Meet Our founder of the Hospital 1885 to 1967
SHAIKH MIAN MOHUMMAD
Born in 1885 in the town of Chiniot, the young boy was sent to a madrassah for his initial years. He was then sent to the Central Model School in Lahore for a few years, and then at the age of sixteen, was considered equipped to face the world. He was the youngest of three brothers; the eldest Mian Ismail followed by Mian Maula Bux. Shortly after he had finished schooling his two elder brothers took him along to start up a business of their own in the newly established city of Lyallpur.
The British Sarkar had dug canals around the countryside of Lyallpur. The small town was the market where the farmers took their bountiful cotton and wheat harvests. The three brothers decided to start a business of brokering cotton. They would take the raw cotton from the farmers on trust, have it ginned in Kasur, and then sell it to the exporters or mills in Bombay or Delhi. Due to their fair dealings and diligence, they were the preferred brokers for the largely Muslim farmers. Their business flourished and they soon set up a ginning factory of their own in the “factory area” of Lyallpur. Soon after the brothers separated their businesses. Mian Mohammad’s business grew and he soon set up a flour mill, and other ginning factories in Punjab by the name of “Premier.”
He was a handsome man, dressed in a black or a dark formal achkan, when the weather permitted, a deep red fez cap with a tassel at the top, and shiny patent leather shoes with silk bows. He was fair skinned and of a good height, possibly 5ft 8 ins. From his early days he was keen to promote social causes and became the Chairman of the Municipal Committee of Lyallpur in 1927. He also participated in setting up a hospital in the name of his father Mian Ibrahim in 1933.
Mian Ibrahim, their father, was reputed to be a reluctant businessman. He would shut shop and go home when he felt he had made enough money to satisfy his needs! His sons on the other hand were extremely successful in their business ventures. All three of them flourished, and set up multiple businesses and factories over the next 50 years.
Sheikh Mian Mohammad was given to modernity and welcomed change. He led his six sons to expand the agri-businesses and they soon set up flour mills in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar. Similarly, they set up almost a dozen cotton ginning factories all over Punjab. My earlier memories of my grandfather are of a man sitting in his lawn, with a black telephone by his side with which he would keep track of his far-flung managers in ginning factories. There would be an assistant by his side who would take Notes about prices, record deals and instructions. The family set up a vegetable ghee mills in Lahore in 1947, this being a first for the Muslims of the subcontinent.
Soon after partition they set up a spinning mill which developed into a large full-fledged mill with its own spinning, weaving, and a dye house to finish the fabrics produced. All this was accomplished by 1960. Sheikh Mian Mohammad was at the centre of a large company producing diverse products in different locations.
His wife had passed away in the 1950’s and he set up a small “dispensary” near his house. This dispensary had a full-fledged doctor who diagnosed all patients free of charge, and the dispensing staff would dish out simple medication; also free of charge. As a young boy I would go and sit in the dispensary to see an endless que of poor workers and their families que up all morning for their treatment.
This was named after his wife “Begum Allah Jawai dispensary” and was the inspiration of the hospital to come later on. One day, after his early morning prayers, he was beset by the urge to do something useful for his community. He made a vow, with Allah as his witness, to devote at least one year’s profits from his businesses to charitable work. This is how the Mian Mohammad Trust hospital was born in the early 1960’s. So a sum of thirty lac rupees, which was a considerable sum then, was set aside for the hospital.
The “Mian Mohammad Trust” was born. The founders son, my father, Mian Fazal e Ahmad who resided next to the founders house in Lyallpur was a sociable person. He was well connected was well known in the official and political circles. He was the first Pakistani Secretary of the Chenab Club, the President and later Governor of the Rotary Club, as well as one of the founders of the TB Association of Pakistan. He managed to get a plot allotted for a “not for profit” private hospital in the city. At that time there were only two hospitals in the city, the Civil Hospital of the Government and a the one adjacent to the convent school, managed by the catholic nuns. A plot of land of 12.5 acres was granted by the government for the purpose of setting up the hospital close to the city centre and the civil lines, adjacent to the bus stand.
The founder would often say that the hospital gave him far more satisfaction than the number of businesses that he had set up. He died of a heart stroke in 1967 – a contented man, well remembered by his family and the city.