Senior citizen, noted social worker and writer/columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee died after a protracted ailment on Saturday. He was 86. Widely known by his family name, Cowasjee, he was arguably the most prominent face of post-Partition Karachi and the most distinguished son of a fast-dwindling community of Zoroastrians commonly known as Parsis living in DHA/Clifton and other parts of the city such as traditional but deserted Parsi neighbourhoods of Katrak Hall and Rustom Chawl in Saddar, Parsi Punchayat Wadi near Mama Parsi School and defunct Jubilee Cinema.
Years ago, he used to be a regular visitor of Karachi Parsi Institute (KPI), but old age, constant migration of Parsis, to overseas-starting in the 1950s to the UK and in the following decades to Canada in particular-, religious bigotry that found its most menacing expression during General Zia's rule and a serious law and order situation in Karachi in general and in areas adjacent to this traditional community club since the 1990s in particular significantly affected his presence among his folks at one of the oldest clubs of Subcontinent. Besides, he was one of the most outstanding columnists in the entire history of the country. Although, he was not a trained academician in the strictest sense of the word, his was a style that was strongly characterised by a deep sense of history. His writings were most recognisable and influential prose in English journalism in Pakistan since the 1980s when a shipping merchant Ardeshir Cowasjee, who inherited this business from his father Rustom Cowasjee, effectively introduced himself as a regular column-writer for a leading Karachi-based English-language newspaper.
His commitment to Karachi and public services was unmatched. His venom-laced tirades culminating in harsh but highly objective critique of the government of the day had earned him a place at the table at which the chief guests are placed at a formal dinner. Country's power brokers would often look forward to soliciting his advice on a variety of issues. But several spells of bad governance in the country that led to a serious deterioration in its institutional capacity had made him despondent.
Like noted American intellectual Professor Francis Fukuyama, Cowasjee could not prescribe any solution to a myriad of profound social and political problems that beset Pakistan particularly since a serious deterioration in Pakistan-US relations following a US raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year. "Teray ko kaisay samjhaoon, meray pass iss country kay wastay koi solution nahin hay (how should I explain to you that I don't have any solution for this country)," Cowasjee was often seen telling TV anchors in Urdu but in accent-not so much of an Urdu, but more of a Gujarati accent-in response to their questions that they would raise with a view to concluding their respective talk shows on a triumphant note.
His writings clearly showed that he had a deep understanding of ancient history of his religion. The Archemenian period was perhaps one of the most significant areas of his research. Through his columns underscoring the need for good governance in the country and lamenting over lack of it, he would often tell his readers how Cyrus founded the first Persian Empire after his victory against the Median court of Western Iran. The Archaemenian kings, according to Cowasjee, were very pious Zoroastrians, trying to rule in a fair and transparent manner. Moreover, he was a keen student of studies of Roman Empire and Byzantium under the Constantinian and Velentinian dynasties. Since British Empire, which came to an end due to its poverty despite its victory in the World War II, is widely considered a direct successor of Byzantine-Roman Empire, Cowasjee, like most members of his community, was an ardent admirer of the British rule over the Subcontinent. Arguably, therefore, he was a crude Subcontinental version of Nirad Chaudhuri.
The writer is newspaper's News Editor
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