Cutchi Memon Digest
Kerala
ﮐﮁﻲ ﻤﻴﻤﻦ ﮢ ﺍﯿﺠﺴﭧ - ﮐﻴﺮﻻ
CUTCHI MEMON JAMATH THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Chalai Bazaar today. Started and blessed by Cutchi Memons two centuries ago. The minarette of Asia Bai Masjid (Korai) can be seen in the backround. At beginning of the picture on the lft side is Haji Mohammed Sait Waqf Alal Oulad property.
Cutchi Memons began to settle in Travancore from The beginning of the 19th century. A few Cutchi Memons were invited from Bombay by the then Dewan of Travan-core, Raja Kesava Dasa. These families settled first in Alleppey and Arattupuzha, then very important ports on the west coast of the former Travancore state. They were encouraged to settle in Travancore with a view to increa-sing its export trade. At that time, coconuts and allied products were not much in demand outside the state, and the coir industry was in its infancy. Cutchi Memons exported dried coconut (copra), coir, coir matting, etc. to the Provinces of Bombay and Bengal. Gradually these products found a good market in other parts of India. The coir industry grew rapidly, and even a few English firms started factories in Alleppey and Cochin. Some Cutchi Memons settled in Cochin to develop export trade through Cochin port.
The port of Arattupuzha gradually lost its importance as the land strip between the sea and the backwaters was diminished as a result of the sea advancing eastwards. The people of Arattupuzha left the place and settled in Alleppey, which was at that time a fishing yard. The commercial importance of Alleppey began only from that time and reached its zenith in a short time.
The ruling princes of the time encouraged the Cutchi Memons in many ways, being convinced of their honesty. They lauded their prompt services to the State in times of peril and need when they served the people by obtaining food grains from outside the state whenever there was a shortage. The first four Cutchi Memon families to settle in Chalai near the palace were:
1. Haji Joonas Haji Osman Sait and Sons, who conducted the business of Chemists and Druggists, Government contractors and Palace suppliers,
2. Haji Habeeb Sait, who conducted the business of Grains, Textiles, and Stationery supplies to Government departments,
3. Mohamed Haji Adam Sait, who was a merchant and commission agent of Bombay market, and
4. Ommer Hashim Sait, who dealt in wholesale textile goods, zinc and copper.
These four families conducted their business peacefully and the ruling royal family gave them all encouragement. Their relationship with the royal family was so cordial that they were invited to the palace for audience with the Maharajah often. Until 1938 Cutchi Memons in Kerala were governed by Hindu Law of succession. With the enactment of Shariat Act in 1938 they came under the Muslim Personal Law. Some of the Cutchi Memons in Alleppey and Cochin migrated toTrivandrum to start trade in the then developing town. They started textile shops, stationery and medical shops. They also began to trade in imported goods from Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. They undertook contracts for supply of goods to the Zoo, Public Works Department stores and workshops as well as hospitals, dispensaries, municipalities, garages and stables.
Cutchi Memons organized their Jamath soon after they settled in Chalai. The first Sait was Haji Joonas Haji Osman Sait. The Presidentship of the Jamath was hereditary until very recently as was in other Jamaths in Alleppey, Cochin etc. Haji Joonas Sait was followed by his son, Mohammed Joonis Sait and then his cousin, Sulaiman Haji Esmail Sait, and lastly by his son, Moham-ed Yousuf Sulaiman Sait who left Trivandrum and settled in Cochin for a short while. He was the Trustee of the Attakulangara Masjid constructed by his family. His cousin Haji Yunis Haji Davood Sait established the Motor Sales and Service which had branches in Kottayam and Kochi. He is credited with the import of the first automo-bile to Trivandrum.
The members did increase in numbers and began to settle in other parts of the town, i.e. Manacaud, Palayam, Thycaud, etc. They were very religious, and highly philanthropic. Two separate funds were collected, one for the Jamath and the other for construction of masjids and madrassas at Manacaud, Attakulangara, Chalai, Palayam etc. Four Cutchi Memons purchased jointly a big plot for the purpose of members’ use as a burial ground opposite the Manacaud Masjid, although there was already a kabarsthan attached to the masjid waqfed by the Peediya family, where until recently the Qabrs of Haji Habeeb Sait, his son Haji Haroon Sait, his son Haji Abdul Rahim Sait, and their successors and family members existed and partly demolished for the expansion of the mosque and constructing a marriage hall, madrassa, office and other facilities. Until 2007, members of the Hashmanis were also buried here. The additional plot used as burial ground now is in the name of the Cutchi Memon Jamath in the Revenue records, as follows:
Iranimutton Village - Survey No, 271
Thandaper No. – 8113
Area: 1 hectare 79 Ar.
Waqf Board Reg. No. B 7/3713/RA
The Jamath is paying land tax
The masjid at Attakulangara is another instance of generosity of Cutchi Memons. Mohamed Haji Joonis Sait bequeathed the property and constructed the masjid at Attakulangara. Further, for the maintenance and for meeting the day-to-day expenses, he bequeathed another property at Chirayinkeezh.
Yunus Haji Davood Sai (H.D. Yunis) constructed a masjid at Kesavadasapuram on a piece of land bequeathed by him as waqf.
