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BANGLAPEDIA: Alimullah, Khwaja
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Alimullah, Khwaja (?-1854) founder of the Nawab Family of Dhaka. Born in Begum Bazar, he was the son of Khwaja AHSANULLAH (d 1795 AD). Alimullah lost his father in childhood and was brought up under the care of his uncle, Khwaja Hafizullah who was childless. Hafizullah made his fortune in trade and commerce. Leather and salt were the major items of his business. He had some Greek trading partners. Alimullah took major responsibilities in the business of Hafizullah. After the PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, Hafizullah purchased some zamindari estates and indigo factories in Barisal. Alimullah became his sole heir and himself bought extensive landed estates in Barisal, Khulna, Dhaka, Mymensingh and Tripura. He acquired extensive landed property in and around Dhaka city. He had a moneylending business and was one of the major shareholders and directors of Dhaka Bank. In 1830, Alimullah purchased the French Trading House at Kumartuli and renovated it into his own residence. This mini palace subsequently became the nucleus of the famous AHSAN MANZIL of Dhaka.

In 1846, Khwaja Alimullah made a waqfnama turning all his property, landed and otherwise, into an indivisible family concern. He appointed his second son Khwaja Abdul GHANI Mia Mutawalli (Administrator) of the WAOF. This waqfnama saved the Khwaja Estate from sub-division and fragmentation like other landed estates through a series of successions and transfers and this measure, in fact, laid the foundation of the nawab family of Dhaka.

Khwaja Alimullah

It empowered the Mutawalli to administer the zamindari and other concerns of the family as representative and sole spokesman of the family and distribute the family income in the form of individual allowances stipulated in the Waqf deed.

It was the "l:esponsflJiTity -or1fielVfutawa1li~accoraing to-t11e- waRqnama, t=o-appoint his successor from amongst family members deemed to be most competent to manage the family affairs.

Through his long association with his Eurasian and European business partners, Khwaja Alimullah acquired their lifestyle and habits. He bought thoroughbred horses for racing and made a modest stable for them. By setting up the RAMNA RACECOURSE and the Gymkhana Club, he earned considerable fame as an organiser of sports. Alimullah used to go hunting with horses and elephants. He introduced dance, music and moshairah (literary meet) in the Khwaja family.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Alimullah, Khwaja

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Khwaja Alimullahtook part very actively in the corporate activities of the city. He became a member of the Dhaka Municipal Committee, which was formed in 1840. He played an important role in the preservation of LALBAGH FORT. Like his European landed counterparts, Alimullah also developed a fancy for jewels, sports and games. At a government auction in 1852 he purchased the famous diamond DARIYA-l-NOOR which in value and purity, is comparable to the world-famed Kohinoor.

He made a wakq of the income of his estate at Atiya Pargana in Tangail for the welfare of the destitute. After the death of GHAZIUDDIN HAIDER, the last naib nazim of Dhaka in 1843, Khwaja Alimullah bore all the expenditures of the traditional Muharram festival of the shia Muslims, although he himself was a sunni. The government had, in recognition of his patronage of the shia community, appointed him the Mutawalli of HUSAINI DALAN, a shrine of the shias.

Khwaja Alimullah died on 16 Bhadra, 1261 corresponding to 1854 AD in Dhaka and was buried in the family graveyard at Begum Bazar. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ghani, Khwaja Abdul

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Ghani, Khwaja Abdul (1813-1896) nawab of Dhaka, philanthropist, social worker. Born on 30 July 1813 at Begumbazar, Dhaka. Khwaja Abdul Ghani was the son ofKHWAJA ALlMULLAH (d 1854) and Zinat Begum. His mother tongue was Urdu, but he spoke BangIa too. In his childhood, Ghani learnt Arabic and Persian at home. One of the first batch students of Dhaka Collegiate School, Ghani was also proficient in English.

Abdul Ghani's intellect and sagacity was duly noticed by his father who appointed him Mutawalli of all family properties by executing a waqfnama in 1846. Abdul Ghani brought prosperity to his father's property as well as to their zamindari and eventually became the richest zamindar in East Bengal.

During the SEPOY REVOLT of 1857, Khwaja Abdul Ghani rendered his support to the British Raj supposedly to ensure the safety of the city people against the onslaught of the British Army. After the revolt was over, he tried to assuage the British Army to give amnesty or at least minimise the punishment of the sepoys allegedly joining the revolt. He also donated a huge amount of money to the Debt Fund for people's welfare launched by the government at that time.

Khwaja Abdul Ghani

In 1861 the British Government made him an Honorary Magistrate. The perfection in arbitration judgement that he had developed prompted people to come to him for arbitration instead of going to the Courts. He was made a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1866 and a member of the Governor General's Legislative Council in 1867. In 1869 he settled a violent Shia- Sunni riot through arbitration.

Dhaka's successful PANCH A YET SYSTEM owed a great deal to Abdul Ghani. As President of the Panchayet, he used to give a turban to the Panchayet leaders of different mahallas and conduct the local administration of the city through them. He was awarded the title of CM in 1871 and 'Nawab' in 1875. In 1876 the government granted him 7 Turuk Sawars (Guard Regiment). In 1877 the title of Nawab was made hereditary. He was made a KC in 1886 and given the title of 'Nawab Bahadur' in 1892.

Khwaja Abdul Ghani was a member of the Dhaka Municipality for a long time.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ghani, Khwaja Abdul

For the crippled and destitute he founded an asylum (Langarkhana) in Dhaka in 1866. At a cost of about 250 thousand rupees he set up a water supply plant in Dhaka city and donated a lot of money to spread modem education in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Comilla and Bakerganj districts. In 1863 he established a High School at Kumartuli, which was later upgraded into Salimullah College. He established Abdul Ghani High School at Jamurki, Tangail.

Ghani donated Rs 35 thousand for the construction of Buckland Bund, Rs 20 thousand for the renovation of HUSAINI DALAN, Rs 10 thousand for the construction of the road leading to the tomb of SHAH ALI BAGHDADI, Rs 25 thousand to build a Female Ward in the Mitford Hospital, Rs 10 thousand for the victims of the famine of 1867, Rs 10 thousand for the victims of flood in 1885, Rs 10 thousand to the Lady Dufferin Relief Fund, Rs 20 thousand for the wounded soldiers of the Russo-Turkish war (1877), Rs 20 thousand for the victims of the earthquake in Kashmir, Rs 10 thousand for the help of the riot victims of Atiya, Rs 5 thousand for the wounded soldiers of the Franco-German war, Rs 2 thousand to the Cholera Relief Funds for Italy and France, Rs 3 thousand for the victims of famine in Iran, Rs 7 thousand for the victims of famine in Lancashire, Rs 3 thousand for the victims of famine in Ireland, and Rs 40 thousand for the renovation of Nahr-i-Zubaida at Makka. He disbursed Rs 38 thousand for different relief activities through Mr Mackenzi. Many people performed Hajj with his financial assistance.

An accomplished man, Nawab Abdul Ghani patronised poets and singers. He used to organise competitions among them on the occasions of MUHARRAM and other festivals. He offered monetary help to many poets, writers and singers. By supporting the cause of female artistes acting in theatres Abdul Ghani proved that he was liberal and free from prejudice. He was one of the proprietors of the Weekly Dhaka News, the first newspaper from Dhaka. The AHSAN MANZIL Palace erected by him is an excellent testimony to the building ali of the time. He created gardens and parks such as Shahbagh garden, Dilkhusha garden, Company's garden etc, and thus contributed to the environmental development of Dhaka. He also founded a zoo at Shahbagh. On the occasion of the Christian New Year, agricultural and industrial fairs were organised in this venue.

Abdul Ghani died on Monday 24 August 1896 at the Ahsan Manzil and lies buried at the family graveyard at Begumbazar in Dhaka. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ahsanullah, Khwaja

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Ahsanullah, Khwaja (1846-1901) nawab of Dhaka, philanthropist and social worker. Khwaja Ahsanullah was born on 22 August 1846 in Dhaka. Son of Nawab KHWAJA ABDUL GHANI and Ismatun Nesa (d 1887) Ahsanullah learnt Urdu, Arabic and the Quran at childhood. He also gained proficiency in Persian and English. A gifted man, Ahsanullah was modest by nature. At the age of 22 he was entrusted with the management of the family estate. He enlarged it by purchasing the Gobindapur paragana of Dhaka. In 1872 AHSAN MANZIL, the reconstructed palace of the nawabs of Dhaka, was named after him. Since 1864 he had served as a commissioner of Dhaka Municipality. He played a major role in founding and developing the graveyards of the Dhaka municipal area. For sometime he was also an Honorary Magistrate.

Khwaja Ahsanullah was keenly interested in literary pursuits. He was a member of the ASIATIC SOCIETY, Calcutta. He established a branch of the MOHAMMEDAN LITERARY SOCIETY in Dhaka. He used to compose poems in Urdu and Persian in his leisure time. In poetry, he used the pseudonym Shaheen (the hawk). He published a book of verses in Urdu and Persian, Kulliyat-iShaheen. Under his direction, an Urdu periodical, Ahsanut Qasas, was published from Dhaka in 1884.

Khwaja Ahsanullah

He maintained a regular diary. His Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Kashmiriah is preserved in manuscript form in the Dhaka University Library. Ahsanullah was a singer, a composer of songs and a dramatist. He composed some thungri songs. Some of his Urdu plays have been staged. He was also an amateur photographer and a member of Photographic Society in Calcutta. He also took interest in politics and was a member of CENTRAL NATIONAL MUHAMEDAN ASSOCIATION. Like Sir Syed Ahmed, he believed that Muslims should have a separate political entity.

Ahsanullah donated more than 50 notable donations were: (i) Rs 50 thousand for the construction of Lady Dufferin Women's Hospital at Dhaka (1888); (ii) an annuity ofRs 5 thousand to Abdul Ghani Relief Fund (1896); (iii) Rs 40 thousand to the Famine Relief Fund for the people of Barisal, Mymensingh & Dhaka (1896); (iv) Rs one lac for the reconstruction of HUSAINI DALAN (1897); (v) Rs one lac to Dhaka Plague Control Fund; (vi) Rs 80 thousand for the development of Comilla town (1898); (vii) Rs 50 thousand to the Governor General's Famine Fund; (viii) Rs 60 thousand for the re-excavation of Nahr-i-Zubaida at Makka and (ix) approximately Rs one lac for MITFORD HOSPITAL.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ahsanullah, Khwaja

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In addition, his grant for developing the Survey School at Dhaka into an Engineering School amounting to Rs one lac 12 thousand was released by his son Nawab KHWAJA SALIMULLAH in 1902. Almost every year he used to bear the Haj expenses of 30 to 40 Hajies. He founded the Patuakhali Begum Hospital (1900), Madaripur Mosque and Madrasah (1886-87), and Begunbari Mosque.

