Tribute to Ardeshir Cowasjee; The veteran writer

Renowned columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee is no more in this world. He was suffering from chest illness and had been admitted in a Karachi hospital’s intensive care unit for the past 12 days. The veteran writer died at the age of 86 on Saturday.

Known for his ironic yet insightful style of writing, Cowasjee was born into a well-known Parsi family of Karachi in 1926.  He was a relentless activist, philanthropist and a columnist whose prose on all affairs current.

He attended the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School and graduated from DJ Science College. Later, he joined his father’s business, the Cowasjee Group, and married Nancy Dinshaw in 1953. Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him managing director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1973.

His journey to world of journalism started with writing of letters to the editor of a leading English newspaper, eventually he came to be known as one of the most seasoned columnists of the country.

His well-researched and hard-hitting columns graced the Dawn newspaper for more two decades (from 1988 to 2011) wherein he fearlessly exposed corruption, nepotism and incompetence in different local, provincial and national governments.

Besides being a columnist and a businessman, Cowasjee was a known social activist and philanthropist. He gained recognition for his efforts for sustainable development in Karachi metropolitan. The education lover old man also financed many scholarships for students wishing to pursue higher education.

The fairness in his columns was unprecedented, and very soon he started to become an irritant for the governments of the day, various mafia in his native city, and the forces of intolerance.

In this process, he acquired hundreds and thousands of followers in Pakistan and abroad, and articulated the aspirations of Pakistan’s majority that wants a peaceful, prosperous and rule-based country to live in.

He only looked 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.

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Posted by Web Desk on Nov 26 2012. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.