Asanand Chagla Joshi
Asanand Chagla Joshi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 10, 1910 India |
| Died | May 8, 1982 Oakbrook, Illinois, USA |
| NSA member | India & Burma ???? - ???? Pakistan 1957 - ???? |
| ABM | Asia 1974 - 1982 |
Asanand Chagla Joshi (June 10, 1910 - May 8, 1982) was an Indian Bahá’í who served as a National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board member in Pakistan.
Biography[edit]
Joshi was born in 1910 into a Hindu family. He studied law in his youth and after graduating established a legal practice. He excelled in further studies learning eleven languages and he was awarded a gold medal in Sanskrit by Bombay University.[1]
He established himself in Karachi as of the 1940's and was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith, learning about the religion from Dipchand Khianra and declaring in 1945. He was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Karachi shortly after declaring and was chairman of the body by 1947 when Pakistan became an independent country. His services to the Pakistan community included giving speech's at meetings he organized in the Bahá’í Centre of Karachi and also spoke at many gatherings in the wider community, befriending President Ayub Khan of Pakistan through his public speaking. When a Bahá’í school was established in Pakistan the government requisitioned the building and Joshi successfully represented the Faith in a legal case to regain ownership.[1]
In 1957 Joshi was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Pakistan when the body was established. He was central to efforts of the Pakistan Bahá’í communities to be recognized as an official religion by the government and this was achieved in September 1972 and he also secured tax exempt status for Bahá’í properties. In 1974 he was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member.[1]
In later years Joshi continued to serve the community as an honorary legal advisor to Bahá’í administrative bodies, representing the Bahá’í Faith on Pakistan's District Minority Committee, and serving as a Bahá’í representative to the United Nations for the Bahá’í International Community.[2]
Joshi became ill in 1982 and traveled to the United States to receive medical treatment. He passed away in Oakbrook, Illinois, after an unsuccessful surgery to treat internal abdominal hemorrhage.[3] A few days before his passing he had requested that his grave be used to teach the Faith and a quote from the Hidden Words was included on his headstone. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
SADDENED LEARN PASSING ASANAND JOSHI STAUNCH SUPPORTER PROMOTER BELOVED FAITH PAKISTAN. HIS LONGTIME SERVICES IN ADMINISTRATIVE TEACHING FIELDS AS WELL AS MEMBER AUXILIARY BOARD WILL BE REMEMBERED AS INTEGRAL PART DEVELOPMENT CAUSE THAT COUNTRY. ASSURE HIS AMILY FRIENS LOVING PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 796. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 797. View as PDF.
- ↑ Template:Citeb
