Ardeshir Cowasjee Passes Away!

Source : Picture is from his FB page

Cowasjee passed away - Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.

 Nobody can fill the gap  and I feel that Pakistan is a much poorer place today without him. May his soul rest in peace. He will be dearly missed!

Well-known for his outspoken stand against corruption, and various social & political issues, Ardeshir Cowasjee, a senior columnist, writer, intellectual and philanthropist passed away at a local hospital in Karachi on Saturday. His columns can be read here at DAWN.

According to BBC, he was struggling for the life at the intensive care unit of a local hospital for the last 12 days after being hit by chest complications, where he breathed his last at the age of 86.

Cowasjee was born on 13 April 1926 in Karachi in a financially stable Parsi family. He was the eldest son of Rustom Faqir Cowasjee. He took his early education at Bai Virbaijee Soparivala (BVS Parsi) Parsi School and graduated from the DJ College. After completing his education, he joined his family business of merchant shipping. He married with Dr. Nancy Dinshaw in 1953. He is survived by two children, his son Rustom and daughter Ava.

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.

Once ally of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Cowasjee turned his critic after he was jailed by the then Bhutto regime in 1976. He was made Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director in 1973 by Bhutto. He was a prominent columnist and a journalist. Cowasjee revealed massive corruption cases time and again as his articles became cause of several suo motu actions by the judiciary.

Cowasjee used to donate generously. Through the Cowasjee Foundation, he supported various welfare projects, particularly in education sector. In recognisation of his services, The Citizens Foundation’s biggest campus in Lyari was named after him. The foundation also used to support health sector through the Lady Dufferin Hospital, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.

It is said that he only vouched for Jinnah's short-lived government as the true leadership of the country. But despite calling his fellow countrymen a nation of bigots, chose to live and be buried in Pakistan – the only country he called home.

A short report on Reuters is here.