Minocher Bhandara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Minocher Bhandara, popularly known as Minoo or M.P.Bhandara, is a Pakistani Zoroastrian businessman, owner of Murree Brewery.

Minoo is also active as a minority representative to the Government, and is a member of the National Assembly, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan.

He recently moved and got through the bill to make Quaid-e-Azam's 11th August speech formally the part of the constitution.

Minoo also writes articles in the country's English language newspapers.

On becoming President for the second time, Zia-ul-Haq announced that his statement of 12 August 1983, in which a programme of setting up a political government had been outlined, should be taken as the manifesto of his government till the next elections. For which, a partyless election programme based on separate electorates was announced. In that the number of seats reserved for the minorities was enhanced. The general view among the people was against non-party elections, and a decision to boycott the polls was seriously mooted. The minority circles in the country had looked with displeasure at the separate electoral rolls for them that General Zia had introduced in 1985. By his Presidential Order No.16 of 1985, Zia had provided ten seats for the minorities in the National Assembly. Of these four were for the Christians, four for the Hindus, one jointly for the Parsis and Sikhs and one for the Ahmadis. For the Sindh assembly there were nine seats, out of which five were reserved for the Hindus, two for the Christians and one each for the Ahmadis and combined Sikhs-Parsis. In Balochistan there were just two seats for the minorities, one going to the Christians and the other jointly to the Hindus, Sikhs and Parsis. The following were declared successful from these seats: From Christians, N .M.Khokhar, Emanuel Zafar, Colonel W. Herbert and Captain Sanaullah. From Hindus/Scheduled Castes, Seth Chamandas, Gulji, Bhagwan Das and Paroomal. The member who was to represent the Sikh- Buddhist-Parsi-Others combine was M.P. Bhandara. Nobody filed the nomination papers for the sole Ahmadi seat, so it was decided to allocate it to a non-Muslim woman. The lady chosen for the purpose was Mrs Leela Vanti and she became member of the National Assembly.

1. Father Francis Nadeem, Yeh Des Hamara Hai, Lahore, p. 77