The Markers of Mhow

The contribution of the Marker family to the Indian armed forces is unique. Between the father and two sons, they have served in the Army, Navy and Air Force, making them probably the only family in the community to hold such a record. In 1974 all three were in service at the same time, as per information forwarded to Parsiana through Brig (Retd) Adi Sahukar of Poona.

The patriarch, Dhanjishaw Marker was born in Bombay in 1917, obtained his MBBS degree from G. S. Medical College and in 1944 was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Mahar regiment of the Indian Army as a doctor. During World War II the regiment was stationed in Iraq. Marker was subsequently transferred to the Indian Air Force and commanded its hospitals in Kanpur and Johrat. He also held the coveted appointments of medical advisor to the Director General of Civil Aviation and principal medical officer of the Air Force Training Command in Bangalore, reveals the write-up. Retiring as group captain in 1974, he settled in his ancestral bungalow in Mhow. Marker was elected as trustee of the Mhow Parsi Anjuman in 1978, and became its president in 1996. He initiated the "Mhow chaloji (come to Mhow)” project and succeeded in settling about a dozen Parsi families in that cantonment town. The youth movement he inspired led to the Anjuman rebuilding the Mhow agiary. But the highlight of his tenure was when the Mhow Anjuman hosted a meeting of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India in November 1999. The following year he relinquished its presidentship due to poor health.

Family that served the nation (clockwise from left): Dhanjishaw Marker, sons Merazban and Aspi

Marker plunged into many social activities during his retirement. He was president of the Indian Medical Association, the Indian Red Cross and the Rotary Club of Mhow. He also managed the small family business of manufacturing aerated water and earned a name for the quality of his products. The business was handed over to son Kerman when the father’s health began to fail. Marker expired in Bangalore in April 2007, the write-up reveals.

Marker’s eldest son Aspi, born in 1949, joined the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1971 and retired as commodore in 2007. During his meritorious career Aspi commanded naval ships of both the Eastern and Western Fleets and the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron of the Indian Navy. His shore appointments included command of the prestigious INS Agnibahu and INS Angre. In the course of his career he was chairman of the Naval Public School in Bombay, on the faculty of NDA, the Defence Services College, Wellington and the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad, a rare achievement, the write-up states. While commanding INS Khukri in 1991 the ship was adopted by the Army’s Gorkha Brigade then headed by Lt General Faridoon Bilimoria, a unique circumstance when two senior Parsi officers participated together in an inter-services event.

Since 1996, even when he was not stationed in Bombay, Aspi has been addressing the Holiday Programme for Youth conducted by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet where he coordinates speakers from all three defence services. The Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anju­mans of India conferred on him the Lt Col Adi B. Tarapore Memorial Award for service to the community in 2003. Earlier that same year the Navy awarded the commodore the Nao Sena Medal for dedication and devotion to duty, adds the write-up. Aspi elected to reside in Bombay after his retirement in 2007.

Dr Merazban Marker, born in 1950, became a doctor like his father, graduating from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Poona in 1972. He was commissioned into the medical branch of the Indian Air Force in 1973 and served there for 27 years. Selected to go on deputation to the armed forces of the Sultanate of Oman from 1975-79, he worked at various field stations of the Royal Oman Army and the Royal Oman Air Force. He was a member of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital of the British Army while there, as per the write-up.

Merazban completed his master’s degree in hospital administration from the AFMC in 1985 after which he held various administrative medical appointments in Air Force hospitals as well as staff appointments at Air Headquarters, New Delhi. In 2000, while he was deputy director general of Air Force Medical Services (Personnel), the wing commander sought premature retirement despite having been cleared for promotion to the next rank. After his retirement Merazban was medical director of The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science, Bangalore, and of two other super-specialty hospitals in that city. At present he is a consultant in hospital design, planning and project management for two large hospital projects in Bangalore, as also lead assessor for The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals.

Following in the family tradition, Merazban is a trustee of the Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman and coordinator for health care for Parsi families, the write-up concludes.