Jain Heritage and Beyond

Author(s): Shailesh Shah
Publisher: Oshwal Associations of The UK

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A Brief History Of
OSHWALS
The name 'Oshwal' is derived from the North Indian town of Oshiyanagar near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The legend has it that the King of Oshyinagar has a son with the blessings of a Jain monk by the name of Pujya Acharyadev Shri Ratnaprabhsuriji. The king and his subjects were so impressed with the preaching of Acharya Ratnaprabhsuriji that they all embraced Jainism. These Jains of Oshyinagar became known as Oshiyas which, with the passage of time, got transformed into Oshwals. Religious persecution forced these Oshwals
Oshwal House to settle in various parts of India. A group of these Oshwals who settled in the 52 villages of the Halar district of Jamnagar (Gujarat State) became known as the Halari Visa Oshwals. These were the forefathers of the majority of the present day Oshwal population in East Africa, U.K., U.S.A and Canada. A large number also moved on from the Halar District to the more lucrative pastures of Mumbai (Bombay). Most of our forefathers were farmers and small landowners rather than businessmen and traders. However, the enterprising spirit amongst the Oshwals began to surface and around the turn of the century, the first Oshwals ventured out, from India, to East Africa. It is generally assumed that the first Oshwals who arrived on the Kenyan Coast in 1899 were Shri Hirji Kara, Shri Popatlal Vershi and Shri Devji Hirji. At that time much of the Kenyan hinterland was unknown. Mombasa was a well established trading port and the building of the railway line from Mombasa into interior had begun. The British brought in a large labour force, from India, to work on the construction of this railway line. The early Oshwals began to be associated with this railway. Some set up the business of providing meals to the railway workers, others undertook work as builders while some even worked on the actual construction of the railway line.
The railway opened up the Kenyan interior. More people came to Nairobi which was a small trading post. The Oshwals worked extremely hard, gradually called over their families and slowly established themselves in trading centres like Thika, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Meru, Makuyu, Ruiru, Maragua, Saba Saba, Fort Hall (Muranga), Karatina, Kisii and Nakuru. Some even moved onto the other East African countries of Uganda and Tanazia as years went by. Oshwals earned high respect with their puritanical qualities of hard work, thrift, simplicity and prudence. Gradually as the numbers increased they organised themselves into a community.
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