DACCA, a city of British India, giving its name to a district and division of Bengal situated on the Buri-Ganga river with a railway station, 10 m. from the terminus of the river steamers at Narayanganj. Pop. (1931) 138,518. Dacca has twice been a provincial capital. In 1608 Islam Khan, nawab of Bengal, re moved his capital here from Rajmahal and it continued to be the capital till 1704. It was also the capital of the short-lived Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam (1905-12). The prin cipal Mohammedan public buildings are the Bara Katra and the Lal-bagh fort. The Lal-bagh ("beautiful garden") fort was begun by Azam Shah, the third son of the emperor Aurangzeb, but it appears never to have been completed ; and when Tavernier visited Dacca (c. i666) the nawab was residing in a temporary wooden building in its court. Other buildings of the Mogul period are the Chota Katra , Husaini Dalan (164 2) and several mosques. Except for these there are few buildings of any great age and interest : even in Tavernier's time the houses were "no more than paltry huts built up with bamboos and daubed over with fat earth." The English established a factory in the city in the 17th century, but it was pulled down in 1829 or 183o. The French and Dutch factories have also disappeared. Of modern buildings the finest are those built during the years when Dacca was the capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam; these are grouped round a large park called the Ramna, a mile from the centre of the city. Some, such as the residence of the lieutenant-governor and the secretariat, have been appropriated to the use of the Uni versity of Dacca. The university was established in 1921 and had 1,325 full-time students in 1925 : the students reside in halls and hostels, such as the Curzon hall, Dacca hall and Jagannath hall. Among other institutions may be mentioned the Mitford hospital and Dacca medical school. There are four Christian churches, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Greek and Armenian, a Sikh temple and many Hindu temples, of which the most notable is that of Dhakeswari. The famous manufacture of fine muslins, which was the chief article of local trade, is almost extinct, but the carving of shells, carried on from ancient times, is an important industry.
The DISTRICT OF DACCA has an area of 2,713 sq.m. and a population of 3,432,577. The district consists of a level plain bounded on three sides by the Meghna, the Ganges or Padma, and the Jamuna, or main stream of the Brahmaputra, and watered by a network of rivers and streams, such as the Dhaleswari, the Buriganga and the Lakshya. About 20 M. N. of Dacca city, small ridges are met with in the Madhupur jungle, stretching into Mymensingh district. These ridges, however, are mere mounds not over 5o ft. to 6o ft. high, composed of red soil containing a considerable quantity of iron ore ; and the whole tract is for the most part unproductive. The country lying to the south of the Dhaleswari is the most fertile part of the district. It con sists entirely of rich alluvial soil, annually inundated to a depth varying from 2 to 14 ft. of water. Villages here are built on artificial mounds of earth, so as to raise them above the flood level.
Rice is the principal crop, followed by jute. The industries consist of jute pressing, weaving, embroidery, gold and silver work and shell-carving; soaps, mother-of-pearl buttons and horn combs are also made locally, and some oil mills have been started. The weaving industry and the manufacture of fine Dacca muslins have greatly fallen off, owing to the competition of European piece goods. The manufacture of Kasidas, i.e., muslins embroidered with silk, which used to be exported to Turkey, has also been declining since the World War. Narayanganj is the centre of the jute-trade.
The DrvIsIoN OF DACCA lies in the east of Bengal within the delta formed by the Brahmaputra and the Ganges. It consists of the four districts of Dacca, Mymensingh, Faridpur and Bakarganj. Its area is 14,829 sq. miles. Its population in 1931 was 13.864,104.