Netaji...!!!

Subhas Chandra Bose was born in a well-to-do Bengali family of Cuttack, Orissa,
on January 23, 1897. He was the ninth child of his advocate father Janakinath
Bose and mother Prabhavati Devi. The upright character of both of his parents
had a profound impact on the mental make-up of Bose. A brilliant student, Bose
completed his intial studies at a missionary English school in Cuttack and then
at the Ravenshaw Collegiate School there. It was his close contact with the
headmaster at the latter institution that filled him the idea of a free India.
In 1911, he topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and in
1918, passed with a B.A. degree in Philosophy from the Scottish Church College
of the University of Calcutta.

On his father's persuasion, Bose went to
England to appear in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exams. Though he passed the
exams very well and was offered an ICS role, he resigned from it and came back
to Calcutta to establish the National College of which he became the
principal.

But the revolutionary inside Bose ever wanted to express
itself and it was his meeting with the great Bengali leader C.R. Das that
inspired him to fight for the freedom of the country. Mahatma Gandhi's famous
Khadi Movement greatly interested him and he began to sell "khadi" (cloth made
of homespun cotton) on the streets of Calcutta, an action that was seen as
anti-government and landed him in prison. He continued to work with the Congress
along with the Mahatma but the ideals of the latter slowly disillusioned him and
the condescending attitude of the Britishers towards the Congressmen frustrated
him and made him realize that only an organized armed struggle could overthrow
the British Government. He joined the National Volunteer Corps and later was
appointed as its Commander-in-Chief.

He also launched his own party, the
All India Forward Bloc.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Netaji
(as Subhas Bose began to be called by his countrymen) undertook a perilous
journey by submarine and landed in Germany where he met up with Hitler and other Italian and Japanese leaders to seek their
assistance in his fight for India's freedom. He was ably supported. The great
leader waged a war against the British Government in India. His own outfit, the
Indian National Army (INA), fought bravely against the allied forces in Burma
and eastern front of India. Netaji's army captured several key posts and would
have made inroads to India but the monsoon crushed his plans. Lack of training,
inability to cope with the rain in the hills, inadequate ration supplies by
Japanese forces and many other factors forced the INA to retreat.


Officially, Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to
Tokyo on 18 August 1945. But the remains of his body was never recovered which
prompted the British Government to set up a commission to investigate his death.
The Inquiry Commission under Justice Mukherjee obtained clear information from
the Taiwanese Government that no plane crash was reported on the said date and
it also made it clear that the reported ashes of Netaji at the Renkoji temple is
not his. His mysterious disappearance further adds to the enigma that Netaji was
in his lifetime and the search for the great patriot is still on.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi...!!!

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in October 2, 1869 in a middle class
merchant(Bania/Vaishya) family at Porbandar in Kathiawar, Gujarat. His father
was Karamchand Gandhi, a Dewan or Prime Minister of Porbandar. His mother,
Putlibai, was a woman of a very pious nature. It was his mother whose peronality
and life influenced Gandhiji. She taught Gandhiji to speak the truth in every
sphere of life.

