From Humble Beginning to a Vast Empire

Before his death, Anwar Hossain's father, Rahim Bakhsh, was a wealthy businessman of that time. He had a cottage factory making buttons and combs from buffalo horns. He exported them to various cities, including Delhi, the capital of India. Such factories were rare at that time, and the export business was not easy either. In those days, it was a prestigious business. In a sense, he was a legend.

When Rahim Bakhsh passed away, the young Anwar Hossain, only seven years old, did not inherit any ownership of his father's businesses. Those who managed the businesses embezzled everything. Despite this dire situation, he did not break down at all, nor was he disoriented. He had immense courage in his heart. At that age, he started working at a cloth shop in Chawkbazar, Old Dhaka. Neighbors would smirk. They would ask him, "Hey, the son of such a wealthy man is working as a shop employee?" The scorn and neglect from the neighbors instilled even more determination in the young child's mind.

After working for a year in someone else's shop, at the age of eight, he started his own cloth trading business in Chawkbazar, in the old part of this city. Gradually, his business began to flourish. Due to the workload, he had to end his education after primary school. Many struggles, relentless hard works day and night, dedication, honesty, focus, and innate intelligence elevated him to such heights in the business world that he never had to look back. After about fourteen or fifteen years of doing business, he bought back, one by one, all the business establishments of his father that the employees had usurped.

Anwar Hossain could effortlessly simplify complex business equations with local and foreign business delegates, suppliers, and industrialists. There too lay his magic. He presented his words, logic, planning, and foresight in such a way that everyone could easily understand, "Anwar is right."

On August 17, 2021, Anwar Hossain passed away at the age of eighty-three. Before his death, he left behind many glorious accomplishment that he once dreamt of. The name that stands for reputation, fame, pride, and self-confidence is Anwar Group of Industries. It is one of the country's leading industrial establishments, with fourteen thousand workers and forty industrial units.

The journey began in 1965 with Anwar Cloth Store. In 1968, he established the first factory in Bangladesh for making wedding sarees, naming it Mala Saree after his beloved daughter Selina Tareq Mala.

Through Mala Saree and Manwar Cutlery, Anwar Hossain pioneered new horizons of business in this land. In a sense, he was a pioneer.

He was also a forerunner in the smart modern banking world many years after the independence of Bangladesh. Anwar Hossain was the founder chairman of City Bank, a specially reputed and successful financial institution.

How did he manage to build such successful and renowned industrial establishments year after year? What was his magic? He was born in 1938, during the British era. He witnessed the Pakistan period and finally the independent Bangladesh as well. Since Anwar Hossain could adapt himself to the diverse governance systems of three eras, his establishment was bound to spread its wings and make its mark.

He has seven children---three sons and four daughters. Manwar Hossain (Chairman), Hossain Mehmood (Vice Chairman), and Hossain Khaled (Managing Director) are the three sons who now steer the Anwar Group of Industries. Anwar Hossain's grandsons also work alongside their uncles. His daughter Selina Tareq Mala has established "Mala Design and Architecture" on her own. The eldest daughter, Shaheen Begum, was her father's right hand in social welfare activities. Responsibilities such as who needs to do what and where, and what to allocate, fall under Shaheen's purview. She still handles all these tasks and is very popular with everyone. Hasina Begum used to look after her father's business at one time; now she is a homemaker. Shahnaz Begum was involved in her husband's business.

Anwar Hossain had two intertwined worlds: business and family. He gave equal importance to both. He would wake up at 6 AM, read the newspaper for twenty minutes, and exercise for forty minutes. He had breakfast in British style, which consisted of two slices of bread, butter, eggs, semolina halwa, and papaya. He would enter the office before 9 AM, when many staff members had often not yet arrived.

He would leave the office at 5 PM and go straight home, keeping himself far away from clubs and parties. The time after returning home was entirely his own personal world, and here too, he was a responsible guardian. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. Travelling abroad with his family was a particular preference of him. He would tell everyone, "The more countries you visit, the more you will know, understand, acquire knowledge, become independent, expand your confidence, and become self-reliant."

He gave back many times more than what life gave him, contributing to his relatives, officers, employees, and the country and its people, as well. The exact amount of annual transactions, involving thousands of crores of taka, is not mentioned on the Anwar Group of Industries' website, perhaps as a business strategy. However, upon entering the website, a large portrait of him appears first, with the inscription: "In memory and respect, Anwar Hossain." Such a rare honor from his successors is solely for their father, who built a vast business empire.

Despite his immense contributions, achievements, and employment generation, he received recognition from many private institutions, but these heroic businessmen, who are our pride, do not receive state recognition. Anwar Hossain was also such a pioneer in trade and commerce, neglected by the state. He will remain in people's hearts. Even without receiving the state's highest honors like the Ekushey Padak or the Independence Award, he continues to shine like a star in the distant sky.