Adamjee Jute Mills

Last updated

Adamjee Jute Mill
TypePublic
IndustryJute
Founded1950
Founder Abdul Wahid Adamjee
Defunct2002
FateNationalised in 1972
Dissolved in 2002
Headquarters,
Key people
A.W. Adamjee
Gul Mohammad Adamjee
Zakaria Adamjee
ProductsJute related products
Owner Adamjee Group of Companies (1950–1971)
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (1972–2002)
Number of employees
25,000

Adamjee Jute Mill was a jute mill in Bangladesh. It was established in Narayanganj in 1950 by the Adamjee Group. It was the second jute mill in East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) after Bawa Jute Mill which was first Jute Mill in East Pakistan (Present day Bangladesh). Gradually, the mill became the largest jute mill in the world, exceeding the jute mills of Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, and Dundee, Scotland. [1] The mills were nationalised after the independence of Bangladesh in 1972. It was operated by the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation before being closed down in 2002. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Adamjee Jute Mills was set up by Abdul Wahid Adamjee, Pakistan's foremost industrialist, and scion of the wealthiest family in the country.[ citation needed ] Initially, the said project was a partnership between the Adamjees and the PICIC (the government's industrial arm). The Adamjee family, however, soon took control of the project, and eventually built it into the largest jute mill in the world. [4] In 1947 when India was partitioned there were 108 jute mills in Bengal but all were located in West Bengal which went to India. After the Independence of Pakistan, Muslim entrepreneurs were asked by the government of Pakistan to create proposals for a jute mill in East Bengal. The Adamjee Group in December 1949 presented the government of Pakistan a proposal for the jute plant. The capital for the mills were to be provided by Adamjee Brothers and the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation 50-50 equally. Siddhirganj was chosen as the site of mill due to the good river, road, and rail communication facilities. [1]

The mill was established in December 1951. [5] In May 1954 violence clashes took place between Bengali and Bihari workers at the jute mills. [6] [7] The Police and East Pakistan Rifles had been deployed to control the situation. [6] In the clashes 90 were killed and 250 injured. [8]

The Adamjee family lost control of the mill in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War and it was nationalized after the Independence of Bangladesh. During the war Bengali workers were replaced by Bihari workers in the. After the war ended, the Bihari workers in the factory were protected by the Indian Army. [9] It employed over 25,000 workers when it was closed on 30 June 2002. Since the nationalization the mill had accumulated 12 billion taka in losses. [10]

Present

Machinery inside Admajee Jute Mills Adamjee Jute Mills.jpg
Machinery inside Admajee Jute Mills

After a strong battle for survival, Adamjee Jute Mills was officially closed down in 2002 despite huge protests from local policy makers and political opponents. [11] In that place, a new industrial zone has been installed, Adamjee Export Processing Zone. [10] In August 2011, the jute and textiles ministry sent a proposal to the prime minister of Bangladesh seeking her approval for rebuilding the second unit of the Adamjee Jute Mills in Narayanganj on 11 acres of land at an estimated cost of Tk 6087.2 million. [12]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Pakistan</span> Former provincial wing of Pakistan (1955–1971)

East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, with a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. East Pakistanis were popularly known as "Pakistani Bengalis"; to distinguish this region from India's state West Bengal, East Pakistan was known as "Pakistani Bengal". In 1971, East Pakistan became the newly independent state Bangladesh, which means "country of Bengal" in Bengali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh Liberation War</span> 1971 armed conflict that led to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan

The Bangladesh Liberation War was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narayanganj District</span> District of Bangladesh in Dhaka

Narayanganj District is a district in central Bangladesh which is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is smallest district in Bangladesh.It is home to the ancient city of Sonargaon and is one of the oldest industrial districts in the country. The district lies on the banks of the Shitalakshya River and the Meghna River. It is an industrial hub and plays an important part in the country's jute trade, plant processing and sector. It is nicknamed the "Dundee of Bangladesh" due to the presence of many jute mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narayanganj</span> Metropolis in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh

Narayanganj is a city in central Bangladesh. It is in the Narayanganj District, about 16 km (10 mi) southeast of the capital city of Dhaka, and has a population of about 2 million. It is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is also a center of business and industry, especially the jute trade and processing plants, and the textile sector of the country. It is nicknamed the Dundee of Bangladesh, due to the presence of its many jute mills.

The jute trade is centered mainly around India's West Bengal and Assam, and Bangladesh. The major producing country of jute is India and biggest exporter being Bangladesh, due to their natural fertile soil. Production of jute by India and Bangladesh are respectively 1.968 million ton and 1.349 million metric ton. Bengal jute was exported to South East Asia from the 17th century by the Dutch, French and later by other Europeans.

The Partition of Bengal in 1947, part of the Partition of India, divided the British Indian Bengal Province along the Radcliffe Line between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Hindu-majority West Bengal became a state of India, and the Muslim-majority East Bengal became a province of Pakistan.

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Shitalakshya River is a distributary of the Brahmaputra. A portion of its upper course is known as Banar River or Banor River. In the Shitalakshya's initial stages, it flows in a southwest direction and then east of the city of Narayanganj in central Bangladesh until it merges with the Dhaleswari near Kalagachhiya. The river is about 110 kilometres (68 mi) long and at it widest, near Narayanganj, it is 300 metres (980 ft) across. Its flow, measured at Demra, has reached 74 cubic metres per second (2,600 cu ft/s). It remains navigable year round. The river flows through Gazipur district forming its border with Narsingdi for some distance and then through Narayanganj District.

Adamjee Group of Companies is a conglomerate company based primarily in Karachi, Pakistan. The group was headed by Sir Adamjee Haji Dawood.

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References

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  2. "Adamjee Jute Mills closed". Dawn. 26 June 2002. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. Ashraf, Nazmul (29 June 2002). "Adamjee Jute Mills closes tomorrow". Gulf News. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. "Abdul W. Adamjee, Pakistani Magnate, Millionaire, Is Dead". The New York Times. 5 July 1972. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. "World's largest jute mill goes silent". The Hindu . 2 July 2002. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  6. 1 2 Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh (2012). The unfinished memoirs. New Delhi, India. p. 269. ISBN   978-0-670-08546-0. OCLC   840484565.
  7. Uddin, Layli (2021). "'Enemy Agents at Work': A microhistory of the 1954 Adamjee and Karnaphuli riots in East Pakistan". Modern Asian Studies. 55 (2): 629–664. doi:10.1017/S0026749X19000416. ISSN   0026-749X. S2CID   218775961.
  8. Times, Special to The New York (16 May 1954). "PAKISTAN RIOT KILLS 90; 250 Injured in Labor Groups' Clash at Jute Mills". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. "Bengalis Encircle 30,000 Biharis in Mill". The New York Times. 30 December 1971. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 Hasan, Md. (26 March 2006). "Adamjee EPZ eyes $400m investment in 18 months". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  11. Mahmud, Arshad (1 July 2002). "Tears as jute mill shuts with 30,000 job losses". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  12. "Proposal to reopen AJM awaits PM's approval". Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.