Zainulabedin Gulamhusain Rangoonwala
Indian activist (1913-1994)
Zainulabedin Gulamhusain Rangoonwala (July 1, 1913 – May 28, 1994) was the co-founder and managing director of the Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank. This became one of the largest cooperative banks in India and also in Asia.
Early life and career
Born on 1 July 1913 in Rangoon, Burma and orphaned at the age of twelve, Rangoonwala had his early education at a boarding school and after matriculation joined Davar's College for acquiring necessary knowledge in banking, co-operation and accountancy. He started his career with the Central Bank of India - under the guidance of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala who trained and mentored him in practical banking.
The experience of seven years with Central Bank of India brought him closer to the operations and functioning of various banks. He was convinced that though the commercial banks mobilised deposits from all, including the hard-earned savings of the poor masses, they served the interest of a few business houses. He observed that the banks neglected their socio-economic obligations towards the common man and only catered to the financial needs of the elite. Moved with the exploitation of the masses by the then capitalist society, he determined to establish a bank "of the people, for the people, by the people".
Way back in 1939, the country was passing through major disruptions with the struggle for Independence and the "Quit India movement" gaining momentum. The end of British rule appeared almost certain.
The public source identifies “Zainulabedin Gulamhusain Rangoonwala” as indian activist (1913-1994). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Zainulabedin, Gulamhusain and Rangoonwala.
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This entry incorporates text from “Zainulabedin Gulamhusain Rangoonwala” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.