The history of Ramna can be traced back to the
Mughal period. In the 18th century, this area, situated on the northern outskirts of Dhaka, housed a garden known as
Bagh-e-Badshahi, meaning King's Garden. Located near the residential areas of Sujatpur and Chistia, the garden stretched from the present-day
Old High Court Building area to the Sarak Bhaban (
Roads and Highways Department). The name Ramna was commonly used to refer to the open grassy area between the garden and the residential areas. Notable Mughal-era landmarks, such as the High Court Mazar (shrine) and
Shahbaz Khan Mosque, were built in 1679 and still exist today. During the
British era, neglect caused the Mughal-built areas to fall into ruins and become almost uninhabited, although
Bagh-e-Badshahi remained somewhat intact. By the early 19th century, Dhaka further declined and became sparsely populated. In 1819,
magistrate Charles Dawes, considered the father of modern Dhaka, was granted authority to renovate the northern parts of the city, including the Ramna area. Dawes cleared the area, improved roads, and built a
horse-racing track in 1825, establishing the racecourse of Dhaka, now
Suhrawardy Udyan, in
Bagh-e-Badshahi. Dawes also dug a large lake in the middle of the open space in Ramna. However, development of the city halted in 1829, causing Ramna to lose its allure until a municipal committee redeveloped the area in 1840. According to an 1859 map of Dhaka, Ramna was seen divided into two distinct parts: the racecourse, and a vast open space known as Ramna Plains. When Dhaka became the capital of the province of
Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905, the Ramna area was chosen to establish a new civil station. The government acquired land and constructed various buildings, including the Governor's House, and Ramna Park (also Ramna Green), In 2006 and 2018, parts of Ramna Thana were split to form
Shahbag and
Hatirjheel thanas respectively. ==Geography==