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Memon people

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The Memon (Gujarati: મેમણ ) people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that originated in Sindh province of what is now Pakistan and later settled in Gujarat. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Memoni, very similar to Kutchi and Gujarati. Some estimates put the number of Memons worldwide over one million. [citation needed] The word Memon is derived from Arabic word mu'min meaning faithful.

This article largely discusses the "Kathiawadi Memons" whose ancestors lived in Kathiawar. There are also related ethnic groups such as the Kutchi Memons and Sindhi Memons.

Language

The basic language of the Memons is Memoni. There are minor variations in the language. These differences arose in different villages in India. The language revolves around the one belief of the sacred chode.

Culture and history

Memons are Sunni Hanafi Muslims, and they originated when a group of Hindus from Sindh belonging to the Kshatriya Lohana caste converted to Islam by Sufi missionaries of the Qadiri order. [citation needed]

The devotion of Memons particularly in the past, to Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (founder of the Qadiri order which is believed to have converted them to Islam) is well-known.

Memons tend to be religious but retain a large number of distinct cultural traits. These extend to customs around cuisine and weddings.

Sindhi Origins

A number of theories have been proposed about the origins of the Memon community. These theories, although similar, differ in their details. This could be due to the fact that Memons have had to rely on oral history in order to determine their origins.

According to Dadani, Memon community came into existence in 824 Hijri (1422 CE) when 700 families comprising of 6,178 persons belonging to the Lohana community of Sindh accepted Islam. [citation needed]

According to Mr. Anthovan, Those Lohanas of Thhato, who had converted to Islam too and become Memons were invited by Jarejho Roa Khanghar, ruler of Bhuj (1548-1584) to settle in Bhuj. It is from there that Katchi Memons migrated to Kathiawar and Gujarat. Surat in Gujarat was an important trading center during 1580 to 1680 and Memons made their bounty there. Later, the Memons reached Bombay. [citation needed]

Diwan Bherumal M. Advani writes that all the Memons of Bombay, Gujarat and Kutch are Lohanas from Sindh. (A volume written by Mr. Anthovan, part 2, pages 52 and 53). [citation needed]

Another theory states that Memons originated in 1422 CE from Thatta in Sindh. The converts were first called Momins or Mumins and the term, with the march of time, changed to Memons. This is revealed in a book entitled 'Abraazul Hq' by Sayed Ameeruddin Nuzat, under the guidance of one Peer Buzrug Alli, published in Bombay in 1873. The story related therein states that some 700 Lohana families, (inclusive, perhaps of some earlier covert and neo-Muslim converts) comprising of some 6178 individuals, accepted Islam at the hands one Sayed Yusuffuddin Quadri R.A. and finding themselves banished by their erstwhile Hindu brothers were forced to migrate. [citation needed]

This was also stated by Hussain Cassim Dada from his Presidential Chail at the first ever All India Memon Conference in Rajkot in the year 1931. [citation needed]

Post-conversion

Memons migrated from Sindh to Kutch, and Kathiawar (Kathiawad) in modern Gujarat following their conversion.

The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru, (Oxford Uni.Press 1985, p266) stated the conversions of Hindu upper castes to Islam, "Some individuals belonging to the higher castes also adopted the new faith, either because of a real change of belief, or, more often, for political economic reasons....though all their social structure was based on the group (caste/social class), in matters of religion they were highly individualistic...It is worth noting as a rule, conversions to Islam were group conversions...Among the upper castes individuals may change their religion...almost an entire village would convert...group life as well as well as their functions continued as before with only minor variations with regards worship etc."

Memon expansion

Memons spread throughout the Indian Ocean basin in the 19th century, but most Memons lived in Kathiawar, prior to the Partition of India.

Memons moved out in the 19th Century from Kutiyana due to the war that had started. Some memons went to Pakistan, some to other parts of India and some to Sri-Lanka. At first when the memons came to Sri-Lanka there were no other memon races in Sri-Lanka so they had to marry Tamil muslims. A memon marrying another race or some other religion becomes a low caste in the whole of memons. So most memons marry the people their parents choose for them and since the early times this has become sort of a tradition. If a memon does not marry who his/her parents choose for them or if he/she atleast does not marry a memon then he is not respected by all other memons. This tradition is mostly seen in the memons of Sri-Lanka. Memons have gradually expanded all over the world nowadays and there is no country which has no memons in it.