He also spent a good deal of money for the renovation and reconstruction of Sat Gambuj Mosque, Khwaja Ambar's Mosque, Mosque of Shah Jalal Dakhini, Lalbag Shahi Mosque, Kaltabazar Mosque, Begum Bazar Mosque, Fatulla Mosque, Tomb of Chisti Beheshti, Mausoleum of Peer Yameni, Tomb of Shah Niamatullah, Mausoleum of Shah Masud and Pir Jangi, Magbazar Khanqah, Babupura Mausoleum, Bibi Ka Rauza, Mosque and Tomb of Shah Ali Baghdadi, Kadam Rasul Shrine etc.

Ahsanullah contributed Rupees 4.5 lac towards the cost of setting up the Dhaka Electric Supply, which was commissioned on 7 December 1901. He was one of the pioneers of the Dhaka Mohammedan Union Spotting Club, established in 1899.

For his social services and philanthropic activities Khwaja Ahsanullah was awarded the titles of Khan Bahadur in 1871, Nawab in 1875, CIE in 1891, Nawab Bahadur in 1892 and KCIE in 1897. He was a member of the Governor General's Legislative Council in 1890 and 1899. A road in the Kumartuli area of Dhaka has been named after him. He died in Dhaka on 16 December 1901 and was buried in the family graveyard at Begumbazar. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BAN GLAPEDIA: Salimullah, Khwaja

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Salimullah, Khwaja (1871-1915) nawab of Dhaka, Muslim nationalist, an architect of the MUSLIM LEAGUE, patron of education. Son of Nawab KHWAJA AHSANULLAH and grandson of Nawab KHWAJA ABDUL GHANI, he was born at the AHSAN MANZIL on 7 June 1871. Following the family tradition Salimullah learnt at home Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English.

In 1893 he entered government service as a Deputy Magistrate. But in 1895 he left the job and started business at Mymensingh. Following his father's death in 1901 Salimullah, as the eldest surviving son, became the head of the DHAKA NA WAB ESTATE and inherited the hereditary title of'Nawab'.

Nawab Salimullah got involved in politics in 1903-04 by way of giving opinion on the government's plan for the PARTITION OF BENGAL.

Khwaja Salimullah

On 11 January 1904 he opposed certain aspects of the partition plan in an assemblage of Hindu and Muslim leaders at Ahsan Manzil, Viceroy LORD CURZON, while on a tour of East Bengal, accepted Nawab Salimullah's hospitality on 18-19 February 1904. As a result of their discussion some changes took place in the partition plan. The partition came into effect on 16 October 1905 and Dhaka became the capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. This increased Nawab Salimullah's prestige. He played a very important role in creating public opinion in favour of the new province in the face of strong opposition of the INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS.

On the very day of the creation of the new province Salimullah presided over a meeting in NORTHBROOK HALL where Muslim leaders from all over East

---------.-Bengal assem5led~rom mis meeting emerged a political-frontcalled---------~······~···~

'Mohammedan Provincial Union', which became an important political platform

of Bengal Muslims in those days. Salimullah, along with his companions,

organised public meetings in the mofussil towns to generate public opinion in

favour of the new province. On the other hand, the Congress built up a strong

movement against it. In 1906 Salimullah organised the 'East Bengal and Assam

Provincial Educational Conference' and, at its first convention at Shahbag,

Dhaka, on 14 and 15 April the same year, he was chosen its president.

In 1906 Salimullah planned to create an all-India political party called 'Muslim

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BANGLAPEDIA: Salirnullah, Khwaja

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All India Confederacy'. The plan was despatched to various leaders and bodies throughout the subcontinent for consideration and was published in newspapers and periodicals. On the other hand, he got the consent of leaders connected with the Aligarh Movement to convene the 20th meeting of the All India Mohammedan Educational Conference at Dhaka entirely at his own cost. From 27 to 30 December 1906 over two thousand learned people including all-Indian Muslim leaders gathered at the nawab's family garden-house in Shahbag. This cost him over six lakh rupees. On 30 December, the last day of the convention, the 'All India Muslim League' was formed. Salimullah was made its vicepresident and a member of the committee for framing its constitution. The All Bengal Muslim League was founded the same year at a meeting of Muslim leaders from both Bengals in Calcutta, and he was made its president. In 1908 he established the 'East Bengal and Assam Provincial Muslim League' and himself became its secretary.

On 27 December 1908, the 22nd Convention of the All India Mohammedan Educational Conference was held at Amritasr with Nawab Salimullah in the chair. In the conference of the All India Muslim League at the same place on 30-31 December he demanded separate elections for Muslims and called on concerned authorities to allow political discussion in educational institutions. To maintain cordial relations between Hindus and Muslims in the new province he gathered wealthy and respectable persons from both communities to form the 'Imperial League of Eastern Bengal and Assam' on 21 March 1909. Also in this year he restructured the provincial Muslim League and himself took the responsibility of its president.

On 15 and 17 March 1911 Nawab Salimullah presided over a meeting at Ahsan Manzil where it was decided that both provincial Muslim League and Provincial Educational Conference would be maintained and political activities would be conducted through the first organisation, while the second would serve as medium of educational activities and works of public welfare. On 19 August a function was held at the CURZON HALL to bid farewell to Lieutenant Governor LANCELOT HARE of East Bengal and Assam and welcome his successor, Mr Bailey, where Salimullah demanded that a university and a high court be established at Dhaka. He was severely shocked, as George V annulled the Partition of Bengal at the darbar of Delhi on 12 December 1911. On 20 December he submitted an 8-point demand to Viceroy LORD HARDINGE for the protection of Muslim interest. When Lord Hardinge came to visit Dhaka in January 1912 Muslim leaders led by Nawab Salimullah put forward their demands to him on the 31 st. On that very day establishment of a university at Dhaka and appointment of an education officer for Muslims were pledged. It was due to Salimullah's efforts that Islamic Studies Department was included in the plan of Dhaka University.

