Columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee

Ardeshir Cowasjee (13 April 1926 24 November 2012) (Urdu: ) was a renowned Pakistani newspaper columnist from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. His columns regularly appeared in the country's oldest English newspaper, Dawn. He was also the Chairman of the Cowasjee Group and was engaged in philanthropic activities in addition to being regarded as an old "guardian" of the city of Karachi. Biography Cowasjee was born on 13 April 1926 in Karachi to the well-known Cowasjee Parsi (Zoroastrian) family. His father, Rustom Fakirjee Cowasjee, was a businessman in merchant shipping. Ardeshir attended the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi High School and graduated from DJ Science College, Karachi. Later, he joined his father's business, the Cowasjee Group. In 1953, he married Nancy Dinshaw, with whom he had two children Ava (daughter) and Rustom (son). Career Cowasjee was appointed by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1973. He was jailed for 72 days in 1976 by Zulfikar 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 of Dawn newspaper, which led to him becoming a permanent columnist. Since then, his hardhitting and well-researched columns inDawn have continuously exposed corruption, nepotism, and incompetence in different local, provincial, and national governments. On 25 December 2011, Cowasjee's last article for Dawn was published. Activities 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. Death Cowasjee died at the age of 86, on 24 November 2012. He was suffering from chest illness and remained in hospital for twelve days.

Article on Death

Oman Tribune-The Edge of Knowledge 26th November,2012

Veteran, outspoken columnist Cowasjee dies

KARACHI One of Pakistans oldest and most renowned columnists, Ardeshir Cowasjee, passed away in Karachi on Saturday at the age of 86. Cowasjee, whose weekly columns graced the Dawn newspaper from 1988 to 2011, was suffering from chest illness and had been admitted in a Karachi hospitals intensive care unit for the past 12 days. Born on April 13, 1926, Cowasjee joined the family shipping business after completing his education from the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School and DJ Sindh Govt Science College. Now, old at 85, tired, and disillusioned with a country that just cannot pull itself together in any way and get on with life in this day and age, I have decided to call it a day, he wrote in a column in December 2011 for Dawn. He went on to write two more columns that year. Cowasjee was known for his outspoken criticism of politicians and the religious right. I am 86 now, too old to pen weekly columns. Besides whats there to write about with the same old politics and same old politicians. Do you really believe that they will go away? I am bored writing about them again and again, he said in an interview last month. Ardeshir Cowasjee is more than just a columnist for a Pakistani newspaper. He has become the conscience of a nation, wrote Nirupuma Subramanian in the Hindu. I dont do it for the money, the LA Times quoted him in a 2008 interview. What they pay me wouldnt even buy this tie. Its an exercise of the mind. I do it to be sane. Because nothing works with logic in this place. In addition to his columns, Cowasjee was also a successful businessman, social activist, and an active philanthropist. Cowasjee donated heavily to charities TCF school in Lyari bears witness to that, said journalist Omar Quraishi in a tweet on Saturday after Cowasjees death. His charitable organisation, the Cowasjee Foundation, has been responsible for providing funding for higher education to many Pakistani students. One of The

Citizens Foundations biggest campuses is the Cowasjee Campus in Lyari. Many of Karachis hospitals such as the Lady Dufferin Hospital, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases have also benefited from the foundation. Very few people know Ardeshir Cowasjee quietly tried to support upright, young journos financially, said Abbas Nasir, a former Dawn editor. Many leading names in Pakistans journalism circles looked up to the columnist. Amazing teacher. Worked on many stories with him in my early days in journalism, said Azhar Abbas, who now heads a leading Pakistani news channel. Sad to hear that one of Pakistans finest and most conscientious columnists, Ardeshir Cowasjee, has passed away, said columnist Nadeem F. Paracha in a tweet sent out Saturday. May his soul rest in peace. He has two children with his wife Nancy Dinshaw. His daughter lives in Karachi and takes care of the family business and his son is an architect in the US. Their mother passed away in 1992.
By arrangement with Dawn