Fakhruddin T. Khorakiwala was an Indian businessman and Sheriff of Mumbai. From 2000 until his death, he was the chancellor of

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

. He was a well-known Indian businessman, and founded the Akbarallys group of departmental stores in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. He acquired Worli Chemical Works which later was incorporated as

Wockhardt Wockhardt is a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It produces formulations, biopharmaceuticals, nutrition products, vaccines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). History Wockhardt was foun ...

Ltd, becoming India's 5th largest pharmaceutical company.

Early life

He was born in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

in 1918, and studied at Government Law College, Mumbai. During his youth, he participated in the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

on 9 August 1942 at the

August Kranti Maidan Gowalia Tank Maidan, officially renamed August Kranti Maidan, is a park in Grant Road West, in South Mumbai, in which Mahatma Gandhi issued the Quit India speech on 8 August 1942. It decreed that unless the British left India immediately, mas ...

Career

In 1956 he founded the Akbarallys group of departmental stores in

. It was India's first indigenised departmental store and India’s pioneering foray into retail management. Khorakiwala was the Sheriff of Mumbai in 1992 and instrumental in bringing peace to the city after communal riots broke out after the destruction of the

Babri Masjid Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communi ...

by organising a 100km human chain against sectarian violence. He envisioned the creation of Mohalla Committees (''Neighbourhood Committees'') and helped set up 72 of them across Mumbai. In 1995, Khorakiwala took over as the President of the

Indian Merchants' Chamber Indian Merchants' Chamber, established on 7 September 1907 in Mumbai, is an organization of India, representing interests of Indian trade, commerce, and industry. It was organized originally during the days of the British Raj to promote trade, co ...

(IMC) In 2003, he was appointed Chancellor of

university in New Delhi, a post which he held till his death. He was also the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India, the Founder and President of the Indo-Swiss, Indo-Arab and India-Indonesia Friendship Societies.

Death

Khorakiwala died on 5 July 2011. He was 93 and is survived by three sons,

Habil Khorakiwala Habil Khorakiwala is the founder and Chairman of Indian multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Wockhardt. He founded Wockhardt in 1967, which since then has grown into one of the top Indian makers of generic drugs, formulations ...

, now chairman of the

Group, Hunaid Khorakiwala and Taizoon Khorakiwala, Managing Director of Switz Group. In November 2006, his son Habil was elected as the president of

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and ...

.he was also elected chancellor of

Jamia Hamdard Jamia Hamdard ( ur, ) is an institute of higher education deemed to be university located in New Delhi, India. It is a government-funded university. Established in 1989, it was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India Shri R ...

new delhi

Awards

He was conferred with a number of awards including 'Maharashtra State Vanashree Award 2003', the Life Time Achievement Award by BMA (Bombay Management Association) and the prestigious Citizen of Mumbai Award by The Rotary Club of Bombay.

References

1918 births 2011 deaths Indian businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Businesspeople from Mumbai Indian Ismailis Dawoodi Bohras Jamia Millia Islamia Sheriffs of Mumbai {{India-business-bio-stub