Life and Work
A member of the Dhaka Municipal Committee, Khwaja Alimullah took part very actively in the corporate activities of the city, including playing an important role in the preservation of the Lalbagh Fort. He made a wakq of the income of his estate at Atiya Pargana in Tangail for the welfare of the destitute.
Since the death of Ghaziuddin Haider, the last of the Naib Nazims of Dhaka in 1843, Khwaja Alimullah, a Sunni Muslim himself, bore all the expenses of Muharram, the central festival of the Shi'ite Muslims, and was appointed by the government as the mutwalli of Husseini Dalan, the shrine of the Shi'ites in Dhaka.
Through a long association with Eurasian and European business partners, Khwaja Alimullah acquired their lifestyle and habits. He bought thoroughbred horses for racing and made a modest stable for them, and used to go hunting with horses and elephants. He earned considerable fame as an organiser of sports by setting up the Ramna Racecourse and the Gymkhana Club.
Besides sports and games, Alimullah also developed a fancy for jewels. He purchased the famous diamond Dariya-i-Noor at a government auction. He also bought many unique precious jewellery of the house of the Naib Nazim Ghaziuddin Haider when he became heavily indebted due to the English government stopping his allowance on charges of immoral activities.
Alimullah also introduced dance, music and mushairah (literary meet) into the Khwaja family.
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