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{{Short description|Parsi shipbuilders in India (c.1730–1893)}}
{{redirect|Wadia}}
{{for|the Islamic banking practice|Wadiah}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{null|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox Family
| name = Wadia family
| image =
| crest =
| caption =
| ethnicity =
| region = [[Mumbai]], India
| origin = [[Surat, Gujarat]], India
| early_forms =
| members = [[Ardaseer Cursetjee]] [[Bahman Pestonji Wadia|Bahman Pestonji]] [[Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia|Darashaw Nosherwan]] [[Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia|Lovji Nusserwanjee]] [[Neville Wadia]] [[Dina Jinnah]] [[Nusli Wadia]] [[Ness Wadia]] [[Jehangir Wadia]] [[J. B. H. Wadia]] [[Homi Wadia]] [[Fearless Nadia]] [[Jim Wadia|Jamshed "Jim" Wadia]] [[Spenta R. Wadia]] [[Nina Wadia]]
| distinctions =
| traditions = [[Zoroastrianism]]
| otherfamilies = [[Jinnah family]]
| heirlooms = [[Wadia Group]]
| estate =
| meaning =
| footnotes =
}}
The '''Wadia family'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wadiagroup.com/home.html|title=Wadia Group|date=6 December 2000}}</ref> is a [[Parsi]] family from [[Surat, India]] currently based in [[Mumbai, India]].<ref name="The Wadias of India">{{cite web|url=http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/The%20Wadias%20of%20India.htm|title=The Wadias of India|date=28 May 2018|publisher=Vohuman, A Zoroastrian Educational Institute}}</ref> The family rose to wealth in the mid-1700s as shipbuilders serving the [[British East India Company]] as the latter established its sway over India. During the declining years of the [[British Raj]], Neville Wadia, scion of the main branch of the family, married [[Dina Wadia|Dina Jinnah]], only child of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], the founder of [[Pakistan]]. Despite being the only descendants of the founding father of Pakistan, the family chose to stick to their mills and factories in India rather than emigrate to the new country. They prospered abundantly under [[Nehru]]-[[Indira Gandhi|Gandhi]] dispensation and today, they run the [[Wadia Group]] of companies, one of the larger industrial conglomerates in India.<ref name="Dawn"/>

==History==
[[Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia]] advanced the Wadia shipbuilding dynasty in 1736, when he obtained a contract from the [[British East India Company]] for building docks and ships in Bombay (present-day [[Mumbai]]). Although the Wadias would eventually come to be considered a Bombay family, many of them remained in Surat, where one branch of the family established a [[ship breaking]] yard (where ships are dismantled) that remains one of the largest of its kind in the world.<ref name="The Wadias of India"/> The Wadia family has three main branches, each dealing in a particular industry: textiles, shipping, and jewelry. They have been active in a host of other smaller businesses, including film-making, biscuits and bakery products, tea and rubber plantations, fashion magazines and aviation.

The poem whose words would become the lyrics of [[The Star-Spangled Banner]], the [[national anthem]] of the [[United States]], were written in 1812 on board a Wadia-built British [[Royal Navy]] ship, {{HMS|Minden}} by [[Francis Scott Key]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/american-anthem-written-on-made-in-india-ship-hms-minden|title=The US National Anthem Was Written Aboard This Made-In-India Ship|date=5 April 2017|publisher=The Quint}}</ref>

By the 1840s, the family was one of the leading forces in the Indian shipbuilding industry. At that time they had built over a hundred warships for [[United Kingdom|Britain]], and had trading networks around the world.

The prominent women of the Wadia family, including Motlibai Maneckji Wadia, Jerbai Nusserwanji Wadia, and Lady Hirabai Cowasji Jehangir, were known for their philanthropy in providing financial support to [[Zoroastrian]] temples, establishing schools and hospitals, and supporting the arts in the 1800s.<ref name="The Wadias of India"/> More recently, [[Neville Wadia]] continued the philanthropic tradition of his family by continuing to establish hospitals and schools.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaryneville-wadia-1308408.html|title=Obituary: Neville Wadia|date=6 August 1996| first=Kuldip | last=Singh | newspaper=The Independent | accessdate=10 August 2018 }}</ref> The Wadia family has endowed [[Nowrosjee Wadia College]] in Pune.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcud.unipune.ac.in/utilities/college_search/CAAP010160_ENG/Pune_University_College|title=SAVITRIBAI PHULE PUNE UNIVERSITY|date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia's great grandsons, [[JBH Wadia]] and [[Homi Wadia]] founded [[Wadia Movietone]] in 1933, which had its studios at Lovji Castle (Lovejee Castle) in [[Chembur]], [[Mumbai, India]]. The company has a ship as its logo, honoring their family legacy.<ref name=toi>{{cite web | title = Surat's Wadias created Fearless Nadia | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Surats-Wadias-created-Fearless-Nadia/articleshow/6668162.cms?referral=PM# |date=2 Oct 2010| accessdate = 2014-09-18 | work = The Times of India }}</ref>

The Wadia family owns a textile company called [[Bombay Dyeing]] which was founded by Nowrosjee Wadia who became a big texitle businessman. Nowrosjee married Bai Jerbai who became a big philanthropist.<ref name="Dawn" /> She built five residential colonies, known as ''baugs,'' for Parsis who were unable to afford houses.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2015-11-05 |title=Insider’s guide to... Colaba |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/insider-s-guide-to-colaba/story-FthLruNtabAPnRAhZW2YcO.html |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Vevaina |first=Leilah |url=https://academic.oup.com/california-scholarship-online/book/29787/chapter/251871311 |title=Handbook of Religion and the Asian City: Aspiration and Urbanization in the Twenty-First Century |date=2015-05-19 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-28122-6 |editor-last=van der Veer |editor-first=Peter |pages=157, 166-167 |language= |chapter=8. Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good (Trust) Deeds: Parsis, Risk, and Real Estate in Mumbai |doi=10.1525/california/9780520281226.003.0008}}</ref> These five ''baug''s honoring her husband and three sons are: [[Cusrow Baug]], Ness Baug, Rustom Baug, Jer Baug and Nowroze Baug; with total 1545 houses in them.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Teotia |first=Sweta |date=2008-10-26 |title=Tales from Cusrow Baug |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/tales-from-cusrow-baug/378098/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Indian Express}}</ref>

