kokan news, vol.3, no.1, 2011

Kokan News آ�آ� � �ز

Volume 3, Issue 1 | January — March 2011 Editor: Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle

FOREWORD ESTAWOO (Arrange yourselves)… Allah-o-Akbar (Allah is Great) … And within seconds, the whole scene changed and the crowd of 3 million Muslims arrived from different part of world arranged themselves in well-organized rows in NO TIME. This is the scene every year and this year too when the millions of pilgrims assembled for Haj in Makkah. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, chose to focus on the unity of Islam and the importance of interfaith dialogue in his address to this year’s pilgrims. That unity is clearly on display with the enormous mix of nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, race and gender that makes its way to Makkah every year. The King said Muslims should use the Haj to “revive and renew their relations and strengthen the bonds of fraternity, love and cohesion”. The Monarch said he is always filled with “great delight and pleasure” to see Muslims from all over the world come together for Haj. He said Haj is “a clear sign of the Divine Will to unite the Ummah and reaffirm the oneness of the Creator”. Haj also embodies “equality and justice”. “Almighty Allah ordained this annual obligation to serve as a gathering place for the believers, the sons of one religion.”

This annual obligation, of course, falls on Saudi Arabia as the host of the Two Holy Mosques and other holy sites. Despite the overwhelming logistical coordination to make Haj a successful event, “Almighty Allah has made matters easy for us to fulfill our obligations toward the worshippers,” the King said. Indeed, this year’s Haj offered some significant innovations to make the pilgrimage a more accessible event for everyone. Even the wheel-chair bound are visiting the Grand Mosque and other holy sites. This year additional floors added at JAMARAT not only made pilgrims life easy but also the event was incident free. Inauguration of train facilities especially for Haj and traveling first time in train provided comfort to pilgrims.

Muslim leaders, scholars and intellectuals have a daunting task before them. They must bring Muslims back to their basics; guide them to set aside their differences and cultural influences to embrace the legislation of the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is necessary to stop the current deterioration, stagnation and confusion the Ummah is going through now. Haj comes every year. But we seem to overlook the important lesson it teaches for our success.

Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle

THE e-NEWSLETTER OF THE KOKANI DIASPORA COMMUNITY

IN THIS ISSUE

Indian Kokanis Celebrate Iftar Party and Family Gathering 2

Arabic, Persian and Urdu Literature published in Mumbai 10

Kokanis in Cape Town, South Africa 22

Books on Kokan 26

KCR آ4آ3 آ01/. ر,+ض— 31

MUMBAI WAS VISITED BY THREE GREAT RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS (see page 6)

Dr. Sheikh Saud Bin Ibrahim Bin Muhammad Al-Shuraim

Imaam and Khateeb of Masjid Al Haram,

Makkah Al Mukarramah (left)

&

U.S. President Barack Obama with Indian Prime Minister

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Good News for Kokan Navi Mumbai Airport gets nod ====================

NEW DELHI | Mon Nov 22, 2010 A long-delayed project to build a second international airport in India's commercial hub of Mumbai took a Big step forward on Monday the November 22, 2010 After it received clearance from the country’s environment minister. Cont...P4

A delight to eyes – Flowers in Kokan in rainy season

Kokan News ـ@زBـC Dآـ@آـ

“Washishti Welfare Society for the Disabled”

For more information please contact: Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle

[email protected] .

Kokan Committee Riyadh (KCR) Organizes Iftar Party And Family Gathering 2010

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RIYADH: Kokan Committee Riyadh (KCR), a Riyadh-based social organization, hosted a huge Iftar party on 20th August, 2010 (10th Ramdhan 1431) for Indian Kokani community at an istraha (tent) in industrial area. More than 750 Kokanis gathered under one roof which never happened till this function was organized. The program was started by recitation of Sura Al-Adiyat from Qur'an by Mr. Zeshan Yahya Ukay. Mr. Qalander Abdulhamid Dabhilkar made commen-tary in beautiful Kokani language on Qur'anic verses of Sura Al-Adiyat. Wajihuddin Parker spoke on this occasion on importance of Ramdan and huqu-qul Ibad. In the presidential address by Mr. Rafique Dalwai, said enthusiasm among office-bearers and other social activists was motivating. He thanked people for showing the trust and faith in KCR and told them that it is important to have continuous such faith for success of any event. At Iftar time people were served with dates, juice, batata-wada, laban and bottles of water and biryani which were prepared and contributed by members of KCR themselves. A website www.kokancommitteeriyadh.com was also launched at this time. Mission, Vision and Strategic plans was also launched. Beautiful banners and brochure of the society were also distributed and displayed. On another occasion more than 400 Indian Kokanis and their family members turned up at the Istraha Al Fares, in Hai Al-Manaqh at the weekend to celebrate family gathering and wonderful evening on Thursday 28th October, 2010. Of the two million Indians in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, around 50,000 Kokanis live and work in different cities. Thus for scattered community throughout the country, such family gathering provides a good and unique opportunity to socialize, network and to understand little known cultural nuggets of their own country and community. “The turnout was beyond expectations,” admitted Mr. Rafiq Dalwai, the key organizer and President of KCR who works as a Finance Manager with GSM service providing company “Mobily”. “When we thought of organizing such event, we never knew that we would attract these many people. Even some families attended this function coming all the way from Dammam and Buraida. This only indicates the sense of camaraderie that still exists among the members of Kokani community. Mr. Rafiq Dalwai gave brief information of KCR achievements during the 2010 and about the EASE (Education Adoption Scheme) program. Under EASE program about 70 children were adopted by the members of Kokani Community in Riyadh. On the other hand scholarships to 158 students were sanctioned for which a sum of Rs.600,000+/= was paid to them through the KCR coordinators directly to students or their schools. He also mentioned and applauded about historic great Iftar Milan Party event on 10th Ramdhan 1431(20/08/2010) ever held on soil of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by Kokani community where more than 750 members participated. He honored many members of the KCR by giving them rose flowers. He specially thanked Mr. Nazir Mukadam and his team of Mr. Mansoor Ashtikar, Mr. Abdullah Hunerkar, Mr. Dilawar Parkar and Mr. Shoyeb Dalwai for arranging such an excellently organized family gathering and wonderful evening. He gave special thanks to Mrs. Salma Nazir, Principal Taqwa International School Riyadh for voluntarily accepting the responsibility of organizing events of ladies wing. As a token of respect and appreciation Mrs. Nargis Tajammul Pangarkar wife of KCR Vice president Mr. Tajammul Pangarkar handed over flowers to her on behalf of President. He also thanked Mr. Tajammul Pangarkar, Mr. Hidayat Jamadar, Mr. Faiz Malim, Mr. Munawar Pathan, Mr. Tanveer Karbelkar for their efforts and success of this event. He specially mentioned that Mr. Tajamul Pangarkar and Mr. Munwar Pathan. President also mentioned about two advisors, Dr. Abdul Gani Dalvi and Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle; whom he described as back bone of KCR and thanked for their efforts to make every event of KCR a grand success. He extended special thanks to the KCR coordinators Mr. Imtiaz Sable, Mr. Sajid Surve, Mr. Javed Dimtimkar, Mr. Asghar Khan Sarguroh, Mr. Arif Pathan, Mr.Adeeb Husain Mujawar, Mujeeb Dalwai, Mr. Faiz Maruf and Maulana Wajihuddin Parkar and gave them flowers.

Volume 3, Issue 1 | January-March 2011

KCR VISION

BRIGHTEN UP THEIR LIVES

BECOME A LIFE -CHANGER

SPONSOR A CHILD NOW!

By donating SR500/= annually

Through Education Adoption Scheme (EASE) Program of Kokan Committee Riyadh (KCR)

For further information please visit web site of KCR: URL : www.kokancommitteeriyadh.com Email : [email protected]

Mr. Abdulaziz Shaikh, of Al-Kabir Co. and M/s Baker Adhikari and Iqbal Kazi of Kwality Ice Cream Co. were also honored by offering the flowers to them. President thanked them for distributing their products and ice-cream respectively during this occasion. Abdurrahman Rawal who few years back accepted Islam delivered excellent and educative lecture on the importance of Islam, Quran and Education. He also mentioned that people can approach him for any help required to understand Islam and its teachings.

Dr. Abdul Ghani Dalvi, Scientist at SWCC a Saudi Government entity, who also played an instrumental role in bringing all Kokanis together, promised to make more such events in future. He thanked Mr. Rafiq Dalwai for taking the captain’s responsibility of sailing KCR ship through the sea that has many rocks and his efforts to achieve exceptional result in short period of time. He also thanked all the committee members and the participants coming together along with families for a day of fun.

For sumptuous dinner Chicken Biryani, Mutton Korma and sweets were served on this occasion and everybody enjoyed this pink and blue evening which was supported by nice weather. Dinner session was brilliantly managed by team of Mr. Javed Dimtimkar consisting of Mr. Asghar Khan Surguroh, Mr. Farooq Mhaldar, Mr. Mujeeb Dalwai, Mr. Afzal Dalwai Mr. Sajid Surve and others. This event again is one additional feather in the achievements of the KCR under the leadership of Mr. Rafiq Dalwai, President, Kokan Committee Riyadh.

Preparing future strategic planning

Preparation for Iftar by KCR members in Riyadh


Continued from page ...1

ending months of wrangling between India's environment and civil aviation ministries. The approval imposes 32 stipulations to ensure the area surrounding the estimated $220 million project is protected. The approval was necessary for construction to begin on the project in Navi Mumbai, seen as vital to the city's status as an international commercial center with a passenger crunch looming at the current airport. Overhauling India's creaking infrastructure is seen as crucial to continued economic growth, with the country targeting increased private investment and a doubling in infrastructure spending to $1 trillion in the five years starting in 2012. The civil aviation ministry and local Maharashtra government have pushed hard in recent months to ensure environmental clearance was granted for the airport, which will be funded through a public-private partnership.

The new airport, first approved by the government in 2007 to reduce the burden on the existing Chattrapati Shivaji airport, is reportedly expected to handle 40 million passengers when fully operational in 2030. As important as the second international airport is vital for Mumbai, it has huge implications for Kokan and the Pune-Nashik belt. “This is a vital piece of infrastructure since there are serious constraints on the existing airport. Without the second airport, Mumbai could lose relevance not just as an international financial centre but also as the national financial capital,” said Sanjay Ubale, managing director of Tata Realty and Infrastructure.

Experts said the second airport would lead to rapid growth across the metropolitan region that now stretches up to coastal Raigad and boost development in the Kokan as well as the Pune-Nashik belt. In the past few years, the Kokan is being looked upon as a power, mining and ports centre. Pune has emerged as an automobile and information technology hub, while Nashik is being developed as a manufacturing hub.

