THE RAZA FAMILY
Family History
Historical Significance
The family has originally descended from the daughter of Prophet Mohammed, Fatima and her husband Ali, the Forth Caliph of Islamic rule. Traveling with subsequent expeditions to spread the message of peace and fairness for all throughout the Middle East and beyond, the family settled in Delhi, India where the family remained associated with the different dynasties including the Mogul Empire. The family as a whole played a key role as the legal advisors to the ruling Mogul kings for several generations.
As an elite segment of the Mogul Empire, the Raza family was granted large tracts of land in Bihar by the King, which the Raza family kept under its control by ruling and treating their subjects humanly, fairly and equitably. At the time, this was a highly rare way of ruling.
In 1857, the family moved to Bihar after the British deposed the last Mogul king, Bahadur Shah Zafer.
By the time Syed Karim Raza’s father, Syed Nabi Raza, was finishing his post graduate studies and getting ready to establish himself as a highly significant public figure, the Muslims of India’s movement for partitioning India to create Pakistan was gaining an unprecedented momentum. At that time, one of the most prominent leaders of the movement (Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, who on the creation of Pakistan became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan) visited Aligarh University. In a lengthy one-to-one conversation, he persuaded Mr. Raza to get some time off his studies and lead the charge for the Pakistan movement in a critical region. Mr. Raza went to that region and succeeded in winning the support of that region for the Pakistan movement.
The concept and the tradition of the last name is comparatively new in the Middle East and South Asia. Due to the influence of the British, the concept of the last name is getting currency in South Asia. Today, approximately 10 percent of the people have started adopting the last name. Highly progressive Mir Wazir Husain, who was the father of Prince Imran’s great grandfather Syed Mohammad Raza, was the first in giving his two sons the same last name Raza.
Family History
SYED KARIM RAZA
Imran’s father Karim moved to Pakistan after the family owned land and Diamond mine was nationalized and taken over by the nationalist Indian Government soon after the British hastily departed from India.
At the time of Imran’s birth, Imran’s father was holding a high level federal government position in Pakistan as a member of the coveted Civil Service after competing successfully in the highly competitive Central Superior Services Exam. Being in the cadre of Central Superior Services, he was a member of the elites of the top echelon of the Pakistani society. Coming from the nobility and aristocracy of India where he and his ancestors were revered as aristocrats that controlled areas within Bihar, he was known for treating subjects with kindness and care irrespective of their religion, cast and creed.
As a US State Department sponsored Civil Servant who was then the Assistant Military Account General of Pakistan earned Master’s Degrees in Public Policy and Administration (MPA) and in Economics, MA (Econ). He also earned credits for Business Administration at USC and some credits at WCU to earn his MBA.
Studies at USC, as well as staying for four years in the Married Student Housing with other international students and their spouses from numerous countries of the world and from various States of USA, gave Mona and Karim rare exposure to world culture. This greatly helped them cultivate a bigger, global mindset. It was staying here that Mona had conceived and founded International Women’s Association in 1977, which was formally inaugurated by President Gerald Ford.
Family History
Maimoona "Mona" Raza
Imran’s mother, Maimoona Raza, also comes from a highly dignified aristocratic family. Her lineage also goes back to Prophet Muhammad.
Historically, her side of the family kept the tradition of education, seeking extended education for all in the family and beyond. Their major outstanding achievement is extensive education in law, establishing many of the family members as lawyers and judges. In the second half of the twentieth century, her family consisted of nine judges in the courts of what constitutes the territory of Pakistan, and many more who were high ranking government officials, doctors and business tycoons. Her grandfather from her mother’s side, Mr. Khaja Iqbal Husain, had a huge business empire in British India.
Maimoona’s own grandfather, Justice Mir Sirajuddin, was a highly respected Chief Justice of the State of Bahawalpur. His brother, Judge About Latif, was a highly respected judge in Lahore. He wrote an authentic history of the Punjab. He also participated in the publication of The Civil and Military Gazette, which was simultaneously published from Lahore, Simla and Karachi. This paper closed sometime after the creation of Pakistan.
Maimoona’s father, Syed Abdul Malik, a law graduate, decided to work for the Government of British India and was appointed a very high level government officer. He was posted in the seaport city of Karachi, which upon the departure of the British and after the creation of Pakistan, became the new country’s federal capital.
The newly established government of Pakistan needed Mr. Malik’s leadership for the creation of a workable framework for industrialization of the new country and the execution of the new government’s industrial policies. He contributed tremendously towards the development of the industrial framework and its successful implementation resulting in a strong industrial base for the new country.
Mona was born in Karachi, Pakistan, which is where the family had moved after the partition of British India that created the country of Pakistan. Her family continued to be treated as elitist aristocracy in Pakistan. Being a part of the elites of Karachi, she had access to excellent educational institutions at all levels, graduating from St. Joseph’s College, the country’s best girls college.