After finishing high school, Gandhiji joined the
Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. When his father died in 1885, he was only 18. It
was then that someone advised Ganhiji that he should go to England and come back
with a law degree if he was to improve his chance of getting his father's
position in the state service in Porbandar. In 1891, he came back to India armed
with the degree he set out to achieve in England. After an unsuccesful attempt
to set up his own legal practice, Gandhiji received an offer from Dada Abdulla
& Co. and set sail for South Africa on behalf of the company for a legal
matter. It was in south Africa that Gandhiji became what he was destined
to be. Deeply disturbed by the appalling treatment meted out to Indians by the
Britishers, Gandhiji decided to fight the discrimination against Indians. He
started to practice the ideals of Ahimsa (non-violence), Brahmacharya
(continence) and Satyagraha (fasting for a truthful cause). In 1914, his
struggle was rewarded when the South African Government entered into an
agreement with him and the main demands of the Indians were granted. This
success inspired Gandhiji to do something for his own nation. He came back to
India and founded a a place of religious retreat called Satyagraha Ashram in
Ahmedabad. His first movement in India was in Champaran, Bihar, where he voiced
the grievances of the many exploited poor peasants of that area. This compelled
the British Government in India to set up a inquiry to gauge the state of the
farmers and work for their betterment. The success in this campaign greatly
increased Gandhiji's stature in the eyes of millions of exploited. neglected and
impoverished Indians. soon Gandhiji began to be known as the "Mahatma" for his
great ideals and his adherence to them as well as for his untiring campaign
against the British. In 1921, Gandhji called his countrymen to take part in his
famous Non-cooperation movement against the British. The movement met with a
massive support from the Indian populace but a mob violence during this
camapaign in Chauri Chaura shocked Gandhiji to the extent that he called it off.
In 1930, he organised the famous "Dandi March" to oppose the British law that
deprived Indians to make their own salt. It led to the historic "Civil
Disobedience Movement" that saw thousands of Indian men and women defying the
British Goverment and being put to jail. In 1942, Gandhiji gave the call for the
historic "Quit India Movement" to indicate that the time of the Britishers was
up and they should leave India and the Indians for good. The great leader was
repeatedly thrown into prison for his protests but it could not break his will.
He also worked untiringly to unite Hindud and Muslims, abolish several
superstitions and better the hygiene of the poor people in different regions of
the country.

The drained resources of the British following the Second
World War and the rising discontent of Indians prompted the Britisg Government
to give India back to her own sons. On 15th August, 1947, India was declared to
be an independent nation but not before it was split up into two nations, India
and Pakistan. Some Hindu fundamentalists felt that the Mahatma shirked his
responsibility in stopping this division. One of them, Nathuram Godse, shot him
dead when Gandhiji was going for his evening prayers. The last words on his lips
were "Hey Ram".

Voice Of Freedom..!!!

Jawaharlal Nehru, gave this following speech as India's first Prime Minister to the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi at midnight on August 14, 1947. Though this speech is full of ideals and embellishments to inspire a nation, about to make a new beginning, it is historic and can be recognized as the first voice of Independent India. 

'Awake to freedom' "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.

At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, then an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her successes and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again.

The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

Freedom and power bring responsibility. That responsibility rests upon this assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now.

Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we might fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labor and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagines that it can live apart. Peace has been said to be indivisible, so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

To the people of India whose representatives we are, we make appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell."
-- Speech by Jawaharlal Nehru

Geetanjali....

The mystic aura of India and the enigma that she is
has captured the imagination and fancy of great minds. Take a look at what they
have to say about India.
"Where the mind is without fear
and the head is
held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been

broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls;
Where words come
out from
the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches
its
arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost
its way into the dreary
desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is
lead forward by thee
into ever-widening thought and action-
Into that
heaven of freedom, my Father,
let my country awake."

"GEETANJALI"
-Rabindranath Tagore

Please Think Once...

