Mirza Ahmad Ispahani (1898–1986) was a Perso-Bengali businessman based in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

and the patriarch of the

Ispahani family The Ispahani family, also known as the House of Ispahani are a Perso-Bengali business family. In Bangladesh, they own and manage M. M. Ispahani Limited, one of the country's leading conglomerates and Ispahani Advisory and Surrey International i ...

. He was the founder of

Orient Airways Orient Airways Ltd. ( ur, ) was an airline established in 1946 with its base in Calcutta, Bengal, British India. The airline shifted operations to the newly independent state of Pakistan in 1947, and was rechristened as Pakistan International A ...

and the first chairman of

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

(PIA). He was the chairman of Ispahani Group.

Early life

Mirza Ahmad Ispahani, eldest son of Mirza Mohammed Ispahani, was born in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military governme ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

in 1898. He went for schooling in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. After his matriculation at the age of 20, he joined his father's business in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

Business

A short time after joining the business, Ispahani was made a junior partner. When his father died in May 1925, he became the senior partner of the firm along with two other partners, his brothers, Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani and Mirza Mahmood Ispahani. In 1934,

M. M. Ispahani M.M. Ispahani Limited ( bn, এম এম ইস্পাহানি লিমিটেড), also known as The Ispahani Group, is a Bangladeshi conglomerate headquartered in Chittagong. Founded in 1820, it is the oldest company in Bangladesh and ...

and partnership was converted to a limited liability company in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

was founded by Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and

Adamjee Haji Dawood Sir Adamjee Haji Dawood Bawany (30 June 1880 – 27 January 1948) was a Pakistani businessman and philanthropist who founded Adamjee Group. He was also an activist in the Pakistan Movement. Early life Adamjee Haji Dawood was born in 1880 in Jetp ...

on 23 October 1946. In 1947 the company was moved to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. In 1965 he founded the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital in Dhaka. On 11 March 1955 Orient Airways was merged with a proposed airline of the Pakistan Government and turned into Pakistan International Airlines Corporation, the national airline of Pakistan. The company expanded into multi-dimensional business activities including jute, tea, textiles, engineering, shipping, matches and plywood. He was the first exporter of tea from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. After the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

, his properties were nationalized under the Enemy Property Act. Ahmad Ispahani personally went to meet

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

and requested that his properties be denationalized. Mujib had the law specially changed for Ahmad Ispahani and handed all his properties back to him. When

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military Officer (armed forces), officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from Presidency of Ziaur Rahman, 1977 to 1981. He was Assassinat ...

became the president, he requested that Ahmad Ispahani become the chairman of

Biman Biman Bangladesh Airlines ( bn, বিমান বাংলাদেশ এয়ারলাইন্স) commonly known as Biman ( bn, বিমান), pronounced (), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazra ...

, because of his expertise in the aviation industry. However, he politely turned down the offer.

Legacy

In 1960, Mirza Ahmad established the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, which is still the largest multispecialty eye hospital in Bangladesh. He also established the Ispahani Public School & College, Cumilla in 1962 and Ispahani Public School & College in 1979. His only son Sadri Ispahani established the Mirza Ahmed Ispahani High School in 1987. His grandsons Behrouze Ispahani, Sajid Ispahani, Salman Ispahani and Shakir Ispahani continue to be involved in the business today, which remains one of the most respected conglomerates in Bangladesh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ispahani, Mirza Ahmad Mirza Ahmad Bangladeshi businesspeople Pakistan International Airlines people People from Chittagong 1898 births 1986 deaths Bangladeshi chairpersons of corporations 20th-century Pakistani businesspeople Indian expatriates in British Burma

Early life

Business

Legacy

See also

References