Khwaja Abdul Ghani
Encyclopedia
Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....

 Bahadur
Bahadur
Bahadur * Banda Singh Bahadur , a Sikh warrior and martyr* Coote Bahadur was a name given the Irish soldier Sir Eyre Coote by his troops* Bahadoor , a comedic actor in Malayalam-language films...

 Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani Mian
KCSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

 (1813–1896) was the first Nawab of Dhaka
Nawab of Dhaka
The Nawab of Dhaka was the title of the head of the Dhaka Nawab Estate, the largest and richest Muslim zamindari in Bengal. The first Nawab of Dhaka was Khwaja Alimullah who had been installed by the British Raj as head of the estate, which covered modern day Dhaka city and several of its...

 recognized by the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

.

He introduced the panchayat system, gaslights
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...

, water works, newspaper, and the zoological garden
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 to Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

. He established Ahsan Manzil
Ahsan Manzil
Ahsan Manzil was the official residential palace and seat of the Dhaka Nawab Family. This magnificent building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Bangladesh. The construction of this palace was started in the year 1859 and was completed in 1869. It is constructed in...

, the residence and seat of power for Dhaka Nawab Family
Dhaka Nawab family
Dhaka Nawab Family reigned in Dhaka from mid 19th century to mid 20th century, after the fall of the Naib Nazims. The hereditary title of Nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the Family by the British Raj as a recognition of their loyalty in the time of the Sepoy...

, Victoria Park, the gardens at Dilkhusha and Shahbag
Shahbag
Shahbag is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or Thana in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub, and serves as a junction between two contrasting sections of the city—Old Dhaka and New Dhaka—which lie, respectively, to its north and south...

, where he initiated many annual events like Boli Khela
Boli Khela
Boli Khela is a traditional form of wrestling in Bangladesh, particularly popular in the Chittagong area. Boli means a powerful person in Bengali, while Khela denotes a game...

 and agricultural and industrial fair to celebrate the Christian New Year. He was also responsible for the Buckland Bund
Buckland bund
Buckland Bund is a historically significant architectural creation situated by the Buriganga river bank of Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was first created by C.T. Buckland in 1864 who was the commissioner of Dhaka during that period....

 and the first female ward in the first hospital in Dhaka, and was a founding commissioner of Dhaka municipality.

Biography

Khwaja Abdul Ghani was the second son of Khwaja Alimullah
Khwaja Alimullah
Khwaja Alimullah was the first Nawab of Dhaka. He was the founder of the Dhaka Nawab Family.He was the nephew and heir of the merchant prince Khawaja Hafizullah, son of Khwaja Ahsanullah, and father of Khwaja Abdul Ghani, the first Nawab of Dhaka to be recognized by the British Raj.- Legacy of...

, who consolidated the Khwaja esates to be come the first Nawab of the family. He inherited the estate from his father, which included the French kuthi
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....

 at Kumartuli bought by Alimullah in 1830, the Shahbag garden bought by Alimullah from P. Aratun, an Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

, and Griffith Cook, a British Justice in 1840. His mother was Zinat Begum. Alimullah had 8 other wives and 15 other children.

Abdul Ghani was quite a multilingual person. He spoke Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

, his native tongue
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...

, Bangla
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

, English, and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

. He learnt Arabic and Persian at home, and English at Dhaka Collegiate School
Dhaka Collegiate School
Dhaka Collegiate School is a secondary school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest school in Dhaka and one of the oldest and prestigious institutions in the country for more than a century.-History:...

, where he was the student of the very first batch. He is known as patron of Urdu and Persian literature in Dhaka. He observed the Shi'a Remembrance of Muharram, and contributed to renovate Hoseni Dalan
Hoseni Dalan
]]]Hoseni Dalan, also spelt Husaini Dalan, is a Shia shrine in the old part of the Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was built in the 17th century during the Mughal era...

, the Shi'ite centre in Dhaka, though he was a Sunni himself. He also had close relations with the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

, Armenian and European community.

Abdul Ghani had four wives – Ismatunnesa Khanam, Umda Khanam, Munni Bibi, and Dulhan Bibi. His successor, Khwaja Ahsanullah, was his second son born to his first wife Ismatunnesa (d. 1887). He had 10 other children and 21 known grandchildren. Among his non-succeeding grandchildren the most famous was poet Khwaja Muhammad Afzal, son of his daughter Nurhahan Khanam and Khwaja Yusuf Jan.

Inheritance

In 1846, Khwaja Abdul Ghani inherited all the family properties, landed or otherwise, as an indivisible concern by a waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...

nama executed by his father Khwaja Alimullah. As the mutawalli (trustee) he was made the sole administrator of the estate, as well as the sole representative and spokesperson of the family. He had the sole responsibility to distribute the family income as individual allowances and to select a successor as he deemed fit.

