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About
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THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS:
HIGHLIGHTS
OF KHADAYATA COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
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by
Arvind C.
Thekdi
North
potomac, MD
The history of Khadayata community traces back approximately 700
years. The original families seem to have come from a village named
"Khadat"
in North Gujarat. However a formal organization of the community
members began in the earlier part of this century. At that time a
vast majority of the families lived in villages in and around
Gujarat. The education level of most of the members was very low
with the main occupation of trading of commodities. only a few
educated community members were living in cities such as Bombay and
Ahmedabad.
A few Khadayata community members living in Bombay started an
organization "Khadayata
Samaj" in the year 1912. These well wishers
recognized that higher education was the only way to advance the
fate of younger members of the community. Hence the very first
activity of the Samaj was to establish facilities and scholarship
funds for the higher education of the children of Khadayatas.
It is difficult for us to realize the situation that existed at
that time. many of the villages or fairly large communities did not
have facilities for even primary education. The students from
villages, where most of the Khadayata families were settled, had to
live with their relatives in the cities to obtain primary
education. Education for the girls was almost nonexistent.
The first convention of Khadayatas, the Khadayata Parishad, was
convened at Nadiad in 1914 and was attended by delegates from many
parts of Gujarat. The convention passed resolutions to establish
scholarship funds to provide financial assistance to the needy
students. Khadayata Education society (Kelavani Mandal) was
established in the year 1916 to serve the financial needs of the
sons and daughters of the community members. The funds were
distributed as scholarships and interest free loans for studies in
schools, colleges and foreign education. This organization has been
at the center of the growth of education of many Khadayata
community members for the last 80 years. During the last 90 years
thousands of students have benefited from the funds made available
by the Mandal.
Since the first Parishad more than a dozen Parishads have been
arranged.Each of them have addressed the timely issues and made
progressive resolutions to meet the financial, educational and
social needs of the community. This proves the dynamic nature of
the community and willingness to ride the tides of time to stay
afloat.
The community members were keenly aware of the problems facing
students from villages where educational facilities were
practically nonexistent. It was essential to live away from home,
usually at a relative's house, for the youngsters to attend even a
primary school. A movement was started to establish lodging and
boarding facilities for the students in major cities. Presently
more than 10 facilities are available for the students. obviously
the needs of the students have changed and many of these facilities
are now used by students pursuing college and post graduate
studies.
During the early part of this century the community leaders
observed the status of women and young girls and they did not like
what they saw. The educational level was extremely low, the girls
were getting married at a very young, as low as 14 years, and in
many unfortunate cases they were widowed at the tender age of 15 or
so. in order to promote higher education and training for these
needy women, an organization, Woman,s Advancement or Development
society (Mahila Vikas Mandal) was established. This organization
provided facilities for the training in small scale business and
funds for the necessary equipment.
AS the educational level of the community members improved, many of
them moved to the bigger cities such as Bombay, Ahmedabad, Baroda
etc. for employment. Their main problem was to find a place to
live. The community philanthropists donated funds and facilities to
start guest houses in the big cities. Such facilities provided a
place to live for a short period for the newly employed youngsters.
Additional facilities for the community members who needed
temporary place to live during medical treatment or hospitalization
etc. were also established in the major cities.
During the later years the community leaders recognized a need for
providing financial assistance to the needy families when times
were tough for them. An organization, Janata Charitable Trust, was
established to provide help to Khadayata families.
The community extended its activities to the service of God
(Ishtadevata) by building a new temple and a guest house at Mahudi
(popularly known as Kotyarkdham) during the sixties. Subsequently
facilities have been added at Gokul and Nathdwara for the pilgrims
from the community.
Other areas of organized activities include youth meetings, trade
assistance and training, group weddings, co-operative stores and
financing organizations, business assistance and limited access
schools for specific areas of education.
A broad overview of the activities of the organizations serving the
Khadayatas gives a distinct impression of progressive views and
leadership qualities of the workers. They have observed the social,
political and economic changes taking place in the society and have
adjusted their efforts to provide necessary services tot he
community members.
At this time Khadayata families are spread over the entire world.
They cover all continents of the world, all states of India. No
matter where they live, they have never forgotten the roots and
have maintained close relationships with their fellow Khadayatas.
As mentioned earlier, the first organized efforts for the community
activities and development were initiated by the community members
from a faraway place like Bombay in the beginning of this century.
It is only appropriate that the overseas activities of Khadayatas
make their beginnings in the ''new world'', America. We hope that
all of us will be able to follow the leadership examples of our
grand parents and parents and will provide the guidance and
resources to the fellow community members for the coming century.
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Prepared
by
Arvind. C. Thekdi
15216 Gravenstein Way
North potomac, MD 20878
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