Seth Edulji Dinshaw

Seth Edulji Dinshaw
Died 8 May 1914
Mediterranean Sea
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army/Military contractor
Battles/wars Second Afghan War
Other work Philanthropy

Seth Edulji (or Eduljee) Dinshaw, CIE (died 8 May 1914) was one of the foremost philanthropists from prepartition Karachi.

Business interests

A member of the Parsi community, he made his initial fortune during the Second Afghan War (1878–1881) by being a contractor for the British Army. He then took his wealth and invested it in land and factories which reaped him huge rewards.[1] By the late nineteenth century, he owned around half of the city of Karachi,[2] and the local government is believed to have placed an informal ban on his acquiring any more.[3] His enterprises included a factory for pressing cotton and wool for export and an ice factory.[4] He also had substantial landholdings in Mumbai.

Philanthropy

He donated large sums of money for various charitable works which benefited both his own community as well as the general public at large. These included:

Hospitals and dispensaries

Edulji Dinshaw Wing
Bust of E. Dinshaw & Queen Victoria inside the wing

Education, art and architecture

Parsi community

Other involvements

He was a Director of Land and Shipping Co and a delegate of the Parsi Matrimonial Court. He was also a Trustee of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), located on Eduljee Dinshaw Road, and a member of Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC).

C.I.E. Award

For his services to the public, in 1899 he became the first recipient of the C.I.E.award in the city.

Death

On 8 May 1914, while on his way to England, he died at sea, near Port Said, Egypt. In recognition of his contribution, and that of his first son Nadirshaw, to the city of Karachi, statues of them were placed at the intersection of Karachi's main roads in the 1930s. When unveiling the statue of Edulji Dinshaw, Sir Frederick Sykes, then Governor of Bombay, remarked that 'It is peculiarly appropriate that the city of Karachi should choose Mr Edulji Dinshaw as a fitting subject to be honoured by the erection of a statue in one of the most imposing and important sites in the whole town, for he had the vision to recognise fully the possibilities of greatness that the city held and also contributed very largely himself to developing it.'[10] After partition, the statues were removed, and can now be seen in the grounds of the Karachi Parsi Institute.[1]

Family

He had two sons, Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw and Framroze Edulji Dinshaw (known as FE Dinshaw). His first son, Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw, continued his business in Karachi and also his philanthropic ways. His second son, FE Dinshaw, took over the family's properties in Mumbai, and went on to become one of prepartition India's most prominent businessmen and lawyers.

His grandson Hoshang NE Dinshaw, who was Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw's oldest son, played an important part in the economic development of Pakistan, including as the President of the Central Board of Directors of the National Bank of Pakistan.[11]

The descendants of Seth Edulji Dinshaw have kept up his philanthropic tradition. The Edulji Dinshaw family remains particularly noted for their charitable donations, especially to non-Parsis.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 John R. Hinnells, The Zoroastrian Diaspora, Oxford, (2005) p.202
  2. 1 2 Peerzada Salman, Even Local Stones Need Love, in the Dawn Newspaper, 12 July 2009
  3. ↑ Michael Backman, Inside knowledge: streetwise in Asia, Palgrave MacMillan, (2005) p.255
  4. ↑ Somerset Playne & J.W. Bond, The Imperial Gazetteer, 1920, quoted in Visions of Empire - Karachi Under the Raj 1843-1947, Karachi, (2004) p.122
  5. ↑ John R. Hinnells, Zoroastrians in Britain, Oxford, (1996) p.59
  6. ↑ Jehangir Framroze Punthakey, The Karachi Zoroastrian Calendar, A record of Important Events in the Growth of the Parsi Community in Karachi, Karachi, (1996) p. 100
  7. ↑ J.W. Smyth, Gazetteer of the Province of Sind B Vol 1 Karachi District, Government Central Press, Bombay 1919. Reprinted by Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi Pg 70
  8. ↑ Peerzada Salman, The curious case of the missing seraphs, in the Dawn Newspaper, 5 February 2012
  9. ↑ http://mamaian.readyhosting.com/90years/html/history_founders.htm
  10. ↑ Behram Sohrab H.J. Rustomji, Karachi During the British Era, Oxford, (2007) p.83
  11. ↑ John R. Hinnells, The Zoroastrian Diaspora, Oxford, (2005) pp.225-6
  12. ↑ John R. Hinnells, Zoroastrians in Britain, Oxford, (1996) p.58

Further reading

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