Khwaja Ahsanullah

Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah, Khan Bahadur KCIE, was the Nawab of Dhaka. He was a renowned Urdu litterateur. He was born on 22 August  1846 as the son of Khwaja Abdul Ghani and Ismatun Nesa. As a young child he learned Urdu, Arabic and Persian in addition to the Islamic education of Quran, Hadis and Fiqa.

He wrote widely in Urdu under the pen name "Shaheen". Those around him noted that he had a talent for composing spontaneous poetry which generally evoked sunny imagery. Ahsanullah was a noted philanthropist. He donated over 5 million rupees to various charitable projects.

He spent over 50,000 rupees on famine relief in Barisal District, Mymensingh District and Dhaka District in 1896. Khwaja Ahsanullah was awarded many titles for his social and philanthropic work. Both he and his father were noted allies of the British Raj.