Khwaja Alimullah - Legacy of Khwaja Hafizullah

Legacy of Khwaja Hafizullah

The ancestors of the Khwajas are said to have been traders of gold dust and skins in Kashmir. The earliest founding man of the Dhaka Nawab Estate is Maulvi Hafizullah, who upheld the family tradition and made his fortune in trade and commerce. Leather and salt were the major items of his business. In collaboration with the European merchants in Dhaka, he developed a flourishing business in hides and skins, salt and spices.

Alimullah took major responsibilities in the business of Hafizullah, whom raised in childhood, since the early death of Ahsanulla (his brother and Alimullah's father) in 1795, and groomed as an estate manager. Alimullah, an enterprising man himself, acquired extensive profitable landed property in and around Dhaka city, as well as in Barisal District, Khulna District, Dhaka, Mymensingh and Tripura, in his own name. He also had a moneylending business and was one of the major shareholders and directors of Dhaka Bank.

During this time, zamindari estates of the defaulting proprietors were on sale everywhere in Bengal under the operation of Permanent Settlement. Hafizullah purchased some zamindari estates and indigo factories in Barisal. Those purchases included Atia pargana in the then Mymensingh district (now in the Tangail district) and Aila Phuljhuri in the Bakarganj Sundarbans.

On Khwaja Hafizullah's death, his estate descended on Alimullah, who became the sole heir to his enormous wealth. His landed acquisitions were added to those of his uncle, and the merger effected due to an absence of any surviving male successor of Hafizullah, consequently made the united zamindari one of the biggest in the province.