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.
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
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.
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| Jaiswals of Hyderabad |
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
2 comments:
Delighted to read a historical profile of Jaiswals of Hyderabad. Its excellent introduction to who are Jaiswals and the role played by this community in the transition of Hyderabad over centuries.
Hope you continue to write more of this numerically small but otherwise very active member of Hyderabad and social reform.
One looks forward to more on this blog about Jaiswals and Hyderabad
visit... www.jaiswals.com for more information.
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