She was still in college when she got married in 1970 to Syed Karim Raza, who had successfully competed to get into the coveted cadre of the Central Superior Services of Pakistan holding a senior bureaucratic position at the Federal level. With her husband’s career set for life, she decided not to go ahead with her study of law. Instead, she chose to stay fully focused on raising her kids, Imran being the first who was born within 15 months of her marriage.
Her husband began moving fast within the government hierarchy, getting promoted to the position of Deputy Controller of Accounts Defense Purchases, which quickly earned another promotion to the position of Deputy Controller of Accounts of the Air Force. He then became the youngest Assistant Military Accountant General of Pakistan in early 1975. Soon after, the U S State Department sponsored Mr. Raza to receive a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Mr Raza’s study was funded by the Asia Foundation, a US initiated and US assisted organization aimed at helping to evolve better governance in Asia.
In 1976 when Mr Raza started his MPA program at USC, Mona, son Imran (3) and daughter Henna (a little under 2), moved into the on-campus Married Student Housing Apartment, which was a far cry from the mansion of a home Mona had in the Army Generals’ colony in the prestigious Westridge neighborhood of Rawalpindi with all kinds of domestic help.
The drastically downsized living conditions in America compared to the highly privileged lifestyle she had in Pakistan did not affect her positive outlook on life. She did a tremendous job of raising her son Imran, her daughter Henna, and her son Adnan. Her dedicated support for her husband remained steadfast helping the family in transitioning to the life in America successfully.
Family History
SYED MUHAMMAD RAZA
Prince Imran’s birth was of great significance as his great grandfather, Syed Muhammad Raza. He served as a Barrister-at-Law as a Nawab with large tracts of land and a Diamond mine. He also served as the Chairman (Mayor) of the Patna Municipality, opting to decline the Indian President’s offer of the governorship of another state to continue to serve his local people in Patna, the capital of his native state of Bihar.
Mr. Raza was revered by his constituents, his neighbors, his friends and his family members. He was also as a man endowed with especial spiritual powers and predicted that the first born of his son (Prince Imran) would possess special powers that would bring a massive transformation in the world to help emancipate humanity.
Among the highlights of his life and career was his graduation from Lincoln’s Inn in 1896 as Barrister in Law, entitling him to practice law in courts of law anywhere in the United Kingdom and in the territories under the British Empire. This was a big deal, as the British Empire was so extensive that it was said that “the sun never sets in the British Empire”.
Among his classmates and roommates was Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who later led the movement for independent homeland for the Muslims of India, which culminated into the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
After practicing law in the King’s court in London, he had to move his practice of law to Calcutta in India to be closer to the family and to the territories and the Diamond mines his father owned. His practice of law flourished here magnificently until his father, Mir Wazir Husain, suddenly passed away at the age of 48.
To take care of his mother, his siblings, and other relatives and students dependent on his father’s largess, he had to move back to his hometown to his father’s estate. While there, he got drawn into managing the estate, which also included the territories formerly ruled by his father.
At the time, educating women in the family was considered ignoble. Instead, he responded positively to his niece’s request to let her go to school. His niece Anis was a forward looking feminist of her days. Getting educated, she attracted the attention of and got married to Barrister Ali Imam, a local man from Patna. Later, Ali Imam was knighted, becoming Sir Ali Imam and she became Lady Anis Imam. Sir Ali Imam became the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, a state in India the British allowed to be ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad as a sovereign state.
A major highlight in Mr Raza’s career was when he got elected as the Chairman (Mayor) of Patna Municipality. One of the Councilmen, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was a brilliant lawyer in Patna and a leader in the Indian National Congress. He was at the forefront of the movement for India’s independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. Rajendra Prasad developed a reverence for Mr. Raza, and on becoming the first President of independent India, he offered the governorship of a state other than his native state of Bihar. Per the protocol of Indian government policy, the native of a state cannot be appointed as its governor. In India, the governors of states are not elected, but appointed by the President of India. Mr. Raza was totally committed to serving his people in his state, so he declined the governorship.
Additionally, his eldest son, Syed Mahmood Raza, earned the toughest law degree of LLM, becoming only one of the few LLMs in the British India. He was fondly called “the Writ King” for his outstanding record of winning tough cases against the federal government.
His second son, Syed Amir Raza, earned a medical degree in the Greek Medicines, which is called “Unani” in South Asia. He invented various medical compounds to cure seriously sick patients.
His third son, Syed Nabi Raza (Syed Karim Raza’s father), was his youngest and earned a Master’s Degree in Geography in addition to a Law Degree. He practiced law, taught law and held semi judicial assignments.