Neville Wadia
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Neville Ness Wadia (22 August 1911 – 31 July 1996) was a British businessman, philanthropist and a member of the
Wadia family The Wadia family is a Parsi family from Surat, India currently based in Mumbai, India. The family rose to wealth in the mid-1700s as ship-builders serving the British East India Company as the latter established its sway over India. During t ...
, an old
Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
family which, by the 1840s, was one of the leading forces in the Indian shipbuilding industry. Wadia was the last of India's aristocratic taipans, who expanded his family textile concern into one of India's largest and donated lavishly for the welfare of the Parsee community to which he belonged.


Life and career

Wadia was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to Sir Ness Wadia and Lady Evelyne Clara Powell Wadia. He was the grandson of Nowrosjee Wadia and Bai Jerbai. Brought up in opulence in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, he was educated at
Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
.Obituary – The Independent 6 August 1996.
Retrieved 10 January 2010
He married
Dina Dina ( ar, دينا, he, דִּינָה, also spelled Dinah, Dena, Deena) is a female given name. Women * Dina bint Abdul-Hamid (1929–2019), Queen consort of Jordan, first wife of King Hussein * Princess Dina Mired of Jordan (born 1965), Princ ...
, the only child of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
, the founder of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and his wife
Rattanbai Petit Rattanbai Jinnah (''née'' Petit; 20 February 1900 – 20 February 1929), also known as Ruttie Jinnah, was the wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an important figure in the creation of Pakistan and the country's founder. Additionally, Rattanbai Petit ...
, in 1938. The wedding was largely criticized due to being an inter-faith marriage, Dina belonged to a
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
faith, and Wadia was a Parsi. The couple had two children, a son,
Nusli Wadia Nusli Wadia (born 15 February 1944) is an Indian billionaire businessman and the chairman of the Wadia Group, an Indian conglomerate involved in the FMCG, textiles and real estate industries among others. His net worth was estimated at US$4.1 b ...
, and a daughter, Diana Wadia. However, the marriage did not last long and the couple divorced in 1943. Although his father was born a Parsi, he renounced the
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
faith and converted to Christianity. Wadia was raised as a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
but he later converted from Christianity to
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
. During the late 19th century, his father, Sir Ness Wadia, who was known as the Cotton King, played an important role in turning the city of
Bombay 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- ...
into one of the world's largest cotton trading centres. In 1933, Neville was unceremoniously thrown into
Bombay Dyeing Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Limited is the flagship company of the Wadia Group, engaged primarily in the business of Textiles. Bombay Dyeing is one of India's largest producers of textiles. Its current chairman is Nusli Wadia. In M ...
by his father where he started working as a supervisor for loading of cotton bales on to trucks which was the most junior level in each department. He slowly worked his way to the top. He was paid no salary and given only a meagre allowance befitting a lowly employee. In 1952, Wadia succeeded his father as chairman of Bombay Dyeing, and under his leadership the company became one of India's most successful and quality-conscious textile concerns. Wadia founded the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, which he headed for 12 years. He was also heavily involved in the real estate business in Mumbai, and he contributed to building new wings and upgrading several hospitals in Bombay founded by his family. He established a business school named as Modern Education Society's Neville Wadia Institute of Management studies and Research in Pune and a host of charitable trusts for Parsees. In 1971, Neville decided to sell the company to
R. P. Goenka Rama Prasad Goenka (1 March 1930 – 14 April 2013) was the founder and chairman Emeritus of the RPG Group, a multi-sector Indian industrial conglomerate. Born in 1930, he was the eldest son of Keshav Prasad Goenka and grandson of Sir Badri ...
as it was failing and had plans to settle abroad. However his son stopped him by garnering 11 per cent of the company shares and went on to persuade the employees to pool their savings and buy shares to prevent the sale. This made Neville change his mind of selling the company and forcing him to abandon his plans of settling abroad. After his retirement as chairman of Bombay Dyeing in 1977, he was succeeded by his son,
Nusli Wadia Nusli Wadia (born 15 February 1944) is an Indian billionaire businessman and the chairman of the Wadia Group, an Indian conglomerate involved in the FMCG, textiles and real estate industries among others. His net worth was estimated at US$4.1 b ...
. Neville Wadia died in Mumbai three weeks before his 85th birthday.


References


Bibliography

*Hinnells, John R. (2005) ''The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration''. Oxford University Press,. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wadia, Neville 1911 births 1996 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Businesspeople from Liverpool Converts to Zoroastrianism from Christianity English Zoroastrians Jinnah family Parsi people from Mumbai Businesspeople from Mumbai People educated at Malvern College Indian businesspeople in textiles British people of Parsi descent Wadia family 20th-century English businesspeople