29 January 2008

Anand Raj Varma

Anand Raj Varma, participated as a lead in the publication of the Sansmarika 2008 publication. This publication was released at the All India Jaiswal Mahasabha held in Hyderabad in January 2008.

The Sansmarika includes information such as names, address and contact information about Jaiswal families of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. This directory type publication also Jaiswals from other parts of India and the world and their contributions. Thanks to Anand Raj Varma for this. Some information on this blog is included from the Sansmarika publication.

According to Andhra Pradesh Kalwar (Jaiswal) Sabha Family Directory and Sansmarika 2008 publication, Anand Raj Varma visited Pakistan as an Indian delegate at the 4th Pakistan India Peoples Forum for peace and democracy. He was the technical official at the International Volley ball Sivanthi Gold Cup. He was the technical official for Asian Athletic Grand Prix, Hyderabad. Anand Ram varma was also a participant in the Asian Social Forum, Mumbai. Anand Raj Varma was also invited by the Islamic Republic of Iran to present a paper on the "Death Anniversary of Imam Khomeini".

I have been watching Anand Raj Varma offering counselling to student on Eanadu Television for over a year now. What I have heard from people familiar with the story is that Anand Raj Varma's daughter was married off against her wishes and according to Anand Raj Varma's wishes. A divorce followed after accusations and counter accusations by both parties. The daughter wished to marry her friend, a Muslim gentleman, who was also a neighbour. I hope that Jaiswal parents will consider not forcing their children to marry against their wishes.

Its good thing that Anand Raj Varma is not offering counselling on marriage on Eanadu Television

Dr. Arun Jaiswal

Dr. Arun Jaiswal is a pediatrician with private practice in Secunderabad. He is popular in the Secunderabad community for his medical service and in the Jaiswal community for his services to the community.

I know from personal experience that he is an excellent doctor and I recommend him to Jaiswals and other citizens of Secunderabad.

