The University of Dhaka (commonly referred to as Dhaka University or just DU) (Bengali: ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় Đhaka Bishshobiddalôe) is a public research university in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Established in 1921, University of Dhaka is the first university of the Bangladeshi nation. Given the political history of Bangladesh, it is believed that had the University of Dhaka not been established in 1921, there would not have been today's independent and sovereign Bangladesh. With more than 32,000 students and 1600 teachers,it is the largest university in the country, and popularly known as "the Oxford of the East". Almost ninety percent members of the country's public service come from the University of Dhaka,while the university enjoys the highest allocation of the government's education fund. The University of Dhaka was created to provide an alternative to University of Calcutta for the people of East Bengal as most of the colleges were located along Calcutta. The formation of University of Dhaka is largely credited to Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, himself a student of the hallowed St. Xavier's College, Calcutta affiliated to University of Calcutta.