Twelve Men of Bengal in the Nineteenth Century/Nawab Sir Khawja Abdul Ghani Mia
Nawab Sir Khawja Abdul Ghani Mia
NAWAB SIR KHAWJA ABDUL
GHANI MIA, K.C.S.I.
1830—1896.
Throughout the nineteenth century there was no name more revered in Eastern Bengal than that of Nawab Abdul Ghani. For over fifty years he was the leading Muhammadan in Dacca and the eastern provinces, occupying a unique position there among Europeans and his own fellow-countrymen alike. From a position of comparative insignificance he raised himself and his family to one of commanding eminence, eliciting universal admiration and respect. Loyal, generous and public-spirited he won the affection of all who came in contact with him.
The original founder of the family was one Moulvi Abdulla who in the time of the Emperor Muhammad Shah came to India from Cashmir, seeking his fortunes like many another in his day at the Imperial Court of Delhi. On the fall of the Moghul Empire, when the Imperial court ceased to afford opportunities for fortune building, Moulvi Abdulla set out for the eastern provinces on the outskirts of the Empire, where all things were still possible to the adventurer. Finally reaching Sylhet he set up for himself as a merchant there, his wide knowledge of the world and of men enabling him to meet with immediate success. Sending for his father and brother from Cashmir, he succeeded in establishing a prosperous business, his house and godown occupying the site of the present Collectorate offices. After his death his son and successor moved to Dacca which offered a wider and more convenient field of operations, settling in the quarter known as Begum's Bazaar. It was a time of upheaval. The old order was changing and the old families who had long held the neighbouring Zeminadries were dying out or, encumbered with debt, were being forced to relinquish their possessions. For the new man with brains, energy and capital there was a chance such as seldom offered. Zemindary after Zemindary was bought up often at a nominal price and so successful did the enterprises of the descendants of Moulvi Abdulla prove that the trading from which their prosperity had originally taken its rise was gradually abandoned. A generation, before Abdul Ghani the family had won for itself an acknowledged place among the more important Zemindars of the Dacca district.
It was not, however, until the time of Khawja Alimulla, father of Abdul Ghani, that the family became known outside merely local limits. He was one of the best types of the rising man of that generation. Endowed with great business capacity and strong common sense he was quick to seize the golden opportunities that opened up before him. The time of change and unrest was drawing to its close. Already the old order had well-nigh passed away, the old authority and the old line of rulers gradually disappearing from sheer exhaustion and inanition. The last of the old Nawabs of Dacca, Ghaziuddin Mahomed, known as the Pagla Nawab on account of his eccentricity, was as typical of the passing order of things as Khawja Alimulla was of the rising generation. Well-nigh all the old families were sharing the fate of the Nawabs, coming to an end in weak, feeble specimens of humanity, sunk deep in debt and vice. Their degradation and helplessness were the opportunity of such men as Khawja Alimulla. Gradually as the embarrassed owners were forced to sell in order to pay their debts, he added to his already extensive estates, purchasing Zemindaries not only in the Dacca district but further afield in Chittagong, Bengal, Faridpur, Mymensingh and Tipperah. Everything that he touched prospered. Not the least striking instance of his business ability was his purchase of the famous diamond, the Dariya-i-Nur for only 60,000 Rs. It is now worth several lacs.
From the first he had courted the society of Europeans, realising what few of his co-religionists had then done that if the Muhammadan community was to advance with the times and share in the general prosperity that was coming to Bengal it must cast aside the old exclusiveness and aloofness from affairs. While remaining strictly orthodox he mixed freely with the Europeans of the station, making many friends both among officials and non-officials. Few Muhammadands of the day knew English and though he himself never acquired a perfect grasp of the language he was careful to see that the son whom he destined to succeed him acquired a complete knowledge of it. From his earliest years Khawja Alimulla had seen in his favourite son Abdul Ghani all the traits of character that he held necessary in his successor. The vast properties that he had accumulated needed a good business head to manage them, a man of the world with experience of men and affairs. Very carefully Khawja Alimulla watched over the training of his son, and to his father Abdul Ghani often in after years acknowledged that he owed a very large share of his success in life.
Born in 1830 Abdul Ghani Mia succeeded his father on the latter's death in 1848. It was a splendid inheritance that fell to him, and there belongs to him the credit of handing it on in his turn to his son, not diminished but enormously increased in value. Above all he administered his estates not solely with an eye to his own benefit but always with the very real and keen desire to contribute to the happiness and prosperity of all those in any way connected with them. Strictly following the admirable example set by his father and adhering loyally to the principles laid down by him for the conduct of business, he consolidated and greatly improved the property. A young man of charming address and manners he was as popular with Europeans as with his fellow-countrymen. A model husband and father, he was equally successful in preventing friction in the family circle. The head of a large family he was continually called upon to arbitrate in petty family disputes and these he never failed to settle with tact and patience, giving satisfaction to all parties who, even if the decision went against them, were convinced of his wisdom and impartiality. Blessed with robust health, he was fond of sport and of all manly games. As a shot he excelled, while at pigsticking to which he was devoted he was more than a match for many of his European friends. Keenly appreciating music and poetry, he was a liberal patron of the acts and everything that tended to the spread of modern education among the Muhammadan community received his warm support.
