page_title: Nawab of Dhaka
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Nawab of Dhaka / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Nawab Sir Salimullah celebrating the Eid Day with his family at the Ahsan Manzil palace.
context_page_description: The Nawab of Dhaka was the largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in Dhaka. The 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 and contribution to the social welfare activities.
  Although the Nawabs of Dhaka were not sovereigns, they played an essential role in the politics of South Asia—and the relations with external entities. The family was proprietary of the Dhaka Nawab estate, seated at Ahsan Manzil palace. "Nawab of Dhaka" was the title of the head of family and estate. Khwaja Alimullah was the first Nawab of Dhaka instated by the British Raj, on behalf of the Mughals.
  Considerable infighting within the Nawab's family gradually led to the decline of the estate. In 1952 the East Pakistan Estates Acquisition Act formally abolished the estate. Khwaja Habibullah Khan Bahadur was the last reigning Nawab of Dhaka. Successive land reform in Pakistan and Bangladesh brought an end to the remaining landholdings of the Nawab family.
context_section_description: The Nawabs of Dhaka were Urdu-speaking aristocrats tracing their ancestry to Kashmiri merchants who arrived in Mughal Bengal during the reign of emperor Muhammad Shah to pursue trade, but eventually settled in the districts of Dhaka, Sylhet and Bakerganj. They engaged in the purchase and sale of various local commodities. Maulvi Khawaja Abdullah, who moved from Delhi amidst the late Mughal era, is recorded as the first patriarch of the family in Bengal. Having established a successful business in Sylhet, he invited his father and brother from Kashmir, colloquially known as "Iran-e Saghir" (Minor Iran). Later, the family settled in Dhaka.
  The Dhaka Nawab family was officially established by Maulvi Khwaja Hafizullah Kashmiri, who acquired considerable wealth via trade in leather and gold. His fortune was built upon trading leather, spices, and salt with notable Armenian and Greek merchants. He also purchased some floundering zamindari estates, on sale everywhere in Bengal under Permanent Settlement, and indigo factories in Barisal District and Mymensingh District. In the following years, they married into renowned families in the locality to strengthen their hold over the newly-acquired territories.  
  Hafizullah acquired Atia Pargana in the former Mymensingh District (currently in the Tangail District). Hafizullah bought a 4-anna (one fourth) share of the pargana, including Dhamrai, the Atia Mosque built in 1608, and much of Madhupur forest in 1806, on the strength of a mortgage bond for Rs. 40,000. Profits gained from this purchase compelled him to engage further in the purchasing of land properties. He also acquired Aila Phuljhuri in the Bakarganj Sundarbans, a 44,000 acres (180 km²) area bought for Rs 21000 in 1812, at a revenue demand of only Rs 372 annually. After clearing of the jungle was affected, in the late 1870s, its estimated total rental income appeared as high as Rs 2,20,502.
  Due to an absence of any surviving male successor of Hafizullah, his estate upon his death descended to his nephew Khwaja Alimullah, son of his deceased elder brother Ahsanullah, whom he had groomed as an estate manager. His landed acquisitions were added to those of his uncle, consequently making the united zamindari and taluqdari one of the largest in the province. Before his death in 1854, Alimullah made a waqf for a united status of the zamindari which was to be managed jointly by a mutawalli.
  His nephew, Khwaja Alimullah, who was the third son of Khwaja Ahsanullah, is reported to have been an enterprising member of the clan, effectively laying the foundation upon which successive heads of the family establishes their prosperity and power. He purchased Ahsan Manzil, which was then a French trading house. He had learnt English and encouraged members of his family to learn English, in addition to forging alliances with Englishmen by mixing with them freely. He had partaken in development work for the Dhaka Municipality, and with the aid of the British, he set up the Ramna Race course. He bought thoroughbreds for his race course and established the Gymkhana Club. He purchased the famous diamond, Daria-e-Noor at a government auction in 1852, held by Hamilton and Company of Calcutta. The diamond was initially exhibited at The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park but failed to sell for a desirable price, and was resultantly sent back to India. The diamond is presently being held in a vault of the Sonali Bank in Dhaka.
  In 1846 he made a Waqfnama  in favour of his second son Khwaja Abdul Ghani, and made him a powerful Mutawalli (Manager) for the management of all the properties of the Nawab Family. This aided in preserving the wealth of the Nawab family as it could not be divided amongst descendants. That Waqfnama was the main key responsible for the success of the Nawab Family of Dhaka. Despite being a Sunni Muslim himself, Khwaja Alimullah financed the Muharram Festival of the Shia Muslims in Dhaka. He started in 1843 after the death of Ghaziuddin Haider who was the Naib Nazim of Dhaka. He died on 1854 and was buried in the Begum Bazar graveyard.
caption: Nawab Sir Salimullah celebrating the Eid Day with his family at the Ahsan Manzil palace
exif: {}