These regions are among India’s fastest growing, attracting billions of dollars of investment across proposed special economic zones (SEZs) and infrastructure projects. The state has the highest number of SEZs — 105 approved — in India. More than half these services, information technology, automobile and manufacturing enclaves are in this belt. The airport site is close to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the area along it is being developed as a service sector hub.

With economic development in the Kokan region of Maharashtra getting high priority from both the government and corporate, the single-track Kokan Railway would have to be converted into a double track, an expert said here. Addressing a Kokan Vision 2020 conference at Dapoli near Ratnagiri recently, Kokan Railway’s former Managing Director Ketan Gokhale said: “The single-track Kokan Railway would have to be converted into a double-track, considering the development of the port by Reliance and also because of the proposed ports at Dighi and Jaigad which will need to be linked to the Kokan railway.”

With two SEZs — Navi Mumbai SEZ and Mumbai SEZ, Rewas Port — being developed as the deepest and largest port in the country (by Mukesh Ambani-headed Reliance Industries) besides the Navi Mumbai airport, the road and rail network in Kokan region is expected to be under a lot of strain. The Mumbai SEZ (MSEZ) is investing an estimated Rs 35,000 crore in the development of the SEZ in 45 villages in tehsils of Pen, Uran and Panvel in the Raigad district. Reliance is also developing the Navi Mumbai SEZ in partnership with CIDCO in Panvel-Uran region. “The SEZ project, while bringing in prosperity to the Kokan region, will also boost the pace of development of Maharashtra and the nation,” an MSEZ official said, adding ‘private investments of around Rs 350,000 crore were expected in the SEZ’. Being set up on 10,000 hectares of land, the MSEZ is expected to bring prosperity to the region by generating 20 lakh jobs and contribute Rs 10,000 crore to the state exchequer every year.

Navi Mumbai International Airport will support the rapidly growing air travel needs of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It is expected to absorb annually 10 million passengers in its first operational year 2012, doubling to 20 million by 2020 followed by 30 million passengers in 2025 and ultimately 40 million by 2030.


India makes major move to save climate talks

Source: www.samachar.com

Cancun (Mexico): India has made a major move towards a global treaty where its own attempts to tackle climate change may become a 'binding commitment under appropriate legal form'. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh made the offer in an attempt to break the deadlock at the Nov 29-Dec 10 UN climate summit here, and as he put it, 'to improve India's image around the world as an honest broker'. Speaking at the high level segment of the annual UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference, Ramesh said Wednesday evening (local time) that 'all countries must take binding commitments under appropriate legal form' to control their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) - mainly carbon dioxide - which are causing climate change. Since the start of the industrial age, the rich countries have put into the atmosphere almost all the excess GHG that is warming up the earth and already reducing farm output, making droughts, floods and storms more frequent and more severe and raising the sea level. But now China is the largest GHG polluter with 22 percent of global emissions, the US is second with 19 percent and India third with five, though India's per capita emissions are one-twentieth that of the US. The US is the only rich country that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol - the sole global treaty that obliges rich countries to reduce their GHG emissions. For years, the US has been insisting it will not get into any legally binding agreement to do so unless China and India do the same. A new plan put forward by India for success at climate summit at Cancun received support from the UN climate chief. CLIMATE CHANGE & MAHARASHTRA (Input from Kokan News) Maharashtra is the third largest and the second most populous state in the country. It accounts for 9.4% of the total geographical area and occupies a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau in the western peninsular of the subcontinent. The Western Ghats, which run parallel to the coast at an average elevation of 1200 meters form one of the three watersheds of the country, from which originate several important rivers, the most notable being Godavari and Krishna. To the north of the state, the rivers Tapi and Narmada flow westwards into the Arabian Sea. Administratively, the state is divided into 35 districts, Based on socio-political and other geographical considerations, the state is divided into five main regions: Vidarbha (north-eastern region), Marathwada, Khandesh, Northern Maharashtra (Desh) and Western Maharashtra (Konkan). Covering the entire Western Ghats, the Kokan region is known to receive the maximum rainfall in the state. Maharashtra experiences extreme climatic conditions and the impacts of climate change will further exacerbate its current vulnerability. Maharashtra has its economy inextricably tied to climate-sensitive sectors, primarily agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy. Altered rainfall and precipitation patterns could affect hydrological systems and agricultural production and productivity. This is likely to endanger livelihoods of communities dependent on it and food security of the state. Inter-linkages between different sectors would have a ripple effect on the entire economy. The impacts will be most felt on the vulnerable and poor sections of the society. The state of Maharashtra therefore underlying Climate change vulnerabilities associated with the prevalence of drought in the central belt and sea level rise, wide variations in development within the state. Climate change impacts in the state are summarized as:

Impacts on Human Health Impacts on Agriculture Impacts on Water Resources Impacts on Coastal Zones Impacts on Species and Natural Areas

With an aim to find a solution to the Kokan and Maharashtra a long term strategy and plan is need of the day to protect the Kokan coastline. This is in the interest of wildlife and humans. A study is necessary to study the Kokan coast biodiversity, the extent to which local communities depend on it for a living, and then prepare a conservation plan keeping the local residents and traditional communities in mind.


Mumbai: Mumbai witnessed 10 days International Islamic Conference (Hindi – Urdu) from 22nd to 31st October 2010. The conference was arranged by Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), Mumbai. The Chief Guest was SHAIKH SAUD BIN IBRAHIM BIN MUHAMMAD AL-SHURAIM.

Sheikh Al-Shuraim is Imam and Khateeb of Masjid-al-Haram, a very prominent personality of the Islamic

world, a dignified researcher in fiqh, a judge and a poet. He traveled and visited to many countries. He is

a good writer and has written many books on aqeedah, fiqh, and Arabic poetry. Dr. Al-Shuraim is loved

by the Muslim world for his noble characteristics and humbleness. He has been leading the Taraweeh

prayers in Makkah since 1991 during the Holy Month of Ramadan alongside Sheikh Abdurrahman Al-Sudais.

Islam stands for peace, harmony, brotherhood and co-existence. It safeguards the interests of every human being and

guarantees a peaceful and just society, said Shaikh Usman As-Siddiquee while inaugurating the ten days Islamic Dawah

Conference on October 22, 2010 in Mumbai.

"The guidelines and the principles Islam has laid upon its followers has brought peace and harmony in the world. It safeguards the interests of every human being and stresses in clear term the freedom of religious practice and co-existence", Shaikh Usman who is the former Imam of Masjid Khaif, Mina, near Makkah Saudi Arabia said while delivering the Friday sermon. "Some of the rights introduced by Islam especially for the women and downtrodden were totally new to the world", he added. The former Imam rejected the propaganda which is underway about Islam by a section in the world. "Today some people try to spread misconceptions about Islam and tries to project Islam in a way that has no relation to its true teachings and actual principles", he said. "The whole history of Islam and the entire life of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) and that of his companions are full of instances to show how they brought peace in the world and paved the way for the formation of a just and peaceful society while working on the principles and guidelines laid down in Islam", he said as thousands of people sat listening to the sermon with apt attention. The conference held at the Somaya ground in Mumbai and organized by Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) that began with the Friday sermon on October 22 is fourth in Mumbai. It was concluded on October 31, 2010. Eminent scholars and Islamic preachers from India and abroad have come to the venue to address the conference which is organized first time in Urdu. Earlier three conferences organized on the same ground and at the same times in the past three years were in the English language. Later, while addressing a press conference Dr Zakir Naik Founder President of IRF elaborated in details the purpose and objectives of the conference. "For people of all beliefs, this conference will be a learning opportunity to realize, reflect on and correct their misunderstanding (if any) about Islam in the light of talks by authoritative and renowned international speakers." Blaming Western media for creating misconceptions about Islam, Dr. Naik said that it chose to “glorify black sheep within the community as exemplary Musl ims”. This ended up project ing a wrong picture of Islam.

“This conference is to clear certain misconceptions and tell the world how peace is the solution for humanity,” Dr. Zakir Naik said. Cont… p.8

MUMBAI WAS VISITED BY THREE GREAT RELIGIOUS & POLITICAL LEADERS

By

Ms Aisha Bijle, Mumbai, India


Reviews on the IRF Peace Conference in Urdu News papers


US President Barack Obama's India "Yatra" Mumbai: US President Barack Obama embarks on his India "Yatra" in Mumbai on November 6, 2010 on the first leg of his three-day visit to India that was seek to focus on opening up Indian markets for American businesses and deal with wide-range of political issues, including strategy on counter-terrorism. The Air Force One carrying Obama and his wife Michelle touched down at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dance with school students on Koli music during Diwali celebrations in Mumbai on Sunday Nov 7, 2010.

Obama and his wife walked down the ladder to a red carpet welcome and were received by Ex. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who presented him a memento. The other dignitaries who received him on the tarmac were India's Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed and Indian Ambassador in the US Meera Shankar. The US President traveled to Mumbai and New Delhi during his India visit. While the Mumbai leg of Obama's trip was more focused on trade, economic and cultural aspects of the Indo-US ties, while the New Delhi focused on bilateral ties which reached to an altogether new level. "The US-India partnership is indispensable in addressing the challenges of our times. This strategic relationship encompasses a range of issues, activities, and programs that reflect the vision of President Obama and Prime Minister Singh that benefits not only the people of the US and India but the world as a whole," a fact sheet issued by the White House after the Obama visit said. "The two leaders welcomed the deepening relationship between the world's two largest democracies. They com-mended the growing cooperation between their governments, citizens, businesses, universities and scientific institutions, which have thrived on a shared culture of pluralism, education, enterprise and innovation, and have benefited the people of both countries," said a joint-statement issued after the visit. Both the leaders reaffirmed that Indo-US strategic partnership is indispensable not only for their two countries but also for global stability and prosperity in the 21st century, it said.

US President Barack Obama addressing the joint session of

Parliament, in the Central Hall of Parliament

House, in New Delhi on

November 08, 2010.


India, France Sign GPA for Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra

New Delhi, December 6, 2010: In a significant step towards boosting their civil nuclear cooperation, India and France today signed the General Framework Agreement between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and AREVA for Implementation of European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) Units at Jaitapur power plant in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra. The agreement was signed in the presence of visiting French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here. The 10,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant will contribute greatly to enhancing the share of energy from non-polluting sources. A related agreement on early works between NPCIL and AREVA for implementation of EPR NPP Units at Jaitapur site was also inked. The two countries also signed other agreements on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. One is Cooperation Agreement between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) of the Government of India and the Commissariat a L'energie Atomique ET Aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) in the field of Nuclear Science and Technology for Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. Another agreement was signed concerning Intellectual Property Rights on the development of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The two countries also signed the Protection of Confidentiality of Technical Data and Information Relating to Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. France is one of the first countries with which India signed the agreements on civil nuclear cooperation. The European Union country had also been supporting India's cause for access to nuclear fuel at the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This could bring some cheer to a power-starved country reeling under summer heat. A biodiversity survey conducted to assess the environmental impact of the proposed 10,000 mw Jaitapur atomic power plant appears to have given the ‘green light’ to it.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ( R ) welcome France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) at the Prime Minister residence in New Delhi.


