History of Dhaka across Bangladesh. A real estate boom has followed the development of new settlements such as Gulshan, Banani and Motijheel. In 1985, Dhaka hosted the inaugural summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It has also hosted the summits of the D8 group and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. In 1983 City Corporation was created to govern Dhaka and its population reached 3,440,147 and it covered an area of 400 square kilometres. The city was divided into 75 wards. Under new act in 1993 the first election was held in 1994 and Mohammad Hanif became the first elected
Dhaka in the world. The origins of the name for Dhaka are uncertain. Once "dhak" trees were very common in the area and the name may have originated from it. Alternatively, this name may refer to "the hidden goddess" Dhakeshwari, whose temple is located in the south-western part of the city. Another popular theory states that Dhaka refers to a membranophone instrument, "dhak" which was played by order of Subahdar Islam Khan I during the inaugurating of the Bengal capital in 1610. Some references also say it was derived from a Prakrit dialect called Dhaka Bhasa; or Dhakka, used in the