Indians, we should be proud that Obama realized what India is? But
d million dollar?n s dat y Indian students are still not realizing the
potential of India. A big shame being a child to India. vascodegama
came for trade n handed India to british Obama visted in the same way
for trade with india.and in turn Indians are turning as if like britishers
looting our economy from birth n investing the knowledge to other
countries.
When there are n number of best universities here,where
americans are cuming here to have their ms why don’t we realize?
srm,amritha,vit,saastra,barath,karunya,bits n many govt oriented
colgs are here.
By spending 4-15lakhsin u.s or any other countries and developing their
economy if we purchase the same ms seat in NRI qota here in indian
universities atleast they would improve standards n infrastructure n
even govt would get benefited as many more universities would come
into place.
India has got unity in diversity. Can we see the same unity in diversity
elsewhere in the world, the biggest democracy. Can we see different
languages ,cultres,castes,religions,races,attires,mode of living different
frm one galli to other,one mandal to other,one distrct to oether
district,one state to other state,can we see greenish villages,can we
see heavy traffic,can we see bazars like koti. We can only see ytish or
balkish with cots but not with different attires. Realize dudes n dudeens
We may go there ,we may have ambition that im crossing boarder
but after my masters il come back to my own country, but how many
Indians are back 98%addicts to the environ there .our Indian teachers
has taught us and we r using our talent n our money to develop other
countries’ economies.
If we think logically we are beating the womb of our mother India,
its better to earn 500 rs here mn live in a hut then earning high and
staying elsewhere.
I hope we ppl are acting as if like terrorists ,terrorists collapses
livelihood by putting bombs but we are acting terrorist by looting our
economy.
I hope u.s universities or their jobs r nothing but they are using Indians
as if like cheap labour, what u.s has done to us.giving aradio tags,how
was indian ambasidor treated at airport,how was sharukh treated just
becoz of having khan, how was external minster treated, shame to us.
Please my request to today Indians are rich but india is poor .it is
not only becoz of politicians even we are responsible. we the roots
n leaves are politicians today we are spoiling our country by going
to other countries if the roots(students) of a tree are well in turn
leaves(politicians) will be well n even the fruit(Indian economy) that is
out will also be the best 1.
We are behaving as if like terrorist using Indian money Indian culture
and developing other contries.is it apt? Think for a while getting a
master degree and living in ac bungalow with hand ful of us dollars
is not we have born .can we get a mental satisfaction by living in
u.s thinking that ur in india.we are dependent ova there,but we are
independent here. earn 5 rs on indian soil then earing 500dollars. Good
are bad lets take an initiative. if we do something to our country it will
do some thing to us. this is my message not only to the students who are
opting to go abroad but also for the ppl who are in abroad come back..
lets develop our country safeguard it so that it would help rest of the
generations.

Rare Pictures Of Hyderabad...

Rare Hyderabad Pictures


Makkah Masjid in 1948


Moazzam Jahi Marketplace building



Palace of the Hyderabad Royal Family.


Today's A.P Assembly building


State Central Library - Afzalgunj


Osmania General Hospital


State Banquet honoring the visit of the Viceroy of India


Dawakhana Unani - Charminar


State Cavalry heading a
procession thru the streets of Hyderabad (1948)


Nizam's personal elephant

Haji's departing (from Nampally station?)

Mir Osman Ali Khan, reviewing the troops march from the royal box (probably in Parade grounds Secunderabad)

Nizam's Guard Buckle

Nizam Of Hyderabad

Hyderabad Entrance
Photograph of the entrance bridge to the city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. This view was taken by Lala Deen Dayal (1844-1905) in the 1880s. Dayal took up photography in the 1870s and in 1884 became official photographer to the Nizam of Hyderabad, with studios in Secunderabad and Indore. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. Later, Hyderabad became the capital of the Nizams of Hyderabad, who ruled over one of the largest states in India from 1724 to 1948. The dynasty was founded by Nizam al-Mulk, entitled Asaf Jah (d. 1748) who had arrived in the Deccan as the Mughal governor before declaring his independence. During their time in power the Nizams constructed many buildings of architectural importance.

Charminar
Photograph of a street in Hyderabad looking towards the Char Minar, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. This is from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. The town was laid out in a grid pattern with two main roads running east to west and north to south; the Char Minar, or Four Towers, sits at the intersection of these two roads. This ceremonial strucuture was built in 1591 to mark the centre of the city. It comprises four imposing arched portals with arcaded storeys and geometric screens above. The four corner minarets, crowned with domical finials, contain spiral staircases opening onto triple tiers of balconies. The Mecca mosque, begun in 1617, can be seen to the right of this image.


