Parsis of Gujarat

Tehmur (Tehmulji) Ratanji Kothaavala, in his Geneological Tree or Shijre Kotha­vala, published on September 7, 1914, and his nephew Saros Nariman Kotha­vala, in his A Brief Ancestral Record of the Kothavala Family, dated May 21, 1989, have stated that the first Parsi Zarathushti who had come to Ahmeda­bad was a scion of the Kothavala family. He is believed to have accompanied General Godard from Surat and entered Ahmedabad along with him on February 13, 1780, through the Khan Jahan Darwaja (gate) near the Gaekwad Haveli. After Kothavala, the second Parsi who came to Ahmedabad, although much later, was Pestonji Faramji Vakil, in 1814, followed by Mancherji Sorabji Karanjawala in 1818. Interestingly, all these three came from Surat though Bharuch and Khambat (Cambay) had a flourishing Parsi population and are located much closer to Ahmedabad.

Khambat is at a distance of just 90 kms (less than 60 miles) from Ahme­dabad. The pioneer of the cotton textile industry in Gujarat, Rao Bahadur Sheth Ranchhodlal Chhotalal, CIE, who established the first textile mill, The Ahmedabad Spinning Mills Company Limited, in Ahmedabad in 1859 despite insurmountable obstacles and tremendous difficulties had transported the textile machinery by bullock carts from the port of Khambat to Ahmedabad. He was fondly referred to as Ranchhod Rentia (spinning wheel). It is learnt that he also had plans to dredge the Sabarmati river to make it navigable for small ships to sail to Ahmedabad, a dream which remained unfulfilled.

Parsis had settled in Cambay (Khambat) much earlier. "There are evidences of a prosperous Parsi settlement at Cambay from about 1090 till about 1575 or 1593 AC. Cambay is even mentioned as a Parsi town in the Persian Rivayats. In Cambay a fire temple was constructed in the 14th century. Meher­wan Kaikhusro wrote Avesta and Pahlavi manuscripts in Cambay between 1321 and 1324 AC. A Tower of Silence was built and consecrated at Cambay in 1535 AC [quoted from Outlines of Parsi History, Zoroastryan Religion and Ancient Iranian Art (pg 92), a condensed and restructured edition by Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Parvez Karanjia (1999) from Outlines of Parsi History by Dastur (Dr) Hormazdyar Kayoji Mirza (1974)].” "A Tower of Silence was erected and consecrated and a dar-e-meher and two wells were built at Cambay, at the expense of Hirji Asha of Surat in about 1534 AC (pg 96).” "The account of John Albert de Mandelso mentions 18,000 men landing at Cambay (pg 90).”

"Many of them (Parsis) had moved into other parts of India with their families. They had gone among other places to Cambay…in the north. The earliest emigration from Sanjan seems to have been to Cambay. According to Mr Robertson’s account of Cambay, published in the year 1813, they were attracted to the settlement by a variety of considerations (AD 942-997) (History of The Parsis by D. F. Karaka, CSI, Vol. I, pgs 35/36).”

"Henry Lord in 1620 AC came to Surat and wrote a book about the Parsis. In that book it is mentioned that seven boats left Diu of which one reached Khambat. The second went to Suvali and the remaining five boats went south and landed at the port of Sanjan [Quoted from An Illustrated Biography of Shams-ul-Ulama, Dr Sir Ervad Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, Kt., CIE, BA, PhD, LLD (1854-1933) by Marzban Jamshedji Giara (pg 14)].”

Thus Parsis had settled in Cambay (Khambat) much earlier and it is quite likely that some had moved to Ahmedabad even prior to 1780 though there does not appear to be any record in this regard. However, the late Hormazd­yar Shapurshah Dalal, in his book The Parsis — 1947 to 2001 (pg 3), writes: "And, in 1618, when Emperor Jehangir came to Ahmedabad, Chandji Kamdin and his nephew Hoshang Ranji, ancestors of the Dordi family to which Dada­bhai Naoroji belonged, went to Ahme­dabad from Navsari with a gift of jasmine perfume. In return, they were honored with the titles of Mullah Jamasp and Mullah Hoshang in addition to receiving a gift of 100 acres of land.”

RASHID S. MEDORA

Ahmedabad