The Bawani family
is one of the renowned families of Jetpur. The Adamjees are also one
of the main branches of the Bawani family. Both, Ahmed Ebrahim Bawani,
father of Ebrahim, and Adamjee Haji Dawood were pioneers of industrialisation
of Burma. Ahmed Bawani Violin Hosiery Works established near Rangoon
in 1930 was the largest hosiery mill in Asia.
Ebrahim was born
in 1926 in Rangoon. During the Second World War he migrated from Rangoon
to Bombay and completed his education. With the creation of Pakistan,
Ebrahim, with his brothers and uncle Lateef Bawani, migrated to Karachi.
In 1948, they imported machinery and established Bawani Violin Textile
Mills in Karachi. After that they purchased Talhar Sugar Mills from
PIDC and within a short period of time, the Bawanis became one of the
leading industrial groups of the country.
During the life
time of Uncle Lateef, popularly known as 'Kaka Lateef', Ebrahim preferred
to remain in the background and under the able guidance of the Kaka,
gradually his character started to take shape. Eventually, he became
one of the well-known Memons in the Muslim world. During the period
1954 to 1957 he was elected President of the then Pakistan Chamber of
Commerce which, later on, amalgamated with three other business organisations
to become Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ebrahim was director
of many companies but with rare excepfion he never accepted high position
in any business Organisation. His first important assignment was founding
and developing of Ayesha Bawani Academy on Shahrae Faisal, where two
high schools for boys and girls were set up, and after six years a college
was also set up in the same building. All these institutions, which
cost the family several million rupees became renowned for their high
standard of education. At the time of nationalisation in 1972 about
3,200 students were getting education in this Academy. In 1962, Maulvi
Tamizuddin Khan, former Speaker of the Parliament, performed the opening
ceremony of a similar Academy in Dacca. Some more schools were also
started in East Pakistan due to the efforts of Kaka Bawani and Ebrahim
played a key role in the establishment of Pakistan Memon Federation.
Ebrahim worked on his dream child: establishment of a residential school
some 80 miles away from Karachi. Having been impressed by the characterbuilding
public schools of the Western world, he wanted to establish a residential
school on the same pattern. A plot of land on the bank of River Indus
was also acquired. The construction of the school then should have cost
Rs. 2 million while the annual recurring expenses were estimated to
be about Rs. 300,000. The school would have provided educational and
residential facilities to 300 students. However, according to Mr. Ebrahim,
his associates from the community did not support him as much as was
expected.
Ebrahim became disappointed
and gave up the idea for lack of co-operation. Disillusioned with the
Memon community, he became more aloof from it and devoted his entire
spare time, money and energy for the service of the whole Muslim millat
and for the propagation of Islamic teaching. He made this his life mission.
He remained mostly out of Pakistan in connection with his mission.
Ayesha Bawani Wakf
was the most glorious achievement of Ebrahim Bawani which was established
in 1962 by the Bawani family. Its activities spread in the entire Muslim
and Christian world. It is providing aid, grants and scholarships. It
is also known as a publishing Organisation of many religious books.
Ebrahim did not believe in publication of traditional books and short
cuts to heaven. He felt that to attract the modern, intellectual Muslims
and non-Muslims towards Islam, it was necessary to converse with them
in their own language and at their own intellectual level. He therefore,
published books which would attract such persons towards serious study
of Islam. Some of the books which became well-known include The Bible,
The Quran and The Science by a French writer. The Wakf has reprinted
more than a dozen editions of its English translation and distributed
free copies world wide. One more important publication is The Gospel
of Barnabas. Only two copies of the original Gospel remained in the
world and the Wakf discovered one of these copies in the library of
American Congress and printed more than 100,000 copies to distribute
free of cost in the Western World. The third book is Jesus, A Prophet
of Islam, by Muhammad Ataur Rahim.
During the last
three decades Ayesha Bawani Wakf has published a total of 51 titles
in English, Urdu, Gujrati and Sindhi languages. Nearly all books have
seen more than one edition and some of them were published ten and twelve
times. Hundreds of thousands of these books have been distributed free
all over the world.
'Muslim News International'
was one more example of the campaign carried on by this mujahid. He
started this monthly magazine with the aim of providing news and views
of the Muslim nations and peoples to the world.
The printing and
publishing of the magazine was shifted to Karachi. The Government of
Pakistan occasionally created problems which Ebrahim Bawani courageously
faced, refusing co-operation. Ultimately, difficulties increased to
such an extent that 'Muslim News International' ceased publication.
He was called a
Mujahid because he actually went on the front lines of areas where Muslims
were fighting for their independence, such as Kashmir, Philippines,
and Palestine. He collected large amounts from the Arab Sheikhs to purchase
arms and ammunitions required by the Muslim freedom fighters, it was
on such a mission that he went to Kuala Lumpur, where he breathed his
last in his hotel room. His body was brought to Karachi for burial.
