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== Personal Life == |
== Personal Life == |
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He has 2 daughters and 2 sons, Jyoti, Kusum, Rajkumar and Lalchand. He was married to Kalabai. |
He has 2 daughters and 2 sons, Jyoti, Kusum, Rajkumar and Lalchand. He was married to Kalabai. |
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== Death == |
== Death == |
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Latest revision as of 21:52, 16 November 2025
Indian-Emirati businessman and trader (1924–2019)
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Maghanmal Pancholia |
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| Born |
Maghanmal Jethanand Pancholia 24 October 1924[1] |
| Died | 2 September 2019 (aged 94) |
| Occupations |
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Maghanmal Jethanand Pancholia (24 October 1924 – 2 September 2019), also known as Maghaba, was a powerful[3] Indian-Emirati businessman, trader, philanthropist and the founder of the Indian High School, Dubai, the first Indian educational institution established in the United Arab Emirates.[4] He was also one of the four businessmen to introduce electricity to Dubai,[5][6] and the first Indian citizen to be appointed as board member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry by Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.[4]
He served as the director of Dubai Electric Company (now merged to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) from 1961 to 1980[7] and as the board member of Al Maktoum Hospital, originally appointed by the British Political Agent.[2]
He was born on 24 October 1924 in India and belonged to the Sindhi community (Tattha).[1] He married Kalabai Maghanmal Pancholia (1927–2018) in 1943, with whom he had four children.[8] He reached to Sharjah in 1942 via the Karachi route[9] and started trading pearls and gold. He was also involved in grocery stores and currency exchange businesses until he started textiles, electronics and wholesale food alongside financing the pearl industry.[1]
In 1957, he established an electricity corporation in Dubai which continued power distribution to the general public till 1960.[10]
He wrote an autobiography titled Footprints: Memoirs of an Indian Patriarch that covers his life and the development history of Dubai.[9] In the early 2010s, Arabian Business ranked him as one of the most powerful Indians in the Gulf.[3]
He has 2 daughters and 2 sons, Jyoti, Kusum, Rajkumar and Lalchand. He was married to Kalabai. Some of his business such as Arabian Trading Agency are run by their children.
He was 20th century’s one of the oldest Indian-Emirate citizens.[11] He died on 2 September 2019 in Dubai, and was cremated on 3 September in Jebel Ali.[12]He worked till the last day of his life.[1]
