Seth Vishandas Nihalchand

Seth Vishindas Nihalchand was born in Manjho, a village near the Railway Junction of Kotri in Sindh, now a part of Pakistan. His father Nihalchand, belonged to a family of landlords and merchants and the family was known as Gulabdasis.

At the age of 16 he married to Beejhalbai, daughter of Seth Dunimal Tilokchandani, a wealthy businessman of Manjand. From his early 20s Seth Vishindas was building a business empire which slowly but steadily expanded from Manjho to Karachi and from Karachi to Mumbai and Hyderabad.

As a businessman, Vishindas was the biggest contractor of forests of Sindhi, owner of ginning factories, rice thrashing units and a fleet of ships to undertake transportation of merchandise to Persian Gulf, Malabar Coast and Madras. He ran a large Commission Agency Business in Kharadar in Karachi. He also owned thousands of acres of agricultural land.

He had keen interest in religious and social activities. He gave liberally for the welfare of the poor and also was involved in activities like ending dowry and educating people to avoid extravagance in marriages, etc. At the time of a terrible drought in Kohistan he promptly ordered that fair price grain shops to be opened in Manjho and Kotri. He was a big timber contractor and he allowed the poor to sell wood to make a living and also permitted them to graze their cattle on his land. In 1897, a plague epidemic hit Karachi and Vishandas rose to the occasion by establishing a hospital at his own expense and put it under the charge Dr. Nazrat, a leading physician of his time. The hospital was situated in the Bhimpura Quarters near the Bara Akhara. It had 75 beds and a full complement of nurses and paramedical staff. The Hospital came to be known as Vishandas Hospital. He also took considerable part in local and political affairs. He attended the 1st, 2nd and 3rd sessions of the Indian National Congress and up to the end of his life he was a member of Karachi District Board and was the President of the Kotri Tehsil Local Board. In recognition of his role as a social reformer, he was conferred with the title of Rai Bahadur.

At the time of his death in the year 1929, Vishandas left behind over 8000 acres of land and also other huge fortunes for his descendants.