BANTVA and Kutiyana, presently a part of the Indian province of Gujarat, were the hometowns of big business magnates of the Memon community in the subcontinent before Partition. When the Muslim League decided to launch its own English language daily and constituted a press fund in 1940, the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah visited Kathiawar which included the states of Junagadh and Manavadar to collect funds. Bantva was a small town with a population about 20,000 at that time, but the Quaid-i-Azam not only visited this town but stayed there for three days to make the collection from individual business magnates. It is said that 90 per cent contribution to the Muslim League press fund was made by the Memon community of Kathiawar.
At the time of Partition, Bantva was part of the princely state of Manavadar. Its rulers were indecisive about joining either of the two newly created dominions. The Muslim residents of Bantva, who mainly belonged to the Memon community, organized a big public meeting in early September 1947, demanding accession of Manavadar, including Bantva, with Pakistan and formed a delegation to meet the rulers of Bantva and Manavadar. The delegation consisting of dignitaries of Memon community met the darbars of Bantva and Khan of Mandavadar on September 9, 1947.
On the persuasion of the subjects of the state, Manavadar announced its accession to Pakistan on September 25, 1947. This was naturally not acceptable to the Indian government which sent two companies of its armed forces to Bantva under the command of Col Himmayat Singhjee on October 3, 1947. The invading forces took over all government offices and declared Bantva a part of the Indian union. On the same day, Sardargadh, a neighboring town of Bantva, was also occupied. Manavadar was occupied on October 23, 1947, and the rulers were arrested and taken away first to Jamnagar, and then to Rajkot.
Night-time curfew was imposed in Bantva immediately after its takeover. Muslims were prevented from sacrificing cows on Eid-ul-Azha and also from offering Eid prayers in the main Eidgah.
Before the occupation of Junagadh State on November 9, 1947, the 8th Sikh Regiment reached Kutiyana on November 7, 1947. More forces consisting of 40 trucks and 50 jeeps also joined the Sikh regiment on November 8, 1947, to occupy Kutiyana. Many Muslims of Kutiyana laid down their lives.
On November 10, 1947, the population of Kutiyana was attacked by army personnel. They broke into houses and took away currency, jewellery, valuables, clothing, etc.
In the meanwhile, uneasy calm prevailed in Bantva whose residents knew that they were the next target. Valabh Bhai Patel, the then interior minister of India and others made inflammatory speeches while addressing a public meeting in Junagadh on November 13, 1947, against Muslims, in general, and the Memon community of Bantva, in particular. The speeches added fuel to the fire and the population of Bantva was attacked in the midnight of November 15, 1947. The attackers mainly consisted of farm labourers of adjoining villages. They broke open the doors of houses with their axes and took away everything which they could lay their hands on. No Muslim could help his fellow Muslim brother because Muslims were not allowed to come out of their homes by the curfew enforcing army. The cries of help from men and women raised still ring loud and clear in the ears of this writer, in spite of my young age at the time.
The entire population of Bantva was in a state of shock and helplessness. They left their houses and shops with all their belongings, and migrated to Pakistan by ships through Okha Port and Bombay. About 90pc of the population of Bantva and Kutiyana left their birthplace within the next 15 days.
As a result of the atrocities committed in Bantva and Kutiyana, the Memons from other towns and cities including Dheraji, Jetpur, Gondal, Upleta, Mangrol, Jamnagar, etc, realized that it was no longer safe for them to continue living is their hometowns, too. A majority of them, therefore, migrated to Pakistan. They were helped in settling down in Karachi and other towns of Sindh by the Memon Relief Committee in Karachi.
The migration of the Memon community from Kathiawar proved to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan’s economy. Using the capital brought by them from India and blending it with their business acumen and entrepreneur skills, the Memons worked for the development of Pakistan. The beginning was made with the establishment of trading firms with branches in various places in East and West Pakistan. Then, they moved into industry. A journey started towards setting up of industries in different fields, making Pakistan a viable economy.
Immediately after Partition, two books were written. One by Dr Rajindra Parshad, the first President of India and Dr Ambedkar, the author of the Indian Constitution. Both the authors predicted the nonviability of Pakistan. Even Mr Nehru had predicted that Pakistan would never be economically viable, and will ultimately seek reunion with India. It was this thinking which led India to withhold Rs55 crores which was Pakistan’s share in the assets of British India.
What role did the Memons play to prove that these predications by Indian leaders were nothing but false hopes can be judged by the following quotation by Stephen R. Lewis who wrote in his book, Pakistan’s Industrial and Trade Policies: ‘It is a wonder that Pakistan’s economy survived at all in the early years. Why did it survive? It was because of the entrepreneur skills of the Muslim community who had migrated to Pakistan from their original homeland in India, prominent among them were the Memons. If Pakistan beat the economic odds, then a great deal of credit goes to the Memons’.
