A joint condolence meeting to offer Fateha and pay tributes to IoBM’s Late Founder President, Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim, was held at the IoBM on Saturday, July 29, 2017, attended by the Board of Governors, IoBM Management, Deans, Faculty, Students and staff. Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder, Dean, College of Business Management (CBM) and College of Engineering and Sciences (CES), rendered his services to coordinate and conduct this program.
Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder opined that IoBM should hold Management Conferences in Leadership in memory of Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim as well as pay tributes to our Late President through a poetry session, emotional intelligence workshops and through a series of memorial events. Board of Governors, Management and Faculty condoled and attributed Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim through speeches as follows:
Mr. Talib S. Karim: President, IoBM
Mr. Talib S. Karim said that the path towards IoBM’s success is reflective of its Board of Governors’ exemplary support to Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s vision and mission of building IoBM. He especially mentioned Late Mr. Abdul Razzak Tabba’s altruistic support to Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s dream-come-true reality of IoBM. Mr. Talib Karim recalled that since the last three to four years Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim had his focus on reaching out to those students who did not have the financial resources to continue their education. He added how Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim decided to build IoBM campus in the then remote Korangi in 1995 followed up now by the opening of a number of business management and medical institutes in this area making Korangi a hub of academic institutions.
Dr. Arshad Karim
Dr. Arshad Karim, while remembering his brother, Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim, explained some interesting facts and revelations about our beloved Late President. He explained the meaning of “S” in Mr. Shahjehan S. Karim. Dr. Arshad Karim explained that our Late President’s real name at birth was Syed Shahjehan Shahabuddin Karim. However, after he went to the US for higher studies, he shortened his name to Shahjehan S. Karim, where “S” representing Syed remains in the middle so that he is called by his first name Shahjehan. During his memorial speech, Dr. Arshad Karim elucidated upon Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s life in Patna, Aligarh, Dhaka and Arizona and how our Late President learned about life and career before implementing his learnings and experiences in Pakistan by establishing the IoBM.
Dr. Arshad Karim highlighted that Mr. Shahjehan S. Karim possessed character, personality and visionary traits akin to those of Shah Waliullah and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, two of the most renowned personalities of the subcontinent during the 18th and the 19th centuries. Dr. Arshad Karim recollected how Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim took pride in establishing a number of masjids and educational institutes in the interior parts of Sindh. He said that education was in the soul of Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim and he proudly lived his life to promote education in Pakistan. Dr. Arshad Karim requested the Board of Governors to hold a special memorial ceremony for Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim every year on his birthday on September 26.
Mr. Basheer Janmohammad: Chairman, Dalda Foods (Pvt.) Ltd.
Mr. Basheer Janmohammad affirmed that where 99% of humans live for themselves, our Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim lived for others. He briefly narrated the long journey to excellence the IoBM took from being a four-room Institute to the campus that is now sprawling over many acres of land with each building equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Mr. Basheer Janmohammad was confident that by collective efforts of the IoBM Management, Administration, Board of Governors, Students and Faculty, IoBM can become the top most business management institute of Pakistan. This will help us realize the dream our Late President always had for IoBM. Mr. Basheer Janmohammad highlighted that IoBM should become affordable for all students and must continue to grant scholarships to students. Furthermore, Mr. Basheer Janmohammad reiterated that IoBM’s goal is to impart education and build character of its students. He suggested that we should do research on the life of Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim and pass it on to the IoBM family. He also congratulated Mr. Talib Karim on being appointed by the Board of Governors as the President of IoBM.
