Maghanmal Pancholia
# Maghanmal Pancholia

Maghanmal Jethanand Pancholia (24 October 1924 – 2 September 2019), also known as Maghaba, was an Indian-Emirati businessman, trader, philanthropist and the founder of the Indian High School, Dubai, first Indian educational institution established in the UAE. He was one of the four businessmen to introduce electricity to Dubai, and the first Indian citizen to be appointed as board member of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry by Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

He served director of Dubai Electric Company (now merged to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) from 1961 to 1980 and the board member of Al Maktoum Hospital, originally appointed by the British Political Agent.

## Biography

He was born on 24 October 1924 in India and belonged to Sindi community. He married Kalabai Maghanmal Pancholia (1927–2018) in 1943, with whom he had four children. He reached to Sharjah in 1942 via Karachi route 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 pearl industry.

In 1957, he established an electricity corporation in Dubai which continued power distribution to the general public till 1960. He wrote an autobiography titled Footprints: Memoirs of an Indian Patriarch that covers his life and the development history of Dubai.

The National Herald, an Indian newspaper published a report in 2017, claimed that one of Pancholia's workers left his boots in 1996 after being employed at Pancholia's house in India. The worker alleged that Pancholia left him without retirement pensions.

## Death

He was 20th century's one of the oldest Indian-Emirati citizens. He died on 2 September 2019 in Dubai, and was cremated on 3 September in Jebel Ali.

## Books

* Pancholia, Maghanmal J. (2009). Footprints: Memoirs of an Indian Patriarch. ISBN 9781860632655.
