defeated and killed him in 1624 and when he entered Dhaka, "all the elephants, horses, and 4,000,000 rupees in specie belonging to the Government were delivered to him". After a short stay, he then moved to Patna.

Appointed in 1639 as the next Bengal subahdar, Prince Shuja built Bara Katra between 1644 and 1646 in Dhaka to serve as his official residence. In 1642, Hussaini Dalan, a Shia shrine, was built by Mir Murad. The Idgah was constructed by Mir Abul Qasim, Diwan of Shuja, in 1640 and Churihatta Mosque by Muhammad Beg in 1650. In the late 1640s, for personal and political reasons, he moved 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 up to Dhaka and reached the city on 9 May 1660. But Shuja had already fled to Arakan region. As Jumla was ordered to become the next subahdar of Bengal Subah, Dhaka was again made the capital of the region. He was engaged in construction activities in Dhaka and its suburbs – two roads, two bridges and a network of forts. A fort at Tangi-Jamalpur guarded one of the roads connecting Dhaka with the northern districts which is now known as ''Mymensingh Road''. He built Mir Jumla Gate at the northern border to defend the city from the attacks of Magh pirates. Italian traveller Niccolao Manucci came to Dhaka in 1662–63. According to him, Dhaka had a large number of inhabitants compare to the size of the city. Most of the houses were built of straw. There were only two kuthis – one of the English and the other of the Dutch. Ships were loaded with fine white cotton and silk fabrics. A large number of Christians and white and black Portuguese resided in Dhaka.

Thomas Bowrey, a British merchant sailor, visited Dhaka in the 1670s. In his book, ''A Geographical Account of Countries Round the Bay of Bengal'', he mentioned:

Construction of Lalbagh Fort was commenced in 1678 by Prince Muhammad Azam during his 15-month-long governorship 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 subahdar Shaista Khan (1664–1688). The city then stretched for 12 miles in length and 8 miles in breadth and had a population of nearly a million people. The Babubazar Mosque, Choto Katra (1664), Chawk Mosque (1676), and Sat Gambuj Mosque (circa 1680) were built during this period. Khan built tombs of Bibi Pari, Bibi Champa and Dara Begum. A French physician and traveller, François Bernier, visited Dhaka in 1664 and recorded his memories in his book ''Voyages dans les États du Grand Mogol''. Another French traveller, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, arrived Dhaka on 13 January 1666 and met Khan. He referred Khan as "the uncle of King Aurangzeb and the cleverest man in all his kingdom". In 1682, William Hedges, the first agent and governor for the affairs of the East India Company in the Bay of Bengal, visited Dhaka on 25 October and met Khan to acquire '' perwannas''. He left Dhaka on 15 December after a total 51 days of stay. Francis Bradley Bradley-Birt, an English writer, wrote in his 1906 book ''The Romance of an Eastern Capital'' – "It is truly the city of Shaista Khan".

Prince Azim-ush-Shan became the subahdar of Bengal Subah in 1697. Due to conflict with Diwan Murshid Quli Khan, he transferred the capital from Dhaka to Rajmahal and then to Patna in 1703. Murshid Khan also shifted his office to Mauksusabad (later renamed it to Murshidabad). During his administration, Kartalab Khan Mosque in the present-day Begum Bazar area was built during 1701–1704. Mirdha Mosque was built in 1704–1705 in the Atish Khana Mahalla area.

Economy

Under the Mughal Empire which had 25% of the world's GDP, Bengal Subah generated 50% of the empire's GDP and 12% of the world's GDP. Bengal, the empire's wealthiest province, was an affluent region currently with a Bengali Hindu majority and Bengali Muslim minority. According to economic historian Indrajit Ray, it was globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturing and shipbuilding.

The capital Dhaka had an estimated 80,000 skilled textile weavers. It was an exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpeter, and agricultural and industrial produce.

Portuguese settlements

In Bengal region, the Portuguese made the principal trading centre in Hooghly. Besides, they made small settlements in Dhaka in about 1580. Ralph Fitch, an English traveller, recorded in 1586 that Portuguese traders were involved in shipping rice, cotton and silk goods. Tavernier mentioned about churches built in Dhaka by Portuguese Augustinian missionaries. In 1840, James Taylor, the civil surgeon of Dhaka, wrote that the oldest existing Portuguese structure today, Church of Our Lady of Rosary in Tejgaon, was built in 1599 by the missionaries. But according to historian Ahmad Hasan Dani, it was built in 1677. Joaquim Joseph A. Campos, an editor of Asiatic Society of Bengal, mentioned other Portuguese churches in Dhaka – Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Church of the Holy Ghost and Church of our Lady Piety. The Portuguese officially established a mission in Dhaka in 1616.