On 2 March 1912 a meeting of the Muslim leaders of united Bengal was held at Dalhosie Institute at Calcutta with Salimullah in the chair. At this meeting the

~~~~~-~--~~--~----~----two-separate-Muslim-Leagues-of~two-Berrgals~were-amalgamated-into-the~-------- -~--

'Presidency Muslim League' and Salimullah was chosen its president. Similarly

in the same meeting the two Muslim Associations of two Bengals were put

together to fOlm 'Bengal Presidency Muslim Association'. He was made

president of this organisation too. In his presidential speech at the All India

Muslim League Conference held in Calcutta on 3-4 March 1912 he strongly

countered the arguments of those who opposed the creation of Dhaka

University. He explained the necessity of separate elections for Muslims and

demanded proportional quota for them in public services. In 1912 when Turkish

Muslims were in great danger due to the Balkan wars Nawab Salimullah

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BANGLAPEDIA: Salimullah, Khwaja

collected huge amount of donations from East Bengal and sent the money to assist them. But in 1914 when Turkey sided with Germany in the First World War, he went against them and extended his support to the Allied Powers. In 1914 he arranged a convention of Muslim Education Conference of united Bengal on 11-12 April and the Muslim League Convention on 13 April. Right after this, he practically retired from active politics.

In 1908 Nawab Salimullah had been nominated member of Women's Education Committee of East Bengal and Assam. He was also a member in the committee formed by the Government in 1909 to reform education. On the basis of the Committee's recommendations, and also due to Salimullah's sincere efforts, the Government introduced in 1915 the plan for modern Madrasa education.

Nawab Salimullah was a philanthropic person. He used to contribute generously to socio-economic development activities. He donated in 1902 one lakh twelve thousand rupees that had been promised by his father for the establishment of Dhaka Engineering School (now BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY). He patronised projects in the agricultural and industrial sectors; and also for the construction of mosques, madras as, hospital, and student dormitories as well as other works of social upliftment. He used to arrange exhibitions to promote development of Dhaka handicrafts. His efforts gave this industry a new life. He was a member of the Committee formed by the East Bengal Government in 1909 in order to promote development of handicrafts.

Nawab Salimullah was a member of East Bengal and Assam Legislative Assembly (1906-12) and of the Imperial Council and also of the United Bengal Legislative Assembly (1913-15). The British government conferred on him the titles of CSI (1902), Nawab Bahadur (1903), KCSI (1909), and GCSI (1911). Personally he was honest, courageous and pious. He established a night school at Dhaka, developed the PANCHA YET SYSTEM of the city, and popularised the observance of Miladunnabi and Fateha-i-Doaz Daham. He incurred heavy debts due to unlimited expenditure for public welfare works and politics.

After the annulment of the partition of Bengal, Salimullah was struck with a deep sense of disappointment and fell seriously ill. He died on 16 January 1915 in his house at Chaurangi, Calcutta. His body was brought to Dhaka in state honour and was buried in the family graveyard at Begam Bazar. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Atiqullah, Khwaja

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AtiqulIah, Khwaja (1876-1945) philanthropist and a man of liberal, progressive and secular ideas. The third son of Nawab AHSANULLAH (1846- 1901), he was born on 26 July 1876 and received liberal education under the care of British teachers. Along with English he became quite proficient in Persian and Urdu.

Khwaja Atiqullah was well known for

his philanthropic activities. He

contributed generously for the

advancement of education in the country. In 1911 he donated one thousand rupees to the Aligarh University Fund. He was often in debt for his charitable acts. His name is associated with one of the benevolent works performed by his father. The nawab commemorated the marriage ceremony of Atiqullah (7 December 1901) by donating four lakhs rupees for the electrification of the city of Dhaka.

Khwaja Atiqullah

Fond of sports, hunting, poetry and music Atiqullah provided financial support for organising the Hockey Tournament named after him which was regularly held during his lifetime and remained so for a considerable period even after his death. He could play the violin with great perfection. Sociable and affable by nature he frequently held musical soirees at his residence in Dilkusha Gardens and invited Qawals and singers from Lucknow and other places. Eminent citizens of Dhaka attended these socio-cultural events which provided a grand opportunity to the elite of the city to meet, interact and exchange ideas on different relevant issues concerning the society.

Tfie moststriK:ing -feature oCfiiscfiaracter was that n:e--ilurtured riberal and---- .---- -

progressive ideas. He was completely secular in outlook and was above any

communal bias. He was one of the very few members of the Nawab family of

Dhaka who supported the secular policies of the INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

and remained a member of this organisation till the last day of his life. He

opposed the 1905 PARTITION OF BENGAL, which was supported with great

passion and intensity by his brother Nawab Khwaja SALIMULLAH. Atiqullah

presided over several anti-Partition meetings held in Dhaka and other places.

He also sent a memorandum to the Government of India on 31 December 1906,

praying for a 'reconsideration of the Partition of Bengal'.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Atiqullah, Khwaja

At the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress (1906) Atiqullah moved a resolution denouncing the Partition and opined that the Mussalmans of Eastern Bengal, as a body, were not in favour of the Partition, Regarding the Hindu-Muslim relations he shared the view of Syed Ahmed Khan to the effect that the 'Mahomedans' and the Hindus were the two eyes ofIndia.

The annulment of the Partition (12 December 1911) made the Muslims of Bengal sorely disappointed and Salimullah convened a meeting of the leading Muslims of Bengal on 30 December 1911 to consider the situation and ventilate their feelings. Banister Abdur RASUL, and Khwaja Atiqullah, among others, attended the meeting. Though the two had initially opposed the Partition they now came to realise that the Partition had given the Muslims of East Bengal and Assam some rare advantages that were previously denied to them, particularly in the field of education. At this meeting Khwaja Atiqullah proposed the inclusion of Sylhet in the Presidency of Bengal. This was quite realistic considering the language, system ofland tenure etc of the district.

Atiqullah had a continuous under-current of discord with his brothers over property. It surfaced prominently after Salimullah's death on 16 January 1915, because only a week before his death Salimullah appointed his eldest son (Khwaja HABIBULLAH) the Mutawalli of their ancestral property. Atiqullah did not accept the decision, filed a suit with the court claiming that he was the actual designated Mutawalli, but he lost the suit.

It was not family dispute but his strong political belief that had led Atiqullah to support the ideology of the Indian National Congress. He remained a staunch follower of the Congress till the last day of his life.

The eventful life of Khwaja Atiqullah came to an end in January 1945. He was survived by several sons and two daughters. His eldest daughter Farhat Banu was married to his nephew Khwaja SHAHABUDDIN (1898-1977), who was closely associated with the University of Dhaka and politics of the country. [Sufia Ahmed]




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BANGLAPEDIA: Habibullah, Khwaja

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Habibullah, Khwaja (1895-1958) nawab of Dhaka, politician and social worker. Khwaja Habibullah was born on 26 April at the Dhaka Nawab House. Nawab Sir Khwaja SALlMULLAH was his father. As a young boy khawja Habibullah attended the St. Paul School at Darjeeling and later was educated in England.

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On his father's death in 1915 he, as the eldest son, assumed leadership of the family and got the 'Nawab' title. In 1918 he joined the Bengali Platoon of the British Army and was sent to Mesopotamia as an honorary lieutenant. He was a member of Dhaka University Court, Dhaka District Board, Dhaka Municipality and president of the Dhaka Anjuman-i-Islamia, As chief of the panchiiyet of Dhaka he had extensive influence over the mahalla leaders. At the time of any communal riot Habibullah would form a peace committee taking members from both Hindu and Muslim communities and tackle the situation courageously.

Khwaja Habibullah

Nawab Habibullah actively participated in the KHILAFAT MOVEMENT. He was made president of the first Dhaka Khilafat Committee on 20 December 1919 at AHSAN MANZIL. He felicitated Maulana Shaukat Ali (1873-1938) and MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD at Ahsan Manzil on 2 March 1920. He presided over the Khilafat Committee's meeting held at Meerat (India) in the same month. Despite his support for the Khilafat Movement Habibullah was unwilling to oppose the British. He was also not in favour of boycotting educational institutions on the part of the Muslims in view of their backwardness in all respects. He was a member of the first central legislature as reformed under 1919 Act. He also represented Dhaka City to the Bengal Legislative Council from 1924 to 1932.

~~_~ LLL,0.rder.J.o_ensm~e_Iepn:~s~eJ1tation of various minority communities in the future government of India, the British government passed the Communal Award proposal in 1932. The Hindu Mahasabha opposed it but Khwaja Habibullah and Muslim leaders welcomed it. A conference of Muslims was held in Delhi on 24 March 1935 to support the Communal Award. Habibullah presided over this conference. He was president of Bengal Muslim League and a member of the Executive Committee of the All India MUSLIM LEAGUE. On 25 May 1936 the United Muslim League was formed in Calcutta under Nawab Habibullah's leadership. Later, it was amalgamated with the All India Muslim League. In 1936 he was nominated president of the Bengal Muslim League Parliamentary

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Board. He was a Minster in the cabinet of AK Fazlul Huq and held different portfolios from 1937 to 1941. He joined Huq's second Ministry disregarding the directives of the League high command and held the ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. Consequently, he remained suspended from the League for 5 years and returned to the party in 1946.

Habibullah contested for the Provincial Assembly in 1946 general election as an independent candidate from Dhaka Muslim constituency but suffered defeat at the hands of Muslim League candidate Khwaja Khairuddin. He also lost in the Brahmanbaria constituency. After the partition of 1947 he become vice-president of East Pakistan Muslim League and member of Muslim League's Central Executive Committee.

During his time the Dhaka Nawab Estate went under the control of the Court of Wards and the Nawab became a mere puppet. Even the waqfestate and private lands fell into mismanagement. Given to sensual pleasures, Habibullah took several wives and this was a matter of gossip in the society.

In his closing days he gave up politics due to broken health. He left his ancestral palace and resided in a house called "Green House" in the Paribag area of Dhaka where he died on 21 November in 1958. He was buried by the side of his father in Begum Bazar family graveyard. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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Banglapedia in Bengali Yusuf Jan, Khwaja (1850-1923) a member of the Dhaka nawab family, a