24 January 2008

Jaiswal Community Festivals

  • "Makar Sankranti", Pongal.
  • "Makar Sankranti Bath". From this day onwards the "good days" start. After one month marriages etc can take place.
  • "Sakath Chowth". This day all the mothers of the Jaiswal community perform pooja for the welfare of their sons. They make "Ladoos" of Til, Murmura, Groundnut and Gram etc. This is one of the important festivals of the Jaiswals Community.
  • "Mouni Amavasya". This is the most scared Amavasya for us. Most of the hindus take a bath in river Ganga.
  • "Vasant Panchmi" . Most sacred day for marraiges.
  • "Shri Mahashivaratri Vrat" "Holasthak" begins today. From this day till the day when holi will be burnt, auspicious work like marriages is NOT performed.
  • "Holikdahan". Burning of Holi (from 9:15 p.m to 2:17 a.m)
  • "Dhuredi". The day to play with colours.
  • "Sitlashtmi".
  • First day of Hindu New year. First day of "Chaitra", "Gudipadva". YUGADI. First day of Navaratra.
  • "Durgashtmi"
  • "Sri Ram Navmi" - Birthday of Lord Rama
  • "Sri Hanuman Jayanthi"
  • "Satvai Amavasya"- Jaiswal community prepare "Sattu" and eat on this day. *Sattu is a good intake for minimizing body heat*
  • "Akshaya Tritia"
  • "Vat Savitri Vrat", "Baragdai Amavasya
  • "Surya Grahan" (Solar Eclipse)
  • "Ganga Dashara"
  • "Nirjala Ekadashi"
  • "Jagdish Ratyatra"
  • "Devashayni Ekadashi"- It is believed that god goes to sleep from today until next four months.
  • "Guru purnima"- On this day pooja of ones GURU (teacher) is to be performed.
  • "Nag Panchmi"- Pooja of the NAG(snake) is performed on this day
  • "Shravan Poornima" - Last day of Shravan. "Raksha Bandhan"- Sisters tie "Rakhee" to their brothers
  • "Harchat" or "Halasthi Vrat" - This is also one of the important festivals of the Jaiswal community. All the mothers perform pooja and fast for the welfare of their sons.
  • "Shri Krishna Janmashtmi"- Birthday of Lord Krishna
  • "Haritalika", "Kajari Teej". Wives fast on this day to get the same husband in the next birth
  • "Shri Ganesh Chaturthi"- On this day idols of Lord Ganesh are bought and are worshipped for 11 days. One can reduce the number of days of worship to 3,5,7 or 9 depending on ones convenience
  • "Anant Chaturdashi" - Idols of Lord Ganesha are immersed in water this day.
  • "Starting of "Pitrapaksha"- From this day till 15 days is called as Pitrapaksha and from this day we give "Pind" to our dead ancestors.
  • "Matra Navmi". Pind-dan is given to all dead women of the family.
  • "Pitra Moksha Amavasya". Last day of Pitrapaksha
  • "Navratra" starts this day. "Kalash Stapna", "Gujrati Dandi" starts.
  • "Durgastami Vrat"
  • "Durga Navmi"- Pooja of machines is done on this day.
  • "Vijay Dashmi" or "Dusshera" - Pooja of vehicles is done on this day.
  • "Sharad Poornima" or "Kojagiri"
  • "Karvachowdh". This is one of the most important festival for the ladies of the Jaiswal community. The ladies fast the whole day and then break their fast after looking at the moon in the night. * The moon will appear from 7:36 p.m onwards this year *
  • "Avohai Asthmi"
  • "Dhanteras"- First day of Deepawali*
  • "Narak Chaturdashi" - Second day of Deepawali*.
  • "Deepawali" Note: Laxmi Poojan can be done anytime between 6:00 a.m to 6:46 p.m
  • "Annakut Govardhan Pooja"
  • "Bhai dooj"- Sisters put tilak to their brothers on this day.
  • "Akshaya Navmi" or "Avala Navmi"
  • "Tulsi Vivah" & "Dev Uthani Ekadashi" - It is presumed that God wakes up after 4 months of sleep on this day. Marriages start from this day onwards.
  • "Karthik Poornima"

11 January 2008

All India Jaiswal Mahasabha 2008

I took part in the All India Jaiswal Mahasabha held at Mydam Anjiah Hall at Kachiguda in Hyderabad on January 6, 2008.

Shriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister of State, Home Affairs, Government of India was the anticipated chief guest. The necessary security arrangements were made and he did not turn up. I wonder why. Also, looking back, who paid for the security arrangements?

Dr. Anand Raj Varma, B. Madhusudhan, Devendra Kumar Jaiswal, Chandra Prakash Varma, Arjun Kumar, Dr. Anil Kumar Modi, Uday Bhushan, Ajit Kumar Jaiswal, Mahesh Kumar, Indu Varma, G. Bansilal, Devi Prasad, Ramesh Adhlakhia, Dr. Surya Prakash, Swaroop Kumar, Ramesh Aminha, Radha Raman, Raghu Raj, B. Deepak, Surendra Prasad, Deepak Kumar, Surendra Varma contributed to the publication of Sansmarika 2007-2008. The publication was done at Chandraprabha Graphics, Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad.

- - - - - -

From http://www.khojhyderabad.com

An All-India Working Committee meeting of Akhila Bharatiya Jaiswal Mahasabha would be held in Hyderabad on Jan 6. The 81st Annual Day of Andhra Pradesh Kalwar (Jaiswal) Sabha would also be celebrated on the same day. Union Minister of State for Home, Prakash Jaiswal would take part in the celebrations. The Mahasabha general secretary, Chandra Prakash Verma told newsmen here on Thursday that the celebrations would take place at Mydam Anjaiah Hall at Munnurukapu Sangam, Kachiguda.

