Barbodhan is a village in the

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

District of western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on the north bank of the River

Tapti The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat ...

. It comes within the jurisdiction of the Olpad

Taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Etymology

According to local folklore, the name Barbodhan comes from the Arabic ''Bāb'' ''Aden'' or "Gateway to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

". It is known that at one time Muslims travelling to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

would pass through this village on their way to the seaport of Surat, hence the name. Some sources suggest that the village was named after the Portuguese factor and traveller Duarte Barbosa, though this seems unlikely as he never actually resided in the area. More recently though the village Barbodhan has become known as the 'Golden Village'. The village has existed for many years, and tombstones in the graveyard indicate that Muslims were buried there some three to four hundred years ago. According to one source the first Indian Muslims to settle here were several brothers with the surname Rawat, who came from Nasirpoor Bhatti, a place near Navsari.

The Diaspora of Barbodhanis

Barbodhanis have always interested in trade and commerce and travelled to foreign lands, undertaking long sea voyages. People left Barbodhan in the early 19th century to settle in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, where they established many businesses and were great entrepreneurs; a number of them even became advisors to the Burmese rulers. Then from in the 1840s many other emigrants from Barbodhan went to the island of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, where they were later responsible for introducing hydroelectric power, as well as being involved in other trading and business concerns. The first Muslim mayor in Mauritius was originally from Barbodhan. Then came the migration to England from the 1950s to the 1970s. Once immigration to the United Kingdom became more difficult, a number of Barbodhians then left for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

particularly during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. A considerable number of Barbodhians undertook further migrations from one of these countries to another; such as from Burma to England, England to Canada or Mauritius to England.Kala, Ibrahim Dawood. A History of Barbodhan Muslims living in the UK, 2004, Barbodhan Press, Cambridge, MA, pg.8 Despite the fact that Barbodhan is only a small village, its people have made valuable contributions in societies around the world. Barbodhians have set up many

Waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

s or Religious Foundations to help poor, needy, disadvantaged and unfortunate members of society, particularly in Burma and Mauritius. The largest population of Barbodhians outside India is in Bolton,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, where the community settled in the 1950s and 1960s. The first ever Elected Member on Bolton Council of Indian origin was from Barbodhan. There is also a large number of settlers from Barbodhan in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, also in Lancashire, where the Barbodhan Muslim Welfare Society (UK) was set as early as 1960. There are currently two mosques, two temples, one

madressa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

, one school and one library in the village. There is a large pond in the village of Barbodhan which is the biggest pond in the Olpad

. It covers an area of around 999 vigha (250 acres/101.17 hectares).

Demographics

All the Muslim population residing in the village are classed as Surti

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Vohra Muslims, or

Surti Muslims The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the state of Gujarat in western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities such as the Momin Ansari, Memons, ...

following the

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...

Tablighi Jamaat Movement. Some common surnames attributed to the village are (Atcha/Atchia/ATTCHA), ADIYA/Adia, NALLA, MULLA, KALLA (KALA), NANA, Ghanchi, PATEL,/Esa/ISA, Rawat, RAJA, JEEWA//JIVA), JINA, Makda, ABU, and ... live other villagers LIMALIYA (KAWAS), Attan (KOSAD), AHEMEDJI), NANI NAROLI, sushiwala (surat) gangat, Shah, Shaikh, Gulzar, Rajjab etc.. A number of Hindu families have settled in the UK particularly in Preston from Kenya

Business

Rama Newsprint and Papers Ltd have a large mill complex in Barbodhan, covering over . It is India's largest private sector company producing this commodity in a single location. the paper mill, glass factory, farming agriculture, poultry farm, fishing etc.

References

External links