Sebastien Manrique, a Portuguese missionary and traveler, visited Dhaka in September 1640 and spent about 27 days around the area. According to him, the city extended along the Buriganga river for over four and a half miles from Maneswar to Narinda and Fulbaria. Christian communities lived around these suburbs in the west, east, and north. He further mentioned, "a small but beautiful church with a convent" in Dhaka. In his words,

In his conquest of Chittagong from the Arakanese (1665–1666), Shaista Khan received 40 ships from the Portuguese for his naval fleet. A section of the Portuguese came from Sandwip and Arakan and settled on the bank of Ichamati River (about south of Dhaka) at the present-day Muktarpur–Mirkadim area in Munshiganj, which bears its historical name of ''Feringhi Bazar''. They were mainly involved in the salt trade.

In 1713, priest Anthony Barbier spent Christmas at a church in Narinda, a neighborhood in Dhaka. In the 1780 map of English geographer James Rennell, the Portuguese settlers in Dhaka were within proximity of that church (present-day Narinda-Laxmibazar area).

Nawab era

Around 1716–1717, Murshid Quli Khan became the Nazim (Governor) of Bengal and Orissa ruling the region from Murshidabad. The position of ''Naib Nazim'' (Deputy Governor) was created to administer the region of eastern Bengal from Dhaka, known as Dhaka Niabat. They were directly appointed by the governor. The first Naib Nazim of Dhaka was Khan Muhammad Ali Khan. The period 1716–1757, from the reign of Murshid Quli Khan to Sirajuddaula, is referred as the ''Nawabi Era''. The last governor Sirajuddaula lost control to the British in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Since then the office of Naib Nazim of Dhaka was held by one favored by the Fort William Council. It was shorn of revenue and administrative powers from 1765 to 1822, holding only the title and a small allowance from 1822 to 1843. The last Naib Naim Ghaziuddin Haider, known as ''Pagla Nawab'', died without leaving any heir in 1843 and the title of Naib Nazim became extinct.

The Naib Nazims initially resided in Islam Khan's fort (now located in the premises of the Old Dhaka Central Jail). After the British took control of the fort, the Naib Nazims moved to the Bara Katra (Great Caravenserai Palace). In 1766, the Nimtali Kuthi became the official residence of the Naib Nazims. Besides the Nimtali Kuthi, two other notable constructions during the period were Chowk Bazaar, built by Naib Nazim Mirza Lutfullah in 1728 and the Armanitola Mosque in 1735.

Armenian settlements

The Armenians settled in Dhaka in the early 18th century. They established trade ties in jute and leather with Mughals and Nawabs.''The Armenian Church: Legacy of a Bygone Era'' by theindependent
The Armenian Church (''Church of Holy Resurrection'') built in 1781 in Armanitola area bears the evidence of their presence. Since the British started ruling Bengal in 1757, Armenians slowly moved out of this area. The Pogose School, the first private school in Dhaka, was founded in the 1830s by Nicholas Pogose, an Armenian merchant. By 1868, five of the six European zamindars in Dhaka were Armenians – Nicholas Pogose, GC Paneati, J Stephan, JT Lucas and W Harney. English educational and social reformer Mary Carpenter visited Dhaka in December 1875, hosted by the Pogose family. The last surviving Armenian, Michael Joseph Martin (Mikel Housep Martirossian), also the last resident warden of the Armenian Church, left Dhaka by 2018.

British East India Company rule (1793–1857)

The English formally established their factories in Dhaka in 1668. Their factory stood in the present-day Dhaka College campus while the French factory in the present-day Ahsan Manzil premise and the Dutch factory in today's Mitford Hospital area. The English traders were already in the city as early as in 1666 when Tavernier visited.

In 1763, the English factory was threatened by the troops of the Nawab Mir Qasim, along with roaming bands of Fakirs and Sanyasis. Provincial Council at Fort William in Calcutta dispatched Captain Archibald Swinton (1731–1804) to Dhaka and he secured the factory with help from Captain Grant from Chittagong and sepoys. He left Dhaka on 4 August 1763 after 2 months to settle issues. After the Battle of Buxar in 1765, per the Treaty of Allahabad, East India Company was appointed the imperial tax collector of the province Bengal-Bihar-Orissa by the Mughal emperor. Swinton was dispatched again to take over the local administration in Dhaka. Before he left the position in October 1775, he started to plan and build the Nimtali Kuthi, a palace-complex for the Naib Nazim. It was completed in 1766.

The Company took complete control in 1793 when Nizamat (Mughal appointed governorship) was abolished. The city then became known by its anglicised 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.

Charles D'Oyly was the District Collector of Dhaka from 1808 to 1811. He made a good collection of painting folios of Dhaka in the book, ''Antiquities of Dacca''. These paintings exhibited much of the ruins of Dhaka from the Mughal era. Short historical accounts of all the paintings was appended. James Atkinson wrote these accounts, accompanied by engravings done by Landseer.

In 1824, an English bishop Reginald Heber visited Dhaka and met Shamsuddaula (r. 1822–1831), the-then Naib-Nazim of Dhaka, at Nimtali Kuthi. He also met Shamsuddaula's courtier Mir Ashraf Ali. On 10 July, Heber inaugurated St Thomas Church (built in 1821). His personal chaplain, Martin Stowe, fell ill and died during this visit.

In 1835, Dhaka College was established as an English school by the then Civil Surgeon Dr. James Taylor. It received the college status in 1841. Local Muslim and Hindu students as well as Armenians and Portuguese were among the first graduates.

