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Narratives Of Pioneers & Thought Leaders
Ameerali Rajabali Jumabhoy
Ameerali Jumabhoy, the eldest son of Rajabali Jumabhoy, was born in Singapore on 28 December 1925. His father migrated from Kutch, Gujarat, India, to Singapore via Bombay. When Ameerali was born, the Jumabhoy family resided in their bungalow at 310 Orchard Road, the present site of the department store Tangs.
Jumabhoy, the eldest of Rajabali Jumabhoy’s four children, studied at Anglo-Chinese School on Coleman Street. During the Second World War, as the Japanese began bombing Singapore, he, his mother, and his siblings left for India by ship. He continued his studies in India during the war and later graduated from St. Xavier's College in Bombay with a degree in microbiology. Inspired by the Indian freedom movement, he developed a lifelong devotion to Mahatma Gandhi and was arrested several times by colonial authorities in the struggle for independence.
After the war, Jumabhoy returned to Singapore and joined his father's commodities trading business. Over time, he expanded the family’s interests into retail, manufacturing, shipping, and marine equipment. In 1950, he married Amina Dharamsey, and together they raised four children.
Bharat Raj (Popat)
Bharat Raj was born in 1940 into a Lohana family in Mumbai. His grandfather, Kanji, served as a commercial representative in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, exporting commodities to Africa with a reputation for high ethical standards. Bharat’s father, Kalyanji, moved to Mumbai in 1940 to expand the family business. Over time, he encouraged his elder brother, Hansraj, to establish trade in Afghanistan. Hansraj managed goods sent by Kalyanji, while Kalyanji imported Afghan products for sale in Mumbai and beyond.
Bharat Raj completed his education up to the SSC (Class 10) in Mumbai before travelling to Japan in 1962 to support his brother’s business. Their firm, Raj Trading, specialised in import-export and held the agency for Nissan cars. Fluent in seven languages — Japanese, Pashto, Persian, Gujarati, English, Marathi, and Hindi — Bharat played a crucial role in expanding the business.
Gira Shah
Born in 1954 in Bombay, Gira Shah traces her roots to Khambhat, Petlad, where her parents owned Petlad Bulakhidas Mill, a yarn and cotton mill. In 1969, after selling the mill, her family relocated to Ahmedabad and later ventured into the tin factory business in Vatwa.
During her childhood, Shah lived with her maternal uncle in Bombay, where he worked as a cotton merchant. However, in 1971, she moved to Ahmedabad, where she stayed until 1975, completing her college education. She pursued her undergraduate studies at N C Bodiwala College and took on various jobs, including stints at Laxmi Cooperative Bank in 1972 and Corporation Bank in 1973. She also assisted in the family business and worked at an insurance company in the evenings. However, when the insurance industry was nationalised, she had to stop working due to being underage at the time.
Manharlal Govindji Shah
Manharlal Govindji Shah was born in 1935 in Singapore to Govindji and Prabha. His father, Govindji Jechand Shah, had arrived in Singapore in 1921 as the manager of a Marwadi trading firm headquartered in Calcutta. At the time, India was under British colonial rule, and venturing abroad was not common unless it was to a British Commonwealth country.
Govindji was entrusted with overseeing the firm's business operations in Singapore.
Govindji formed a close friendship with Manilal Amin, with whom he later entered into a business partnership. Together, they dealt in spices such as betel nut, nutmeg, whole mace, peanuts, and coconut oil, products that were primarily imported into Singapore by Chinese merchants.
Govindji was born in the village of Kalsari, near Junagadh. His parents, Jechand and SantokBa, had five sons - Bhaichand, Jadavji, Jagjivan, Govindji, and Manilal - and two daughters. Raised in modest circumstances, Govindji aspired to build a better life. Following in the footsteps of his elder brother Jadavji, he travelled to Calcutta. There, despite working for a wealthy employer, he was treated poorly, often made to press his employer’s legs and work relentlessly, all for a meagre salary of Rs 15 per month. Nevertheless, through perseverance and determination, he improved his skills and was eventually permitted to work at the pedhi (business). His progress led to a posting in Singapore in 1921.
Moez A Nomanbhoy
The history of the Nomanbhoy family is deeply interwoven with Singapore’s mercantile past – a tale of enterprise, migration, and resilience spanning generations. Their spice trading business, still known today, traces its roots to 1892 when a young Nomanbhoy Abdeali, among the earliest Dawoodi Bohras to arrive in Singapore, stepped onto its shores.
The Formative Years: Arrival in Singapore (1892) Nomanbhoy Abdeali’s early life in business began humbly. In India, he was first employed as an office boy at the Surat branch of C A Mohamed & Co, a prominent trading firm dealing in spices and Indian goods. His diligence did not go unnoticed; he rose through the ranks and was eventually promoted to manager. In 1892, when he was just 16 or 17 years old, he was sent to Singapore as a clerk – a significant responsibility for someone so young.
At the time, Singapore’s commercial landscape was in its infancy. Nomanbhoy worked at 11 Malacca Street, where the office and the staff residence were housed under the same roof. This was a typical arrangement, as men working in the colony were not allowed to bring their families unless they were promoted to managerial positions. Employees typically served three-year terms before being granted a six-month leave to return to India to see their families.