The Working Committee meeting would take place between 9am to 5pm, which would be followed by Annual Day celebrations. The Mahasabha All India Patron, Baleshwar Dayal, its national President Madan Mohan Jaiswal, MP Girish Sanghi and various local leaders would attend the programme. A community souvenir, brought out once in 10 years, would be released on that day. Giving the background of the community, the Mahasabha working President, Anand Raj Verma told that the community had settled in the city during the time of 3rd Nizam, Mir Akbar Ali Khan and now has a strength of 800 families in various parts of the State. The community has an all- India population of 6 crore. The population strength in the State was about 10, 000, he added.

Efforts are on to enlist the community in the backward classes list and many hearings before the BC Commissioner have taken place. But the Government in that connection took no decision, he said. The community in the city is also carrying out various welfare activities, he added. Out standing personalities in the community would be felicitated during the celebrations. The Sabha office bearers, B Madhusudan and N Uday Bhushan Jaiswal were present.



01 January 2008

History of Jaiswal Community of Hyderabad

History of Jaiswal Community in Hyderabad and Secunderabad
 

With the establishment of the a Asaf Jahi rule at Golkonda, number of north Indian communities such as Kayasths, Khatris, Brahma-Khsatriyas and Marwadis had come and settled down in Hyderabad. Some of them had accompanied Asaf Jah-I and were awarded high positions in the state administration. Big and extensive jagirs were also granted to some of them for performing meritorious duties. However, the other communities' like Marwadis, Gujrathis and Jaiswals were mostly traders and dealt in various commodities. The Gujratis were intitially timber merchants but later they took to precious and semi precious stones. The Marwadis had settled in large numbers at Begum Bazar and virtually controlled that market to meet the local requirements. 

Jaiswals of Hyderabad
Jaiswals of Hyderabad
 The Jaiswals came in two batches, one from the western and another from the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. The Jaiswal community however, excelled in the art of liquor making and settled in the vicinity of the present Narayanguda. They were given permits in lieu of an annual payment made to royal treasury for collecting "Tadi" from the forest and also for making country liquor. They not only excelled in it but later monopolized this trade and had their shops all around Narayanguda. The area was later named after Narayan Pershad, a leading member of Jaiswal community.

Origin of the Jaiswal Community

Nothing is known about the origin of the Jaiswal community. They were however known as "Kalwars" in North India. It is likely that their ancestors hailed from the town, 'Jayas' in Uttar Pradesh and hence came to be known as 'Jayaswalas' or "Jayaswals" or "Jaiswals". The well known Sufi poet, Malik Mohammad Jayasi also belonged to ancient town of Jayas.

This particular community was famous through out North India for its mastery over their traditional trade since remote past.

Jaiswals of Hyderabad
The first known historical personality among Jaiswals at Hyderabad was Ganga Ram whose name finds mention in the chronicles datable to 1796 AD. The jaiswals community must have therefore come and settled down in Hyderabad sometime in the middle of 18th century AD. Choudhry Ganga Ram and Choudhry Bhavani Ram are said to have first started their excise business at Hyderabad. Both of them were well-versed in the art of distillation of liquor. This gave a boost to the Jaiswal community in Andhra and many more families later migrated from Uttar Pradesh to the various regions of Telangana and established their own trade.

In a short span of time the entire excise trade of the erst-while Nizam State was monopolized by the Jaiswal community. They made huge profits and amassed wealth which raised their social status and position amongst the Hindu nobles of Hyderabad.

In 1723 the Nizam government established the excise department at Hyderabad. A full fledged excise directorate came into existence in 1823 AD. Choudhry Ganga Ram and Choudhry Bhavani Ram are said to have been invited by the Nizam government sometime during this period to supervise and improve the sick excise industry of the state. They were given life long rights over many distilleries against the payment of annual revenue to the State. They established their bhattis and shops in and around Narayanguda. Ram Narayan Jaiswal, an illustrious scion of the Jaiswal community , owned huge properties and the area was later named after him as Narayanguda.