The Char Minar, Hyderabad," an engraving from Fullarton's Gazetteer, London, 1850.
http://img33.imagesh...67/61310450.jpg
The Char Minar gate, Hyderabad, in the 1880's; an albumen photo, possibly by Lala Deen Dayal

The Char Minar gate, Hyderabad, in the 1880's; an albumen photo, possibly by Lala Deen Dayal

Old Photo

Photograph of a main street in Hyderabad, looking towards the Char Minar, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. This is from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. The town was laid out in a grid pattern with two main roads running east to west and north to south; the Char Minar sits at the intersection of these two roads. The Char Minar, or Four Towers, was built in 1591 to mark the centre of the city. This ceremonial structure comprises four imposing arched portals with arcaded storeys and geometric screens above. The four corner minarets are crowned with domical finials. They contain spiral staircases opening onto triple tiers of balconies.

Stereographic photograph of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, taken by James Ricalton in c. 1903, from The Underwood Travel Library: Stereoscopic Views of India. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. The town was laid out in a grid pattern with two main roads running east to west and north to south; the Char Minar sits at the intersection of these two roads. The Char Minar, or Four Towers, seen in the background of this view, was built in 1591 to mark the centre of the city. This ceremonial structure comprises four imposing arched portals with arcaded storeys and geometric screens above. The four corner minarets are crowned with domical finials. They contain spiral staircases opening onto triple tiers of balconies. This image is described by Ricalton in 'India Through the Stereoscope' (1907), "Two of the Nizam's state elephants have intruded athwart the street and obstructed our view...These two have just come out from the great archway on the left; they are being brought out in readiness to convey some traveler to Golconda." This is one of a series of 100 photographs, designed to be viewed through a special binocular viewer, producing a 3D effect, which were sold together with a book of descriptions and a map. Stereoscopic cameras, those with two lenses and the ability to take two photographs at the same time, were introduced in the mid 19th century.

Photograph of a street in Secunderabad, Andrea Pradeah, taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Secunderabad, twin city of Hyderabad, was founded after an alliance between Hyderabad?s Nizam Sikander Jah and the British East India Company in 1798. Following the treaty, secured by Major James Achilles Kirkpatrick, an area north of Hussain Sagar lake was made into a cantonment. Soon after the treaty was signed 5,000 British troops arrived and camped in the new cantonment of Secunderabad, which was laid out in 1806 and named after the Nizam. Initially it encompassed an area of four square miles and had a population of 5,000 troops plus several thousand civilians. However, 60 years later it had increased to 17 square miles and had a population, including the armed forces, of 50,000.

Photograph of mills at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892', taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. Hyderabad was founded beside the River Musi in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r.1580-1612) as an alternative to his capital at Golconda. Later, Hyderabad became the capital of the Nizams of Hyderabad, who ruled over one of the largest states in India. The dynasty was founded by Nizam al-Mulk, entitled Asaf Jah (d. 1748) who arrived in the Deccan as the Mughal governor. In 1724 Asaf Jah declared independence and established the dynasty of Nizams who ruled until 1948. There were no modern industries in Hyderabad before 1874 but a few years later railway workshops were established nearby and four factories sprang up south and east of the Hussain Sagar lake. These industrial units became the centre of new settlements. This is a view of the mills and the nearby canal.

Photograph showing the Scotch Kirk and cemetery, with the cantonment parade ground and race course beyond, at Secunderabad (now in Andhra Pradesh) taken by Lala Deen Dayal, c. 1890.
Secunderabad is situated in Andhra Pradesh next to Hyderabad, its older twin city (founded c. 1590). The Nizam of Hyderabad, Sikander Jah, entered into a subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company in 1798, involving military and political cooperation. Under the alliance an area north of Hussain Sagar lake was to be made a cantonment. Soon after the alliance was signed 5,000 British troops arrived and camped north of Hyderabad; the cantonment was laid out in 1806 and named after the Nizam, and thus was Secunderabad founded. Initially it encompassed an area of four square miles and had a population of 5,000 troops plus several thousand civilians, however 60 years later it had increased to 17 square miles and the population, including the armed forces was 50,000. The town continued to develop as its military functions and business opportunities drew large numbers of people from the surrounding rural areas.

