Bantva

Bāntva or Bantwa (بانٹوا) is a small town in Kathiawar, a former district of the state of Gujarat in India.

Geography

Bantva is located at 21° 28' 60N and 70° 4' 60E, at an altitude of 20 meters. Nearby towns are Limbuda,Manavadar, Vanthali, Junagadh, Keshod, Visavadar, Kutiyana, Dhoraji, Porbandar and Rajkot. The town is roughly 10 kilometers from the Arabian Sea.

History

Prior to the 1947 partition of India, Bantva was a princely state of Bantva Manavadar founded in 1760 and locally ruled until February 1948 by Nawab Mo`in ad-Din Gholam Khan, who shared joint descent with Nawab Junagadh.

On September 9, 1947, the Muslim residents of Bantva, mostly members of the Memon community, formed a delegation to meet with the rulers of Bantva Manavadar, demanding to be joined with Pakistan. On September 25, Bantva Manavadar's ruler announced its accession to Pakistan. The Indian government reacted by sending two companies of armed forces to Bantva on October 3, commanded by Colonel Himmayat Singhjee. The invading forces took over all of Bantva's government offices and declared Bantva to be part of the Indian union. Army pickets were established at various places in Bantva.

Various uprisings and invasions took place over the next few weeks in neighboring towns. On November 13, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then the minister of India, made inflammatory speeches at a public meeting in Junagadh against the Memon community of Bantava. Specifically, he condemned their contributions to the press fund of the Muslim League when Quaid-e-Azam visited the town in 1940.

On November 15, farm laborers from adjoining villages attacked Banta. The surviving residents, about 90% of the population of Bantva Kutiyana, emigrated to Pakistan. Later, in the early 1960s, Bantva was an active center of trade for nuts and cotton.

Demographics

Prior to Partition of India, the population of Bantva was approximately 20,000; 80% of its population was Memon. As of the 2001 India census, Bantva had a population of 15,216. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bantva has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Notable residents of Bantva

* Haji Suleman Ibrahim Bhura - social worker and founder of Memon Education Board.
* Kasim Parekh - President/CEO of Habib Metropolitan Bank and governor of the State Bank of Pakistan from 1989 to 1990.
* Hussain Kasim Dada - founder of Dada Ltd, former president of the Rice Merchants' Association of India.
* Abdur Razzaq Thaplawala - former chairman of Memon Professional Forum and secretary of United Memon Jamat of Pakistan.

External links

* [http://www.memonworld.com.pk/BantvaMemory.htm My Memories of Bantva By: Abdur Razzaq Thaplawala]
* [http://www.memonworld.com.pk/glimpses1.htm Bantva Recollection (Excerpts from “A Ramble Through Life” by Mr. Kassim Dada)]
* [http://www.memonpoint.com Memon Po!nt by Ghaffar Variend, Chicago, IL USA]
* [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/nonsalute.htm Non-Salute Princely state]
* [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/salute.htm Salute Princely state]
* [http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/ips/m/manavadarbantva.html Manavadar-Bantva Princely State]