“His words are feared…”

"I am overwhelmed and thank all of you who are here to waste a great deal of your valuable time,” remarked Karachi's popular columnist and philanthropist Ardeshir Cowasjee on being conferred the 11th Jinnah Award in recognition of his outstanding and dedicated services to Pakistan.The Jinnah Society presented him the award on December 20, 2011 at a ceremony held at the head office of the Oxford University Press.

Ardeshir Cowasjee: guiding light
Photo courtesy
The Herald

Author of 960 articles published in the Karachi daily Dawn over 22 years, he was presented a leather bound edition of his writings during the last 10 years. The columnist has "dedicated time and effort to focus on making people aware of the misdeeds of Pakistan’s rulers and the different ways in which the people have been exploited by their compatriots,” stated a report in The Express Tribune the following day.
Former ambassadar Jamsheed Marker who was chief guest at the function marveled at how the octogenarian "vigorously campaigned against the desecration of Karachi” and remarked that his "passion for justice was reflected in his writing,” according to a report in the Dawn of December 21, 2011. Although he was briefly imprisoned during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s tenure in the mid 1970s, Cowasjee continued with his relentless crusade such that "his words are feared by the Karachi mafia and cheered by the citizens,” added Marker.
Describing Cowasjee as a "quintessential citizen of Karachi, born and bred in this city,” Marker pointed out that his family had made a significant contribution to the metropolis, particularly to its port area, from the time of Bartle Frere till the time of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and after. In fact the Parsi community as a whole remained conscious of their civic duties whilst contributing to Karachi’s commerce, observed the ambassador.
The Cowasjee Foundation, as noted the citation, has been active in the fields of education and medical care. It has sponsored one of The Citizens Foundation’s schools, the Cowasjee Campus in Lyari, the construction of the Cowasjee School of Midwifery at the Lady Dufferin Hospital and is helping build a school at the NED (Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw) University of Engineering and Technology campus. Its contribution to healthcare includes the setting up of the dialysis ward and lithotripsy center at The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, and the accident and emergency operation theater at Jinnah Hospital.
"I think there is no one in the country who has cited Jinnah more than Ardeshir Cowasjee,” commented Liaquat Merchant, founder of the Jinnah Foundation, at the presentation function. According to Merchant, Cowasjee was a "lone campaigner against nepotism, corruption and maladministration. He is a champion of the rule of law and an independent judiciary.” He further hailed the awardee as a "guiding light” for columnists. "To acknowledge Cowasjee’s contributions is to acknowledge the fact that Jinnah had envisioned Pakistan as a secular country and not an Islamic republic,” remarked Babar Ayaz.