Could the Marwaris be Muslims? Why not. Marwar is a region between the Kuchaman city near Jodhpur and Sindh (currently in Pakistan) and is home to all, Hindus, Jains and Muslims. Marwari language and culture tie them into ethnic and cultural bonds. Over 20 million people in Rajasthan claim Marwari to be their mother tongue. The language used to be earlier written in Mahajani script but slowly Hindi has taken over this space and original script is now obsolete. However, Rajasthani Academy now promotes the Marwari language which is said to represent a sophisticated culture. Some even liken the nuances of the Marwari language with Urdu and Lucknowi tehzeeb in matters of refinement. Marwari songs are redolent with romance and legendary chivalry of its gallant men of yore.
Jodhpur is the major hub of Marwari culture. The stone buildings of Jodhpur reflect the architecture of Marwari architecture. Features of this rich culture are evident from marriages, pilgrimages (yatras), lavish culinary fares, colourful dresses and the way the various sections of people tie the resplendent pagdis (turban).
Muslims form a distinct strand of the Marwar culture and history. Much against the popular perception of Marwaris being Jains, the City of Jodhpur and the region in general, betrays a very secular character with diverse strands of communities blending into the regional identity. While enterprising Marwari Jains and Agarwals and Oswals have carried their identity far and wide with their white marble temples, Haldiram bhujias, Aryabhavan sweets, and of course their pawn broking shops, the Muslims have stayed faithful to their soil.
Pining for modern education among the Marwari Muslims has resulted in a group making concerted efforts to set up schools and colleges. According to Mr. Mohammed Atique, secretary of the Marwar Muslim Educational Society, the former Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umed Singhji was keen on education of Muslims under his principality. He was grandfather of Shri Gaj Singh, the scion of the princely family now. On the advice of the then education secretary Col. A. P. Cox he donated a piece of land in the city and Darbar Muslim School came up on the land. It was inaugurated by Umed Singhji in 1936 and was named Darbar Muslim School. However, in the cataclysmic aftermath of the Partition, the school was snatched away from the Muslims and was ironically turned into Mahatama Gandhi School. It was a magnificent edifice and the property is still registered under Wakf Act in the Rajasthan Wakf Board.
As efforts to retrieve the school from Government control proved abortive, the Muslims of Jodhpur approached the then chief minister Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who donated a 5-acre plot of land in the city in 1977. The Marwar Muslim Education Society reorganized once again around 1971 and took up the cause of Muslim education and built a grand sandstone edifice which is today a buzzing hub of activity.
Curiously, the Society has played even-handedly and managed to get donations from diverse quarters. The Society is at present running one boys' higher secondary school, one girls' secondary school, an upper primary school two Industrial Training Centres for boys and girls each separately, an English medium school, two B.Ed colleges for girls and boys each, a Hospital named as Mai Khadijah Hospital and Research Centre and interestingly enough, an asylum for cows named as Adarsh Muslim Goushala in the vicinity of the city. While Maulana Azad Foundation made copious grants for the school building, current chief minister Ashok Gehlot financed construction of Library from his MPLADS fund. Former Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Mr. Jaswant Singh and Congress MP L. M. Singhvi also contributed for various projects.
The campus is a beehive of activity and nearly 2,700 students benefit from the facility. The annual budget goes to the tune of Rs. 2 crore. Part of the finances for the entire project come from Takiya Chand Shah Wakf Complex which has nearly 200 shops. Education for nearly 20 per cent of the students is subsidized through proceeds from the Wakf Complex. Though about 80 to 85 per cent of children in schools are Muslims, the ratio reverses in the two B.Ed colleges where only around 15 per cent of the 400 boys and girls are Muslims.
The Mai Khadijah Hospital located in the thickly populated Muslim mohalla in the city handles deliveries of nearly 50 babies a month.
Incidentally, the factor that has helped the Marwar Muslim Society in raising this infrastructure is their pragmatism which propels them consistently to progress towards their goal of educating every child of the society. They seem to put their egos aside, reach out even to political parties which do not appear very friendly to Muslims and rope in individuals from varying ideologies. The Society is tolerant of all the sectarian differences within and believes in bringing up a new generation of educated youth. This single-minded vision resulted in the Society being adjudged the winner of Maulana Azad Literacy Award in 2004 by the HRD Ministry.
Cow Asylum: No wonder then why the Society thought of a gaushala or cow asylum named Adarsh Muslim Gaushala. Surprisingly, they got even 60 acres of land sanctioned from the Government for the purpose in the outskirts of the City. They even employ a veterinary doctor and two other paramedics for the Gaushala and propose to run a paramedical course for vets. In a state where cow slaughter is strictly implemented and stray and invalid cows roam about on streets freely, the gaushala has won appreciation from the majority community.
Water Purification Plants: Rajasthan being a desert state, the Marwar Society has also embarked upon setting up water purification plants in dhanis (desert hamlets) where ground water is highly saline and often polluted. The proceeds from Takiya Chand Shah Wakf Complex are utilized for the purpose. Each purification plant has cost the Society Rs. 5 lakh for refining 5,000 litres of water every day which is then distributed to individual households by a tractor-driven water tanker. Indeed the Society has set a new precedent by such use of wakf proceeds for humanitarian objectives and requires emulation elsewhere in a plural society like ours.
Livestock breeding: Latest among the Marwar Society's ventures is distribution of goats among village folk. They have begun by giving 10 heads of goat to five families each in dhanis and plan to shortly extend this to 150 families by the yearend. All such animals are insured. They will additionally provide date saplings and water storage tanks to these families to supplement their income.
The Marwar Education Society activists know full well that their route to success goes via a host of hurdles. If the key input of development i.e., modern education is attained even by pleasing the rivals by identifying with their objectives, so be it. Their sharp focus on attainment of education for the younger generation, has kept them steady on the course.
 |
March 2009 |