Horse-driven carriages were introduced in Dhaka as public transport in 1856. The number of carriages increased from 60 in 1867 to 600 in 1889.

Rise of Dhaka Nawab Estate

Under the Permanent Settlement of Bengal enactment by Charles Cornwallis in 1793, the Company government and the Bengali zamindars agreed to fix revenues to be raised from land. As a result, Dhaka Nawab Estate grew to become the largest zamindari in Eastern Bengal. It was founded by Kashmir origin merchant Khwaja Hafizullah Kashmiri and his nephew Khwaja Alimullah. A French trading centre is converted as the residence of the Dhaka Nawabs in 1830. It was later constructed into a palace and named Ahsan Manzil. The estate paid Rs as per agreement to the Company government in 1904. In 1952 the Estate was abolished according to the ''East Bengal Estate Acquisition and Tenancy Act''.

British Raj rule (1858–1947)

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as ''Sepoy Mutiny''), around 260 sepoys were stationed at the Lalbagh Fort. On 22 November 1857, fearing disarmament orders by the British officers, a skirmish broke out. Around 40 sepoys were killed, some arrested and some fled to the jungles towards Mymensingh. By 30 November, 11 sepoys were hanged publicly as a punishment by a hurriedly constituted Court Martial trial. The spot is converted to Victoria Park later and it was renamed to ''Bahadur Shah Park'' in 1958. Following the unsuccessful rebellion, British East India Company's ruling ended and the British Crown took direct control of the region in 1858.

Dacca Municipality was established on 1 August 1864. At that time the area of Dhaka was 20.72 square kilometres with a population of around 52,000. Buckland Bund was constructed under a scheme by the then City Commissioner Charles Thomas Buckland in 1864 to protect Dhaka from flooding and river erosion.

In 1860, the first printing press '' Bangala Jantra'' was set up in Dhaka and also Dhaka's first periodical ''Kabita Kusumabali'' was founded in the same year. Dhaka's first theatre group, ''Purbabanga Rangabhumi'', was established in the 1870s. '' Dhaka Prakash'', the first Bengali language newspaper in Dhaka, was published on 7 March 1861.

On 9 September 1866, George Cotton, the Bishop of Calcutta, visited Dhaka.

Two earthquakes on 10 April and 11 May in 1872 caused damages to several houses and public buildings in Dhaka and nearby Tejgaon.

In 1885, the railway line between Dhaka and Narayanganj was built. Mymensingh was connected to Dhaka in 1889. Private cars were owned from the 1910s and the taxis and rickshaws were introduced in the 1930s.

The earliest records of Dhaka being hit by tornados were on 7 April 1888 and 12 April 1902 which killed 118 and 88 respectively. The property damage of the city was estimated at 70,000 pound sterling.

On 16 March 1892, a professional balloonist, Jeanette Rummary (who performed parachute jumps from smoke balloons with Park Van Tassel using the stage name Jeannette Van Tassel was invited by Nawab Ahsanullah. A newspaper had reported that thousands of locals gathered around the palace on the occasion. After a successful balloon launch she jumped to descend by parachute but landed instead in a large tree at Ramna Garden in Shahbagh. Her rescue from the tree went awry and she fell from the tree and sustained severe injuries which she died from two days later. As the first aviator in Dhaka, she was buried in Narinda Christian graveyard.

3-day Bengal Provincial Conference was held in Dhaka during 30 May – 1 June in 1898. Chairperson Kali Charan Banerjee and writer Rabindranath Tagore made speeches during the event.

The then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon visited Dhaka on 18–19 February 1904, hosted by the Nawab family. He laid the foundation stone of Curzon Hall. In July 1905, he decided to take effect the Partition of Bengal and Dhaka became the capital of the new province, Eastern Bengal and Assam, on 16 October. Joseph Bampfylde Fuller entered on his office in Dhaka as the first Lieutenant-Governor of the region. The partition was revoked in 1911 and Dhaka became a district town on 1 April 1912.

The 20th session of All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was held at Ishrat Manzil, in present-day Shahbag area in Dhaka during 27—30 December 1906. On the final day, the All-India Muslim League political party was formed, with the aim of the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation-state.

Eden College was founded in 1880. Narendra Narayan Roy Choudhury, landlord of the Baldah Estate, built Baldha Garden in 1909. University of Dhaka was established in 1921. Philip Hartog became the first vice-chancellor of the university. Ahsanullah School of Engineering (now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) was established in 1912 under a substantial grant and patronage from Dhaka Nawab Family.

During World War II, United States Air Force had the 198th Station Hospital of 450 bed which served two air bases - in Tejgaon and Kurmitola. The hospitals were active during 1944–1946.

East Bengal's (later East Pakistan's) capital (1947–1971)

Following the Partition of India in August 1947, Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal under the Dominion 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. Population increased from 335,925 in 1951 to 556,712 in 1961 registering an increase of 65.7 percent. As the centre of regional politics, Dhaka saw an increasing number of political strikes and incidents of violence. The proposal to adopt Urdu

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases