Ardeshir Cowasjee was a Pakistani newspaper columnist, social activist, and philanthropist.
11 Facts About Ardeshir Cowasjee
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Ardeshir Cowasjee was 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.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee's father, Rustom Fakirjee Cowasjee, was a businessman in merchant shipping, and the family spoke Gujarati at home.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee attended the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School and graduated from DJ Science College, Karachi.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee owned a family run shipping company, that at the time of the independence of Pakistan was Karachi's largest shipping company.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee was appointed by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation in 1973.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee 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.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee subsequently started writing letters to the editor of Dawn newspaper, which led to him becoming a permanent columnist.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee's life has been threatened so often the government has provided him with 24-hour protection.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee died at the age of 86, on 24 November 2012.
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Ardeshir Cowasjee was suffering from chest illness and remained in hospital for twelve days.