View of the Husain Sagar lake to the north of Hyderabad, photographed by Deen Dayal in the 1880s. This is from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. Husain Sagar is an artificial lake which divides the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The lake was created in the 16th century by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (r.1550-80) and named after Husain Shah Wali, who had helped the sultan recover from illness. It was created by enlarging an existing small stone dam across the valley. The lake supplied the townspeople with water as well as irrigating the surrounding land.
SEE D DIFFERENCE OF 1890s  HYD AND 2009 HYD..........

They are Gulf's Richest Indians..

By Arabian Business staff writer This email address is being protected 
from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  on Sunday, 15 
August 2010

A new wealth survey by Arabian Business places retail king Micky Jagtiani 
on $2.65 billion, nearly $1 billion ahead of second placed BR Shetty, 
founder of the NMC Group. But, till BR Shetty was holding the Richest 
Indian in Gulf for more than a decade.
1. Micky Jagtiani, Landmark Group  $2.65bn


Billionaire ‘Micky’ Jagtiani is head of the conglomerate Landmark Group, 
and one of the most powerful figures in the Middle East retail industry.
Launched in 1973 with a single Bahrain store, Landmark Group has grown 
into one of the Gulf’s largest retail empires. Today, its brands span from
children’s fashion, footwear and cosmetics, with additional interests in 
leisure, hotels and electronics. With 900 stores in 15 countries, Jagtiani’s 
operations now turnover $3.2 billion a year and employ 31,000 staff.
And this seems to be just the beginning, with plans to increase turnover to $5.2 billion and operate 1200 stores by 2015.
Jagtiani was named highest-ranking Indian expatriate, in the 2009 Arabian Business Expat Power list. 

2. BR Shetty, NMC Group  $1.7bn

Entrepreneur B R Shetty is managing director and  CEO of the Abu  Dhabi-based New Medical Centre (NMC) Group of companies.  With initial  interests in hospitals and hospitality, Karnataka-born  Shetty has since  diversified into sectors including pharmaceuticals,  financial  services, retail, real estate and IT.
Shetty’s contributions to the fields of trade and industry have not gone   unnoticed back home in India. In 2009, the President of India awarded   him one of the country’s highest civilian honours, the ‘Padma Shri’.  

3. Chhabria family, Jumbo Group $1.45bn


From his humble beginnings as a radio-parts  trader in Mumbai, to  his final role at the helm of electronics  conglomerate Jumbo Group, the  late Manohar ‘Manu’ Chhabria was a  business force to be reckoned with. 
His aggressive acquisitions of brands including Shaw Wallace, Mather & 
Platt and Dunlop India, to name just a few, earned him the nickname 
‘takeover tycoon’.
Following Chhabria’s death in 2002, aged 56, his wife, Vidya, and three 
daughters, Komal, Bhavika and Kiran, took over the running of his 
business empire. Today, despite legal wrangling over Manu’s estate, and 
the impact of the global recession on a number of the firm’s brands, the   Chhabrias remain one of Dubai’s most prominent expatriate success 
stories.  

4. Yusuff Ali MA, Emke $1.3bn

For any UAE resident, the Lulu chain of hypermarkets is a familiar sight – 
but it’s just one of the many brands held by the Emke Group.
The group boasts an annual turnover of $3.5bn globally, and is one of the 
largest Indian-owned conglomerates in the Gulf, employing more than 
22,000 people from over 29 countries.
Heading it is ‘Padma Shri’ Yusuff Ali MA, named by The Wall Street Journal 
as one of the twenty most influential people in the UAE.
Yusuff Ali has served as board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of 
Commerce & Industries (ADCCI) and been conferred with the prestigious 
‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award’; the highest Indian government award 
given to non-resident Indians.  

