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

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

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. Originally hailing from Isfahan, Iran, the ...

. He was the founder of Orient Airways and the first chairman of

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

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

Early life

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

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in 1898. He went for schooling in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

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

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 and partnership was converted to a limited liability company in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Orient Airways was founded by Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and Adamjee Haji Dawood on 23 October 1946. In 1948 the company was moved to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. 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 Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport in ...

, 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 and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. After the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

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

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

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 Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

became the president, he requested that Ahmad Ispahani become the chairman of Biman, 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 Ispahani Public School & College, Chattogram commonly referred to as IPSC is a private educational institution on Zakir Hossain Road in Chittagong, Bangladesh. This college is one of the top most reputed colleges of Chittagong. The institution ...

in 1979. His only son Sadri Ispahani established the Mirza Ahmed Ispahani High School in 1987.

References

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

Early life

Business

Legacy

See also

References