ARABIC, PERSIAN AND URDU LITERATURE PUBLISHED IN MUMBAI: A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

Part I By

Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle [Ph.D.] Information Specialist

King Faisal Center for Research & Islamic Studies [King Faisal Foundation] Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Email: [email protected]

The objective of the study was to cast a detailed searchlight on the Arabic, Persian and Urdu Languages and Literature to acquaint scholars and research workers with collections and rare sources useful to them. The present work attempts to make known the strength of the above mentioned collections available in the city of Mumbai for their research work. Research scholars in the Mumbai in general are handicapped by the lack of bibliographical control of retrospective as well as current national literary output in these languages and their availability in different libraries. The present study attempts to bring to limelight what has appeared to be hidden and give prominence to things which deserve to be widely known. This will also save the time of research scholars in their literature search. As a matter of urgency, facilities and services in Arabic, Persian and Urdu libraries must be improved in order to sustain their new status so that they can contribute effectively towards the educational development of country. The manuscripts constitute an important part of the rich Indian culture heritage. These are major repositories of the contribution that our predecessors made in the diverse fields of Religion, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, History, Medicine and Science. They constitute the primary source of reconstruction of the Indian’s past. These manuscripts need preservation and conservation. A conservation laboratory, binding section and microfilming section are required. Before binding scanning is necessary to keep online electronically, so that the original Mss cannot be damaged further. A descriptive catalogue of all manuscripts available in Mumbai Libraries is a need of today. The manuscripts must be preserved using the most up-to-date methods of digital technology and that the largest number of people possible be given access to them. "The manuscripts are living memory of our forefathers."


Introduction The library is one of the most important social institutions serving society in several ways to build up nation. It serves as the centre of life-long self-education for all. It helps to fulfill the educational and cultural aspiration of society. The library collects, stores and organizes recorded information and serves the specific needs of the reader by retrieving selectively the relevant information from its storehouse of knowledge. Another important factor that has contributed to the change in the functions of a library is the reading material itself and its varieties. The reading material may be in any form, books, e-books, journals, e-journals, pamphlets, reports, films, microfilms, magnetic tapes, or gramophone records, full text electronic databases and so on. The growth of recorded information, particularly in the form of journals, has been tremendous in recent years. The development of Science and Technology, particularly after World War II, has resulted in the founding of a large number of new journals and consequently in the growth of papers published every year. This flood of material continuously pouring from all parts of the world has forced the libraries in scientific and technological as well as academic fields to develop and improve technique to control, organize and disseminate the information. The word "Library" is derived from the Latin “Libraria”, a place where books and written documents are kept. But the library of today is more than a building or a room in which books are stored. It selects, collects and distributes books to meet the demand of varying tastes, environments and intellectual equipment and is providing maximum facilities from its storehouse of knowledge. The functions of a library are thus not only to collect and preserve books but also to disseminate the information contained in them. This latter function has acquired importance. Modern Librarianship takes the view that every book should have its reader and that, without a reader, a book, no matter how scholarly it may be, is of very little value for the library. According to Dr. S. R. Ranganathan, “The first Law of Library Science is: Books are for Use. No one will question the correctness of this law. But, in actual practice, the story is different. The law is seldom borne in mind by library authorities. We may examine the history of any aspects of library practice and we shall find ample evidence of deplorable neglect of the law”. 1 The fundamental duty of a librarian is to bring books and readers into proper contact. This can be done only by one who appreciates the objectives and potentialities of a library, the techniques, tools and means for achieving them, and the purpose and limitations of the means. The success of a library therefore depends largely on the librarian. It is the duty of the librarian to select the right type of books and collect them, to create the readers’ interest through the right type of publicity and personal help, to bring the right type of book to the right person at the right time and to preserve the books with care. Thus the Librarian/ Information Specialist needs to be not only an expert provider but also idealist, an enthusiastic promoter of the yet wider use of books. That is why Librarianship and Information Science has become a distinct profession. Belief, Technique and Service. … These three words will be the motto of a true Librarian. He should have a strong belief in the value of the library; he should know the techniques of the library and information science and he should dedicate his life to the rendering of sincere service to the people. As the important of a comprehensive library service gradually gains proper recognition, more and more libraries of various kinds are being established all over the country, particularly special libraries attached to various learned institutions but unfortunately scholars and research workers are unaware of the wealth of material available in the libraries around them. Our academic libraries including libraries of colleges are particularly individualistic and isolated in character. There is not much relationship or linkage among academic libraries, in general, and in particular, among libraries of colleges. The new revolutionary trends taking place in the fields of Library Automation and Information Technology in India, specially, under the light of National Commission on Libraries and Information Systems,2 demand revamping our library resources to suit the modern educational times and trends. If the libraries have to keep pace with the developments taking place elsewhere, Automation and Information Technology are absolutely imperative. The collection, storage and dissemination of information have to be developed, as fast as


possible, using an information technology that is suitable and feasible. The basic issue is the rational and judicious utilization of limited resources for rendering the most effective and efficient facilities and services to the students and teachers of Arabic, Persian & Urdu Institutes. This is possible only in an atmosphere of resource sharing. Resources include library materials, equipment, personnel, fund and time. The underlined principle of resource sharing is maximum service at minimum cost. The vast resources and facilities in libraries, in the form of various type of material for the use of researchers and teachers, have to be suitably and fully tapped for maximum use. Planned resource sharing and networking among libraries will contribute to pooling, sharing and optimization of resources, facilities and services. Scope of the Study: This study is survey of the following selected libraries having collections of Urdu, Arabic, and Persian language and literature books/periodicals in Mumbai City (Greater Bombay). The following libraries of Mumbai have substantial collections in the field of Arabic, Persian and Urdu language and Literature: 1. University of Mumbai Library, Fort, 2. Jawaharlal Nehru Library, (University of Mumbai), Vidyanagri 3. Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Research Centre & Library 4. Anjuman-I-Islam Urdu Research Institute 5. Cama Oriental Institute Library 6. Kutub Khana Madrasa Muhammadia (Jamia Masjid), Crawford Market 7. Asiatic Society of Bombay, Town Hall 8. Central Library, Town Hall 9. Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari 10. St. Xavier’s College Library 11. Sophia College Library, 12. Maharashtra College Library 13. Burhani College Library 14. Iran Culture House Library 15. Awami Idarah Library. The present study involves the analysis of library facilities available for research in Arabic, Persian and Urdu language and literature in the city of Mumbai, the existing form of resource sharing among them and future networking of these libraries.

Urdu: On the origin and development of Urdu, Frances W. Pritchett says that: Urdu widely spoken in Pakistan and Northern India is known today for its sophisticated and extensive literature. But in its earliest, fourteenth century form, Urdu was merely a crude patois – a bazaar language which enabled Persian and Turkish speakers to communicate with speakers of languages ultimately related to Sanskrit. While largely ignored in the Persianized North of India, this widespread patois “Urdu” (army camp” in Turkish) came to be cultivated as a literature language in autonomous southern kingdoms like Golconda and Bijapur. This southern “Dakhini” (“Deccani”) Urdu developed a rich eclectic literature with a mixture of Persian and indigenous element. 3 Urdu is an Indo-Aryan Language. It is admitted that there always existed in India for about a thousand years a language which was more or less intelligible and spoken throughout the country. This language which descended from the Apabhransh form and which now presents a happy combination of the various Aryan and non-Aryan languages of this sub-continental and elsewhere has been generally known as Hindi. When an early Arab or Persian writer uses this term he uses it in a wider perspective. By that expression he means any language of the country including Sanskrit. But later on the term Hindi came to be applied to that form of language which was spoken in or around Delhi and Mathura and which had not only spread throughout the country during centuries of religious, commercial and political relations but had begun to take a literature form in the region far beyond its original home. When the Muslims came to India first as traders and then as rulers they began to write this language in their own scripts. This very dressing of the common Indian language in Arabic alphabets is the beginning of Urdu language. We may say that Urdu, Hindwi, Hindi, Hindustani, Rekhata, Deccani, by whatever name it may be called is the common language of India which was more or less intelligible throughout the country and was written in Arabic script, with additional letters to represent the sounds which were not be found in Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages.


It is a strange phenomenon that though the common language of India is said to have originated near Delhi and Mathura, its earliest literary forms developed initially in Gujarat, Deccan, Punjab and Bihar. In Gujrat it began to be called Gujri, and Boli Gujarat, in Deccan it became known as Dakani. It was the Gujarati poet Wali who inspired the poets of North India to compose poems in their own language. He is regarded as the Chaucer of Urdu poetry. All India owes a great amount of gratitude to Gujarat and Deccan for nourishing the language and making it rich and strong. If the truth be told it will have to be said that the very word ‘Urdu’ is a misnomer for the language. The Moghals used to call their residences as ‘Urdu’ which is Turkish means camp and the king lived at that camp, the camp became Urdu-I-Mu’alla (Exalted camp). This exalted camp contained the court of the ruler also and used to have a large number of learned people whose verdicts as far as the language and literature was concerned used to be final. Therefore, in order to show that a man was writing in the most authentic and chaste language he used to say that he was writing in “Zaban-I-Urdu-I-Mu’alla” i.e. language of the exalted camp. For the sake of brevity the people began to say that they were writing in Urdu. Another reason for adopting this name was that at the Fort William College, Calcutta this common language began to be written in Devnagri script and was named Hindi, Hindwi or Hindustani and thus to make a distinction, this Hindi language written in Arabic script adopted the name of Urdu. It is interesting to know that Urdu up to the later half of the 19th century continued to be called Hindi. Ghalib, the great poet of Urdu, mentions his poetic work as “Mera Hindi Ka Diwan” (my collections of Hindi poems). Adoption of the Arabic script for this common language of the country was not forced by the rulers whose official language to the last days of their government remained Persian. It was adopted on the principle of culture unity with the countries with whom India was closely connected. Urdu poetry in the beginning followed local meters, forms, thoughts and expression, but with the ever-growing and expanding Persian influence through court and society, it began to adopt Persian meters and forms. However, it must be said to the credit of this poetry that the national and patriotic poems written in this language far exceeded in quality and quantity than those of any other language of the country. Urdu is the most prevalent and popular language in India. Almost in all the States, it serves as a language of mass communication and is the language of the people. Scholars hold different views regarding its origin and place of birth, but looking to the different theories and lines of arguments about its origin, it is felt that neither any particular region is its birthplace nor any particular province has been its permanent home. It seems that in the South and in the North, due to commercial, socio-religious and political contacts of the people speaking Indian and foreign languages, a mixed dialect sprang up either earlier or later, or simultaneously in different provinces. It was used as a common vehicle in the bazaars, and from such a dialect inter-provincial relations and contacts, a common language evolved which was called Urdu. Different linguistic characteristics of this language support this conception. In the same way Urdu literature also owes its development not only to any one region but various parts of the country such as Gujarat, the Deccan, the Punjab, Delhi, Lucknow etc., which have contributed to its developmental and prosperity in turn. To the above mentioned centers of Urdu, the Maharashtra State in general and the city of Mumbai in particular, can be added as the centre in the present time. as for the last fifty years Mumbai has contributed to a great extent towards the development of Urdu. The claims of the State and Mumbai City can very well be ascertained from the vogue and prevalence of the language in different cities of the State and the status which it holds in the City of Mumbai. Urdu still holds a great say in this State and Educational institutions imparting instruction through the medium of this language are a living testimony to its popularity. A large number of libraries and reading rooms are to be found in Mumbai. In Mumbai the Research Institutes in Urdu are also located at places like Anjuman-I-Islam and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Research Centre & Library. In Mumbai today as far as Urdu language is concerned, literary activities are enormous and very encouraging. A large number of Urdu newspapers are printed in Mumbai and literary personages of repute in Urdu are attracted to this centre of learning. Mumbai being an important commercial city is the meeting place not only for the people from all over India, but also for the foreign traders. Right from the earlier times, this City holds an international position. In such a cosmopolitan city one common linguistic medium is quite necessary. Urdu claims to be such a medium and serves that purpose in the bazaars. This slang bazaari boli is called Bombaigiri also. It is an admixture or Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, English and Portuguese. Though Bombaigiri is spoken, due to the influence of the North, standard Urdu is more commonly used in the city. So far the development of Urdu language and literature in Mumbai is concerned; some poetical works of the last decades of the 18th century have been traced as the earliest ones. But it seems that literary pursuits in Mumbai must have started earlier ever than this period, because in the last decade of the 17th century, Urdu literature had gone through a revolution due to the efforts of Wali Gujarati, who introduced new trends. The conceptions of this genius not only influenced the Deccan, but the North also took the first lesson and started producing Urdu works in prose and poetry for the first time. This is the period when the North turned into a centre for Urdu. Mumbai also being closely connected with the Deccan must have been influenced by these literary activities. The survey of the literary activities of the period 1800 onwards reveals that ample works in practically all the branches of literature have been produced in Mumbai.


Mumbai boasts of some of the well-known prose-writes. They are novelist Khawja Ahmed Abbas and Ismat Chughtai, short storywriters like Krishna Chandra, Rajendra Singh Bedi, Qurratul Ain Haydar, and Saadat Hasan Manto and well-known poets like Sardar Jafri, Kaifi Azami, Akhtar-ul-Iman, Jan-Nisar-Akhtar and Majrooh Sultanpuri. Dr. A.A. Nami’s thesis and articles on Urdu theatre are a valuable contribution to Urdu literature. Besides novelists, dramatists and short storywriters, there are a host of other literary personalities who have made valuable contribution to Urdu literature by their literary and critical articles and publications. Some of them are Shihbab Malerkotlawi, S.S. Desnavi, Professor N.A. Nadvi, the Late Professor M.I. Dar, Abdul Razzaq Quraishi, Waddual Hai, Dr. A.A. Nami, Safdar Ah Sitapuri, Sardar Jafri, Setu Madhav Rao Pagdi, Dr. A.N. Jafri, Professor S.H. Naqvi and Dr. Z.H. Madani. During the last fifty years, some literary works have been published. Sardar Jafri’s Intikhab-I-Ghalib and Intikhab-I-Mir and Taraqqi Pasand Adab, Professor Nadvi’s, Gujari Lughat, R. Quraishi’s Mirza Jan-I-Janan and Uzlat, Safdar’s Firdaus-I-Hind, and Dr. Z.H. Madani’s Wali Gujrati, Munshi Mia Dadkhan Khan Sayyah, Urdu Essays, Urdu Ghazal Wali Tak, Nurul Maarifat and Mazamin-I-Dar are some of the well-known publications. Besides these, some of the theses written by the Urdu students submitted to Mumbai University such as Dr. Jafri’s Khub Tarang, Dr. (Mrs.) M.A. Dalvi’s “Bombai Mein Urdu”, Prof. A.S. Dalvi’s “Mohammed Husayn Azad” and “Bombay Urdu” are important contributions to the development of these three above mentioned languages. Maharashtra State Urdu Academy: The Maharashtra State Urdu Academy was established in 1975 with an aim to promote Urdu language and literature in Maharashtra state. Besides general promotion of Urdu such as giving awards to Urdu writers and poets of Maharashtra for the best contributions, the Urdu Academy also gives publication grants and encourages talents in the language. Maharashtra and more particularly Mumbai has been a centre of Urdu drama. Due to Urdu films Urdu went in the background. Maharashtra State Urdu Academy encourages Urdu drama writers and Urdu theatre for their performances. One of the very important aims of the State Academy is to bring Urdu and the state language Marathi closer to each other through translations and exchange of creative ideas. Academy also has a publication programme on History, Art, Language, Literature and eminent personalities belonging to Maharashtra. Dr. Rafiq Zakaria noted Islamic scholar and former Minister in the Government of Maharashtra was its first Chairman, Prof. A.S. Dalvi, noted Urdu scholar and Linguist, and Ex-Head of the Department of Urdu, University of Mumbai is presently executive chairman of the Urdu Academy. The Department of Urdu, Mumbai University: The Universities in Maharashtra did not have the independent Department of Urdu language. The Maharashtra State Urdu Academy with the munificent endowment created “Krishna Chander Chair” and the Department of Urdu in Mumbai University in the year 1982. The establishment of the Department of Urdu was of great academic importance in promoting postgraduate and research studies in Urdu. The Department of Urdu subsequently developed as full-fledged department with three more faculty courses in Urdu. It has also started certificate and diploma course in Urdu for non-Urdu speakers. The department takes keen interest in bringing Urdu and Marathi closer to each other and promoting linguistic and emotional integration by exchange of creative ideas between these two great Indian languages. The department has published eight books on Research Methodology, Textual Criticism, Deccani Urdu and translation of Marathi Novelettes in Urdu. Professor A. S. Dalvi noted Urdu scholar and linguist, formerly Director of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Research Centre and Library, Mumbai is the first scholar to be appointed as Krishna Chander Professor & Head, Department of Urdu, in Mumbai University. He has been heading the department since September 1982. Though Urdu libraries in Mumbai are not adequate, one can not ignore the valuable collections of Arabic, Persian and Urdu manuscripts, which have been preserved in some of the libraries. It is difficult to trace the private and personal libraries, but it can be said without hesitation that Urdu knowing Bombayties are indifferent to the hobby of having a good library. It is possible to trace only two personal libraries. An up-to-date library was the one possessed by Nakhuda Roghe family, but now no trace of it is to be found. Khatkhate family also possessed a good collection, which has been presented to Mumbai University library by the family. It is very often consulted by research scholars


So far as public libraries are concerned, Kutub Khana Madrasa Mohammedia, Mumbai 400 002 tops the list. There are thousands of manuscripts and printed rare books. Though there already exists a catalogue of these books edited by Dr. Hamidullah Nadvi, a Research Assistant of Anjuman-I-Islam Urdu Research Institute. The Karimi Library is noted for its collection of rare printed books and the old files of newspapers of Mumbai. It was donated by the proprietors of the Karimi Printing Press in 1903. It is managed by the Anjuman-I-Islam Urdu Research Institute. The Urdu Research Institute has also a good library. However, in so far the manuscripts section is concerned, a collection presented by Prof. N.A. Dalvi has made the library quite well equipped and adequate for research. Ismail Yusuf College, Mumbai, has also a well-equipped library for conducting research in Urdu. It has a collection of printed books, which are now rare. The Record Department of Mumbai is also in possession of a collection of rare books. A rare collection of books of Elphinston College was shifted to Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari, Mumbai – 400 060.

Arabic: Of the three languages ARABIC, PERSIAN AND URDU, Arabic, though not in any way connected with any branch of the linguistic families spoken in the country has been used by hundreds of its inhabitants in expressing their views in Islam and things concerning Islam. Arabic belongs to the Semitic group. It is a Well-known fact that the Semitic nations in general and the Arabs in particular had their commercial and cultural relations with India from the very dawn of human civilization. The very name Al-Hind for this subcontinent is a gift from the Arabs.4 The commercial and cultural relations resulted in the absorption of many Indian words in Arabic languages such as Kafur, Misk, Sandal, Hail (cardamom), Zanjabil (Ginger), Naranjil (Coconut), etc. Sometimes the word “Hindi” was used to show the place or origin of a commodity such as “Ud-I-Hind, Tamr-I-Hind (tamarind), etc., Names of different kinds of cloths were also borrowed. This process was not confined only to articles of every day use. With the rise of Islam and its cultural expansion it extended to the various branches of science and literature. Many books on Astronomy, Mathematics, Medicine, Philosophy and those of fables and stories were translated from Sanskrit into Arabic. The Commercial relation between the State of Maharashtra and Arabic Felix are very old and could be traced back to the time of the Queen of Sheba. The Arabs in those days were in sole possession of the trade between Asia and Europe. The Arab ships were not only continually traversing the Mediterranean, which had become at that time an Arab Lake, but were just as much at home in our waters. They had established several enterports between Aden and Mumbai and there had sprung up a large number of Arab settlements at Chaul, Kalyan and Sopara. Agarthakhides (c. 180 BC) says that in this time “Indian trade was in the hands of the Sabaeans of Yemen”.5 He also speaks of Sabaens sending from Aden “colonies and Factories” to settle in India. Warmington observes that “the Sabaens of the Yemen had built up a prosperous and undistributed trade with India and that they had grown immensely wealthy”.6 India finds a place in the Hymyarite inscriptions of the Yemen as a country exporting “fresh fruits” to the land of the Arabs. From the seventh century onwards there was a large and continuous influx of Arab merchants to the Western coast of India, where they were settled at various ports. In the beginning of the seventh century of the Christian era the Arabs were welded into a strong united nation with a centralized State under the Prophet of Islam. Stimulated by the vigorous and universal nature of his teachings, the Arabs not only brought them to the outskirts of India but also gave a tremendous impetus to their maritime trade. There have been several Arab expeditions to the State including the important one during the time of Pulakeshi. When these expeditions ceased, the contact between the State and Arabia was kept up by several Arab and Non-Arab Travellers and geographers like Masudi, Ibn Hawqal, Istakhri, Idrisi and several others. These geographers and travelers tell us about the social conditions prevailing in the State, the religion of its people, their customs, their dress, the imports and exports, etc. with the State of Mumbai. Masudi who visited this country in 915 A.D. informs us that Arabs had colonized themselves at Chaimur (present day Chembur) and round about. He also speaks of the Arab colonizers at Cambay and other places. Ahmedabad, particularly became great centre of learning throughout the Muslim world. One of the earliest scholars who came to Ahmedabad was Ad-Damamini, an eminent Egyptian scholar and grammarian born at Alexandria. Ad-Damamini arrived at Ahmedabad in 1397 A.D. and kept himself occupied for some time in lecturing and other literary work in that City. It was at Ahmedabad that he composed most of his works and dedicated them to the then ruler of Gujarat. He wrote a number of books on grammar of which he was a great master. He is particularly known for a series of commentaries on the grammatical works of Ibn Malik. Al-‘Uyun-ul-Fakhira, Jawahir-ul-Buhur, Kitabu-ul-Qawafi and Al-Manhal-us-Safi are some of his noteworthy compositions. Ad-Damamini has also epitomized the famous zoological dictionary, Hayat al-Hayawan of Damiri, under the name of Ayn-ul-Hayat. It was dedicated to Sultan Ahmad Shah I (of Gujarat) to whose praises he had devoted a special section towards the end of the book. A portion of this section is reproduced by Haji Dabir. An equally illustrious contemporary of Ad-Damamini was Makhdoom Ali Al-Mahaimi, a great commentator, philosopher

and mystic. He could rightly be called “Ibn ul-Arabi of India”. He belonged to the Nawait (Kokani) community, claiming


descent from the Arabs. Al-Mahaimi is perhaps the greatest exponent of Ibn-ul-Arabi’s pantheistic philosophy in India and has written several commentaries on the Awarif of Shihab-u-din Shurawardi. Ali Al-Mahaimi is the author of several books but the important of them are: - Tabsir ur-Rahman, a commentary on the Holy Qur’an. It is the masterpiece of Al-Mahaimi. It chiefly discusses the subtle points concerning the natural connection between the verses of the Qur’an. In’am Malik il-Allam, a book on the raisin d’etre of Law is a pioneer work on this subject. Shah Waliyyullah’s Hujiat-ullah-il-Baligha which is generally considered to be the first book on the Qur’anic Law was written nearly 300 years after Al-Mahaimi wrote his In’am. He breathed his last in 835 A.H. at Mahim, Mumbai, where is his shrine is still venerated. His writings (MSS) are available in Mumbai, Cairo, Istanbul, Bankipur, Rampur, London and Libraries of Saudi Arabia. A book on Mahaimi was written by Maulana Abdul Rehman Parvaz Islahi, under the guidance and encouragement of Dr. Abdussattar Dalvi.7

One of the most distinguished scholars of Gujarat who left a permanent mark upon the Hadith literature is Shaykh “Ali B. Husam ad-Din of Burhanpur popularly known as ‘Ali al-Muttaqi. He was born at Burhanpur in 1480 A.D. 885 A.H. He studied at various places and entered the services of the Kind of Mandu, and amassed considerable wealth. But he soon gave it up and came to Ahmedabad and stayed there for some years. Later on he migrated to Mecca, where he came into contact with Shaykh Abu Al-Hasan Al-Bakri and Shaykh Ibn Hajar, who in later years seeing his pupil’s erudition, became his disciple. Ali Al-Muttaqi was prolific writer and is credited to have written more than 150 books and treatises in Arabic most of which deal with the science of Hadith. But his monumental work upon which his reputation chiefly rests is his great corpus the Kanz-ul-Ummal in ten volumes. The Kanz, a re-arrangement of Suyuti’s Fam ul-Fawami is held in such high esteem what Abu al-Hasan Al-Bakri (Muttaqi’s teacher) remarked: “Suyuti obliged the world by re-arranging this work”. The Kanz has been published in Hyderabad while its epitome was printed long ago in Egypt. Among others who did much to encourage the study of Hadith in Gujarat were Shaykh Abdullah and Rahmatullah of Sind. The actual contribution of the scholars of the State is found in the different branches of Arabic learning. To begin with the study of the Qur’an there are 30 authors with 50 works to their credit. Out of these the Tabsir ur-Rahman of Shaykh Ali of Mahim and the At-Tafsir ul-Husyani of Shaykh Mohammed Chishti remain unsurpassed even today. But more important than these commentaries, is perhaps the pioneering work done by the scholars of Maharashtra State in translating the Holy Book into Persian. Generally it is believed that in India, Shah Waliyyullah of Delhi was the first Indian divine to render the Qur’an into Persian but long before the birth of this most distinguished theologian of Northern India Gujarat could boast of a number of Persian translations of the holy book. It is noteworthy that the earliest scholars who initiated the study of Hadith in India belonged to Maharashtra State, which produced more than one hundred traditionalists who have left behind their works to remind us of their services to this science and a host of others who served and propagated the Hadith but did not leave my written record. Ali Muttaqi, Tahir Fatani Abd ul-Malik Bimbani and some others are recognized as the most trustworthy authorities not only in India but throughout the Islamic world. In fact it could be said without fear of contradiction that if our State had not taken up the study of this science it would have suffered immensely as the Hadith madrasas were fast declining in other Islamic countries, when Maharashtra State took it up. It was from Ahmedabad that it traveled to Delhi nearly 50 years after its introduction in the State. The State has an inexhaustible list of mystics (Sufis). The convents (Khankhas) where the study and practice of tasawwuf (Philosophy) was undertaken were also academics for esoteric and exoteric disciplines. Awarif to Shaky Shihab-ud-din Suhrawardi, Al-Futuhat-ul-Makkiyya, the Fusus and others works of the famous Ibn-ul-Arabi, were used as noteworthy text books of esoteric discipline. Our state was an important centre where the principles of Ibn Ul-Arabi were studied and Shaikh Makhdoom Ali Mahimi of Mahim is a founder of Arabic language and literature in our city of Mumbai. The Arabic collection available in Mumbai libraries and Arabic department, University of Mumbai, the seminar in Arabic language in the first week of March of 1997 is a clear sign of the richness of this language in Mumbai.

Persian: Persian is a sister language to Sanskrit. Not only a large number of the words are the same but even sentences in the religious books of the Parsis and the Hindus are similar. Another point to be remembered in this connection is that, though after the Arab conquest, Arabic has become the language of culture and politics, it soon had to make room for Persian in Non-Arab countries. Even during the Ghaznavi period it had attained the position of a State language, and was so much studied in Persia that even the Mughals were forced to leave it at its position. Hindus and started learning Persian even during the days of Mahmud of Ghazni and by the end of the Lodi dynasty it had begun to be regarded as an emblem of culture and intellectual superiority. The royal patronage given to the language soon drew a large number of eminent scholars, poets and prose writers from Persia and Central Asia. Soon Indians begun to write in that language. Some of them became famous in Persian language. A variety of books on different subjects were written in Persian. India has the honours of translating the Quran into Persian. Long story


books in Persian were also written in India. With Persian came all the forms of prose and poetry of that language. Prose had been changing according to the subject matter of the books, but under the influence of the Mongol rule. Persian literature became very ornate and unrealistic. This tendency did not remain confined to the kingdom of Mongols of their successors but it spread throughout the Islamic States. Turkish and Urdu were both affected by this. As far as Maharashtra State is concerned Persian was in much greater demand here. Not that is was the official language of the Government but the majority of the poets and writers who came to India either remained in the Sultanate of Gujarat or went to the courts of Deccani Kings to seek their fortune. Again the Parsis who had permanently settled in this state still wanted to study the language of their country, their culture and their ancestors. This made Persian very popular throughout the State. Even when the Maratha State was established and Marathi became the court language, the majority of the legal terms and forms were unhesitatingly taken from Persian official language. This free use of Persian also gave an opportunity to the local languages of the State not only to absorb many useful and cultural words and expressions in Arabic and Persian, but also it enriched the common language or the lingua franca of India of that time. It is difficult to determine with any fixity of time the exact manner of the advent of Persian language into India. Regular infiltration of fresh brands of Persians and Turks into India and their day-to-day association with the Indians must have resulted into a mutual acquisition of languages. Though Persian was not the native tongue either of the Turks or of the Mughals, it had become so popular with the Taimurid Princes during their stay in Central Asia, that they used it in preference to their own mother-tongue which was Turkish. Royal impetus, even before the Moghals, was responsible for instilling in the Indians a love for Persian language. According to Firishta,8 Sikandar Lodhi, in A.H. 895 / A.D. 1489, preferred those of his subjects for court service who had a knowledge of Persian and thus the non-Muslims devoted themselves to the study of Persian.9 Mughals, the lineal descendants of Taimur, played a great role in the popularization of Persian. Humayun, on account of his pro-Persian learning, neglected Turkish and encouraged Persian at the court, making it the chief medium of expression.10 It must, however, be admitted that the development of Persian as a language was restricted unto the time of Akbar. Persian maintained its status during he reigns of Jahangir, Shahjahan, and Aurangzeb and by A.H. 1215 / 1800 A.D., the Persianization of the Indians was complete. The impact and influence of Persian on the two main regional language of Western India – Marathi and Gujarati is noteworthy. The influence of Persian began to wane when it was decided in A.H. 1245 / 1829 A.D. by British rulers to replace Persian by English as the official and Court language. In the Deccan, a prominent nursery of Persian language and literature is found in the State of Maharashtra. On account of the dearth of patronage in Persia, during the Safawid regime, Persian poets and writers were inclined to migrate to India and attach themselves either to the courts of the Muslims kings of the North or of the Deccan. The Persian writers of the Maharashtra Sate devoted their attention to several branches of literature such as poetry, biography, history, Insha and religio-mystical writings. To begin with Historiography; several works on History were written or published in the State of Maharashtra during the last two centuries. With the conquest and annexation of the Ahmadnagar kingdom in A.H. 1056 / A.D. 1646, Aurangabad became the capital of the Mughals province of the Deccan. The city very soon became a centre of poets and writers in Persian and Urdu. Bhimsen Raghunathdas Saksena was born at Burhanpur in A.H. 1059/A.D. 1649. He was the author of “Tarikh-I-Dilkusha”, a contemporary history of the events in the Deccan from A.H. 1069 / 1658 A.D. to A.H. 1119 / 1707 A.D.11 Another important historian of Aurangabad was Munim Khan al-Aurangabadi. He wrote “Sawanih-I-Dakan”, a historical account of the six subhas of Deccan and of the Nizams of the Asafi dynasty from its origin to A.H. 1197 / 1773 A.D. It was written in A.H. 1197 / 1773 A.D. in the reign of Nizam Ali Khan, when the author was forty seven years of age. Lala Mansaram, the Secretary of Nawab Nizamul Mulk, the first Nizam, compiled two historical works – “Risala-I-Darbar-I-Asafi” and “Maathir-I-Nizami”. Both these histories deal with the life and times of Nizamul Mulk. Lachhmi Narayan “Shafiq” Aurangabadi, the son of Lala Mansaram, wrote Persian and Urdu verses and at the instance of his master Azad, he changed his nom-de-plume from Sahib to Shafiq. He wrote several works of a historical and biographical nature. Among his historical works, the most important is “Bisat-ul-Ghanaim”, a history of the Marathas from their origin to the Battle of Panipat. It was written in about A.H. 1214 / 1799 A.D. at the instance of Sir John Malcolm and was dedicated to him. The title Bisat-ul-Ghanaim indicates the year of the completion of the work, i.e. A.H. 1214. Another important work of Shafiq is “Haqiqat-ha-i-Hindustan”; it contains the timeworn revenue-returns and military statistics, prepared by his grandfather and Lala Mansaram and signed by Nawab Nizam-ul-Mulk. Shafiq recast the contents in an intelligible form and added thereto useful information. The work was dedicated, according to Risu, to Captain, William Patrick.


His other historical works are “Maathir-i-Asafi”, “Tanqim-i-Shagarf”, a history of the Deccan from A.H. 1200 / 1785 A.D., “Maathir-i-Haydari”, “Nakhlistan-i-Fann” and “Halatt-i-Haidarabad”. The last named work contains a description of the city of Hyderabad, its mosques, palaces and gardens and ends with a historical sketch of Hyderabad and the neighboring provinces of Bearer and Aurangabad. Mohammed Faid Baksh of Aurangabad wrote “Tadhkera-i-Tarikhi”, historical memoirs on the military transactions between Nizaam Ali Khan Bahadur, son of Nizamul Mulk Asafiah and Raghunath Rao, the son of Baji Rao, beginning with A.H. 1187 / 1773 A.D. and ending with A.H. 1188 / 1774 A.D. The Nawab had asked the author to chronicle the events without any exaggeration. Kashiraj Shivraj Pandit of Maharashtra, who served under Shujaud Dawlah of Oudh and was present in the battle of Panipat in A.H. 1175 / A.D. 1761, wrote an account of that battle in Panipat. It is considered a valuable contemporary history of the period. Ahmednagar was another centre in Maharashtra, where we find a number of historical works. Shah Tahir Dakani b. Shah Riyadud Din Al-Ismail Al-Husayni (died in A.H. 952-3 / A.D. 1545-46 at Ahmadnagar) composed “Fath Nama”, a historical account of the conquest of Sholapur by Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar, whose Court he had joined in A.H. 958 / A.D. 1521. Khurshah B. Qubad Al-Husaynai, an envoy of Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar to Shah Tahmasp, composed during A.H. 970-71 / A.D. 1562-63, “Tarikh-i-Ilchi-i-Nizam Shah”, a general history form the earliest times upto A.H. 1005 / A.D. 1595) undertook the composition of “Burhan-i-Maathir”, another history of the Bahmanis and the Nizamshahis from A.H. 742- 1004 / A.D. 1341-1595, at the request of Sultan Burhan Nizam Shah. It includes the account of the twenty-one Sultans of the three dynasties; it was commenced in A.H. 1000 / A.D. 1591 and is the first exhaustive history of the Nizamshahi dynasty. Numerous works pertaining to Islam and Zoroastrianism were written and / or published in the State of Maharashtra during the last century. Persian writers of the State of Maharashtra have contributed in a very large measure to Persian poetry. Aurangabad and Ahmadnagar are, among many other places, strongholds of Persian Poets. These poets have contributed to almost all categories of Persian poetry such as lyrical, mystical, romantic and ethico-religio-philisophical and hence classification according to subject matter is not feasible. Several important works, either in Persian or relating to Persian language and literature, were written in the State of Maharashtra by Hindus and Parsis. Among the departed worthies may be specially mentioned the following writers: The late Professor M.T. Patwardhan of Kolhapur was the author of an important work entitled “Influence of Persian on the Marathi language”. The late Dr. T.N. Devare of Poona wrote an important thesis entitled “Persian Literature at the Adilshahi, Nazamshahi and Qutubshahi Courts of the Deccan” this work has now been published. The late Shri Dinshah J. Irani, Solicitor of Bombay, was the author of “Poets of the Pahlawi Regime”. He also edited and /or translated several works such as “Bist Maqala-i-Qazwini”, “Diwan-I-Hafiz” etc. The late Sri Meherjibhoy N. Kooka of Mumbai wrote “Wit Humour and Fancy of Persians”, which is the only work of its kind in the whole range of Persian literature. The late Erward Bombanji N. Dhabar, a profound Avesta, Palawi and Persian scholar of Mumbai, translated the religious Persian Rewayat; the late Dr. Jamshed M. Unwala of Mumbai translated part of “Mafatih al-Ulum”. Shri G.K. Nariman of Mumbai was the author of “Influence of Zoroastrianism on Persian Literature”. He also translated Barthold’s “Iran” from Russian into English. Mention has earlier been made of an important work on Per-sian grammar entitled “Hints on the Study of Persian”, written by two prominent educationists of Mumbai, the late Shri Pestanji Kanga and Shri Jamshedji Kanga. Late Sir Jehangir C. Coyaji was the author of two books – “Studies in Shahnama” and “Ancient Legends of Iran and China”. Among the modern contributions of Maharashtra to Persian literature, the following writers deserve a special mention: - Shri P. Setu Madhav Rao Pagdi was a renowned oriental scholar and historian. He was a scholar and the author of several important books and articles. His works include “Sources for the reconstruction of the history of Maharashtra”, “Marathi version of Diwan-i-Ghalib”, “The letters of Shah Nawaz Khan”. Marathi translation of Kashiraj’s account of Panipat. Selected stories from Firdausi and English Translation of Masir-e-Nizami and Tahmasnama, Eighteenth Century Deccan which contains translation of excerpts from various Persian and Urdu sources concerning the Nizam of Hyderabad, a translation of Khafi Khan’s Mantkhab-ul-lubab, a translation of Futuhate Alamgiri by Ishwardas Nagar and letters of Ltfullah and Prince Muhammad Akbar, and a translation of Masire-Alamgiri of Saqi Mustaid Khan and numerous other articles published in Historical and University Journals.


Dr. P. M. Joshi, former Librarian of Mumbai University, was a distinguished Persian scholar. He has contributed several important articles on Persian subjects and his work on “Basatin-us-Salatin” is well known. Professor Bhagwat Dayal Verma of Poona has done some important work on the old records in Peshwa Daftars. Prof. A.A.A. Fyzee, the President of the Islamic Research Association of Mumbai, was yet another oriental scholar of eminence, who has done useful work on Persian and allied subjects. Some important works in Persian have been published by the Islamic Research Association under his able care and guidance. Shri G.H. Khare is also another assiduous writer on Persian subjects. Dr. M.I. Kazi of Poona has also contributed a series of learned articles on Persian and some Urdu and English journals of India. His “Sam Mirza and his Tuhfa” has been published by the Iran Society of Calcutta. Sir Rustam P. Masani of Mumbai is the author of “Conference of Birds”, a critical work on Attar’s “Mantiqut Tair”. He has contributed several important papers and articles on Persian themes, both in India and Iran. Shri P.B. Vatchha, Solicitor of Mumbai, has published a collection of his papers on Iranian subjects. Shri Sohrab H. Batliwala of Mumbai has contributed several important papers bearing on Persian language and literature in well-known journals of India and a Oriental conferences held in India during the past several years. His “Intellectual Movements of Iranians in relation to non-Iranian cultural influences” deserves a special mention. Professor N. A. Nadvi of Mumbai is the author of a critical edi-tion of “Ruqat-i-Alamgiri”. Dr. Z. H. Madani of Mumbai has prepared a critical edition of Wali’s “Nur-ul-Maarifat”. Prof. D. N. Marshall, the former librarian of Mumbai University and Persian scholar has contributed a lot by doing survey on Persian manuscripts and selected Persian sources. Along with Vicaji D.B. Taraporevala he edited the book “Mughals Bibliography: Selected Persian sources for the study of Mughals in India”, published in 1962. The another title is “Mughals in India: Bibliographical Survey”. This title is the comprehensive and exhaustive bibliography of Persian Manuscripts and sources for the study of India during the period that the country was governed by the Mughals. Dr. Momin Mohiuddin wrote “Epistology in Persian Literature” and contributed dozens of research paper in learned journals. It is evident from the above review of Persian language and literature in the State of Maharashtra, that the contribution of this State to the development of Persian was vital and distinctive. The poets and writers of Maharashtra, though they may have sought inspiration from and copied the Persian models, have generously contributed to all the branches of Persian poetry and prose. Conclusion: As a matter of urgency, facilities and services in Arabic, Persian and Urdu libraries must be improved in order to sustain their new status so that they can contribute effectively towards the educational development of country. The manuscripts constitute an important part of the rich Indian culture heritage. These are major repositories of the contribution that our predecessors made in the diverse fields of Religion, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, History, Medicine and Science. They constitute the primary source of reconstruction of the Indian’s past. These manuscripts need preservation and conservation. A conservation laboratory, binding section and microfilming section are required. Before binding scanning is necessary to keep online electronically, so that the original Mss cannot be damaged further. A descriptive catalogue of all manuscripts available in Mumbai Libraries is a need of today. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-- REFERENCES: 1. Ranganathan, S.R.: The Five Laws of Library Science, Madras, Madras Library Association, 1931. p.1 2. Manmadhan, P.: Strengthen Library Network. Indian Express, Saturday, March 20, 1993. P. 7. 3. Pritchett, F.W.: Urdu Literature: A Bibliography of English Language Sources, New Delhi, Manohar, 1979. 4. Maharashtra State Gazetteer: Language and Literature, Bombay, Directorate of Government Printing, 1971, P.435. 5. Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Op. Cit. P.455 6. Ibid. P. 455 7. Islahi, A. P.: Makhdoom Ali Mahaimi: Life and Works, Bombay, Naqsh-e-Kokan Publication Trust, 1976. P.7(In Urdu) 8. Firishta – Tarikh-i-Firishta, Hyderabad, Osmania University, 1926, Vol. I, P.344 9. A. Ghani M.: History of Persian Language and Literature of the Mughal Court, Vol. I, Allahabad, The Indian Press, 1930. P. 73 10. Ibid. P. 73. 11. Syed Abdullah.: Adbiyat-e-Farsi Mein Hinduwon Ka Hissa, Lahore, Majlis Taraqqi-e-Urdu, 1967. P. 69-70 (Part II will be published in Vol.3, No.2, 2011 under the title “Arabic, Persian and Urdu Collections in Mumbai Libraries: Institutional Perspective)


SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERED FOR THIS ARTICLE

BOOKS: 1 Abdul Hamid: - Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in the Oriental Public Library at Bankipur, Calcutta, Government of Bihar and Orissa, 1928. 2. Bailey, T.G.: - A History of Urdu Literature, London, Oxford University Press, 1932. 3. Brough, K. J.: - Scholar’s Workshop: Evolving Conceptions of Library Services. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1953. 4. Dalvi, M. A.: - Bambai Mein Urdu New Delhi, Maktaba Jamia, 1970. 5. Desai, Z. A.: - Centres of Islamic Learning in India New Delhi, Publication Division, Ministry of Education and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1978. 6. Desnavi, S. S.: - The Anjuman-I-Islam: A Century Old Institution. Bombay, Anjuman-I-Islam, 1986. 7. Directorate of Government Printing Stationary and Publication. : - Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Language and Literature, Bombay Directorate of Government Printing, Stationary and Publications, Maharashtra State, 1971. 8. Directorate of Government Printing Stationary and Publication. : - Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Gazetteers Bombay District, Vol. III, Directorate of Government Printing, Stationary and Publications, Maharashtra State, 1971. 9. Faridi, S. N.: - Hindu History of Urdu Literature, Agra, Ram Prasad & Sons, 1966. 10. Fariq, K. A.: - A History of Arabic Literature, Delhi, Vikas Publications, 1972. 11. Firishtra, - Tarikh-I-Farishtra, Vol. I, Hyderabad, Osmania University, 1926. 12. Fussler, H.H. and Simon, J. L.: - Patterns in the use of Books in large Research Libraries, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1961. 13. Fyzee, A. A. A.: - Descriptive catalogue of Arabic, Persian and Urdu manuscripts in Asiatic Society Library, Bombay, Asiatic Society, N.D. 14. Fyzee, A. A. A.: - Report of the Library Development Committee, Bombay, 1939-40. Bombay, Superintendent, Government Printing and Stationary, 1939. 15. Abdul Ghani, M.: - History of Persian Language and Literature of the Mughal Court, Vol. I. Allahabad, The Indian Press, 1930. 16. Gibb, H. A. R.: - Arabic Literature: An Introduction, 2nd ed. London, Oxford University Press, 1974. 17. Gorekar, N. S.: - Centenary Celebrations of Anjuman-I- Islam Bombay, Bombay Anjuman-I- Islam Urdu Research Institute, 1986. 18. Gorekar N. S.: - Glimpses of Urdu Literature, Bombay, Jaico Publishing House, 1961. 19. Holmes, W. R.: - Research facilities in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, Bombay, American Library, 1968. 20. Indian Library Association: - Proceedings of the Fifth All India Library Conference held in Bombay, 3-6 April, 1942, Bombay, Indian Library Association, 1942. 21. Islahi, A. P.: - Makhdoom Ali Mahaimi: Life and Works Bombay, Naqsh-e-Kokan Publications, 1976. 22. Karmarkar, S. M.: - Bombay A to Z, Bombay, Karmarkar Enterprises, 1985.


23. Kaul, H. K.: - Urdu Manuscripts: A descriptive Bibliography of manuscripts in Delhi Libraries, New Delhi, Heritage Publishers, 1977. 24. Khanlari, P. N.: - A History of the Persian Language, 2nd Ed. Delhi, Idarah-I-Adabiyat-I-Delhi, 1979. 25. Kidwai, S. R.: - Gilchrist and the language of Hindoostan, New Delhi, Rachna Prakashan, 1972. 26. Latif, S. A.: - The influence of English Literature on Urdu Literature, London, Foster Groom, 1924. 27. Loth, O.: - A catalogue of the Arabic manuscripts in the library of the India Office, London, Secretary of State for India in Council, 1877. 28. Marshall, D. N. - Mughals in India: A Bibliographical Survey, Vol. I. Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1967. 29. Mitchell, P. M.: - The Scholars and the library in University and Research Libraries in Japan and the United States Ed. By Thomas R. Buckman and others, Chicago, American Library Association, 1972. 30. Muhammed, S.: - The Value of Dakhni Language and Literature, Mysore, University of Mysore, 1968. 31. Nadvi, H.: - Kutub Khana Jama Masjid Bambai Ke Urdu Makhtootat, Nairoobi, Kokan Urdu Writers Guild, 1990. (In Urdu) 32. Narang, G. C.: - Modern Urdu Literature, Wiesbaden, Otto Harrossowitz, N. D. 33. Ostel, R. C.: - Studies in Modern Arabic Literature, Warminster, Aris and Phillips Ltd., 1975. 34. Pritchett, F. W.: - Urdu Literature: A Bibliography of English Language Sources. New Delhi, Manohar,1979. 35. Qadir, S. A.: - Famous Urdu Poets and Writers, Lahore, New Book Society, 1947. 36. Rider, F.: - The Scholar and the Research Library: A Problem and Its Solution, New York Hadham Press, 1944. 37. Russell, R.: - Urdu Literature In Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. XI, 1962, P. 572-74. 38. Sadiq, M.: - History of Urdu Literature, London, Oxford University Press, 1964. 39. Saksena, R. B.: - A History of Urdu Literature, Allahabad, Ram Narian Lal, 1927. 40 Sarfaraz, S. A.: - Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu Manuscripts in the Library of University of Bombay, Bombay, The Qayyimah Press, 1935. 41. Syed, A.: - Adbiyat-e-Farsi Mein Hinduwon Ka Hissa. Lahore, Majlis Tarraqi-I-Adab, 1967. (In Urdu) 42. Taher, M.: - Islamic Studies in India: A Survey of Human Institutional and Documentary Sources,

New Delhi, Concept Publishing Co. 1991. 43. Tikekar, A.: - Cloister’s Pale: A Biography of the University of Bombay, Bombay, Somaiya Publications, 1984. 44. Tyabji, H. B.: - Badruddin Tayabji: A Biography, Bombay, Thacker & Co. 1952.

THESES:

1. Dalvi, A. S.: - Bombay Urdu: A Study in Linguistic Behaviour, Ph. D. Thesis, Uni. of Bombay, 1968. 2. Kaul, H. K. - Networks in India with special reference to CLIBNET, DELNET & INFLIBNET M. Lib. Sc. Dissertation, University of Bombay, Department of Library Science, 1992.


Kokanis in Cape Town, South Africa

By

Mrs. Nujmoonnisa Parker Kokani Delights, Cape Town

South Africa

The Kokan also called the Konkan coast is the name given to a stretch of rugged and beautiful

section of the western coastline of India from Thane District to Goa. Kokan is also one of six divisions of the state of Maharashtra. The Arabian Sea is the main key role player in the development of the Kokan region. The Kokan division of Maharashtra comprises the entire coastal region of the state. The Districts names are: Thane, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Raigarh, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. The Literacy is: 81.36%. The Area is: 30,746 km² and population is (2001 census): 24,807,357. Maharashtra literally means Great Nation is India's third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. It is bordered by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. Mumbai (Bombay), India's largest city, is the capital of Maharashtra. Kokani Muslims originate from the area on the West Coast of Maharashtra in India. The Kokani Muslims are a seafaring people and their main sources of livelihood are farming and fishing. The Arabs had been trading with the Costal Indians long before the coming of Islam and in time a trading relationship was established. By the time the Arabs preached the word of Islam in Arabia, links between the Kokani's and Arabs were centuries old. The Kokani's retained their rich cultural heritage and continued to live in peace and harmony with other communities. At the turn of 20th century many Kokanis had moved out of India in search of employment, mainly to the new British colonies in Africa where they became successful traders, businessmen and skilled workers. Many Kokanis took up British citizenship and settled down in these new colonies mainly Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rhodesia. However, after two generations in the 1960's and 1970's these colonies started gaining their Independence. The Independent countries started their own Africanisation programmes and some of these settlers because of political reasons, migrated to other parts of the world. Kokanis who migrated to the United Kingdom form the bulk of the community and are mainly settled in the big cities. Some who migrated to Britain from the Indian Sub-Continent for further edu-cation, settled there after completing their education because of the demand in their professions and skills. Kokani Muslims speak Kokani, a Marathi dialect, peculiar to the community. They are descendants of Arab traders. Kokani Muslims are heavily involved in the merchant navy, shipbuilding, and textile industries in India. Most in villages are also involved into farming and fishing, whereas many work as expatriates in Gulf countries. They trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of India during the medieval era. The Diaspora spread out around India and the rest of the world but maintains their strong sense of community and identity. The Kokani Muslims possess most of the important attributes of an ethnic group. Like the Maplas of Malabar, they are the progeny of Arab immigrants and Indian women; they speak the same dialect of Kokani language, and marry among themselves, in anthropological terms they are generally endogamous. Yet, according to Dr. A. R. Momin, "the Kokani Muslim community has a well defined system of ranking and stratification. They frequently have fair skin, and light eyes. The scope of this article is about the Kokanis in Cape Town, South Africa from the Kokan Division of Maharashtra.

