page_title: History of the University of Dhaka
section_title: Establishment and the British era
hierarchical_section_title: History of the University of Dhaka / Foundation and early days / Establishment and the British era
caption_attribution_description: Dhaka University. Photo: Soman
context_page_description: The University of Dhaka was established in 1921 as the first university in East Bengal. Following demands from Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur and others, Viceroy Lord Hardinge proposed on 2 February 1912, that a new university should be established in this partition of Bengal.
context_section_description: The university continued to grow under the direction of leaders including Harry Langley, A. F. Rahman, R. C. Majumdar, and Mahmud Hussain. Under Vice-Chancellor Hussain, the University consolidated its fundamental focus on academics. It also made national headlines when he extended an invitation to then-President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, who declined citing 'security reasons'. This was the first of many subsequent refusals from high-ranking officials to visit East Pakistan.
caption: Dhaka University Central Students Union building
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