The launching ceremony of the book 'Bantva Kul Aur Aaj' by Abdur Razzaq Thaplawala was held at Hotel Avari Towers here on the other day under the chairmanship of Former Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) president Arif Habib.
The launching ceremony was organised by Bantva Memon Jamat and sponsored by Seatrade Group. The ceremony was attended by well-known dignitaries of the Memon community and others.
The speakers, including Arif Habib, Najeeb Balagamwala, the author, and other emphasised the importance of the book because it highlighted the culture and traditions of the community when they were living in Bantva, a town in Suraster, Gujrat, India. The businessmen of Bantva are well-known and there were seven or eight business firms, which had more than 100 branches each in various places throughout India, Burma, and Sri Lanka.
The entire population of Bantva migrated to Pakistan after Hindu farmers attacked their houses at night during curfew and the presence of Sikh military men patrolling the streets. The attack was the result of fierce speeches made by Valabh Bhai Patel and Samardas Gandhi in a public meeting in Junagadh held on November 16, 1947 after occupation of Junagadh on November 9, 1947.
In their speeches the two Indian leaders attacked the Memon's of Bantva because of very heavy contribution made by them to the press fund of Quaid-e-Azam when the Quaid visited Bantva in 1944.
The speakers told the audience that the book will give an idea of the traditions and culture of the community of Bantva in pre-partition days to our youngster because those, who were born in Bantva are now quite old and there will be nobody to tell them their personal observations about Bantva after next 10 years.-PR
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