Kalusta ( R ) Dabhol (L) and Cape

Town on the front page


What were the social and political factors that encouraged Kokanis to immigrate to South Africa…? The greater part of the Kokan population was involved in agriculture and peasants were impoverished. In 1875 there was an outburst of protest against harsh economic conditions and this led to "grain riots". In 1896 there were demonstrations against moneylenders and grain dealers following the onset of famine and high prices. In the same year there were several incidents of rioting and grain theft. The late 1890's also marked an increase in banditry and poor peasant's protests. In districts such as Thana, the Marwari class was looted unmercifully leading to acts of brutal violence. The grain riots became endemic. British rule was altering the implications of indebtedness and was perceived to be against aspects of the Khoti system. There was a population influx especially into districts such as Ratnagiri. This led to an intense demand on land resources. In the Ratnagiri district the population had increased. This led to a decline in per capita income resulting in an influx to other districts of the Kokan such as Raigad and also Bombay. In Bombay the stories of Cape Town and the mining boom in South Africa were heard from Kokani sailors working on British vessels. The Cape was a British colony and this facilitated the emigration from Kokan to the shore of Cape Town by several Kokanis escaping the social and economic situation in Kokan. Though initially many Kokanis worked as manual laborers and hawkers, as soon as they were capable, however they went into business independently or worked as shop assistants. The Kokanis tended to become retail general dealers and butchers. Amongst the Kokani's of Cape Town, E. Nordien Mukaddam arrived in 1888. He came from the village Dignee (Taluka Sangmeshwar). He was self educated and by 1908, he owned several shops in Cape Town. As the Kokanis of Cape Town started prospering in their retail business many village societies were formed to cater for the welfare of their respective families. In Kokan for instance many schools, mosques, water works and roads were built by these village societies and individual members. Prominent amongst these schools were Anglo High School Dapoli, Furus High School, Wahoor High School, and Murud High School. During the late 1950's nearly every big Muslim village had a high school for which a considerable contribution was made from these societies. Amongst these new high schools Haji Dawood Amien High School Kalusta, Haji Mukaddam High School in Khed and Morba High School are well known. "It is regrettable however that less effort was made in the educational advancement of the community in Cape Town". The exception was the opening of Habibia Primary School in 1946, due primarily to the efforts of Mr. Balu Parker. Cont… p. 24


Graph of progress from January 2009 to January, 2011

There are more than 40,000 Cape Townians that can trace their roots directly to the Kokan region. We consider such South Africans of Kokani origin an integral part of South Africa and this the modest attempt at helping them to more meaningfully understand their historical backgrounds. All people need to learn about their past and need to be able to participate in their own legacy. Most of the Kokanis spoke Kokani, Urdu and Africans and tended to maintain their village connections and identities. Since the late 1800s Muslim Indians at the Cape, especially Kokani Indians, who remained prominent, also cooperated with other Muslims to achieve communal and political goals. Kokanis in South Africa organized in different ways to structure their environment, express their cultures and pursue their interests. This includes Religious Authorities, Voluntary Associations and interest pressure groups and joining bigger political groups. Kokani history too is the sum of the contribution of many religions and people from many countries have contributed to the Kokani culture in Cape Town, South Africa.


Books on Kokan

Konkan : From the earliest to 1818 A.D.: A Study in Political and Socio-economic

Aspects / V.G. Khobrekar. Pune: Snehavardhan Pub. House, 2002. ISBN: 8172651504 Konkan, (or Bombay Konkan as it is known today), comprises India''s western coastal strip, along the Maharashtra State. In the past, this coastal region has had close linkages with West Asia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. The growth of Buddhism coincided and encouraged the development of trade in this area. Dr Khobrekar reconstructs its history: from the earliest times to AD 1818 when Konkan came under the British rule. Focusing on all landmark events on Konkan''s political scenario, the author highlights, in particular, how the maritime activities of the European nations on its vast coastal belt impacted native life. In Part 2, the book offers a detailed account of Konkan''s society, religion, caste system, political institutions, judicial mechanisms, and the status of women, among several other aspects.

Infrastructure Development and its Environmental Impact: Study of Konkan Railway / Prabha Shastri Ranade. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co., 2009 ISBN: 818069450X

The Konkan Railway (KR) alignment literally carved out of the Western Ghats passes through one of the most difficult and formidable terrain in India, both physically and geologically. Its massive railway structures have become admired features and due to its engineering marvels KR itself has become a tourist attraction. A secondary data based study covering the period from pre-construction to completion and full length operation (1989-2001)—this well-researched work attempts to examine and analyse the impact of major infrastructure project of KR on the environment and socio-economic profile of the western coastal region of India. It explores the spatio-temporal pattern of change by incorporating an integrated study of aspects such as land use, environ-mental conservation, population growth, urbanization, resettlement and rehabilitation, and tourism and industrial development in the region.

Navigational hazards, landmarks and early charting; Special study of Konkan and South Gujarat / Maritime History Society (Mumbai, India), Arunachalam, B. (Balasubramaniam), 1933-, Edward, Mary R. (Mary Rosaline), Pendse, Sachin S. Mumbai : Maritime History Society, 2007. A notable addition to the literature on Indian heritage and traditions at sea, this is a two-in-one book about navigation along Indian coasts in medieval and pre-modern India. The first part—Navigational Hazards, landmarks and Early Charting, concerns itself with the numerous seen and unseen underwater hazards in near-shore coastal waters and river mouths that have been recognized by Indian seamen since early days by developing an acute sense of observation skills of the water circulation pattern and depth sounding. Focusing on the coasts of Konkan and South Gujarat, a study of the submarine morphology, littoral circulation patterns and the sailing hazards in safe passage to port entrances with the help of conspicuous landmarks, is contained in the second part of the book. The text of the book is lavishly illustrated through graphs, maps, diagrams and photographs.


Konkan economy and society in transition (1818-1920): with special reference to

Ratnagiri, Malvan, and Vengurla / Sheela Mohan Nabar. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2005. ISBN: 8186771689 The Konkan -- a narrow strip of land on the western coast of India, had a number of celebrated ports where trade flourished for centuries. This well-researched work draws upon a variety of primary sources (including archival), to bring out the impact of British rule on this region, over a period of 100 years. Focusing particularly on three ports of Ratnagiri, Malvan and Vengurla, the author tries to reconstruct their socio-economic history, examining issues relate to revenue system, agriculture, trade, industry, education, imports and exports and population and migration. The text is aptly supported with a large number maps, tables, graphs, photographs and diagrams and e n r i c h e d w i t h c o p i o u s r e f e r e n c e s f o r f u r t h e r r e a d i n g . Dr Sheela Mohan Nabar is Principal, K B College of Arts and Commerce, Mumbai, India.

Muslim communities in medieval Konkan, 610-1900 A.D. / Momin Mohiuddin. New Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan, 2002. ISBN: 8175741260 A fertile strip of land, the Konkan region is bound by the Arabian Sea on its west and by the extensive stretch of hills rising to the Western Ghats on the other side. The region forms the 'shattered zone' between the coastline and the Deccan Plateau. Konkan today, itself a part of the Maharashtra State, comprises the districts of Ratnagiri, Thane, and Raigarh (the erstwhile Kolaba). The great seaports and entrepots in this core region have their origin in the prehistoric times. This book tries to reconstruct the cultural history of Muslim communities in medieval Konkan: from the earliest known arrivals of foreign Muslims on India's western coastland to the end of the nineteenth century. Covering all different Muslim communities, like the Sunnis (Arabs, Sayyids, Habashis), the Shi'ahs (Asharis, Afaqis, Persian-Mughals), and the Isma'ilis (Bohoras, Khojas) that came to settle here, the author brings out their social, intellectual, political and religious roles in the history of Konkan region, and how far they contributed to its overall cultural milieu. The author also considers commercial activities and progressions of the early Arab-Persian traders by placing them within the periphery of religious geography. Included here, in addition, are the profiles of Konkan's Muslim patricians as well. Mohiuddin's research involves a study of the rudiments of Islamic culture and its interaction, over the years, with the indigenous acculturation through a series of cultural symbols and synthesization. Momin Mohiuddin (b. 1929), PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, retired as Head, Department of Persian, University of Bombay, Bombay.


Kokan Literary Circle (KLC), Kuwait organized a grand function for the release of Urdu poetry book "Sadayen Tez Thee Laikin" by Sabir Omar Galsulkar, at Hotel Red Fort, Sharq, Kuwait on 7th January, 2011. KLC is one of the oldest Urdu Literary Circle in Kuwait. In the past, the Circle has organized successfully many events, like memorable evening for the renowned poets Sharaf Kamali and Abdullah Sajid etc. under the able leadership of Mr. Mohammed Saleh Barod, who is a renowned businessman and well known name in the social and literary circle of Kuwait. Mr. Sabir Omar Galsulkar is a prominent name in Urdu literary circle as a poet and literary critic. He has been attached to various literary organizations in Kuwait and working in various capacities like General Secretary for the Kokan Literary Circle, Press Release Secretary for Arbab-e-Fikr-o-Fun, and active member of Writers' Forum, Kuwait. He is also publishing an Urdu e-Newsletter "NISHAT", from Kuwait. The program started with the recitation of Holy Qur'an by Hafiz Shamshuddin Darwe. Mrs. Maimoona Ali Chougle compeered the entire proceeding. The Compeer welcomed the guest and invited Mr. Mohammad Saleh Barod, Dr. Saleha Jawad Musa, Author's father Mr. Omar Abdul Rahman Galsulkar and finally the Author, Mr. Sabir Omar Galsulkar to the stage. The local famous poets, Ayyub Qasim Karjikar, Mr. Abu Shahid, Mr. Massod Hassas presented poetic tribute to the author Mr. Sabir Omar, which was well appreciated Prof. Taslem Akbar Shah, Mr. Shahid Hinai, Mrs. Shahjahan Jaffery Hijab, Mr. Bader Seemab, Mr. Abdullah Abbassi, Dr. Ayyb Dhokle, Eng. Shakeel Mohammed, and Mr. Mathi (a Tamil Poet) also congratulated the author and appreciated his efforts. Mr. Mohammed Saleh Barod, Chief Guest of the evening appreciated the author's talent and his literary contributions. He also invited all the Urdu lovers to come forward and join the Circle in promoting our sweetest Urdu language. Finally, Dr. Saleha Jawwad Al-Moosa gave a short presidential speech and she wishes Mr. Sabir a great success in his future endeavor. Lastly, Mr. Ali Chowgle, Vice President of Kokan Literary Circle (KLC), thanked the audience and invited them for the dinner. This beautiful evening will be remembered for a long time among the Urdu literature lovers.


Kokan ki ek khubsurat sham م+d 4رتfg4h i,ا kآ4آ3 آ Beautiful evening in Kokan


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Editorial Board Prof. Dr. A. M. I. Dalvi Anjuman-e-Islam Urdu Research Institute Mumbai-400 001, India Prof. Dr. Samir Abdel Hamid Nouh School of Theology Doshisha University Imadegawa Karasuma, Kamigyo-ku Kyoto 602-8580, JAPAN Mr. M. K. Dalvi Urdu Foundation London, UK Mrs. Nujmoonnisa Parker Kokni Delights Cape Town, South Africa Ms Aisha Bijle Education & Career Editor Mumbai Bureau, India

Coming Soon:

Kokani Muslims: Their Life and CultureKokani Muslims: Their Life and CultureKokani Muslims: Their Life and CultureKokani Muslims: Their Life and Culture By Dr. Siraj Mohammed Bijle

kokan news, vol.3, no.1, 2011

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