Official recognition

During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Abdul Ghani supported the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. He also donated a large amount of money the Debt Fund for people's welfare launched by the government after the Mutiny. He served the Raj long as member of the Municipality and the Magistracy, and was known as a fine arbiter of conflicts. In 1869, he settled a violent Shi'ite-Sunni riot through arbitration.

Abdul Ghani struck a good relation with Lord Northbrook
Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook
Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook PC, GCSI, FRS , was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

, Governor General of India (1872–1876) who was against the Disraeli government
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...

 in England, and Lord Dufferin
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society...

, Viceroy of India (1884–1888) who enacted the Bengal Tenancy Act 1885. The Raj eventually vested the title of Nawab, which was made hereditary and was upgraded to the title of Nawab Bahadur.

Positions and titles

  • 1864: Nominated Commissioner
    Commissioner
    Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

     of the freshly erected Dhaka municipality
  • 1866: Appointed Honorary Magistrate
    Magistrate
    A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

     and a member of Bengal Legislative Council
  • 1867: Appointed additional member of the Governor General's Legislative Council
  • 1871: Decorated Companion of Star of India
    Order of the Star of India
    The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

     (CSI)
  • 1875: Vested the title of Nawab
  • 1876: Granted 7 Turuk Sawar
    Household Division
    Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with the head of state.-Historical Development:In...

     (horse mounted guards)
  • 1877: Title of Nawab made hereditary
  • 1886: Decorated Knight Commander of Star of India
    Order of the Star of India
    The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

     (KCSI)
  • 1892: Vested the title of Nawab Bahadur

Contributions

Abdhul Ghani developed the property he inherited and was put in charge of, taking it to height of the history of the family. He also contributed significantly to development of Dhaka. He introduced gaslights to light Dhaka streets, and running water facilities at his own expense. Ghani Mian's Water Works cost about Rs 250,000.00. Its foundation stone was laid by Lord Northbrook on 6 August 1874. He also established a Langarkhana (asylum) in Dhaka in 1866 for the destitute, a high school at Kumartuli in 1863 (which later became Khwaja Salimullah College, named after his grandson), and the Abdul Ghani High School at Jamurki, Tangail
Tangail
Tangail is a town in Tangail District located in central region of Bangladesh. It consists of 5 corporations, 8 municipalities, 72 wards, 211 mahallas. It is located on the banks of Louhajang River, and is part of the Dhaka Division.-Education:...

.

Ahsan Manzil

Abdul Ghani engaged Martin & Company, a European construction and engineering firm, from 1859 to 1872 to develop the kuthi in Kumartuli and rebuilt it into one of Dhaka's finest landmarks. Renamed Ahsan Manzil after his favourite son and successor Khwaja Ahsanullah, it became the seat of power for the family. In the newly built Rang Mahal (the older building was known as Andar Mahal) he received Lord Northbrook and Lord Dufferin as guests.

Shahbag

Abdul Ghani restored former property of Aratun and Cook to its lost glory as Bag-e-Badshahi (the Garden of Kings) of the Mughals
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

, and renamed it Shahbag. He expanded the area further by buying land from the son of Nuruddin Hossain, who set up Nurkhan Bazar in the area. It was further expanded by more land bought in 1876–77, bringing the whole land area to 26.5 hectares. He started the garden house in 1873, which took several years to complete.

Buckland Bund

Abdul Ghani was the first to donate funds for the project undertaken by City Commissioner C T Buckland to create a dam to protect Dhaka from flooding and river erosion, along with Kalinarayan Roy, the zamindar of Bhawal. In the 1870s, he also undertook its extension westward from Wiseghat. Like the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

, the Buckland Bund came to serve Dhaka people as a promanade of enjoyment. It is where the Bhawal Sannyasi
Bhawal case
The Bhawal case was an extended Indian court case about a possible impostor who claimed to be the prince of Bhawal, who was presumed dead a decade earlier.- Apparent first death and cremation :...

 appeared covered in ahses.

Dilkusha

In 1866, Nawab abdul ghani purchased the land near the lake of Motijheel
Motijheel
Motijheel is an administrative division of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. It is situated at the heart of the city . Motijheel is the major business and commercial hub of Dhaka city and has more offices and business institutions than any other part of the city...

 from E F Smith and made there a garden-house named Dilkusha for his son Khwaja Ahsanullah. Later, he expanded the garden by buying land from Armenian zaminder Manuk, whose name is still borne by a building in the Bangabhaban
Bangabhaban
The Banga Bhaban is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, the head of state of Bangladesh. Located in the capital Dhaka, the palace has been the official residence of the British Viceroy of India until 1912, when the capital was moved to New Delhi. From...

, official residence of the President of Bangladesh
President of Bangladesh
Since 1991, the President of Bangladesh is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament. Since 1996, the President's role becomes more important after the term of the government has finished, when his executive authority is enhanced as laid down in the constitution of the...

