Great men are not born always. All great men are the products of history. History does not produce great men repeatedly rather rarely. People like George Washington, Abraham Linkon, Martin Luther King, Imam Gazzali, Jalaluddin Rumi, Allama Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatma Gandhi are the epoch makers and products of history. A man like Nawab Salimullah is also rarely born. Our ancestors are fortunate as they saw an illustrious man like Nawab Salimullah. Present generation is now the beneficiary of his sacrifices and contributions.
In the emergence of Bangladesh and development of Dhaka, he rendered Yeoman's service and contributions that improved Bangladesh and Dhaka, one of the megacities of the present world. The forefathers of Nawab Salimullah came to Dhaka from Kashmir in the 30s of the 18th century for business purpose like other Arab traders. In the process of business, they started residing here. Gradually, they settled in Dhaka once for all. They became the permanent residents of Dhaka. The reason behind their permanence here is that they were doing well in business wherever they got involved that means Dhaka favored their luck. The pioneer of this family was Khwaja Alimullah who has been able to make fortune through hard work and perseverance. Through business he reached the peak of development and affluence. He became a business magnet rather a tycoon. Notwithstanding that, Khwaja Alimullah was a Sunni Muslim, he patronized and financed maintenance of Hussaini Dalan, the symbol of the Shia community. He defrayed all the expenses of the observance of the Holy Muharram. Khwaja Abdul Ghani, the worthy son of Khwaja Alimullah, made the foundation of the family on a strong edifice. He started sponsoring all the social functions of the Sunni Muslims of Dhaka. From his time Sunni Muslims formed an affluent and influential society Khwaja Abdul Ghani virtually earned the leadership of the Sunni community. After the end of the Mughal Empire, this family took the charge of development of Dhaka, patronized the cultural, social and structural development of the city. Modern Dhaka is virtually the contribution of the Khwaja family.
During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of 20th century the Nawab family accomplished the remarkable works in modernization, cultural development, beautification, establishment of gardens, parks, springs and the decoration of Dhaka,. The Nawab family was involved with the administration of the city, side by side they discovered a new system of local administration called Panchayat' which is still valid. Small judicial cases used to be disposed by the Panchayat'. In the criminal cases accrued out of 1857 Great Revolt the British government took lenient view to many cases of the accused on the request of the Nawab family. Moreover they stopped bloodshed in the Shia-Sunni riot by mediation, negotiation and persuasion. Other than the development of Panchayat', they launched waterworks system for pure water, lighting, Mitford Hospital, schools, colleges, and Madrasah.
Beside the socio-economic development they contributed to national political regeneration and development too. The contributions of Nawab AbdulGani (1813-96), Nawab Ahsanullah (1846-1901) and Nawab Salimullah (1871-1915) are tremendous and unforgettable. Ahsan Manzil stands as a glaring evidence of the architectural skill as well as enrichment.
In 1875 Abdul Gani was awarded the title 'Nawab' by the British government. Two years later the 'Nawab' title was made fixed for the eldest male member of the family. After the establishment of the Dhaka municipality in 1864 Nawab Abdul Gani and his son Ahsanullah got involved in the activity of the municipality and worked for the development and expansion of Dhaka.
Nawab Salimullah was born on 7th June 1871 in Ahsan Manzil . His father was Khwaja Ahsanullah mother was Begum Wahidunnesa. In 1893 he joined as a Deputy Magistrate under British government although he resigned two years later and started business in Kolkata (then Calcutta). In 1901 after the demise of his father he returned to Dhaka and took the charge of Ahsan Manzil as Nawab. Nawab Salimullah stood as the glaring star in changing the South Asian subcontinent. He was the pioneer in regeneration of the Muslims in the subcontinent. He paid one lakh taka out of estimated one lakh thirty thousand for the establishment of Ahsanullah High school that later, turned into Ahsanullah Engineering College ultimately turned into East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He established Ahsanullah engineer's hostel for the engineering students. By his initiative and handwork in spite of stiff opposition by Hindu elite class the establishment of Dhaka University was possible, especially it is only on his pressure Lord Hardinge had to agree to establish Dhaka University.
On October 16, 1905 it is purely only for administrative reason the vast Bengal presidency was bifurcated and set up a new province of East Bengal and Assam to benefit the poor people of East Bengal. It is in the interest of the staggering poor people of East Bengal Nawab Salimullah came out to welcome the decision of setting up a new province. Dhaka after long time became the capital of the new province and took a new look. After this decision number of students in schools and colleges increased by 35%. Unfortunately this was not tolerated by the Hindu elite people who collected taxes from the downtrodden poor people of East Bengal residing in Calcutta led life in lavish luxury. They started a movement against this decision of the new province. This movement ultimately turned into terrorism. At length British government had to bow down to the terrorists. The decision was annulled on 12 December 1911. The people of East Bengal especially Muslims became frustrated. Nawab Salimullah became dissatisfied.
The frustrated Nawab convened a meeting of the then Muslim leaders of East Bengal and wrote two letters on 17th and 20th December 1911. Post annulment agonies of the Muslims of East Bengal were ventilated and he suggested setting up a university in Dhaka. The two letters are still preserved in the library of Cambridge University. On the basis of two letters and after long discussion consultation commissioning British government set up the Dhaka University. It is definitely out of pressure, request, counseling, and exchange of letters that the British government yielded to the demand and the dream of the Nawab. Dhaka University was established in 1921.
As a token of respect and gratitude the first residential Hall of Dhaka University was named after the Nawab as Salimullah Muslim Hall. He donated land for the university and the High Court in Dhaka. The greatest achievement of Nawab was the foundation of All India Muslim League. It was on the first phase of the execution of new province he convened an All India Muslim Educational conference on 27th December 1906. Not less than 8000 representatives attended the conference from all over the sub-continent. It is with high exuberance and ecstasy the delegates gathered from all parts of India. Nawab Salimullah was the chair of the reception committee. Justice Sharifuddin of Calcutta High Court presided over the conference. The political session was held on 30 December, 1906. Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk presided over the political session. On the proposition of Nawab Salimullah and supported by Hakim Afzal Khan, Aga Khan was elected president. Nawab Salimullah was elected vice president while Mohsin-ul-Mulk and Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk were elected joint secretaries respectively. He defrayed all the expenses (not less than six lac taka) from his Nawab family fund.
Although Nawab Salimullah was the host and sponsor of the conference he did not take the leadership of the newly formed Muslim League. It means he had no ambition or greed for leadership. His purpose was to unite the Muslims of the sub-continent and change their lot. This Muslim League after working year after year has been able to unite the Muslims of the subcontinent and with 41 years gave birth to a separate Muslim homeland Pakistan. Later on eastern wing got independence from western wing named Bangladesh. His dream was fulfilled but he could not see the reality. He died a mysterious death on January 16, 1915 at the age of 44. It is presumed that he was shot dead or poisoned by the British government. His dead body was brought by ship with police guard and was not shown to anybody even to his nearest relatives. His grave was guarded by police for six months. But to utter surprise the cause of death was never investigated by any government. He breathed his last breath leaving the Muslims of Bengal weeping forever. May Allah bless him.
The writer is a freedom fighter and advisor to Nawab Salimullah Memorial Committee
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