The events of 1857 gave Abdul Ghani a striking opportunity of proving his loyalty to the British Government. When the first rumours of mutiny reached Dacca there were only two companies of the 73rd Native Infantry, numbering some ten hundred and sixty men, with artillery stationed in the city at the time. These were known to be disaffected and excited by rumours that daily reached Dacca of the excesses committed by the sepoys elsewhere. Abdul Ghani threw the whole weight of his influence on the side of law and order, and though threatened with robbery and personal violence for so doing by certain evil characters who were endeavouring to raise the sepoys to revolt, he remained firm. His friends urged him to leave the station, knowing that in consequence of his loyal conduct he would be the first to suffer in case the mutiny came to a head. So far however from running away Abdul Ghani actively associated himself with the officials, placing at their disposal all his vast resources and assisting in disarming the sepoys on November 22nd 1857. His splendid courage and example did much to allay the panic and keep loyal many who would otherwise have wavered. He further showed his confidence in the British Government by subscribing largely to the Government loan which was opened about this time.
In his Zemindari work he was assisted by European and Eurasian as well as by Indian managers. From all alike he won willing and loyal service. It has been said that it is one of the greatest attributes of a great man that he should be able to surround himself with capable and devoted servants and this power Abdul Ghani certainly possessed in full measure. Though courteous and considerate to all, there was never a moment's doubt that his was the directing and controlling mind. He had the whole of his vast business operations completely within his grasp, no matter being too small for his personal attention. It was only thus, as he himself was wont to say, that a great Zemindari could be worked with complete success.
In spite of his great wealth Abdul Ghani conducted his life with great simplicity. He habitually rose early, either riding out, hunting or shooting, busying himself in his garden or taking long walks in the cool morning air. On his return it was his custom to repair to his Charkhana where between 7 and 8 A.M. he took tea holding a kind of informal reception that included not only the male members of his family and his friends, but all those who wished to see him as well as those who came to partake of his charity. Many old and invalid Muhammadans, who had seen better days, were always to be found at this early morning levee which was a strangely assorted gathering where all were welcome whether in rags or gorgeously attired. It was a kind and considerate way of bestowing charity upon those who needed it, for the early morning cup of tea of the Nawab himself always meant in their case a substantial breakfast. Abdul Ghani moved freely among his guests listening to their grievances, tendering his advice and settling their disputes in truly patriarchal manner. At nine o'clock he used to retire to his private apartments where he remained occupied with his own private affairs until breakfast, which he took in company with all the chief members of his family, was served. From eleven till two o'clock he devoted himself to his wife and children in the seclusion of the Zenana, attending to their needs, instructing them and conversing with them on family matters. At two o'clock he usually went to his office room in the Ahsan Manzil where the chief business of the day claimed his attention. Exercising so close a control over all the affairs of his vast Zemindari, the business that he had daily to transact was no light task. His work, moreover, was by no means confined to his own affairs. He was always accessible during these hours to any of his friends or tenants who wished to see him, and so great was his reputation as an arbitrator, owing to his tact and knowledge of the world, that there were always many who preferred to bring their disputes to him for decision rather than to take them to the Law Courts. His business for the day over, he usually rode or drove late in the afternoon, returning in time for the evening meal. From eight till ten o'clock he sat with his friends and relatives, listening to music or discoursing on current topics. Such was the daily routine of Abdul Ghani carried out with almost unvarying consistency for nearly forty years. Extremely conservative as to his personal habits and loyal to his old friends, he desired no change.
The charities of the Nawab, both public and private were on a most generous scale. He spent large sums on sacred shrines in and around Dacca, and although himself a staunch Sunni, he did not hesitate to maintain at great expense the largest Imambara in Dacca which is entirely a Shia institution. This is but one instance of his wide sympathies and liberal-mindedness. So great was his influence with both Sunnis and Shias that when a serious difference occurred between them, threatening to lead to open mutiny, he was asked by the local authorities to arbitrate between them. This he did with such success that their differences were speedily healed. For those respectable Muhammadans who had fallen on evil days and of whom Dacca, an old city which had itself suffered decay, held a large number, he evinced a special sympathy. His private benefactions to such as these will never be known.
In Dacca and throughout his extensive estates he was universally beloved. No tale of distress or scarcity coming from any part of Eastern Bengal ever met with an unsympathetic reception from him. When famine or cyclone had done their worst he was always prompt to relieve distress by every generous means in his power. Of the wealth that had come to him in such abundance he gave with no stinting hand. Dacca in particular owed much to him. In addition to the fine gardens and houses which he freely opened to the public, the greatest service that he rendered to the town was the construction of water works at a cost of two and a half lacs. Intended as a thank offering for the recovery of the Prince of Wales from his severe illness in 1871, the foundation stone was laid by the Viceroy Lord Northbrook in 1874. They were finally opened for use by the Commissioner of the Division in 1878. In planning such works of improvement as this and in the daily routine of his life in Dacca he was content: To live among his own people, doing his duty by all those whose fortunes were so largely committed to his charge, was all he desired. No man could have sought honours less than Nawab Abdul Ghani, yet honours necessarily came to him in full measure. Beginning early as an Honorary Magistrate he was appointed a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1866. In the following year he was made an additional member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council. From that time onward honours fell thick upon him. Created a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in 1871, he was specially presented to the Prince of Wales by Lord Northbrook and awarded a medal in 1874. A year later he was given the title of Nawab as a personal distinction, an honour which was made hereditary two years later on the occasion of the Proclamation of the Queen-Empress. In 1886 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India.
For many years before his death he had given over the management of his estates to his eldest son, known later as the Nawab Sir Khawja Ahsanulla whom he had carefully trained as his successor and who so worthily followed in his father's footsteps. In 1896 Nawab Abdul Ghani died, full of years and honour, loved and respected by all who knew him. Throughout his long life he had been consistently loyal both to the British Government and to the interests of his own community. A keen businessman, he never aggrandised himself at the expense of others. His sympathies were wide and generous and no deserving case was ever brought to his notice in vain. He was one of the best types of Zemindars that Bengal had produced, content to live in the midst of his own people and with an ear always open to their petitions and complaints. His will always remain one of the greatest and grandest figures in Eastern Bengal in the nineteenth century.