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 of khwaja alimullah (d 1854) and Zinat Begum. His mother tongue was Urdu, but he spoke Bangla 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.

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 panchayet 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. 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 modern 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 art 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]