Formation of Jaiswal Kalwar Mahasabha, Hyderabad

In order to safeguard the interests of the flourishing Jaiswal community, the Jayaswal Kalwar Mahasabha, Hyderabad was formed in 1923 AD. Madan Lal, a descendant of Choudhry Bhavani Ram was the first President and his son, Papa Lal was chosen as the first secretary of the Mahasabha. Both the father and son continued to hold these posts and served the community for a long period of 25 long years. Later on, the Mahasabha was converted into Andhra Pradesh Jaiswal Sabha which continues to function even today.

Jaiswal Panchayat

Another organization, Jayaswal Panchayat was formed in 1940 with Saligram, a leading advocate and prominent Arya Samajist as its president and Babu Ram Dayal as its secretay. This body continued to work for 27 years and in the year 1967, it gave away to Jayaswal Pragati Samaj. Radhakishen became the first president while Hand Kumar was appointed as the secretary of the newly founded Samaj.

After the merger of the Hyderabad State into the Indian Republic in 1948, the policy of the Andhra Pradesh Government changed as regards the excise business. All rights of the Jaiswal community over the distilleries ceased to exist. The auction of the liquor shops came into practice where anybody could offer higher bid and own a shop. This deprived the members of the Jaiswal community of their traditional business which they had been carrying on for centuries. To offset this, the community paid more attention to education and branched off into other professions. A number of educational institutions, such as the Gayadeen Arya Kanya Pathashala and a good number of trusts, such as the Munnalal Trust and Ram Narayan trust were established which gave scholarships to the poor students to pursue their studies. A number of community halls, such as Tuljha Bhavan at Kachiguda, Ganga Pershad Raja Karan Dharamshala and Chunnilal Dharamshala at Secunderabad were also built for the benefits of the community. Ram Narayan Jaiswal Bhavan is yet another example.

Temples of Jaiswal Community of Hyderabad

The members of the Jaiswal community still follow their age-old ancestral socio-religious rites and traditions, customs and manners so as to maintain their identity. Some of the built temples such as the Lala temple (Ranigunj), Gopal Mandir (Secunderbad) and the Lord Siva Temple (Sadashivapeta) which further exhibits their religious zeal to keep their faith alive. The annual festivals and the jatras were organized with full pomp to celebrate their religious rites and worship.

Activities of Jaiswals of Hyderabad
The Jaiswal community also played a leading role to enrich the socio-cultural and political life of the twin cities. They took an active parting the liberation movements of Hyderabad and in the Telangana movement. They were ardent supporters of the Arya Samaj movement in Andhra Pradesh. The prominent leaders of Arya Samaj like Manasa Ram, Saligram and Pandit Raja Ram Shastri belonged to the Jaiswal community. Their contribution to the political field can also not be minimized. Heera Lal Mourya is one such political leader who was later nominated as MLC on the state. At one time there were seven municipal councilors belonging to this community. Even today, some of the members of the Jaiswal community hold offices in Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishads of Telangana region.

Prominent Jaiswals of Hyderabad

Jaiswals also excelled in every field of social life. For example, Dr C L Mouli and Dr Chandu Lal made mark in the medical profession. Among the notable advocates the names of Narsing Pershad Jaiswal, Babu RamDayal and Suresh Babu are prominent. In the field of education Prof. G P Jaiswal and Prof. Vidya Sagar have brought laurels to the community. Among the philanthropists and social workers, the name of Jeetlal Jaiswal is outstanding. He was elected as the first president of All India Jaiswal Mahasabha. Jeetlal was a multi-faceted personality and had a great sense of humor which made him popular in all walks of social life.

The contribution of the Jaiswal community to the cinema industry of the twin cities has been immense. Manohar Talkies, Deepak Mahal, Prashant, select to name a few are owned by the members of Jaiswal community. It need not thus be over-emphasized that the community played a meaningful role to enrich the cultural fabric of the city of Hyderabad