social worker, and a pro-people leader. Khwaja Yusuf Jan was born in Dhaka

on 21 January 1850. Following the family tradition, he learnt Arabic, Urdu, and

Persian as well as English from private tutors. He was a member of the Dhaka Municipality from 1884 to 1923, either elected or nominated. He was the Chairman of Dhaka Municipality from 1897 to 1901, Vice-Chairman from

1901 to 1905, and again Chairman from 1905 to 1916. He was the ViceChairman of Dhaka District Board from 1897 to 1905 and Chairman from 1921-1923. Khwaja Yusuf Jan was a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, a post that he held for a long time since 1907, as a representative of

the municipalities of Dhaka Division. He was Honorary Magistrate of Dhaka

for 28 years. The contribution that he made towards the improvement of the

water works and sewerage system of Dhaka City is remembered even today.

In 1883, Khwaja Yusuffounded the 'Mohammedan Association' to organise the Muslims of Dhaka. On 16 October, 1905, the day of the 'Partition of Bengal', a meeting of the Muslim leaders of the surrounding region was convened at the Northbrook Hall in Dhaka under the leadership of Nawab Salimullah. In this meeting the Mohammedan Association was renamed 'Mohammedan Provincial Union'. This was the first political platform of the Muslims of Bengal and Khwaja Yusuf was made its secretary. Later, he presided over the meeting of the provincial Muslim League that was held in Dhaka on 16 October 1910. He also presided over the meeting that was convened to stage agitation against the Repeal of the PARTITION OF BENGAL.

Yusuf Jan was associated with organisations such as the All India MUSLIM LEAGUE, the Executive Committee of the Bengal Land Holders' Association, East India Association-London, Dhaka Mitford Hospital Managing Committee, Jagannath College Governing Body, Dhaka Madrasa Managing Committee, Executive Committee of the Northbrook Hall and Library, Standing Committee for the appointment of Qazis, Managing Committee of the Dhaka Orphanage and the Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, Lunatic Asylum (Dhaka) and Ahsanullah Engineering School Committee, In addition, he was the secretary of the Managing Committee of Lady Duffrein Hospital, Dhaka, and a visitor of the Dhaka Central Jail.

In recognition of his services to the people the British Government awarded him a Certificate of Honour in 1903 and the titles of Khan Bahadur in 1904 and Nawab in 1910. The Municipality of Dhaka named a market after him at Naya Bazar in 1913. Nawab Mohammad Yusuf Jan died on 8 November 1923 and lies buried at Begumbazar in the family graveyard of the nawabs of Dhaka.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Afzal, Khwaja Muhammad

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Afzal, Khwaja Muhammad (1875-7) poet and writer belonging to the Khwaja family of DHAKA. Son of Khwaja Yusuf, Muhammad Afzal was formally educated in PERSIAN and English. He became a disciple of Syed Mahmud Azad, another noted poet from Dhaka. He adopted the literary name 'Afzal' and wrote poetry in both Persian and URDU. He wrote a Diwan, a collection of poetry in Persian, and a number of GHAZALs in Urdu. His language is smooth and mellifluous. He was a skilful versifier and was an expert in the use of the abjad system to memorialise dates and historical events in verse. These historical verses were compiled in three volumes. Gam-e-ma-paikar, composed on the occasion of the death of KHWAJA AHSANULLAH, uses the abjad system. Khwaja Afzal maintained a diary regularly, and his diaries from 1895 to 1933 are now preserved in the Dhaka University Library, [Abu Musa Mohammad ArifBillah]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Nazimuddin, Khwaja

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Nazimuddin, Khwaja (1894-1964) politician, Prime Minister of undivided Bengal and Govemor General and Prime Minister of Pakistan. Son of Khwaja Nizamuddin and Nawabzadi Bilkis Banu, his patemal grand father was Khwaja Fakhruddin and matemal grand father was Nawab Khwaja AHSANULLAH.

Khwaja Nazimuddin received education from a house tutor in his adolescence and then at Aligarh College and Danstable Grammar School in London. He completed MA from Trinity Hall in Cambridge and Bar at Law from Middle Temple.

As chairman of the Dhaka Municipality during the years 1922 to 1929 Khwaja Nazimuddin took initiative to introduce compulsory primary education in the municipal area. At that time he was a member of the Executive Council of Dhaka University.

Khwaja Nazimuddin

He was elected a member of Bengal Legislative Assembly from Barisal (Muslim) constituency in 1923, 1926 and 1929 and was the Education Minister of undivided Bengal from 1929 to June 1934. He took active part in passing the Compulsory Primary Education Bill in 1930. From 1934 to 1936 he was a member of the Executive Council of the Govemment of Bengal. He took initiative for the enactment of 'Bangiya Rin Salishi Board' Bill in 1935 and 'Bangiya Palli Unnayan' Bill in 1936.

In the election of 1937 Khwaja Nazimuddin, a MUSLIM LEAGUE candidate, was defeated by AK FAZLUL HUO, the KRISHAK PRAIA PARTY leader, in the Patuakhali constituency. But later on he won from the North Calcutta constituency vacated by HUSEYN SHAHEED SUHRAWARDY. He assisted MOHAMMED ALI IINNAH in reorganising the Muslim League and became known as a high ranking party leader. In 1937 he was appointed Home Minister in

~~ ~ ~Huq~s-coalition_ministry.~0li-LDecember.J94l.-heJesigne~froill-the_cabineL- _

because of dissension between Huq and Jinnah. During the Shyama-Huq

coalition (1942 to 1943) he acted as the Leader of the Opposition. On 24 April

1943 Muslim League formed the ministry with Nazimuddin as the Prime

Minister on the fall of Shyama- Haque coalition on 28 March 1943. He also held

the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Cabinet was dissolved on 28 March 1945. He

was a member of the Indian delegation to the Food Conference held in the

United State in 1945 and represented India at the United Nations meeting held in

Geneva in 1946. He was a member of the all India Muslim League Working

Committee from 1937 to 1947.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Nazimuddin, Khwaja

Khwaja Nazimuddin was appointed Chief Minister of East Bengal after the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. On the death ofJinnah on 11 September 1948, he became the Governor General of Pakistan. With a conservative outlook he could hardly keep pace with the progressive leaders. His mother tongue was Urdu and Bangla was least known to him. In 1948 he signed an agreement with the leaders of 'Rashtrabhasa Sangram Parishad' with a commitment to continue his efforts to make Bangla the other state language of Pakistan together with Urdu. But due to pressure from the leaders of West Pakistan he failed to implement it.

When LIAQUAT ALI KHAN was assassinated on 16 October 1951, Khwaja Nazimuddin took over the additional charge of the Prime Minister on 17 October. On the appointment of Golam Mohammad, Finance Secretary of the central government, as the Governor General, Nazimuddin took over the full responsibility of the Prime Minister on 24 October 1951. The following month he was elected a member of Pakistan Constituent Assembly and on 16 November he was selected as the President of Muslim League.

In 1952 he publicly declared that Urdu alone shall be the state language of Pakistan. This aroused vehement criticism and he became highly unpopular in East Bengal. On 17 April 1953 President Golam Mohammad dismissed Khwaja Nazimuddin and invited Mohammad Ali of Bogra to form the ministry. In June 1953 Nazimuddin resigned from the post of President of Muslim League and kept himself aloof from active politics. In 1963, however, he returned to politics and became the President of Pakistan Council Muslim League.

Khwaja Nazimuddin was an enthusiastic sportsman and sports organiser. He was the President of Mohammedan Sporting Club in Calcutta from 1935 to 1946 and President ofIndian Hockey Federation from 1938 to 1940.

During his stay in England as a student he earned reputation as a good tennis and football player. He was President of Salimullah Muslim Orphanage. Under his auspices Star of India, the first English newspaper from Calcutta under Muslim ownership was published in 1932. He founded the City Muslim Traders Council in Calcutta.

Three leaders' mausoleum (AK Fazlul Huq,

HS Suhrawardy, Khwaja

The titles of CIE and KCIE were conferred on him in 1926 and 1934 respectively and he gave up these titles in 1946 on political considerations. In 1958 he was awarded the title of Nishan-i-Pakistan. He was extremely polite and profoundly religious. He was married to Shah Banu, daughter of Khwaja Ashraf in 1924. He died on 22 October 1964 and lies buried beside the graves of Fazlul Huq and Suhrawardi. Their mausoleum is known as the 'Mazar of Three National Leaders'.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Shahabuddin, Khwaja

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Shahabuddin, Khwaja (1898-1977) politician and a diplomat, was born on 31 May 1898. Shahabuddin was the son of Khwaja Nizamuddin, a zamindar and also' a commissioner of Dhaka Municipality. His maternal grandfather was Nawab Sir KHWAJA AHSANULLAH. He learnt Arabic, Persian, Urdu & English from a private tutor and also became a Hajiz-e-Quran. He married Farhat Banu, a daughter ofNawabzada KHWAJA ATIQULLAH, in 1915.

Khwaja Shahabuddin acted as adviser to NA WAH HABIBULLAH, the son and successor of Nawab KHWAJA SALIMULLAH. He was a commissioner of Dhaka Municipality from 1918 to 1921. In 1921 he became a member of Dhaka District Board and was its chairman from 1923 to 1924. At that time he constructed the Dhaka-Narayanganj road. He was president of Dhaka District Muslim League (1928-1944), a member of the Executive council of the Governor of Bengal (1936) and the Treasurer of the Dhaka University (1930-1938).

Khwaja Shahabuddin

Khwaja Shahabuddin was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1937 from Narayanganj constituency and his wife, Farhat Banu was elected to the Assembly in the Muslim Women seat from Dhamrai. He was the Chief Whip of the government party from 1937 to 1941 when AK FAZLUL HUQ formed Ministry in Bengal. He was a Minister of Commerce, Labour and Industry of Bengal in the Muslim League government of KHWAJA NAZlMUDDIN (1943 to 1945). He took active part in the Pakistan movement and was the Chief Whip of Pakistan National Assembly in 1947. In 1948 he got the portfolios of the Ministries of Home affairs, Information and Broadcasting in the Central Government of Pakistan. In 1951 he was appointed governor of the North-West Frontier Province.

In 1954 he was Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia with additional charge of Yemen. In 1958 he was Ambassador of Pakistan to Egypt. He was concurrently High Commissioner of Pakistan to Nigeria and Ambassador to Cameroon, Senegal, Togo and Sierra Leon from 1961 to 1964. In 1964 he led delegations to different countries with a mission to highlight Pakistan's attitude towards Kashmir. He led the Pakistan delegation to the International Seminar on Human Rights held in Kabul in the same year. From 1965 to 1969 he was the central Minister of Information and Broadcasting under Ayub Khan and was criticised by the Bengalis for imposing bar on the broadcasting of Tagore songs over Radio and Television. He died on Wednesday 9 February 1977 in Karachi at the age of 79 and was laid to rest in a public graveyard. [Mohammad

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BANGLAPEDIA: Shahabuddin, Khwaja

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BANGLAPEDIA: Haider Jan Shayek, Khwaja

