Dhaka Pakistan Rifles and the Bengali police. Large parts of the city were burnt and destroyed, including Hindu neighborhoods. Much of the city's population was either displaced or forced to flee to the countryside. In the ensuing Bangladesh War of Independence, the Bangladesh Forces launched regular guerrilla attacks and ambush operations against Pakistani forces. Dhaka was struck with numerous air raids by the Indian Air Force in December. Dhaka witnessed the surrender of the west Pakistan forces in front of the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of Pakistan. Dhaka was declared the national capital by the
Dhaka declared as the country's legislative capital. The Inter-Continental Hotel of Dhaka, designed by William B. Tabler, opened in 1966 in Ramna. The East Pakistan Helicopter Service connected Dhaka with other regional cities as part of the largest commercial helicopter network in the world. The Awami League was formed at the Rose Garden Palace, in 1949 as the Bengali alternative to the domination of the Muslim League in Pakistan. Growing political, cultural and economic rifts emerged between the two wings of the country. The Bengali Language Movement reached its peak in 1952. Dhaka remained a center of revolutionary and political activity,