User:Adrian Curley/sandbox/MahbuburRaschid

Mahbubur Raschid, (1918-1979), SPK SQA - was a leading Pakistani banker, economist, and intellectual. Raschid played a key role in promoting industrialization and entrepreneurship in Pakistan, where his services were recognized by three successive governments (Presidents Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto). Raschid was bestowed two of Pakistan’s highest civilian awards, Sitara-e-Pakistan and Sitara-e-Quide Azam, and is credited with steering unparalleled economic growth for the country.

Early Life:

Born in Rangpur, East Bengal, British India in 1918. Raschid’s father, Haroon Ur Raschid, was a dermatologist serving at the Naval Hospital in Bombay. Haroon Ur Raschid collaborated with a team of English, Parsee, Hindu, and Muslim doctors to create a leprosy hospital in Trombay, near the seaside, outside Bombay. For that public service, Raschid’s father was awarded the Khan Bahadur, an honorific conferred by the British Viceroy. Young Mahbub was sent to England at 14 and graduated in Economics from Leeds University. While at Leeds, Raschid was elected Secretary of the Indian Students Association. He was fiercely politically. He was interviewed by the BBC after his election and also for a piece he wrote on Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”. Since his collage days in England Raschid showed promise for professional excellence as well as his interpersonal skills. Throughout his life, he remained a voracious reader, a prolific writer, and a passionate public servant.

Professional Life:

In 1940, Raschid joined Grindlay’s Bank, in London. In 1945, he was transferred to Calcutta, an important financial and business hub. In 1949, Grindlay’s transferred him to Peshawar, in the new state of Pakistan. In 1950, The National Bank of Pakistan asked Raschid to open their new Branch in East Pakistan where he was called upon to set up a branch of the National Bank of Pakistan in Chittagong, East Pakistan. Chittagong is one of the oldest ports in the world and the second largest city in East Pakistan. Two years later, he was appointed as the Head of the National Bank of Pakistan serving throughout East Pakistan, and moved to Dacca (as it was spelt then). Raschid had by now gained a reputation as an astute banker and economist.

During a visit to Dacca, General Ayub Khan, then chief of the Army and Defence Minister, met Raschid and invited him to Karachi (nations capital at the time). Later that year (1957) General Khan took over as the President of Pakistan and asked Raschid to help set Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) and became it’s founder first Managing Director. During the period Raschid lead IDBP (1958-1967) there was a strong emphasis on industrialization in the country. The bank was tasked with identifying and extending credit for setting up new industries that otherwise would not have attracted private capital. This period, often referred to as the golden era of Pakistan, saw industrial growth and economic progress of a level never again achieved. Many early business empires of the country were started and sanctioned under Raschid’s leadership.

Recognizing his performance as founder Managing Director of IDBP, President Ayub Khan appointed Raschid to head the State Bank of Pakistan as its Governor (1967-1972). Raschid was the first East Pakistani to be appointed to that coveted position and the last Governor of a united Pakistan, before Bangladesh came into existence, and until 1971 the second largest Muslim country, after Indonesia. During his tenure as Governor of the State Bank, Raschid oversaw continued economic growth and cultivated excellent relationships with his counterparts abroad. After completing his tenure he was appointed Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and remained so until he left for London in 1974 to join his old colleague and friend Agha Hassan Abedi, founder CEO of BCCI, a visionary, who led one of the most progressive and dynamic financial institutions of the time. It later fell foul of the law. From 1974, Raschid lead the Independent Economic Evaluation Wing at the Bank in London, which he had established, providing incisive and cutting edge analysis of global economic and financial issues, till his passing in 1979, following a heart attack.

Family & Personal Life :

While posted in Calcutta with Grindlay’s Bank, Raschid met and married Khalida Hussain (aka Husna). Khalida was economist and a strong ed her advocacy for women’s empowerment. She had joined Grindlay’s, after her masters, two years prior to Raschid’s arrival at the Bank in 1944. They met at the bank and married in 1946. Both shared liberal values and were deeply involved in politics. When Raschid moved to Karachi, West Pakistan, as Managing Director IDBP, Husna became a PhD candidate in Economics and joined Baji, Begum Majeed Malik founder of the PECHS, all girls school that evolved into a highly respected collage for women. Their only child, Marina, was born in Chittagong in 1951. Married to a Pakistani diplomat Qazi Shaukat Fareed in 1970. They have a daughter, a son and three granddaughters!

Raschid was hugely popular not only in the business circles associated with his work, but also among the literary and cultural intelligentsia. He had an exceptional collection of books, a deep understanding of politics, poetic tradition, and a deep value for out of the box thinkers.