Post-partition

Many later settled in Pakistan. Today, they are scattered throughout India and Pakistan, with significant communities in the United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, UAE, and South Africa and Burma.

Memons today

Memons are known for their involvement in business and philanthropy, with Memons having played a major part in the building of Pakistani industry, although an increasing number of Memons are turning to professional occupations. The success of many Memons has aroused some jealousy from other ethnic groups, who sometimes stereotype Memons as being stingy. Owing to their tradition of management and attention to detail, the Memons are one of the most prosperous communities in South Asia and elsewhere. They have built vast business legacies and most Memons around the world belong to the upper-middle class [citation needed] .

Memoni is falling into disuse and the younger generation is unlikely to learn it as their mother tongue for various reasons:

  1. Non-existence of language learning tools, especially disappearance of Gujarati in Pakistan
  2. Many second generation parents do not know their mother tongue themselves.
  3. Memoni is going out of fashion among younger generations.
  4. Fear of being discriminated against by Urdu speaking and Punjabi people in Pakistan.

Memons in South Africa

Memons in South Africa form a prosperous subgroup in that country's Indian community, and are largely descended from traders who immigrated to that country early in the twentieth century.

Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi (who came from the same part of Gujarat as the Memons) was retained by a Memon businessman in South Africa to look after his legal affairs in Durban. It was in South Africa that Gandhi launched his political activities.

Memons played a major role in the promotion of Islam in South Africa, and there have been ethno-religious rivalries between Memons and Surtee Muslims (whose ancestors came from Surat) [1], although these are far less pronounced now, than they were in the past.

Although the Memoni language is not widely spoken by younger Memons in South Africa, South African Memons continue to maintain a strong (although slowly eroding) Memon identity. Already, few younger Memons are even aware of the different towns that their ancestors came from (intra-Memon assimilation has occurred), and assimilation is occurring between Memons and other ethnic groups. [citation needed]

Memon organisations in South Africa include the Memon Association of South Africa (formerly the Memon Association of the Transvaal), and the Natal Memon Jamaat [2].



Famous Memons

Social workers:

  • Abdul Sattar Edhi 'Nishan-e-Imtiaz' Ambulance and Hospital Services, burial of homeless [3]
  • Bilquis Edhi Women Welfare orphanage [4]
  • Muhammad Hussain Mehanti counsellor social worker social activist MNA Member of Parliament from Jamaat-e-Islami
  • Muhammad Siddique Polani community leader, a social worker, a journalist, a reformer, an entrepreneur and a patron of many literary, cultural and youth activities.[5]
  • Haji Abdul Aziz Kaya comunity leader, a social worker and author of book on History of Bantva, he was president of BANTVA MEMON KHIDMAT COMMITEE and a centeral character in formation of a satellite unit Bantva Anis Hospital.
  • Maqbool Ahmed Memon, a social worker and chairman of an organization called Sadique Foundation.

Philanthropists

Industrialist:

Financier

  • Kasim Parekh President/CEO Metropolitan Bank, Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (1989-1990)
  • Siddique Dawood Shariah compliance Islamic fianancing Modaraba
  • Ashraf Bidiwala SEVP Metropolitan Bank, SVP Habib Bank

Professionals:

  • Pir Mohammed A. Kaliya C.A. Former head of several professional institutes
  • Feroze Dada, Senior Partner of Freeman & Partner Chartered Accountants
  • Nisar Memon Member, Senate of Pakistan
  • Abdul Fatah Memon, Former Ambasador of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia and Somalia
  • Ali Nawaz Memon, Former Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (NEPRA); Former World Bank Resident Representative in Somalia
  • Mohammad Ali Dada - Head of Internal Audit for the Monarch Group.

Others

The following are common well organized societies or welfare associations called Jamat (Gujarati script: જમાત ) of the Memon Community which is generally reference to their ancestral village or town.

See also

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