Khwaja Ahsanullah

Ahsanullah was born in 1846 as the son of Khwaja Abdul Ghani and Ismatun Nesa. As a young child he learned Urdu, Arabic and Persian in addition to the Islamic education of Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh. He was noted as being a very gifted child, and mastered the religious Islamic doctrine at a very young age.[1] By age 22, he handled the maintenance and expansion of the family estates.[2]

Ahsanullah wrote widely in Urdu under the pen name Shaheen and much of his spare time was spent composing literature in Urdu and Persian. Those around him noted that he had a talent for composing spontaneous poetry which generally evoked sunny imagery.[2] He published a book of Urdu poems Kulliyat-e-Shaheen which has been preserved at the University of Dhaka. He also published his diaries, titled Tariq-e-Kandan-e-Kashmiriya. In 1884, he started an Urdu magazine, Ahsanut Qasas, which was published in Dhaka.[1]

Ahsanullah was a noted philanthropist. He donated over 5 million rupees to various charitable projects. He spent over 50,000 rupees on famine relief in Barisal District, Mymensingh District and Dhaka District in 1896. He also was one of the chief backers for the building of Comilla. Many hospitals were funded and constructed by him, including: the Patuankali Begam Hospital, Lady Dufferin Women's Hospital, and the Mitford Hospital.[1] He also spend 40 thousand rupees on creating an Engineering College in Dhaka, which is now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.[3]

Ahsanullah was awarded many titles for his social and philanthropic work. Both he and his father were noted allies of the British Raj.[5]

Ahsanullah died on 16 December 1901 of heart failure.[1] He was buried in the family plot in Begum Bazar in Dhaka.

• Buckland, C.E. (1902), Bengal Under the Lieutenant-Governors; Being a Narrative of the Principal Events and Public Measures During Their Periods of Office, From 1854 to 1898., Kedarnath Bose.