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Haider Jan Shayek, Khwaja (19th century) URDU and PERSIAN poet belonging to the DHAKA Nawab family. His original name was Fayezuddin; Shayek was his takhallus or pen name. His father, Khwaja Khalilullah, was an influential member of the Nawab family.

Haider Jan could compose verses both in Urdu and Persian with equal expertise. He was a disciple of Ghalib, the famous Urdu poet from Delhi, who named him 'Tutiye Bangala' (Parrot of Bengal). His Urdu poetry is compiled in a Divan. HAKIM HABIBUR RAHMAN compiled the correspondence between Mirza Ghalib and Haider Jan in Inshaye Shayek. [Abu Musa Mohammad Arif Billah]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Daria-i-Noor

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Daria-i-Noor a famous diamond, belongs to the grandeur of Kohinoor, and is the largest and most precious jewel stone to be found in Bangladesh. It has an oblong table shaped surface. It is set in the centre of a gold armlet with ten oval shaped smaller diamonds around it. The main diamond is 26 carats, while the others are 5 carats each, amounting to a total of 76 carats. Being Indian, it is absolutely perfect in lustre. It is believed that like the Kohinoor this one too was quarried in a south Indian mine.

For a long time Daria-iNoor was in the possession of Maratha kings before it was purchased by the ancestors of Nawab Sirajul Mulk of Hydarabad for one lac thirty thousand takas. Afterwards, like the Kohinoor, it went to the possession of a Persian emperor.

Daria-i-Noor

The diamond got its name while it was in Persia. At last Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab, captured it. When the British subdued Punjab in 1849, the EAST INDIA COMPANY acquired many valuable things from the treasury of Maharaj Dilip Singh, including the Kohinoor and Daria-i-Noor. At that time the price of Daria-i-Noor was estimated at Tk 63,000. The Kohinoor was presented to Queen Victoria. Other jewels and pearls remained with the company. In 1850 a substantial number of jewels, including the Daria-i-Noor were sent to London for display, along with the Kohinoor, in the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park, organised in honour of Queen Victoria.

Since the exhibits did not get the expected price it was decided that they would be sent back to India to be sold in an auction. On behalf of the British government Hamilton and Company of Calcutta auctioned the jewellry in November 1852. At that time Khwaja ALlMULLAH purchased the Daria-i-Noor for Tk 75 thousand. The nawabs of Dhaka used it in an atmlet; -it coula-ifsofie used as an ornament on the turban.

The nawab of Dhaka published an album containing information and photographs of the notable jewels in his collection with the help of Hamilton and Company. In that album, the Daria-i-Noor appears. In 1887 Viceroy Lord DUFFERIN and Lady Dufferin came to the Nawab's house at Baliganj in Calcutta and saw the diamond. The price of Daria-i-Noor was estimated at Tk five lacs in 1908 when Nawab SALIMULLAH mortgaged it to get loan from the government. Nawab Salimullah wanted to sell the diamond for repaying the

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BANGLAPEDIA: Daria-i-Noor

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loan. Accordingly, it was sent to England in 1911 under the supervision of Hamilton and Company. The diamond could not attract Europeans and the value did not go beyond 1500 pounds. Against this backdrop the diamond was recalled and was kept in Calcutta up to 1948 under the custody of the said company.

In 1912 Emperor George V and Queen Mary saw the diamond while visiting Calcutta. Following the death of Salimullah, the custody of the diamond went to the Chief Manager of Dhaka Nawab Court of Wards Estates. After the creation of Pakistan it was transferred from Calcutta and deposited in the Dhaka branch of Imperial Bank of India. Presently it is preserved in a vault of SONALI BANK. An examination by experts in 1985 testified the genuineness of the diamond.

[Mohammad Alamgir]

Bibliography Marchioness of Dufferin & Ava, Our Viceregal life in India, London, 1890; Illustrated Album of Oriental Jewellery from Dhaka Nawabs Collection, Calcutta; Bhai Nahar Shing & KirpaJ Shing (ed), History of Kohinoor, Darya-i-Noor & Taimur's Ruby, 1985; Old Documents and Records, Deposited in Dhaka Nawab Court of Wards & Wakf Estate Office.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ahsan Manzil

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Ahsan Manzil situated at Kumartoli of Dhaka on the bank of the Buriganga, was the residential palace and the kachari of the nawabs of DHAKA. It has been turned into a museum recently. It was said to be the Rang Mahal of Sheikh Enayetullah, a zamindar of Jamalpur pargana (Barisal) during the time of the Mughals. Having purchased it from his son Matiullah, the FRENCH made it their trading centre. Khwaja ALIMULLAH bought it from the French in 1830 and converted it into his residence, effecting necessary reconstruction and renovations. Nawab Khwaja Abdul GHANI engaged Martin & Company, a European construction and engineering finn, to make a master plan for their residence.

The construction of the palace was begun in 1859 and completed in 1872. Abdul Ghani named it Ahsan Manzil after his son Khwaj a AHSANULLAH. At that time the newly built palace was known as Rang Mahal and the earlier one was called Andar Mahal. On April 7, 1888, a terrible tomado caused severe damage to Ahsan Manzil, particularly the Andar Mahal that was entirely damaged. Nawab Ahsanullah rebuilt the Andar Mahal and also repaired the Rang Mahal using good quality bricks from Raniganj for this purpose. The exquisite dome of the present Rang Mahal was interposed. Ahsan Manzil was badly damaged again by the earthquake of 12 June 1897. However, Nawab Ahsanullah had it repaired again.

Ahsan Manzil is one of the significant architectural monuments of the country. Established on a raised platform of 1 metre, the two-storied palace measures 125.4m by 28.75m. The height of the ground floor is 5 metres and that of the first floor 5.8 metres. There are porticos of the height of the ground floor, both on the northern and southern sides of the palace. An open spacious stairway has come down from the southem portico, extending upto the bank of the river through the front garden. There was once a fountain in the garden in front of the stairs, though it does not exist today. The spacious north and south verandas of both the floors rest on semicircular arches. The verandas and rooms are covered with marble.

To construct the dome of Ahsan Manzil, the square room on the ground floor was given a round shape with brickwork in the comers. The room was then given an octagonal shape near the roof by squinches. This octagonal shape took the f01ID of the drum of the dome. Finally, the kumud kali (buds of lotus)

~-----"-"-----~--------"---shaped-d0me-was-e0nstmeted-by-gFadually--slanting-the-eight-comers-to-the-----""--------~--peak. The dome is 27.13 m high from the ground.

Internally, the palace is divided into two symmetrical halves on either side of the dome. There is a large drawing room in the east wing of the first floor. On its

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BANGLAPEDIA: AhsanManzil

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northern side there is a library and a card room, and in the eastem corner there are four square rooms.

Ahsan Manzil

On the westem wing of the first floor there is a spacious Jalsaghar with a Hindustani room on the northem side and four square rooms in the westem comer. The vaulted artificial ceilings, made of wood, in the drawing room and the Jalsaghar, look very exquisite. The floors of these two rooms are made of wooden planks. On the ground floor there is a big dinning hall and six square rooms in the eastem part. In the westem side, there is a gigantic darbar hall and to its north is a billiard room.

The floors of the dining and darbar halls are decorated with white, green and yellow coloured ceramic tiles. The famous strong room, where the valuables of the nawabs used to be stored, was in the middle of the five rooms located in the westem half of the ground floor.

There are attractive wooden stairs in the room that is attached to the north of the domed room. The balusters were omamented with vine leaves made of iron along the railing of the stairs. The wooden ceiling of the room, decorated with geometric designs, is very elegant. A visitor's book bound in gold used to be kept by the stairs during the halcyon days of the nawabs. Distinguished visitors to the palace would note down their observations.

The thickness of the walls of the palace is about 0.78 metres. The doorways are placed within semicircular arches. The inner doors had multi-coloured glasses and the exterior ones were of wood with designs. Wooden beams supported the roof of these rooms.

The height of the two-storeyed inner house is less than the height of the Rang Mahal. Nevertheless, the wide southem verandas on both floors and the parapet on top offer a delicate look that is in harmony with the Rang Mahal. Iron beams have been used in constructing the roof.

Ahsan Manzil, an architectural treasure, is a witness to many historical events of Bangladesh. From the last pari of the 19th century to the initial years of Pakistan, the Muslim leadership of East Bengal emerged from this palace. The

------.-.awabs--of-Dhaka-used-to-conduct-their-coUli-affairs-here--as-chief-of-the-·· ..... _.-.--. --------

panchayet (village council) everyday. Many anti-Congress meetings were held

here under the patronisation ofNawab Ahsanullah, a staunch believer in Muslim

identity. Almost all the Viceroys, Govemors and Lieutenant Govemors of

British India who visited Dhaka spent some time at the Ahsan Manzil. .

In 1874, Lord NORTHBROOK, Govemor General of India attended an evening function here in the palace when he came to lay the foundation of a water works installed by Nawab Abdul Ghani. In 1888, Lord DUFFERIN also accepted the hospitality offered at Ahsan Manzil. In 1904 Lord CURZON, on a visit to East

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Bengal, stayed in this palace on 18 and 19 February to win public support for the proposed PARTITION OF BENGAL.

Almost all political activities of Nawab Khwaja SALLIMULLAH centred round this palace. Ahsan Manzil was the cradle of the ALL INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE. With the decline of the nawabs of Dhaka, Ahsan Manzil also started to decline. When in 1952 the Dhaka Nawab State was acquired under the East Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, it became impossible for the successors of the nawabs to maintain the palace due to financial constraints. Nawab Khwaja HABIBULLAH started living at Paribag Green House soon after the acquisition of the zamindari. The palace was on the verge of collapse in no time as successors rented out rooms without considering its dignity. Over the years illegal occupants turned the place into a filthy slum.

Recognising the historical and architectural importance of the Ahsan Manzil, the government of Bangladesh took the initiative to renovate it. In 1985 Ahsan Manzi! and its surroundings were acquired. After the completion of the renovation work in 1992 under the supervision of the Directorate of Public Works and Architecture, it was brought under the control of BANGLADESH NATIONAL MUSEUM (20 September 1992). A museum has been established there. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Dilkusha

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Dilkusha an are adjacent to the present Bangabhaban in Dhaka. It is now a commercial place. The area was once adorned with a Rang Mahal built by Mirza Mohammad. A big canal, later on turned into a lake and known as Motijheel, used to run through it. With the passage of time, the whole area came to be known by that name. Mil' Mukim, the Daroga of Mil' Jumla's naval force, had his residence in the area to the west of the Bangabhaban.

