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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 salimullah
was his father. As a young boy khawja Habibullah attended the St. Paul
School at Darjeeling and later was educated in England.
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.
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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.
In order to ensure representation 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 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 waqf estate 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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