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June 10, 2004
The missing traders
The Malabar community is well settled in Pakistan but they wish it was easier for them to travel across the border and visit their families, writes M.F.Memon
Arguably the oldest Muslim people from Malabar in Kerala in present-day India converted to Islam a long time ago. The majority of Malabaris were known traders of spices like cardamom and black peppers. Vasco de Gama found the Calicut port as he was sailing on his voyage of discovery. For the Malabari, it was the main port of their journeys. This community is now settled all over the Middle East, as well as the Far East and in the UK and the US.
In the year 1918, they staged a famous freedom uprising, ‘Mapla war’, against the British Raj. Many Muslim Malabaris migrated to other areas including the main port cities of present-day Sindh.
Karachi’s Muslim Malabari colony is situated in Mohajir Camp, and a few schools, madressahs and houses are also found in Shershah, Kamilgali and the Lea Market areas.
Today they are well-known hoteliers, fast food and paan shop owners. Malabari cuisine is known for its masala dosa, banana-sag, coconut-kari, hot spices, small-fish fry, daal chawal and a delicious variety of vegetable dishes, which have added to Karachi’s culinary scene.
The community established their main head-office, or ‘Jamaat’, in Karachi in 1920. The first mayor of Karachi, Jamshed Mehta, in 1922 listed some major families of the city as being Malabari. Some of them are still living in the same style at the same residence.
Muhammad Kuti, president of the Malabar Muslim Jamaat, of Old Town said: “We all try to teach, write and read the Malayalum language, but our children prefer to study in Urdu, Arabic and English. A few Malabaris also hold key positions in the armed forces of Pakistan. Many are doctors and engineers contributing their services to the motherland.”
All provide funding to the Jamaat for proper distribution of zakat and necessary expenses for needy members. Mohiyuddin also proudly said: “We have been living in Pakistan for more than a century without committing any major crime or fraud. We are a peaceful people; many of our youths are working in the Middle East and European countries.”
Many Malabaris have married in other Muslim communities of Pakistan, and do not wear their traditional dress of a dhoti and bush-coat with a piece of white cloth on the shoulder. “Our daughters are married to Memons and other peaceful communities. Many Sindhi men and women have married Malabaris,” says Shafi Malabari.
Around 1,000 Malabaris are living in the urban areas of Sindh. A few destitute old men are living in a very poor condition and are dependent on their Jamaat and community’s help. One person said: “Our wives and children are living in Malabar in India. We don’t like to travel with our women to another country. Our traditional routine is that the men prefer to travel without the family, and they return after completion of business/trade or a service tour to a family at a particular destination.
“Sometimes the period may last up to two to five years. Before the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965, we could travel easily from both sides of the border. For the last 30 years, we have faced many restrictions with visas, entry and arbitrary implementation of immigration law. For some time we have been unable to visit our near and dear ones in times of happiness or sorrow.”
For most of these people the Indian government does not allow direct visits because they are citizens of Pakistan and their families (wives and children) are Indian citizens. Many of them live in the hope of seeing their families once again. One of them said: “This is the third time that we are hoping that both the governments will view our cases sympathetically, and make it easier for us to travel and meet our kith and kin.”
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