In 1866, Nawab ABDUL GHANI purchased the land in the western part of the garden from one E F Smith and made a splendid garden-house there for his elder son, KHW AJA AHSANULLAH. It was named Dilkhusha (heart pleasing).

Dilkusha Palace

In 1877, Nawab Ahshanullah extended it on the north by taking lease of 15 bighas of land from the Dhaka Municipality. It may be mentioned here that at the same time he built COMPANY BAGAN, a park at Paltan, by taking lease of 80 bighas of land from the government.

The Dilkusha garden-house was fortified with a wall round it. The most attractive residence in the area was a red coloured palace. Nawab Ahshanullah spent a large part of his life in this grand palace. In 1888 he and his family members had to stay here for about three years because AHSAN MANZIL was badly damaged by a terrible tornado.

Subsequently, he presented the palace to his daughter Maher Banu and his son-in-law Khan

there. In Nawab Ahshanullah had a large pond dug on the southern side of the

garden-house, which

known as Dana Dighi.

Bulbulaiya Tower, Dilkusha

An exquisite room for relaxation, Hawakhana, was built on the brick-built ghat

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of the pond. 'Manuk House', a large and gorgeous palace was built at a distance from it. The Dilkusha Garden was decorated with a serpentine lake, various kinds of fountains, square water tanks with fishes of different colours, various species of indigenous and exotic trees, and fruit and flower plants. An exquisite tower 'Bulbulaiya' was the central attraction in the palace premises. A pretty bungalow was constructed on an artificial hill (120 feet high) in the area. On the northern part of the garden, Baraduari, was a drawing room, open on all sides and adorned with marble floors. Near it and in the middle of a garden was an octagonal marble kiosk.

In the artificial lake located near the entrance a number of crocodiles were kept. Next to it was a playground. Besides playing there, the members of the nawab family used to arrange kite-flying competitions in the winter. Later on, a number of one-storeyed buildings were constructed in the vicinity of the northern boundary wall of Dilkusha Garden,

The Dilkusha area was famous for two illustrious saints. The mosque of 'Dakhini Shahib', located in the RAJUK premises, was on the northern side of the western entrance of Dilkusha Garden. Beside the grave of Shah Niamatullah in the yard of the mosque are the graves of the nawab's daughters Meher Banu and Shawkat Ara Banu, General Wasiuddin and others. SHAHJALAL DAKHINI was buried in the single-domed structure within the Bangabhaban area.

When Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal and Assam in 1905, the government took lease of the southern portion of Dilkusha Garden in order to build government offices. The northern portion remained under the possession of the nawabs. A road separated the two sides. After the abolition of zamindari in 1951, the nawab's garden house started to decay due to lack of maintenance. In the late fifties, the government and the DIT authority acquired the remaining pmi of the garden.

Many significant incidents of social, cultural, and political history of this region took place at the Dilkusha Garden House. In 1885 an Italian pundit came to Dhaka to observe the standard and condition of Sanskrit studies in this country. Nawab Abdul Ghani arranged a conference of the pundits of this country at Dilkusha Garden House on 3rd February 1885. On 21st August 1888 Nawab Ahshanullah gave a grand reception in this garden to Lt. Governor Sir Stuart Bailey, when he came to visit Dhaka. In 1891 an agricultural and industrial fair, like the one held at Shahbag, was arranged at the Dilkusha Garden on the occasion of the Christian New Year.

On 22 July 1902, a discussion between NA WAB SALILMULLAH and Governor Woodburn took place in this Garden when the

was on a visit to Dhaka.

On 18 January 1906, the wife of FULLER, the newly appointed Governor of East Bengal and Assam, arranged a reception at Dilkusha Garden in honour of the notable persons of the province.

Manuk House, Dilkusha

On 20 July 1914, Governor LORD CARMICHAEL and his wife were accorded a

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grand reception here. On 13 February 1924 Major Suhrawardy, Deputy President of the Bengal Executive Council, was accorded a reception here. In 1948 HUSEYN SHAHEED SURRA W ARDY and MAULANA ABDUL HAMID KHAN BHASANI sat together in a political discussion here in the house of Khwaja Nasrullah. [Mohammad Alamgir]

Bibliography Hakim Habibur Rahman, Asudganey Dhaka, (translated in to BangIa by Moulana Akram Faruque and Ruhul Amin Choudhury), Dhaka, 1990; Rahman Ali Taesh, Tawarikhey Dhaka, (translated in to BangIa by AMM Sharfuddin), Dhaka, 1985; Old files and documents preserved at Ahsan Manzil Museum and Nawab State's Office; Personal Diary (Urdu) of Nawab Ahshanullah preserved at Ahsan Manzil; A.H. Dani, Dacca- A Record of its Changing Fortunes, 1962; S.M. Taifoor, Glimpses of Old Dhaka, 1956; Azimusshan Haider, A City and its Civic Body, 1966; Azimusshan Haider, Dacca, History and Romance in Place Names, 1967.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Company Bagan

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Company Bagan was built by the nawabs of Dhaka on the western side of DILKUSHA and BANGABHABAN. The garden spread over the area of the present day Motiur Shishu Park, the Stadium, Baitul Mukarram, GPO and adjacent areas. In these areas, Paltan was a cantonment of EAST INDIA COMPANY. In 1840, the cantonment was shifted and the area came under the control of Dhaka Municipality. In 1874 KHWAJA AHSANULLAH, nawab of Dhaka, got permission from the governor of Bengal to establish a garden at Paltan. For that purpose the nawab took lease of 97 bighas ofland in 1876 and 99 bighas in 1877 from Dhaka Municipality. He cleared the woods of the area and turned it into a beautiful garden by planting various species of plants. The garden came to be known as Company Garden because of the earlier location of the cantonment of the Company. According to the terms and conditions of the lease agreement, the garden was kept open for the public twice a week. In 1899, this was extended to three days a week from 3 pm to 7 pm. In 1880, Nawab Ahsanullah was given more lands for laying footpaths beside the garden.

After the shifting of the cantonment, the Purana Paltan area became desolate and soon the outskirt of the Company Garden became a jungle. On 14 July 1888, Nawab Ahsanullah got approval from the Municipality to develop the adjacent areas of the garden. The area was soon transformed into a wide terrain by cleaning the copses and filling low-lying areas. Consequently, the environment of the Company Garden improved. One piece of land of this area was used as a playground.

Different species of fruit plants were also planted in the Company Garden. Often the Nawab Estate leased the fruit trees out. Inside the garden there was a one-storied building named Cha-Khana of the nawabs of Dhaka.

In 1905, when Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal and Assam, the government took permanent lease of the southern side of Company Garden and Dilkusha Garden of the Nawabs in order to build Government Offices and Courts. During the fall of the Nawabs, Company Garden lost its lustre due to lack of maintenance. Parts of the garden were sold off in course of time.

Later, various institutions were set up in almost all areas of the Company Garden, during 1960s a pmi was named 'Ayub Children Park'. Now it is known as 'Matiur Children Park'. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Paribag

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Paribag the garden-house of the nawabs of Dhaka, was situated on the northern side of SHAHBAG (Shahbag) at Dhaka. The area is still known as Paribag. In 1902 Nawab Khwaja SALIMULLAH started building it as an extension of Shahbagh. It is related that Salimullah had named the garden-house after Peyari Begum, one of his beloved wives. Many believe that it was named after Paribanu, the daughter of Nawab AHSANULLAH. A portion of Paribag was within the Gobindapur pargana, which was bought by Nawab Ahsanullah. Later on, more than 14 bighas of land was added to it, which was bought by Salimullah from a Hindu Zamindar, Ruail Babu.

The low-lying land of Paribag was full of ditches and was not used for anything. Nawab Salimullah dug many ponds here and filled some of the lowlying lands and turned the area into a garden. The water channel from Shahbagh flowed through Paribag and took a left turn to enter Ramna Park. The northern boundary wall of the Shahbagh Garden of the nawabs marked the southern side of Pari bag. Boundary walls built on the north, east, and west of Paribag secured the area. Nawab Salimullah constructed many buildings inside Paribag.

A large one-storied building named Paribag House was the most significant palace in the garden. The arcaded verandah around the building presented a beautiful view. A lovely octagonal marble canopy was erected in the middle of the open ground on the southern side of the palace. On the eastern side of the palace, a hammam was located on the bank of a big tank, on the northwestern side of which there was an artificial hill. There were other small buildings and a Hawakhana named Baraduari. Paribag was beautifully decorated with many kinds of flowers and fruit plants.

In 1905 Nawab Salimullah constructed a mosque near the western boundary wall of Paribag. Subsequent renovations have changed the character of the mosque. The expenditure of the mosque is now met from the revenue of the WaqfState of the nawabs of Dhaka.

Nawab Salimullah established a dairy farm at Paribag. Syed Abdur Rahim, a saintly person, was the supervisor of the farm. He came to be known as the Shah Shahib of Paribag. After his death in 1961 he was buried inside the khanqah. His tomb, located on the northern boundary wall of Paribag, is

venerated his followers.

After the division of the assets of the nawabs of Dhaka, most of the gardenhouse came under the possession of the successors of Nawabjadi Amina Banu and Nawabjadi Bilkis Banu. In 1952, when the government took over the Zamindary of the nawabs of Dhaka, N awab Habibullah left AHSAN MANZIL and came to Paribag. Here he built Green House, where he spent the last days of his life. The road beside BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIB MEDICAL UNIVERSITY has been named 'Nawab Habibullah Road' after him. In the Pakistan period most of the famous members of the nawab family, such as Syed A Salim (Industries Minister and Member of East Pakistan Assembly), Khwaja SHAHABUDDIN,

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BANGLAPEDIA: Paribag

Khwaja Hasan Askari, and Syed Shahib-e-Alam used to reside at Paribag rather than Ahsan Manzil, Khwaja NAZlMUDDIN and Khwaja Shahbuddin built their dwelling places on the northern side of Paribag. Some of the successors of the nawab family still reside at Pari bag. [Mohammad Alamgir]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Ramna Racecourse

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Ramna Racecourse now known as Suhrawardy Uddyan, is located at the heaIi of Dhaka city. The area is surrounded by the old HIGH COURT BUILDING and the mausoleums of the three National leaders Sher-e-Bangla AK FAZLUL HUO, KHW AZA NAZIMUDDIN and HUSEYN SHAHEED SUHRA WARDY to the south, BANGLA ACADEMY, ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, BANGLADESH NATIONAL MUSEUM, Public Library, and the Teachers Students Centre, Institute of Fine Arts and the main mosque of the UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA to the west, BIRDEM hospital, DHAKA CLUB and Dhaka Tennis Complex to the north, and the Supreme Court, the INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS, and the Ramna park to the east.