Ms. Ameena Saiyid: Managing Director, Oxford University Press
Ms. Ameena Saiyid regarded our Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim as the gentleman of the old world order. She said IoBM was Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s gift to the youth of Pakistan. Ms. Ameena Saiyid accentuated our Late President’s vision to educate students from the less-privileged areas of Pakistan. She said that it is because of this memorial session we are becoming aware of many aspects of Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s life and career, personal and professional life that we were never knew before. She recalled how Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim, during the latter part of his life, dedicated every day to promote education in Pakistan.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Shamim
Dr. Muhammad Ali Shamin remembered Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim as a larger-than-life human being. He recollected memories of his meetings with the Late President where he discussed with him pertinent insights of what makes an entrepreneur into a social entrepreneur. Mr. Muhammad Ali Shamim touched upon Late President’s uncanny ability to make friends, his confidence in conducting official matters and his exceptional memory. Dr. Shamim commented on Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s vision of creating the Endowment Fund for the less-privileged at the IoBM and the Late President’s vision of educating all IoBM students for free.
Mr. Ejaz Wasay: HoD, Media Studies Department, IoBM
Mr. Ejaz Wasay reminisced how the Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim inspired him on many fronts. He reflected upon how the Late President’s character was molded while studying at Aligarh and how Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim nurtured relationships in the USA to an extent that he was made President of the International Students Club at this university. Mr. Ejaz Wasay also accentuated upon how our Late President became an exemplary example during his over three decades of services in the Civil Services of Pakistan. Mr. Ejaz Wasay highlighted upon the Late President’s vigorous character and his efforts of enriching the lives of his family members and his professional acquaintances. Mr. Ejaz Wasay was of the view that our Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim achieved a number of milestones as a bureaucrat, as a social entrepreneur and as a human being.
Ms. Fareeda Ibad: Associate Professor, Senior Fellow, Communication Department, IoBM
Ms. Fareeda Ibad regarded our Late President Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim as a change agent who always yearned to enhance the state of affairs of the society he lived in. Ms. Fareeda Ibad said that our Late President wanted to empower the youth of Pakistan and was working rigorously to emancipate their minds through hard work and dedication. Moreover, Ms. Fareeda Ibad opined that our Late President had set personal examples by conducting his official matters with honor and dignity. She elucidated upon the Late President’s manner of dealings including his intellectual insight, leadership skills, and the ability to solve problems. Ms. Fareeda Ibad viewed the establishment of the IoBM as our Late President’s selfless act for the cause of promoting quality education in Pakistan.
Mr. Parvez Jamil: HoD, Public Affairs
Mr. Parvez Jamil explored rejuvenating aspects of our Late President’s humane disposition, closely and minutely observed through the depth and love reflected from his eyes and the warmth and feelings emanated from his heart with an overwhelmingly ecstatic and endearing influence from his family to IoBM family at large. He revealed Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s exemplary character traits including his problem-solving and decision-making skills, his justice, fair play and authority with soft corner provisions for countless subordinates in the Civil Service and for innumerable IoBM students, faculty, staff and management. He reflected upon how our Late President was a role model in minute-to-minute time and priorities management. Mr. Parvez Jamil explained how Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim remained calm, composed and calculated to manage crisis and conflicts by taking resulted-oriented decisions by creative virtue and wisdom. He quoted our Late beloved President’s heart, mind and soul: “I have served Pakistan all my life and will make all efforts and sacrifice to make this Institute a reservoir of national strength and power. With God’s help and with the continued support of our Government and patriotic business community, I am confident that we will accomplish our mission.” Aameen!
Mr. Khalid Amin: Senior Manager and HoD, Alumni, Placements and International Cooperation
Mr. Khalid Amin attributed the vision of our Late President regarding the establishment of the IoBM. He stressed upon Late President’s instrumental role to build relationships which connected IoBM with renowned universities home and abroad making IoBM the only institute in Pakistan positively and productively active in a number of academic collaborative agreements. He emphasized that it was our Late President’s entrepreneurial insight leading him to lay the foundations of IoBM, recognized today as one of the best business management institutions in Pakistan. Mr. Khalid Amin said that IoBM and academic circles in Pakistan will always remember Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s contribution to education and his academic landmarks for the country at large.