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Ardeshir Cowasjee | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1926-04-13)13 April 1926[1] Karachi, British India |
| Died | 24 November 2012(2012-11-24) (aged 86) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, Businessman |
| Known for | Chairman ofCowasjee Group |
| Spouse | Nancy Dinshaw |
| Relatives | Cowasjee family |
Ardeshir Cowasjee (13 April 1926 – 24 November 2012) (Urdu:اردشیر کاوسجی) was a Pakistani newspapercolumnist,[2]social activist, andphilanthropist. Belonging fromKarachi, his columns regularly appeared in the country's oldestEnglish newspaper,Dawn. He was also the Chairman of theCowasjee Group and was engaged in philanthropic activities in addition to being regarded as an old "guardian" of the city of Karachi.
On 3 November 2013,Institute of Business Administration, Karachi launched theArdeshir Cowasjee Centre for Writing in his honor.[3]
Cowasjee was born on 13 April 1926 in Karachi to theCowasjeeParsi (Zoroastrian) family.[citation needed] His father, Rustom Fakirjee Cowasjee, was a businessman in merchant shipping, and the family spokeGujarati at home.[4][5] Ardeshir attended theBai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi High School and graduated fromDJ Science College, Karachi. Later, he joined his father's business, theCowasjee Group. In 1953, he married Nancy Dinshaw, with whom he had two children – Ava (daughter) and Rustom (son).[citation needed]
Cowasjee owned a family run shipping company, that at the time of theindependence of Pakistan was Karachi's largest shipping company.[citation needed] This shipping company was nationalized duringZulfiqar Ali Bhutto'spremiership.[6] He was appointed byPrime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Managing Director ofPakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1973. He was jailed for 72 days in 1976 byZulfikar Ali Bhutto for which no explanation has been given to date; it is said that Prime Minister Bhutto did this because Cowasjee was becoming increasingly vocal about Bhutto's authoritarian ways. Cowasjee subsequently started writing letters to the editor ofDawn newspaper, which led to him becoming a permanent columnist. Since then, his hard-hitting and well-researched columns inDawn have continuously exposedcorruption,nepotism, and incompetence in different local, provincial, and national governments. Cowasjee's last article forDawn was published on 25 December 2011.[citation needed]
Los Angeles Times described him thus: "His is a stubborn non-Muslim voice in this nation created as an Islamic homeland, refusing to be silenced. Attempts have been made. His life has been threatened so often the government has provided him with 24-hour protection.[7]
Via the Cowasjee Foundation, Cowasjee was the financier of many scholarships for students wishing to pursue higher education. These included grants for both local and overseas education. They were termed "loans" and Cowasjee encouraged recipients to repay them so that others could benefit from the funds; however, he expected that the majority of the funds would not be repaid.[citation needed]
Cowasjee died at the age of 86, on 24 November 2012.[8] He was suffering from chest illness and remained in hospital for twelve days.[9]
Talat Aslam, senior editor of The News, says: "Cowasjee's death represents the death of an old, far more cosmopolitan and tolerant Karachi. He was a Gujrati-speaking Parsi gentleman of the old school - profane, blunt, outspoken, fearless.
Ardeshir was always a flamboyant, larger than life figure. Impeccably dressed, he enjoyed the good things in life. From his art collection to his sports cars, he spent his wealth with style and taste. There are far richer people than him in Pakistan, but none have his flair. Whenever he came to my place, he would sit and chat with my mother who loved his good humour and Gujrati accent. I doubt he ever began a sentence not prefaced with "Aray, sala!"
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