This biography was published to
commemorate the birth centenary of independent India’s first Commerce Minister
Cooverji Hormusji Bhabha. Since it was meant as a daughter’s tribute to her
father, I ghost wrote the biography on behalf of Rati Forbes.
A businessman from Bombay, Cooverji
Hormusji Bhabha was a close associate of Vallabhbhai Patel, who had, in fact,
suggested his inclusion in the Executive Council of Viceroy Lord Wavell (August
1946) and later the Interim Government of Viceroy Lord Mountbatten (March 1947),
as the representative of the Parsi community. During this period, as the
Minister for Works, Mines and Power, he made significant contribution to framing
a mining policy for India and initiated work on planning of what would be some of
India’s major irrigation dams and river valley projects, soon after
independence.
Cooverji Bhabha was handpicked by Lord
Mountbatten and appointed Chairman of the Delhi Emergency Committee which
supervised and coordinated all the tasks of restoring law & order and
rehabilitation in the aftermath of the riots that raged in Delhi immediately
after the country’s partition. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly
and contributed significantly to drafting the legislation for governing the
operations of Indian companies which was later enacted as the Indian Companies
Act, 1956.
Cooverji Bhabha resigned from Jawaharlal
Nehru’s Cabinet in 1948 due to his mother’s illness and returned to Bombay to look
after his business interests in banking and insurance. He was appointed Vice-Chairman
of the Rural Banking and Enquiry Committee in November 1949 in which capacity
he recommended the setting up of regional rural banks. He served as
Vice-Chairman of the Central Bank of India from 1955 up to July 1969 when it
was nationalised. As Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association (1961), he
argued for the setting up of the Credit Guarantee Corporation of India.
Cooverji Bhabha died of cardiac arrest
in London in 1986.
The book draws heavily from the archives
of the Bhabha family. Some of these precious letters have been used as images
in the book, to establish little known facts, as well as to embellish the
design elements of the book.
Publisher: Rati Forbes, Pune, 2010, hardbound, pages 164.
Chapters
1. Why this Quest 8
2. Family History 10
3. Early Years 24
4. Political Appointments 38
5. Years in Government 58
6. Return to Bombay 82
7. The Family 90
8. Dad’s Persona 108
9. The Banking Years 122
10. Business and Philanthropy 142
11. Epilogue 158
Milestones 162
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