Barbodhan

Barbodhan is a village in India near Surat. People from Barbodhan have emigrated throughout the world, in particular to Bolton and Preston in England, Canada, Burma, and Mauritius.

According to local folklore the name Barbodhan comes from the term "Babul Aden" or translated into English this would mean "Gateway to Aden". It is known that in the early days Muslims travelling to Mecca on pilgrimage passed through this small village through to the seaport, hence the name.

More recently though the village Barbodhan was known as the "Golden Village".

So the village is very old, with a lot of character and history, and the graveyard suggests that Muslims were buried there some three to four hundred years ago.

Remembering that it was in Surat that British established its first foothold in India in 1612, when the newly formed East India Company got permission from the Moghul Emperor, Jahangir, to set up a trading "factory".

All the Muslim population residing in the village are classed as Surti Sunni Vohra Muslims who follow the Deobandi Tablighi Jamaat Movement.

External links

* [http://www.barbodhan.org The Barbodhan Community Historical website]

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surti_Muslims Surti Muslims]

* [http://www.ssvmes.org/default.php Surti Sunni Vohra Muslim Education Society]