Starting joumey as Baghe-Badshahi during the Mughal rule, the area later tumed into Ramna Racecourse ground, which occupies a glorious position in the history of Bangladesh. The actual area of greater Ramna was, however, much larger than the Ramna Racecourse.

Ramna Racecourse Pavilion, Dhaka

The greater Ramna area covers Azimpur, NEW MARKET and DHANMONDI to the west, Secretariat building, Curzan Hall and Chankhar Pool to the south, Purana Paltan, Segunbagicha and Rajarbagh to the east, and Central Road, Paribagh and Eskatan to the north. One of the four police stations of Dhaka city during the British and Pakistan periods was named the Ramna police station that still operates as an important police stations of the city.

The history of Ramna starts about 1610 AD during Mughal rule, when the city of Dhaka was founded by Subedar Islam Khan under Emperor Jahangir. At that time two beautiful residential areas were developed in the northern suburb of Dhaka city. One of them, the MahalIa Chistia was named after the brother of ISLAM KHAN CHISTI, the Mughal ruler of Dhaka and the other Mahalla

_---"S=h"'"ujatP!l[,~eLShuja Khan, a military commander under Islam Khan. New residential houses, gardens, mosques, tombs and temples were built in this area during that period. After the fall of the Mughal rule, Ramna gradually lost much of its glory. There were very few references of Ramna in official documents of the EAST INDIA COMPANY. In fact, Ramna was then a barren area with bushes and abandoned and/or dilapidated buildings, old temples and tombs.

Ramna started to regain its glory since 1825, when Mr. Dowes, a British collector of Dhaka initiated a series of steps for development of the city. That year he cleared up the bushes and demolished most tombs and monuments

1 1 !1 A !'lOOO


except the Ramna Kali Mandir (temple of goddess Kali), one of the most prominent temples in Dhaka. The old mosque and tomb that now stand by the western side of old High Court building also remained untouched. The renovated area was given the name of Ramna Green and was fenced by a boundary for using it as a racecourse. The old Kali Mandir standing at the centre of the racecourse belonged to the Hindu sect Dashnami. A devotee of goddess Kali believed to have come from Nepal had established the temple. The temple was later repaired and renovated by Rani Bilasmoni Debi of Bhawal. It was totally destroyed by the Pakistani Army in the night of 25 March 1971.

The horse race became very popular in Dhaka under the patronisation of the NAWABs of Dhaka. A stable was built for the horses of the Nawabs of Dhaka at Kataban, on the northern side of Mohsin Hall, a dormitory for the students of the University of Dhaka. The Nawabs developed the racecourse area as a beautiful garden and named a part of it as Shahbagh, the royal garden. The Nawabs also set up a zoo at Ramna. In 1851, the European civil servants established the Dhaka Club on the northern corner of the racecourse and after the PARTITION OF BENGAL during LORD CURZON, Ramna was chosen to locate the governor house of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The government house subsequently became the High COUli building (old High Court). Adjacent to the High Court building, a good number of beautiful residential houses were built at Minto road area for the High COUli judges and top bureaucrats. The establishment of the University of Dhaka in Ramna in 1921 enhanced the importance of the area.

After partition of India in 1947, the Ramna area continued to occupy an important place in the history of Dhaka city. A new road from Shahbagh to the Eden Building was constructed and the eastern side of the road was developed as the Ramna Park. The zoo with a few animals and different kinds of birds were still there to the northeastern side of the present Supreme COUli building. The zoo was later shifted to its present location at Mirpur.

In 1969, a civic reception was organised at the Ramna Racecourse in honour of SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN on his release from jail and he was accorded the title Bangabandhu in the reception. A WAMI LEAGUE arranged a huge public meeting at Ramna Racecourse ground on 3 January 1971 and all the elected members of the National Assembly, in which the party owned majority, publicly took oath of not betraying the cause of the Bangali people under any circumstances.

It was again the Ramna Racecourse ground, where, at a mammoth gathering on 7 March 1971, Bangabandhu delivered his historic speech (SEVENTH MARCH ADDRESS) and virtually declared independence by saying that "the struggle this time is the struggle for freedom; the struggle this time is the struggle for independence." After nine months of the heroic WAR OF LIBERATION, the Bangali-nation--achieved-victory-and-the-Pakistani-occupation-anny-sun:endered formally at the Ramna (Suhrawardy Uddyan) on 16 December 1971, which is now observed as the Victory Day. The mammoth public meeting jointly addressed by the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 17 March 1972 was another important event that took place at Suhrawardy Uddyan. By that time, the Ramna Racecourse became an important place of public and political gathering. The huge ground, however, was converted after 1975 into a park with greens and walkways. At present, there is an entertainment zone for the children at one part of the park, attractions in which include marry-go-round, rides, play courts and food and

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With an idea to commemorate the important events that took place at Suhrwardy Uddyan and the role of the historic ground in the movements of the nation for independence, the government of Bangladesh set up an Eternal Flame at the ground in 1996. Simultaneously, the government started construction of the National Independence Tower almost adjacent to it, at the location where the Pakistan Army signed the surrender document. [Syed Sadiqur Rahman]

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BANGLAPEDIA: Urdu 13 o ~ k~it\'N R.l) U ~

and Maulana Abdul Halim Sarker. At this time Mirza Nawab Khan Dag from Delhi and Nizam Tabatabai from the Deccan migrated to Calcutta.

Fort William College played a very important role in the development of Urdu. In order to teach British officials the language, Urdu texts were developed, initially in the form of translations from Arabic and Persian texts. Mir Amman, Sher Ali Afsose and Haider Baksh Haider were entrusted with the task of translating Arabic and Persian texts into easy Urdu. Mir Amman's Bag-O-Bahar (1802), Afsose's Araish-e-Mahfil (1805) and Bag-e-Urdu and Haider Baksh Haideri's Tarikh-e-Naderi occupy an important place in Urdu literature as examples of early Urdu prose. Calcutta may thus be described as the first centre for Urdu prose. The Urdu printing press at Fort William College offered the first opportunity to publish books in Urdu in Calcutta. Jam-e-Jahan Numa, the first weekly Urdu newspaper of this subcontinent was published on 27 March 1822 from Kolkata.

The cultivation of Urdu poetry began in Dhaka in the late 18th century. MIRZA JAN TAPISH migrated from Delhi along with numerous Urdu poets, and alTived in Dhaka in about 1786 under the patronage ofNawab Shams-ud-daullah (1770- 1831). In course of time, a new trend in Urdu poetry emerged. Mirza Jan Tapish spent some ten to twelve years in Dhaka with Shams-ud-Daulla. After Shamsus- Daulla was imprisoned in Calcutta on charges of conspiracy against the British, Mirza Jan Tapish found ajob at Fort William College. He wrote a book on Urdu idioms, terminology and proverbs under the title Shamsul Bayan-jiMustalahat-e-Hindustan (1792) during his stay in Dhaka. Subsequently, the book was published from Murshidabad (1844). Fort William College published his book of Urdu poems, Kulliat (1812).

Hafez Ikram Ahmed Jaigam (d 1869), born in Rampur (or, as some suggest, Delhi) wrote poems and persuaded others to do so as well. He had disciples in many places in Bengal. Special mention may also be made of Abdul Ghafur Nassakh (Faridpur), Mahmud Azad (Dhaka), Khwaja Abdul Gaffar Akhter (Dhaka), Hafez Rashidunnabi Wahshat (Calcutta) and Hakim Ashraf Ali Mast (Sylhet). Although Aga Ahmad Ali Ispahani (1839-1883) was primarily a Persian writer, he also studied Urdu and wrote Risala-e-Mukhtaserul Ishtekak (1871) in Urdu. There was a literary competition between Aga Ahmed Ali and Mirza Ghalib. Mohammad Ashraf and Fida Sylheti were prominent among Aga Ahmed Ali's disciples.

Maulana Ubaidullah-Al-Ubaidi Suhrawardy (1834-1885), superintendent of the

Dhaka Mohsinia Madrassah, wrote poems in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. He

edited Guide and DURBEEN in Urdu and Persian respectively. The number of his

writings in different languages is 52. Among them, mention may be made of

Dewan (an anthology of poems, 1880), Miftahul Adab (grammar) and Dabistan-

e-Danish (physics), all in Urdu. Quite a number of his manuscripts on philology,

psychology, women's education, written in Urdu, still remain unpublished. l::J15aiQTIlla's-dau~hter;-K:huJistha-Akhtar-C-t874::t9t9);-wrote-a-baak-in-Urdu-on----~ ~ --~~Miladunnabi under the title Kawkab-e-Durri. She also translated Henry Wood's

English text on ethics into Urdu, entitled Aina-e-Ibrat (Mirror of Advice, 1911).

Her other writings are Siratunnabi (The Life of the Prophet and Talimunnesa

(Women's Education).

Abu Mohammad Abdul Ghafur Nassakh (1833-1889), the younger brother of Nawab ABDOOL LUTEEF, composed poems in Persian and Urdu. He knew Arabic, ENGLISH and Hindi as well and was a deputy magistrate and deputy collector by profession. Among his numerous books, mention may be made of

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BANGLAPEDIA: Urdu

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Ashar-e-Nassakh (1866), Daftar-e-Bemisal (1869), Chashma-e-Fayez (1874) and Armugan (1875). Sukhan-e-Suwara (History of the Poets, 1874) is his most famous contribution to Urdu literature. He also wrote two biographies: Ganj-eTawarikh (1873) and Kanz-e-Tawarikh (1877).

Munshi Rahman Ali Tayesh (1823-1908), who came of an aristocratic family of Dhaka, was an Urdu poet and historian. His first work, Gulzar-e-Nat (1880), published from Nizamee Press at Kanpur, was an anthology of Urdu and Persian na'tia kasida (panegyric poems in monorhyme). He also wrote Urdu poems which were collected in Dewan-e-Tayesh. This collection is, however, no longer extant. Rahman Ali is better known as a historian. In his Tawarikh-e-Dhaka (1910), he offered a brief history of Bengal and gave an account of the geographical, archaeological, political and cultural conditions of Dhaka prevailing in the 19th century. SYED MUHAMMAD AZAD (1850-1916), born in the zamindar family of Mir Ashraf Ali of Dhaka, was a high official in government. Nawab Abdul Latif was his father-in-law and Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq his son-in-law. He was the first Bengali to write plays in Urdu, among them Nawabi Darbar and Nawabi Khel. He also wrote Urdu articles, He wrote an autobiography, Moulana Azad, as well as a compilation of essays, Kheyalat-e-Azad. Contemporary social and political problems constitute the themes of his writings. Ahmed Hossain Wafi (d 1940) was a teacher at Dhaka Mohsinia Madrassah. He wrote plays as well as poems in Urdu. Among his plays, mention may be made of Bimar-e-Bulbul (1880).

HAKIM HABIBUR RAHMAN (1881-1947) is remembered for his outstanding contribution to Urdu literature and journalism. He was educated at Dhaka Madrassah and spent eleven years at Kanpur, Lucknow, Delhi and Agra studying tibb (eastern) medicine. The title of Shefaul Mulk was conferred on him in recognition of his expertise as a hakim. He wrote books on literature, history and medicine and gave Urdu the status of a language of research and scholarship. Alfarik (1904), Hayat-e-Sukrat (1904), Asud Nag-e-Dhaka (1946), Dhaka Pachash-Baras-Pehle (1949), Salas a Gassalah, Tazkiratul-Fujala and Masajid-e-Dhaka are among his prominent writings. Hayat-e-Sukrat is a biography of Socrates. Asud-Nag-e-Dhaka describes the famous MAZARs of Dhaka. Dhaka Pachas Baras Pehle narrates the history of Dhaka during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Salasa Ghassalah is an introductory bibliography on authors and their writings in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Hakim Habibur Rahman edited two monthly Urdu magazines: Al Mashriq (1906) and Jadu (1923). He introduced Urdu journalism in East Bengal and Assam. He was the founder secretary of an organisation named Anjuman-e-Urdu in East Bengal and Assam, the aim of which was to provide a forum for the cultivation of Urdu. In short, Hakim Habibur Rahman played a multidimensional role in the development of Urdu language in the country.