The building and premises at Attakulangara where the Cutchi Memon Jamath, the Young Men’s Cutchi Muslim Association (YMCMA) and Iqbal Library and Reading Room are located was donated by the wife of Hajee Habeeb Sait for the purpose of conducting a Madrassa. There was a small masjid in that compound which was demolished and a big single hall was constructed, as the tiny masjid became redundant following the construction of Attakulanara Masjid. . A primary school named "Muslim Matahchara Bhodini and Malayalam School". was also started subsequently and a grant was sanctioned by the Government for the Vernacular Primary School. All Muslim children were benefited. The Qur’an, Urdu and Malayalam teachers taught the children in turns However, the institution was neglected by the descendants of the Trustee, and came into the possession of four persons who also did not take care of the school. Gradually, the grant was stopped. At this stage, Haji Noor Mohamed Sait got the property in his possession from the four persons, and utilized it for the Jamatkhana and for storing the copper vessels and plates belonging to the Jamath.
The Qur’an and Urdu classes were reactivated for a while. The copper vessels were afterwards sold by tender. The sale proceeds were depos-ited in a public account. This amount was later used for constructing the present building, which is used for Iqbal Library and Reading Room and where meetings of the Jamath and the YMCMA are held. The old building was demolished and the tenant who occupied part of the building was evicted. Some six cents of the land was acqui-red by the government for the expansion of the road in front. On the remaining land a new building for the Jamatkhana was built with a few shopping units to earn money for maintenance. The property continues to be under the control and possession of YMCMA.
By 1930 some of the Cutchi Memons had married girls from the local Muslims, generally known among them as “Mapla” (Nothing to do with the Mappila sect in Malabar) and had children by them. The question of their affiliation with the Jamath became a burning issue. Abdul Rahman Abdul Sathar Sait brought out a bulletin justifying the affiliation which was approved by the Thiruvanathapuram Jamath but vehemently opposed by the Jamaths in Alappuzha and Kochi, so much so the Alappuzha Jamath boycotted the marriage function of his younger brother Joonis Abdul Sathar Sait with Zainab Bai (Jimbu Bai) sister of Ismail Abdul Sathar Sait (Alummoodu family). The family was ex-communicated along with the bridegroom’s family and members of Thiruvanathapuram Jamath who supported them. Of course in course of time the restrictions automatically lapsed due to efflux of time on one hand and members of Alappuzha and Kochi Jamaths themselves following the Thiruvananthapuram trend, on the other.
For more than fifteen years now, the Qurbani (Vuduhia) is conducted on a community basis immediately following the Eid-ul-Adha where members contribute sacrificial animals into a pool and the meat is distributed to every member of the Jamath as well as to the poor according to the Shariah. The model initiated by the Cutchi Memon Jamath of Trivandrum was later on adopted by other Jamaths in and around Trivandrum and Cutchi Memon Jamaths elsewhere. The Jamath jointly with YMCMA manages a Welfare fund into which brethren contribute their Zakath and Sadqa. This fund is utilized for monthly pensions to widows and the destitute in the community as well as for lump sum grants for marriages, funerals and for repairs and renovations of houses. Students who attain the first three ranks and other distinctions in public examinations are given cash awards and study materials with the contributions made by the brethren for that purpose.
The President of the Jamath is elected periodic-ally for a term of two years as against the hereditary succession in earlier times. Most of them were re-elected for one or more further terms. The following persons have been the elected Presidents of the Jamath from time to time:
1. Abdul Sathar Dawood Sait
2. Essack Haji Mohamed Sait
3. Abdul Rahiman Abdul Sattar Sait
4. Mohammed Yoosuf Aboobacker Sait
5. Abdulla Adam Sait
6. Adam Abbamia Sait
7. A.S. Aboobacker Sait
8. S. Shamsuddin Sait
9. A. Khurshid Sait
The population of Trivandrum Memons increased considerably with the migration of brethren from Alappuzha, Kayamkulam and Kollam after independence as trade and industry became less attractive to the members. The community has now practically switched over to government and private sector jobs.
There has been much progress in education. There is a good number of graduates and postgraduates among the members. There are doctors, engineers, accountants, etc. Many young men have gone to the Persian Gulf and Arabian countries for employment, some to the United States of America. Many women in the community have also qualified themselves as doctors, lawyers and engineers. A few reached high positions in the national and international spheres. Some notable examples are : Dr. Mohammed Ismail Sait, PhD, a Cost and Management Accountant and Company Secre-tary by profession, became Chief Technical Adviser (under the Commonwealth for Technical Cooperation, UK) and Director under the United Nations Industrial Development Organization -UNIDO) to the Governments of Tanzania, Bangladesh, Ghana, Egypt and China; his son Sulaiman Sait is the Assistant Vice President of Dubai Islamic Bank, Dubai, his second son Hussein Sait is the Security Manager in Taj Group of Hotels; his daughter Zulekha Bai is highly qualified with an MA and BEd in English; his sister Hajira Bai retired as Deputy Director, Department of Social Welfare; her husband Abdulla Sait was the Secretary to the Public Service Commission of Kerala. Other names of interest are Dr. Mehrunnisa Bai who retired as Principal, Dental College, Trivandrum / Kozhi-kode and Abdul Sathar Abdul Azeez Sait who adorned the covetable position of Vice President of Oracle, a world famous IT Company in California, the United States.
The Cutchi Memons of Trivandrum cannot be said to have totally abanded business. Leading figures in business today are : Haji Abdul Latheeef Mohamed Ibrahim Sait in Cycles and Cycle parts business; Aboobaker Sait's sons inexport shipping, Abdul Azeez Sait runnin a major Super Market and Zain Sait's children continuing with Motor Sales and Service after the demise of their father, who migrated from Trivandrum to settle in Kochi.
(To be updated)