Memon Association of Georgia

History of Memons

There are many versions of beginning of Memon community and culture. It has not been possible to verify and establish that one version is more correct than the other. Each version has a slant based on the investigator and the narrator’s bend and mind set. However, one fact is common that the community originates from parts of Sindh, Pakistan and Gujrat, India. The community has also spread to new locations due to political and economic conditions of the times. The language is close to Sindhi and has influence from Kutch and Gujrat. As there is no script for the Memoni language or Kutchi language, it has been written in Gujrati script and at times using Sindhi script. There are other communities who also use Kutchi as their mother tongue namely Ismailis and Hindu Lohanas.

Version I

The version that this community of Memons might have originated around the year 1422 at a place called Nagar Thatta, then a capital, in the province of southern Sindh, then in India and now in Pakistan, has been widely accepted. It seems such a modest claim without a great deal of excitement and glorification. The passage of time has lent it a degree of authenticity, despite its record of somewhat dubitable and questionable origin. 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 Haq' 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 converts and neo-Muslim converts) comprising of some 6178 individuals, accepted Islam at the hands of one Sayed Yusuffuddin Quadri R.A. and finding themselves banished by their erstwhile Hindu brothers were forced to migrate. This version persisted over decades, so much so that it was reiterated by one Hussain Cassim Dada from his Presidential Chair at the first ever All India Memon Conference in Rajkot in the year 1931, and is in style even to this day.

From early on in their history, Memons have immense faith in the Aulias and Peers of their time and perhaps the practice has been continued due to their origins from Hindu Lohana. It is also a known fact that Lohanas were the merchant class in Sindh and after converting Memons have continued the mercantile nature and practice wherever they migrated to.

Version II

The origin of the Memons as a community dates back to a period in history listed as 1400 (about 22 years earlier than Version I) AD when some 700 Hindu families, representing some 6178 people belonging to the old and famous Lohana community of Sindh, accepted Islam.
In adopting the Islamic faith, the new adherents accepted a new form of dress and style of living that differed substantially from their fore bearers. But certain customs and elements of unity remained an inherited tradition throughout their lives and it is on account of this that they were and are easily distinguishable from other Muslim communities
The Arabs ruled Sindh for almost 300 years and in that time the brotherhood, culture, morality and spiritualism of Islam produced a profound effect on the people of the region. It came as no surprise when 700 families of the Lohana community, settled at Thatta, accepted Islam under the auspicious hands of Pir Yusuffuddin Saheb (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) and followed the Hanafi path.
Pir Yusuffuddin Saheb was a saint of a high order, coming from the sainthood dynasty of the world renowned Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani of Baghdad (May the mercy of Allah be upon him). It was after a revelation descended on him at Holy tomb of Sayed Abdul Razzak Tajudin Saheb (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) that Pir Yusuffuddin came to Sindh to preach Islam.
It was Pir Yusuffuddin who originated the term Momin that was to later become the designation of a million followers of Islam. Impressed by the strength and character as well as the determination, courage and dedication of the new adherents to Islam had called them Momins and appointed Adam (Sunderji) as their leader and guide.
However, peace was never fully realized by the Memon community in spite of having left their homes in their original settlements in Sindh. Between 1428 and 1436 when Jam Sanjar ruled Sindh, chaos and disorder followed a weak government in control. In the border areas between Southern Sindh and Gujarat, the powerful Baloochis spread havoc by raiding and looting caravans plying trade. As a result, movement between Sindh and Gujarat was halted and the Memons (who were mainly in business) found life intolerable and were forced to migrate again this time from Varaya. With their livelihood threatened and uncertainty about the future, the Memons split and small groups ventured out in different directions - an event in history that subsequently divided one big Memon community into different factions.
One group, under the leadership of Ladha, migrated to the State of Halar in Kathiawar and became known as the Halari Memons. Another group proceeded towards Karachi, a port of Sindh, and they became known as Sindhi Memons. A third group, made up of fifty young men, proceeded towards Punjab and settled in Lahore. The Kutchi Memons, on the other hand, migrated to Bhuj, the Capital of Kutch. They originally settled there under the leadership of Kaneya Seth, the son of Markun Seth who assumed the Islamic name of Rukunuddin. Markun Seth was the son of Adam Seth, the first leader of the Memon Community (appointed by Pir Yusuffuddin). When the Memons migrated in different directions from Varaya, those left behind followed Kaneya Seth to Kutch.
Version III
There are strong reasons to believe that the Memon Community came into existence in Kutch and Sindh at the same time in the later half of the 16th Century. The ancestors of most of the Memons were lohanas, a Hindu business Community, while there was small mixture of other Communities also.
As a result of conversion from Hindu Lohanas to Muslim Momin (Memon), the original community disowned them and discarded them and hence migration to Kutch and Gujrat. Before the time of prtition many Memons had already left Gujrat for Bombay, Calcutta, Africa, Burma and other South-East Asian countries. At the time of partition, Memons in large number migrated to Pakistan and established a significant presence in Karachi. Their contribution to the industrialization of Pakistan is significant, particularly in textiles and trading.
Memons played a prominent role in the Indian Freedom struggle against British rule and occupation both physically and financially. By the close of the 19th Century when the struggle assumed noteworthy proportions, a number of Memons courted imprisonment and wealthy members of the community made large-scale donations. Such notables were the Late Umer Sobani and Sir Adamjee Hajee Dawood who spontaneously associated themselves and their families with Mrs. Annie Besant's Home Rule League that spearheaded the freedom struggle. They joined the movement from its inception and gave liberally towards its expenses.

Memon Association of Georgia