. This Manuk House was a part of the land that was acquired by the Britich Governor General of India from the Dhaka Nawab Family.

Dhaka News

Abdul Ghani was one of the proprietors (1856–1858) of the Weekly Dhaka News, the first English newspaper from Dhaka. It was edited by Alenzander R. Forbes as a planters' journal and printed by the first printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...

 in Dhaka, the Dhaka News Press, founded in 1856.

Dances

Abdul Ghani was a great patron of the arts of the baijees, the hereditary dancing girls introduced to Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 by Wajid Ali Shah
Wajid Ali Shah
Wajid Ali Shah was the fifth King of Oudh, holding the position from 13 February 1847 to 7 February 1856....

, the Nawab of Awadh
Nawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh is the title of rulers who governed the state of Awadh in India in the 18th and 19th century. The Nawabs of Awadh originated form Persia-Establishment:...

. Baijees, known as the Tawaif in Northern India, danced a special form of Kathak focused at popular entertainment along with singing mostly in the form of Thumri
Thumri
Thumri is a common genre of semi-classical Indian music.The text is romantic or devotional in nature, and usually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna. The lyrics are usually in Uttar Pradesh dialects of Hindi called Poorbi and Brij Bhasha...

. Apart from the Nawab's mansions they also danced at Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...

 puja and at European mansions at that time.

During his reign, baijees used to perform regularly for mehfils and mujras at the Rangmahal of Ahsan Manzil, Ishrat Manzil of Shahbagh, and the garden house of Dilkusha. The performance of Mushtari Bai at Shahbag earned much praise from eminent littérateur Abdul Gafur Naskhan. The most prominent baijees were Suponjan, Mushtari Bai, Piyari Bai, Heera Bai, Wamu Bai and Abedi Bai. Among them Suponjan married Swapan Khan, grandson of singer and tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

 maestro Mithan Khan.

Theater

Abdul Ghani introduced the first female performers on Dhaka theater stages. In 1876, he invited a theater troupe from Bomaby
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 to stage two Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 plays, Indrasabha and Yadunagar, featuring three sister among performers- Annu Bai, Nannu Bai and Nawabin Bai.

Donations

  • For construction of Buckland Bund: Rs 35,000.00
  • For renovation of Hoseni Dalan: Rs 20,000.00
  • For construction of road leading to tomb of Shah Ali Baghdadi: Rs 10,000.00
  • For construction of a Female Ward in Mitford Hospital
    Sir Salimullah Medical College
    Sir Salimullah Medical College is a government medical college in Bangladesh. It is located in the old part of the capital, Dhaka. It is affiliated with the University of Dhaka. Before 1854 it was a Dutch "kuthi" which was used for business purpose....

    : Rs 25,000.00
  • For victims of famine: Rs 10,000.00
  • For the victims of the flood: Rs 10,000.00
  • For Lady Dufferin
    Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava
    Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava VA CI DBE was a British peeress, known for her success in the role of "diplomatic wife", and for leading an initiative to improve medical care for women in British India.-Biography:Born Hariot Georgina Rowan-Hamilton, she...

     Relief Fund: Rs 10,000.00
  • For wounded soldiers of Russo–Turkish War (1787–1792): Rs 20,000.00
  • For victims of an earthquake in Kashmir
    Kashmir
    Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

    : Rs 20,000.00
  • For riot victims of Atiya: Rs 10,000.00
  • For wounded soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War
    Franco-Prussian War
    The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

    : Rs 5,000.00
  • For Cholera Relief Funds in Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     and France: Rs 2,000.00
  • For victims of famine in Iran
    Iran
    Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

    : Rs 3,000.00
  • For victims of famine in Lancashire
    Lancashire
    Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

    : Rs 7,000.00
  • For victims of famine in Ireland: Rs 3,000.00
  • For renovation of Nahr-i-Zubaida at Mecca
    Mecca
    Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

    : Rs 40,000.00

Principal sources


Other sources

  • Sayid Aulad Hasan, Notes on the Antiquities of Dacca, Dacca, 1912
  • Lord Charles Hardinge, My Indian Years: 1910–1916, London, 1948
  • S.M. Taifoor, Glimpses of Old Dhaka (revised edn.), 1956
  • A.H. Dani, Dacca: A Record of its Changing Fortunes (revised edn.), 1962
  • Azimusshan Haider, Dacca: History and Romance in Place Names, 1967
  • Rahman Ali Taesh (translated in to Bangla by AMM Sharfuddin), Tawarikhey Dhaka, 1985
  • Hakim Habibur Rahman (translated in to Bangla by Moulana Akram Faruque and Ruhul Amin Choudhury), Asudganey Dhaka, 1990
  • Muntasir Mamoon, Dhaka: Smrti Bismrtir Nagari, 1993

Citations

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