Syed Sharfuddin Sharf Al-Hossaini of Dhaka (1876-1960) was a poet. His book

of poems was published under the title of Gulistan-e-Sharf (1937). Another manuscriptof-poelns, Da15isthan-e-Sh[lll,--l'ematt1s-ut1pubtishe~d:-The-KhwaJa---""----"---- - Nawab family of Dhaka played a vital role in the history of Urdu-Persian

literature in Bengal. KHWAJA HAIDER JAN SHAYEK, Khwaja Asaduddin

Kawkab, Khwaja Abdur Rahim Saba, Khwaja Ahsanullah Shaheen, Khwaja

Atiqullah Sayeda, KHWAJA MUHAMMAD AFZAL and Khwaja Nazimuddin

among others cultivated Urdu and Persian literature in the 19th and 20th

centuries. Khwaja Muhammad Azam wrote Islami Panchayet Dhaka (1911) in

Urdu. His son, Khwaja Muhammad Adel, co-edited Jadu, a monthly journal

with Hakim Habibur Rahman. Khwaja Abdur Rahim Saba (d 1871) wrote Urdu

poems. His manuscript, Daste Saba is preserved in the Dhaka University

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BANGLAPEDIA: Urdu

Library.

Khwaja Ahsanullah Shaheen, (1845-1901) Nawab of Dhaka, wrote Urdu poems that have been collected in Kulliat-e-Shaheen. He also wrote a history of his family, Tawarikh-e-Khandan-e-Kashmirian, which is, however, still accessible only in manuscript form. Ahsanullah Shaheen was also a composer and lyricist and composed many THUNGRI songs. Ahsanul Kasas (15 February 1884), an Urdu weekly magazine of Dhaka, was both inspired and assisted financially by him. Poet Syed Mahmud Azad was the mentor of Khaja Muhammad Afzal, grandson of Nawab Abdul Ghani and son of Nawab Khwaja Yusuf Khan Bahadur. Afzal wrote GHAZALs in both Urdu and Persian.

In this region, Urdu and Persian were cultivated outside Dhaka as well. Nazer Mohammad Abdullah Ashufta of Sylhet was a very famous Urdu poet whose Tasbihul Gafelin (1894), a text on morality, is preserved in the Dhaka University Library. The Urdu poems of Moulvi Forzam Ali Bekhod of Baniachang in Sylhet have been preserved in the ASIATIC SOCIETY. Munshi Golam Haider of CHITTAGONG, a caretaker of the Fort William College, translated Munshi Mohammad Wasi's Persian poem, Gulshan-e-Ishk, into Urdu as Husn-o-Ishk (1843). Its 300-page manuscript is preserved in the Dhaka University Library.

A number of newspapers and magazines were published from Calcutta and Dhaka during the nineteenth century, among them, Jarn-a-Jahan Numa (weekly, Calcutta, 1822), Urdu Guide (weekly, Calcutta, 1858), Mohammadi Akhbar (weekly, Calcutta, May 1877), Natija-e-Sukhan (monthly, Calcutta, 1881), Darus-Sultanat (daily, Calcutta, 1888), Ahsanul Kasas (weekly, Dhaka, 1884). The early years of the 20th century also saw a number of publications, including Al Mashrik (monthly, Dhaka, 1906), Jadu (monthly, Dhaka, 1923), and Akhter (MYMENSINGH,I924).

The University of Dhaka also contributed to the study of Urdu literature. When the university began in 1921, the Department of Urdu and Persian was one of the twelve departments that was opened. Khan Bahadur Fida Ali Khan, the first head of the department, translated BANKIMCHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY's Bisbrksa into Urdu under the title Bas Ke Rag. Syed Wajahat Hossain ANDALIB SHADANI (1904-1969), who taught in this department for a long time and also served as its head, was an Urdu poet, essayist and prose-writer. Among his works are Nishat-e-Rafta (poems), Tahkik Ki Roushani Me in , Sachchi Kahanian, Nush Wa Nish, Payam-e-Iqbal, Insha-e-Abul Fazal (translation), and Rubayet-e-Baba Taher (translation).

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The creation of Pakistan saw the arrival of several Urdu poets, including Reza Ali Wahshat (1881-1953) and Salimullah Fahmi, in East Pakistan thus enriching the Urdu literary scene. Regular mushairas were held, during which established

------and-young-poets-recitecLtheil~self"composed-\'ersesjn-Urdll._There-were-also-a------ -

number of short story writers, such as Rahat Ara Begum, Umme Ammara,

Ahmad Sadi, Afsar Mahpuri, Begum Zainab Tasneem, Yusuf Ahmeer. Urdu

writers found scope for publication in magazines and journals such as Khawar

(Dhaka, 1952), Nadeem (Dhaka, 1960), Karnafuli (Chittagong, 1967), and Dabistan-i-Mashriq (KHULNA). To cater to the Urdu-speaking minority, Urdu

newspapers were also published. Among them are Watan (Dhaka, 1947) and

Pasban (Dhaka, 1848). Most schools and colleges which had annual magazines

also included a section of Urdu writing. Apart from broadcasting Urdu news,

Radio Pakistan, Dhaka, used to broadcast Urdu plays.

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BANGLAPEDIA: Film, Feature

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Film, Feature In the 1990s, on an average, 80 feature films were released in Bangladesh every year. Investment in the industry was also colossal and everyday, more than a million people viewed pictures in about 1,500 cinema halls of the country. Innumerable directors, artists, craftsmen and workers are involved in this industry. With the assistance of the government, the Film Development Corporation (FDC) and the FILM ARCHIVE were set up earlier and funds were provided in grants and awards. A few films of Bangladesh have received awards and appreciation in international fairs, festivals and competitions. In about last fifty years, the film industry of Bangladesh has developed its own identity.

Historical background The history of films is not very old. About 100 years ago, on 28 December of 1895, two brothers, Auguste Lumiere (1862-1954) and Louis Lumiere (1864-1948), arranged the first successful commercial bioscope show. Just after six months of this event, a representative of the Lumiere brothers held a demonstration of the bios cope in Watson Hotel of Bombay on 7 July 1896. Bioscopes became familiar in CALCUTTA towards the end of that year. The weekly DHAKA PRAKASH published a news on the first bioscope show in DHAKA held on 17 April 1898 in Crown Theatre (now extinct) at Patuatuli of Dhaka SADARGHAT area. The show was organised by the Bedford Bioscope Company.

Short films shown by the company included episodes of Queen Victoria's Jubilee Procession, the War between Greece and Turkey, the Coronation of the Russian Czar, documentary shots of the three hundred feet jump of Princess Diana, lions and elephants in entertaining games, sports in snowfall in Britain, roads and underground railway of France, and comedy picture such as the Mad Barber in Shaving Action. The entrance fees varied between half a rupee and three rupees. Later, bioscope shows were organised in many places of Bengal such as Bogjuri village of MANIKGANJ, the Bungalow of the subdivisional officer ofBHOLA, the auditorium of JAGANNATH COLLEGE of Dhaka, the palace of the BHAWAL ESTATE, Palong ofFARIDPUR, and VICTORIA PARK and AHSAN MANZIL of Dhaka. Regular bios cope shows began in a JUTE godown at Armanitola of Dhaka in 1913-14, following which a permanent theatre hall (the Picture House, later known as Shabistan) was established at that place. This is the first cinema hall of Bangladesh.

Hira Lal Sen (1866-1917) of BogjuriviTlage in MANIKGANJ uistrictfonnedthe first bioscope company in Calcutta in 1898 and named it the Royal Bioscope Company. Hira Lal was also the producer of the first film of undivided Bengal. He filmed episodes from dramas like SUa Ram, Ali Baba, Dol Lila, Bhramar, and Hariraj Budha and showed them in February 1901 at the Classic Theatre of Calcutta. He also produced documentary films, advertisement pictures and newsreels.

The first complete feature film (silent) of the sub-continent, Raja Harish Chandra, was released in 1913. Its director was Dadabhai Falke. In Calcutta the

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BANGLAPEDIA: Film, Feature

Madan Theatre Company began to produce films in 1916. Under the initiative of the company the first BangIa silent movie Biswa Mangal was released on 8 November 1919. Though Jatish Banerjee (Rustamji Dutiwalla, according to many) was the director of this film, the famous director-producer of a later period, Priya Nath Ganguli, son of the manager of the DHAKA NAWAB ESTATE, was the man behind the screen. In 1921, Dhirendra Nath Ganguli, the deputy collector of BARISAL, produced a film named Bilat Ferat (The Man who Returned from England) and himself acted in the film.

In 1927-28, a group of young men of the Nawab family of Dhaka took the initiative to produce films. They produced Sukumari, a silent movie of four reels. The film was directed by Ambuj Prasanna Gupta, a prominent drama worker and an instructor in physical education of JAGANNATH COLLEGE. In the film, Khaja Nasrullah played the role ofthe hero and Syed Abdus Sobhan acted as the heroine.

After the success of Sukumari, the young men of the Nawab family set up Dhaka East Bengal Cinematograph Company and produced a full-length silent movie titled The Last Kiss directed by Ambuj Gupta. Khaja Azad did the camera work. Khaja Ajmal, Khaja Adil, Khaja Akmol, Khaja Shahed, Khaja Nasrullah and Shailen Roy alias Tona Babu acted in different roles in the film. The actresses were Lolita alias Buri (heroine), Charu Bala, Deba Bala alias Devi and Harimati. The first three of these actresses were picked up from brothels. The director himself composed the BangIa and English subtitles of the film and Andalib Shadani of the UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA composed the Urdu subtitles. In 1931, The Last Kiss was released in Mukul (now Azad) cinema hall. Distinguished historian Dr RAMESH CHANDRA MAJUMDAR, Professor of Dhaka University, inaugurated the premier show of the film.

National poet KAZI NAZRUL ISLAM had a significant role in the history of films of undivided Bengal. In 1931, he was a Sur Bhandari (music director) of Madan Theatres, a renowned film making company of Calcutta. Later, he worked as film director, music director, singer, music composer, actor and storywriter. In 1934, he produced a film Dhruba jointly with Satyendra Nath Dey. He formed BT Pictures, named after of Shere-e-Bangla AI< FAZLUL HUO in 1941. Following Kazi Nazrul Islam, some brave Muslim personalities demonstrated the courage to overcome religious and social barriers and became involved in films. Noted among them were ABBAS UDDIN AHMED, Himadri Chowdhury alias Obaid-ul-Huq, Kiron Kumar alias FATEH LOHANI, Swapan Kumar alias Kazi Khaleque, Udayan Chowdhury alias Ismail Mohammad, Banani Chowdhury alias Begam Anowara, Abdul Ahad, Nazir Ahmad, Inam Ahmad, Baby Islam and Q M Zaman. Himadri Chowdhury produced and directed Dukhey Jader Jiban Gada (the distressed people) in 1946 and Udayan Chowdhury produced Manusher Bhagaban (God of the People) in 1947. Both of them were sent to prison for the 'revolutionary' content of their films. After

_~_______"_""" " __ "" --'the partition of Bengal i1ll947, film workers of Calcutta migrated to Dhaka and

made active contributions in laying the foundation of the film industry in East Pakistan.

After 1947, when Dhaka became a new centre of cultural activities and many persons and institutions tried to produce, and distribute films and setup studios. The government of Pakistan asked Nazir Ahmed, a radio personality, to produce a documentary film. Accordingly, He produced In Our Midst, the first documentary film made in East Pakistan, in collaboration with the experts of Calcutta.

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