After Nowrosjee died, Bombay Dyeing was passed down to his son, Ness Wadia (later "Sir Ness" after he received a knighthood for services to the [[British Raj]]). Sir Ness became a prominent textile industrialist and played an important role during the late 19th century in turning the city of [[Bombay]] into one of the world's largest cotton trading centers. Sir Ness married an Englishwoman, Eveylne Clara Powell, and they became the parents of Clara Eveylne Wadia and [[Neville Wadia]]. Clara was married to married to Robert Byng, 7th Earl of Strafford. Neville inherited the conglomerate when Sir Ness Wadia died in 1952. Neville was married to [[Dina Jinnah]] from 1938 to 1943. Dina was the only child of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], the founder of [[Pakistan]]. Her mother, [[Rattanbai Petit]], was the sister of [[Petit baronets|Dinshaw Maneckji Petit]], who married to [[Tata family#Prominent members|Sylla Tata]], sister of [[JRD Tata]].<ref name="Wadia">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C06%5C30%5Cstory_30-6-2009_pg7_32 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416065320/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C06%5C30%5Cstory_30-6-2009_pg7_32 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 April 2013 |title=Aslam Jinnah's claim of being Quaid's family disputed |date=30 June 2009 |work=[[Daily Times (Pakistan)|Daily Times]] |first=Amar |last=Guriro |accessdate=11 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2 November 2017|url=https://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2017/11/dina-wadia-said-last-meeting-jinnah/|title=Dina Wadia's last meeting with Quaid-e-Azam–in her own words|agency=PTI|work=Samaa|accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> Neville and Dina had two children together, a daughter Diana and a son Nusli Wadia, before they divorced; the divorce had to take place in England because the law in India did not permit divorce at all at that time.<ref name="Dawn">{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/510759/fact-file-jinnahaes-family|title=Fact file: Jinnah's family|work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=26 December 2009|accessdate=1 November 2017|quote=Dina and Neville lived in Mumbai and had two children, a boy and a girl, before the couple divorced.}}</ref>

Though Dina and Neville divorced in 1943, she remained a prominent member of the Wadia family.<ref>{{cite news|date=2 November 2017|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/166321-dina-wadia-and-her-darling-papa|title=Dina Wadia and her darling papa|agency=PTI|work=[[Geo News]]|accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1551486/6-remembering-dina/|title=Remembering Dina|date=17 November 2017|website=Tribune.pk}}</ref> The fracas between Neville and his son Nusli is a part of industry folklore in India. In 1971 Neville had decided to sell Bombay Dyeing because of the financial problems it was having also had plans to move abroad. Nusli however stopped as him as he had his own plans to run the company and did not want to leave [[India]]. He later took over as chairman of Bombay Dyeing in 1977, when Neville finally accepted that he was beaten and stepped aside. Nusli is now the chairman of the [[Wadia Group]].

Members of the family have also settled outside of Mumbai in the United Kingdom (such as British-Indian actress [[Nina Wadia]]) and the United States (such as Maneck Sorabji Wadia, Indian-American management consultant).<ref name="The Wadias of India"/>

==Notable members==

* [[Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia]] (1702–1774), shipwright, founded [[Wadia Group]] in 1736.
* [[Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia]] (1754–1821}, shipbuilder.
* [[Ardaseer Cursetjee]] (1808–1877), shipbuilder and engineer.
* [[Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir]] (1860-1940), philanthropist, leader of women's organizations
* [[Bahman Pestonji Wadia]] (1881–1958), theosophist and labour activist.
* [[Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia]] (1883–1969), geologist, winner of [[Padma Bhushan]] (1958).
* [[J. B. H. Wadia]] (1901–1986), film director, screenwriter, producer.
* [[Homi Wadia]] (1911–2004), film director, screenwriter, producer.
* [[Fearless Nadia]] (1908–1996), film actress, wife of Homi.
* [[Neville Wadia]] (1911–1996), chairman Bombay Dyeing (1952–1977).
* [[Dina Wadia|Dina Wadia Jinnah]] (1919–2017), wife of Neville, daughter of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] and [[Rattanbai Petit]].
* [[Nusli Wadia]] (born 1944), son of Neville and Dina, chairman of [[Bombay Dyeing]] since 1977.
* [[Jim Wadia|Jamshed "Jim" Wadia]] (born 1947), businessman.
* [[Spenta R. Wadia]] (born 1950), theoretical physicist, founding director of ICTS-TIFR.
* [[Ness Wadia]] (born 1971), businessman, son of Nusli.
* [[Jehangir Wadia]] (born 1973), businessman, son of Nusli.
* [[Nina Wadia]] (born 1968), actress.

==References==
{{reflist}}

*[http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/The%20Wadias%20of%20India.htm The Wadias of India: Then and Now]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120629091519/http://www.humantouchofchemistry.com/ardaseer-cursetjee-wadia.htm Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia]

{{Wadia Group}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:family, Wadia}}
[[Category:Indian shipbuilders]]
[[Category:Business families of India|Wadia]]
[[Category:People from Surat]]
[[Category:Wadia family]]
[[Category:Wadia Group]]
[[Category:Parsi people from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Gujarat]]

Wadia family - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article