REMEMBERING SIR HORMUSJEE COWASJEE DINSHAW

Kt., M.V.O.,O.B.E.

ON HIS BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

By

Vispi S. Dastur

Sir Hormusjee was a worthy son of a worthy father. Born at Bombay on April 4, 1857, the year of India 's First War of Independence, he was the eldest son of Seth Cowasjee Dinshaw and Jerbai. The Cowasjee Dinshaw family had humble beginnings with Cowasjee earning Rs. 3/- p.m. as a printer's help. The history of their rise from poverty to affluence not only makes instructive reading but should be an inspiration to the youth of today who are the real trustees of posterity. He went to Aden on service and later started his own business, M/s. Cowasjee Dinshaw & Bros. It may be mentioned that Cowasjee's father took part in the Afghan War as an accredited representative in charges of the commisariat. Cowasjee and / or his firm participated in the Abyssinian Campaign ( Ethiopia ) of 1867 and the Suakim ( Sudan ) Campaign of 1885.

Hormusjee joined the Fort High School and Elphinstone Institute and passed his Matriculation with Latin as his second language. He went to King's College, London and thereafter acquired practical commercial knowledge by working first with James Barber & Sons in London and later with Leopold Bling Fils in Paris where he also mastered the French language. Hormusjee had wed his cousin Manekbai before he left for England .

He returned to Aden in 1879 at the age of 22 years and joined his father's firm as an ordinary employee. After 14 years of service as an employee he became a partner of Cowasjee Dinshaw & Bros., a firm well known as merchants, importers and exporters, bankers , shipping and mill agents and ship-owners having connections in most of the important cities of the world. The firm owned six ships and in one of them Mahatma Gandhi had left Africa . The first ship purchased was named " Bartle Frere" after the then Governor of Bombay who is more well known as the Provincial Commissioner (District Collector) of Sind in the Bombay Presidency who introduced the first postage stamps in India and Asia in 1852 - now known as the Scinde Dawks - the aristocrats of Indian Philately. They were agents for several British, Italian, Dutch and Norwegian shipping companies. Hormusjee was a pioneer in establishing commercial links with countries in Africa, Europe, Aden and the Far East . The firm of M/s. Cowasjee Dinshaw & Bros. was well known world wide for its honesty, integrity and fair trade practices.

Various honours, titles, medals and Sanads were conferred on him by the British, Portuguese, Spanish, Austrian and Abyssinian (Ethiopian) Governments . He read an address to King George V. In 1890 The King of Portugal conferred the high honor of Knight Commander of Royal Military Order. In 1911 he was conferred the M.V.O.

( Member of the Victorian Order); this was followed by the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire ) in 1918. He was Knighted in June 1922 by the British. Very few Parsees, if any, have been conferred with all these honours by the British. He was Consul for Austria , Portugal and Spain . He was the Founder Patron of The Bombay Parsee Association, Founder President of the Iran League, President of the Bombay Jashan Committee and a regular supporter of the Athornan Mandal and Dadar Athornan Madressa. He was the President of the Parsi Federal Council and "Jarthosti Komna Labh Sachavnari Mandali" He was a Patron and Trustee of " Mumbaini Jivdaya Mandal".

He had the distinction of being a Trustee of three Parsi Punchayets - those of Aden , Bombay and Lonavla and President of Aden and Lonavla Parsi Punchayets . He was also a Trustee of Port Trust, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

Many schools, dispensaries, Agiaries were built. He was well known for his innumerable unostentatious charities in Aden , India and the world, especially in Iran to the poor and the needy irrespective of caste, community or creed. He was a great friend of Iran and at the age of 70 years had visited several historical and religious places in Iran and supported various schools and orphanages in Yazd , Kerman , etc. He was a persona grata with both the classes and the masses. He also believed in person to person charity for the purpose of education, medical aid and relief of poverty, etc. He came to be known as the "The Hatem -e- Tai of Parsees", "The Uncrowned King of Aden" and "The Maker of Modern Aden"- at a time when Aden held a very strategic position as a coaling station for steamers which were the main means of travel between the East and the West.

He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Union Bank of India , a distinct honour for an Indian in those days. In politics although a dear friend of Mahatma Gandhi and the Freedom Movement he was a Moderate Liberal like Sir Dinshaw Waccha and Motilal Nehru.

Few may be aware that at their shop in Aden there was a huge but very tame African lion "Leo" presented by the King of Abyssinia and who is shown on several picture post cards of Aden in the early 1900s often along with the Parsee staff of the firm in their traditional Parsee dress. Moreover, there was a tradition that a staff of around 100 employees had dinner together when one of the employers, the Adenwallas was always present. It may also be mentioned that the Bombay address of the firm has been the same for around 150 years ( 121, Meadows Street , now known as Nagindas Master Road ).

Sir Chimanlal Setalvad has written "The kindness and courtesy of the Adenwallas are proverbial and Indians travelling between India and Europe can never forget the great hospitality that has always been extended to them by Sir Hormusjee and his family whenever they pass through Aden. Sir Hormusjee is a very unassuming, kind and liberal gentleman and he has always extended his helping hand to all of public usefulness". In the words of Mr. J. R. B. Jejeebhoy "all those qualities that go to the making of a Parsee Sethia are inherent in him". He was fond of living a simple life and belonged to that class of Parsees who believed and indulged in plain living and high thinking. In the words of his biographer A. N. Joshi "By his patriotism, national, religious and communal pride, philanthropy, steady and well balanced views and also by his other innumerable distinctive amenities he has become the most esteemed 'Akabar' of the Parsee community. His service to India is as great as his love for her is profound".

Hormusjee passed away at the age of 82 years at Bombay on 1 st August, 1939. The Sunday Standard wrote of him " intellectual, dignified and possessing great charm of manners his character was essentially solid, rather than showy".

A grateful public erected his statue at Veer Nariman Road (old Churchgate Street) next to Bhikha Behram Kuwa(well) which was inaugurated by the then Governor of Bombay, H. E. Sir Raja Maharaj Singh on November 30, 1949 (after Independence ). The sculptor was Mrs. Sheroo Dinshaw Daruvala (Sidhwa). The present plaque mentions " plaque replaced at the cost of Sir Homusjee's grand son Cawasjee Nusserwanjee Dinshaw and with the efforts of The Bombay Parsee Association".

The Bombay Parsee Association is honoured to pay homage to this great son of India and the Parsee community each year on his Birth Anniversary.

On his 152 nd Birth Anniversary let us all draw inspiration from his life and make ourselves worthy of the tradition of selfless service, charity, simplicity and secularism that he left behind. Let us remember that the statue of Sir Hormusjee was raised not just to honour him but also to serve as a beacon light to successive generations of Indians coming afterwards to exhort them and tell them:

" GO FORTH THOU AND DO LIKEWISE"

( The author is the President of The Bombay Parsee Association, Trustee & Hon. Treasurer of The Iran League and a philatelist specialising in Aden - Victorian Era Postal History)

Bibliography

Several other books on Aden and its history.