Biography
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Syed Abdul Fazal Mohammad Abdus Sobhan
AKA
S. A. Sobhan 1911
- 1971
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To the best
of my knowledge and belief, Abba was born in Dhaka in the year 1911 A.D. I’m
certain of his year
of birth as I do remember it from seeing it on his passport.
There is a
lot to be told about our father, often with our chests bloated with pride. He
was the only son of our grandfather,
Syed Abdul Wahab , who I was told was the son of Syed Abdul Hye and a Court Judge in
Calcutta during King George VI's rule, son of King George V and grandson of Queen Victoria. Abba was orphaned at the age of seven
and raised by his
uncle. The Syed family tree dates back at least two centuries. The last remnant
of the actual
family tree was in the possession of a relative whom we knew as Alamgir Nana,
who is also deceased. I have seen it but
Alamgir Nana never made a copy of it. In all fairness to Alamgir Nana, the size of the document was about 3' by 5' and would not fit a copy machine !
He was not
only brilliant but also physically active being the Captain of his High School hockey
team and later Tennis
champion at the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was a sharpshooter and
recognized marksman, with the uncanny skill of shooting a cigarette butt off
his wife’s hand from twenty paces. He was
awarded a six-shot 38-caliber Webley-Scott revolver with lifetime license by
the British Government as a recognition of his marksmanship.
I’m not sure
what his first job was, but my knowledge of his earliest occupation was serving
as a Civil
Defense Officer during World War II. His job was to protect civilian life
during the air raids. After the
War he was stationed in the District of Noakhali, and held the distinct honor
of raising the Pakistan
flag when partition took place on August 14, 1947. He told me he met Mahatma Gandhi when
Gandhiji visited Noakhali, being one of
the worst riot-stricken regions in Bengal.
Between 1947
and 1952 Abba apparently lived between Noakhali and Faridpur since Salim was born in January of
1951 , Nayeem was born in November of the same year (they are separated by 10
months according to Ammi) and Nasim was born the following year. Nanchu and
Meher were born in Karachi In 1956 and
1957 respectively. Then came Jinnah and Glory, both born in Dhaka in 1958 and
1959. Rukhsana,
Munna and Nannie were also all born in
Karachi in the years 1961, 1962 and 1966 respectively.
I am quite certain of the years of birth of the first three and don’t believe
too far off for the
rest of us.
The
flip-flopping of our cities of birth was the result of continuous changes of
Abba’s venues of service between
East and West Pakistan. After the break-up
of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947,
Abba was absorbed in to the Civil Service of Pakistan. The CSP designation was
an honored classification
for civilian employees, with only a handful qualifying for those positions
coming from East
Pakistan.
After 1947,
Abba served as Deputy Commissioner in the Districts of Faridpur and Noakhali.
After these assignments in
East Pakistan, he was appointed as Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Defense
in 1955 and for the
first time stationed in Karachi, West Pakistan, where we lived in Defense
Housing Society. At this
juncture the only children he had were his oldest daughter, Farida Fatima,
myself, Nayeem and Nasim. Nanchu and Meher were apparently born between the
years of 1955 and 1957 because in 1958 he was back in Dhaka to serve as Development
Commissioner for East Pakistan. We lived a couple of years in the-then
Governors House compound. Jinnah and Glory were born in those two years.
At the Ministry of Finance - Govt.of Pakistan
In 1960,
Abba was transferred back to Karachi. This time as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance and after a few months re-positioned as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industries. Growing more
powerful in the Government of Pakistan, Pakistani Industrialists, particularly
textile mill owners crowded his office for licensing permissions. They deluged
him with gifts often sent directly to our house. From bales of sample clothing
and even bicycles, there was evidently little that Abba could have asked
for and not been given by them. But Abba was not only a proud man who held his
head up high, but also a man of immaculate honesty. His integrity was never for sale.
In 1961 he
went back to Dhaka as Additional Chief Secretary for East Pakistan, with
government housing at 8/A Minto Road, known for its residences for senior government
officials. This was a shorter, year-long assignment before being transferred back to
Karachi to an even higher position as Secretary in the Planning Division of the
Government of Pakistan, with his office next to President Ayub Khan at the
President’s Secretariat. In this capacity, Abba was the highest serving civilian
Bengali in the Pakistan Government which had
been historically predominantly run by West Pakistanis. This was considered
critical enough by the Government
for him to be provided with armed 24-7 bodyguards. This was Abba’s last
position with the Government of Pakistan. He officially retired in 1966 due to
failing health after two heart attacks and acute financial pressures from the mishandled
hotel business he had established in Dhaka in between 1960 and 1962.
During the
years of Abba’s tenure as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industries and
Secretary, Planning Division, Abba was frequently sent in trade delegations countries including
France, Germany, Japan and Thailand to finalize trade agreements.
Pakistan Trade Delegation to Turkey
Pakistan Trade Delegation to Japan
Prior to his
retirement years in Karachi, he was appointed to the Board of Governors for
the World Bank.
As Alternate Governor for IBRD-IDA (International Bank of Reconstruction and Development-International Development Association),subsidiaries of the World Bank –
and represented Pakistan at the annual IBRD-IDA, he addressed the meeting held in Washington DC on September 30, 1963. This session was welcomed by
John F. Kennedy , then President of the United States. The worldwide
significance of this
meeting was emphasized by JFK by his
words :
“…There is no more important group, it seems to me, in the free world
than you gentlemen who are here; no group it seems to me bears greater
responsibility. If you are able to conduct your affairs with success, it
benefits all of the people all around the globe, and therefore we regard this
meeting as perhaps the most important that takes place in our capital this year….”
JFK was assassinated 52 days later on November 22, 1963.
On May 1,
1971 Abba passed away after his third heart attack. His failing health was
severely aggravated by financial conditions resulting from what appeared to
have been a cloak and dagger conspiracy of his closest “friends” and family. The mental agony from the surrounding blood-bath in Dhaka that took place on March 25, 1971 performed by
the Occupation Army probably contributed equally to Abba’s untimely demise. He
exhaled his last
breath in my arms. His last words were “I’m sorry my son”.
(Read about his pre-partition appointments as an ICS officer)
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