Husayn at 15:45, 26 February 2026

2026-02-26T15:45:25Z

New page

{{short description|Fifth and last Nawab of Dhaka (1895–1958) (r.1915–1958)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Nawab Khwaja Habibullah
| title = [[Nawab of Dhaka]]
| image = খাজা হাবিবুল্লাহ.jpg
| caption = Habibullah in 1947
| reign = 1915–1958
| coronation =
| predecessor = [[Khwaja Salimullah|Nawab Khwaja Salimullah]]
| successor = [[Khawja Hassan Askari]]
| spouse =
| issue =
| royal house = [[Nawab of Dhaka|Dhaka Nawab family]]
| father = [[Khwaja Salimullah|Nawab Khwaja Salimullah]]
| mother =
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|4|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Ahsan Manzil]], [[Dacca]], [[Bengal Presidency]], British India
| spouses = {{ubl|Ajmiri Begum|Shahryar Khanam|Khurshidi Begum|Amirun Bibi|Ayesha Begum}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1958|11|21|1895|4|26|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Shahbagh]], [[Dacca]], [[East Pakistan]], [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]]
| burial_place = Begum Bazar, Dhaka
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = {{flag|British Empire}}
| branch = [[British Indian Army]]
| serviceyears= 1918–1920
| rank = [[File:British Army (1920–1953) OF-1a.svg|15px]] [[Jemadar]]
| servicenumber =
| unit = [[Bengali Regiment|49th Bengalee Regiment]]
| commands =
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
** [[Mesopotamian campaign]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards =
}}
}}
'''Nawab Khwaja Habibullah Bahadur''' ({{langx|bn|নবাব খাজা হাবিবুল্লাহ বাহাদুর}}; 26 April 1895 – 21 November 1958)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8HjtAAAAMAAJ |title=Labour Movement in India: 1937-1939 |last1=Punekar |first1=S. D. |last2=Varickayil |first2=Robert |last3=Savur |first3=Manorama |last4=Dighe |first4=Sunil |last5=Ganesh |first5=Kamala |last6=Research |first6=Indian Council of Historical |year=1988 |publisher=Indian Council of Historical Research |volume=22 |isbn=9788173071065 |page=1117 |language=en}}</ref> was a politician from East Bengal, soldier, social worker, and the fifth [[Nawab of Dhaka]]. He was the son of Nawab Sir [[Khwaja Salimullah]] Bahadur. Under Habibullah's rule, the [[Dhaka Nawab Estate]] went into decline until its actual relinquishment in 1952 by the [[East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950|East Pakistan Estates Acquisition Act]].

==Biography==
Habibullah was born on 26 April 1895 in Dhaka.<ref name=bpedia>{{Cite Banglapedia |article=Habibullah, Khwaja}}</ref> His father was Nawab Sir [[Khwaja Salimullah]] Bahadur of the [[Nawab of Dhaka|Dhaka Nawab family]]. The family traced its ancestry to [[Kashmiris|Kashmiri]] merchants who settled in Bengal for trade during Mughal and British times.<ref name="Hundred">{{cite book |title=Hundred Years of Bangabhaban, 1905-2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBFuAAAAMAAJ |year=2006 |publisher=Press Wing Bangabhaban |isbn=978-984-32-1583-3 |page=20 |quote=It was at this time that a recently settled Muslim trading family of the city of Dhaka, originally from Kashmir, gave up trade and invested their wealth in buying land from the auctions. The founder of this Kashmiri Muslim family in Dhaka was [[Khwaja Alimullah]].}}</ref> Habibullah went to school at [[St. Paul's School, Darjeeling|St. Paul's School]] in [[Darjeeling]], and later continued his education in England.<ref name=bpedia /> In 1915, at the death of his father, he succeeded as the Nawab of Dhaka.<ref name=bpedia />

In 1918, Habibullah joined the [[Bengali Platoon]] of the [[British Indian Army]]. He served in the British mandate of Mesopotamia as an honorary lieutenant.<ref name=bpedia /> He served in Dhaka district board and Dhaka municipality board. He took part in the [[Khilafat Movement]].<ref name=bpedia /> He was the representative of Dhaka in the Bengal legislative council from 1924 till 1932.<ref name=bpedia />

Habibullah had supported the 1932 [[Communal Award]] proposal of the British Raj. In 1935 he was the president of the Bengal Muslim League and member of the executive council of the All India Muslim league.<ref name=bpedia /> From 1937 to 1941 he was a minister in the cabinet of [[A. K. Fazlul Huq]].<ref name=bpedia /> He joined the second cabinet of Haq against the wishes of the Muslim League for which he was suspended from the league till 1946. In 1946, he stood in the assembly election of Bengal as an independent candidate but suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of his relative, [[Khwaja Khairuddin]] who was on a [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] ticket.<ref name=bpedia />

Habibullah presided over the committee that organized the [[Independence Day (Pakistan)|Pakistan Independence Day]] celebrations in Dhaka, and, on 15 August 1947, raised the flag of Pakistan at [[Lalbagh Fort]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kudaisya |first1=Gyanesh |author-link1=Gyanesh Kudaisya |last2=Tan |first2=Tai Yong |author-link2=Tan Tai Yong |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 2000 |title=The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPOBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |publisher=Routledge |page=61 |isbn=0-415-28908-4}}</ref> After the partition of India he held the position of vice-president in East Pakistan Muslim League.<ref name=bpedia /> During his reign as the Nawab of Dhaka, the estate continued the decline that had begun under his father.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alamgir |first=Md. |year=2005 |title=A Short Note on Ahsan Manzil Museum and the Nawabs of Dhaka |location=Dhaka |publisher=Jhingephul |page=18 |quote=Nawab Sir Salimullah could not properly take care or direct the Estate due to his heavy involvement with politics. The revenue income of the estate decreased and the Nawab ran into large debts ... During the time of Nawab Habibullah, the Nawab Estate fell into very miserable conditions because of mismanagement.}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Habibullah was married to Ajmiri Begum, Shahriar Khanam (d. 1931), Khurshidi Begum, Amirun Bibi and Ayesha Begum (d. 2008).<ref name=family>{{Cite web |title=Family Tree |url=https://www1.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=gupshup1&view=0&pid=50&ver=3255 |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=www1.tribalpages.com}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=November 2025}}

He had a total of five sons and two daughters.<ref name=family/>{{Self-published inline|date=November 2025}} His cousin, [[Khawaja Nazimuddin|Khwaja Nazimuddin]], was the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] (1951–1953).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Special report: Parliament in Chaos 1951-1958 |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1353861 |date=2017-08-25 |access-date=2022-06-13 |work=Dawn |language=en}}</ref>

In later days, he retired from politics because of health related reasons. He left the [[Ahsan Manzil]] Palace and resided in another of the royal residences, Green House, in Dhaka's [[Paribagh]]. He died on 21 November 1958 and was buried alongside his father at the Nawab family graveyard in Begumbazar in Dhaka.<ref name=bpedia />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Habibullah, Khwaja}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Nawabs of Dhaka]]
[[Category:Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent]]
[[Category:All-India Muslim League politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:British Indian Army personnel]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengal MLAs 1937–1945]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dhaka]]
[[Category:20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel]]

Khwaja Habibullah - Revision history

Husayn at 15:45, 26 February 2026