5. PNC Menon, Sobha Developers $1.25bn


PNC Menon takes Oman into Forbes richest list,’ splashed a headline in 
Vijay Times, a Bangalore-based newspaper on March 10, 2007. It was a 
proud moment for the Indian city, as one of its residents, Omani citizen 
PNC Menon, took the No. 754 spot in Forbes’ 2007 list of the world’s top 
billionaires.
Born in Kerala, Menon migrated to Oman in 1976 to launch an interior 
decorating business with a partner. In 1995, spotting a gap in the real 
estate market back home in India, he founded Sobha Developers, named 
after his wife in Bangalore.
Today Sobha is one of the largest companies in Oman’s construction 
industry. Menon remains chairman of the firm.  

6. Ramesh Prabhakar, Rivoli $950 million



Ramesh Prabhakar is the managing partner, of the UAE-based Rivoli 
Group. In 1988, Rivoli Group sold just one watch brand as the company 
fought to establish itself in the Middle East. Today, it is one of the region’s 
largest importers and retailers of luxury brands. The company’s stores 
now offer products ranging from watches and menswear, to accessories, 
gift items and eyewear.  The group’s brand portfolio includes names such 
as Montblanc, Longines, Dunhill, Links of London, Kenzo and Vertu. In 
2007, Dubai International Capital acquired a “significant” stake in the 
group.  

7. Rajen Kilachand, Dosdal Group $900m



Founded more than six decades ago in Mumbai, the Dodsal Group has 
grown into a multinational conglomerate with interests in engineering, 
mining, trading and hospitality. And its chairman and president Rajen 
Kilachand has no plans to stop there.
“My aim is to have the company build on its existing strengths in the EPC 
sector and develop into a group which becomes a knowledge-based 
conglomerate and a manufacturer of high technology products for nuclear, 
space and defence,” Kilachand says in a note on his group’s website.
“The post Second World War period was dominated by Western and 
Japanese companies in these sectors. The next five years will see the 
emergence of my group as the first Middle East-based company with the 
same expertise combining technology, manpower and knowledge of Asia, 
Middle East and the Orient to compete in the global arena.”  

8. Tony Jashanmal, Jashanmal Group $800 million


With roots dating back to 1919, ‘Jashanmal’ is a household name across 
the Middle East. The group began trading in Basra, Iraq, with a single 
store. Today, executive director Tony Jashanmal leads a UAE-based 
corporation with multi-channel activities across the GCC and India.

The retail arm of the firm operates more than 100 stores across five 
countries, while Jashanmal’s distribution and wholesale division supplies 
a network covering some 1,000 points of sale. Its interests range from 
logistics to travel retail, with a diverse product group that includes home 
appliances, luggage and print media.  

9. Dr P. Mohamed Ali, Galfar $725m


As the founder of Galfar Engineering and Contracting Co, Dr P Mohamed 
Ali has earned his stripes as one of the Gulf’s leading entrepreneurs. From 
its start in 1972, the firm has grown into the single largest private sector 
employer in Oman, with an annual turnover of more than $1bn and more 
than 27,000 staff.
Outside of his business interests, Dr Ali is the founder of the Oman 
Petroleum Alliance and the former vice chairman of the state-backed 
Omanisation Joint Committee. His charitable works include founding the 
PM Foundation, which promotes education in rural Indian communities, 
and being chief patron of the Talikulam Vikas Trust.
Dr Ali has been awarded the Oman Civil Order for his services to the 
sultanate and, in 2004, received the coveted Outstanding Non-Resident 
Indian Award.  

10. Sunny Varkey, GEMS $650m

Millionaire Sunny Varkey is the epitome of a self-made man. His education 
group, GEMS, has morphed from a single Indian primary school to the 
biggest provider of K12 education in the world. Under Varkey’s steer, 
Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) today teaches 100,000 
students in 100 schools across 11 countries.
Varkey’s interests don’t end with education. The Dubai-based 
entrepreneur has fingers in a number of pies, including construction and 
healthcare.
Varkey was rated the most powerful expatriate in the Gulf’s education 
sector. He also ranked No.36 in the 2009 Arabian Business Expat Power 
list.
Varkey has been equally lauded in India for his achievements. In 2009, 
he was awarded the ‘Padma Shri’ in recognition of his contribution to 
education and social services.