From handicaps to honors

Died: Firoze Kaikhushru Sholapurwala, 82, an intrepid police officer and founder of the FKS Foundation, on April 12, 2003 in Bombay following brain hemorrhage.

"He will always serve as an example... on how to deal with life’s blows with a smile and a head held high. Also, despite his inabilities, he continued to give back to society silently without expectations of garlands or applause,” wrote dental surgeon Dr Rohinton Bilimoria in his tribute to Shola­purwala for whom he had "the highest regard.”

"The Godhra public knew him as a very efficient officer — honest, incorrupt, fearless, strict yet very kindhearted. He had earned a place in the hearts of Godhra and this was revealed when he was assaulted,” recalled then resident of Godhra and his schoolmate at the Telang High School, Vyomesh Desai. Throughout the day, prayers for his recovery were offered in temples and mosques.

When communal riots in Godhra in 1947 had destroyed the peace of the merchant community then home minister Morarji Desai deputed the promising Sholapurwala to take charge of the situation. In his attempts to control the hooligans, the police officer himself became a victim of their attack. They threw a sharp weapon at him which cracked his skull and left him with a deep gash. Fragments of the fractured skull had impacted his brain depriving him of his memory and speech which were regained after a series of operations. But there was no cure to the permanent paralysis of his right side. Sholapurwala’s heroic deeds earned him the coveted meritorious service police medal from Lord Mountbatten, then governor general of India. He was also granted a lifetime pension of his salary. "His complete dedication to duty and intrepid spirit” had encouraged columnist Jehan Daru­walla to relate Sholapurwala’s life history in the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly of June 3, 2001 when the fearless octogenarian was alive.

Although he could never resume police duties thereafter, to earn a living for his family he took up work as a salesman for a chemical firm and later established a small successful unit called Roc Pharmaceuticals which manufactured drugs like Rocplex, Rocvit and Rocfolin until it was sold in the early 1990s. "His painstaking efforts to market his products by visiting doctors and chemists in every street of Bombay” was recalled by Leena and Phiroze Wadia in their condolence letter. Respected in his profession, Sholapurwala had established the All India Small Drug Manufacturers’ Association in 1978. He was subsequently made chairman emeritus of this organization.

"He did a lot for the Parsis in Dadar,” reports Daruwalla, referring to Sholapurwala’s nearly decade of service for the J. N. Petit Library in Dadar. He also took it upon himself to ensure that Khodadad Circle retained its name, that one of the small gardens in Dadar be named Khabardar Chowk to perpetuate the memory of the legendary poet Ardeshir Khabardar. "Particularly those in the Dadar Colony will miss his noble and affable presence and the warmth and cheer that he brought to several hearts through numerous kind acts, philanthropy and social work of the highest order,” stated Roshni and Pervez Khambatta.

His most enduring contribution was the setting up of the FKS Foundation in 1980 with his hard earned savings of Rs 20,000. As people started approaching him for help and guidance he felt the need for a charitable organization to assist the needy and the ailing. Impressed by the zeal, integrity and honesty of a handicapped person, financial aid from the affluent started trickling in. Today its corpus stands at nearly Rs 28 lakhs, with approximately five lakhs disbursed annually for educational and medical causes, notes Shola­pur­­wala’s second daughter Dr Farida Aspy Talati. The Foundation also runs a charitable homeopathic dispensary in Dadar.

"He was an extremely courageous man and a great inspiration to all who were fortunate enough to make his acquaintance,” wrote Pashna Munshi, a third year medical student who has been receiving scholarships from the FKS Foundation.

Faced with health and occupational ordeals since his childhood days, Shola­purwala dared to overcome life’s many challenges to emerge as a survivor. As recounted by Daruwalla, at the age of four he had a severe attack of meningitis which lasted for 72 days. Just as hopes were given up on his life he showed signs of recovery but the family soon realized that he had lost movement in both his legs. Shortly thereafter he had a small pox attack after which miraculously both his legs started functioning again.

Born in Dahod, Sholapur­wala’s early education was at Godhra after which he studied at the New Era High School in Baroda and the Baroda College before he joined the Indian Police in 1941. An ace badminton player, he had won the All Baroda Badminton Mixed Doubles Championship, remembered the Wadias. "He was very nationalistic...and would always hoist our national flag on Independence Day and Republic Day. His one great trait was his extreme frankness — he was frank with one and all alike — rich or poor, big or small, adult or child,” stated Havovi Mirza adding, "He had an awe-inspiring personality; a straightness of approach and a no-nonsense attitude to life.”

The upright benefactor is survived by his mother Tehmina, wife Roshan, daughters Zarin Manek Mistry, Dr Farida Aspy Talati and Rukshana, and brothers Pesi and Hector.

P. M. G.