KHOLVAD MADRESSA

A Short History

Some 80 years ago, in what may be called the Pre-Migration Period, the village of Kholvad like hundreds of its kind and size throughout British India, was a colony of poor, struggling peasants.

These toiling tillers, with calloused hands, and sun burnt skins, illiterate and ignorant as they were, possessed only crude, inadequate, and badly improvised means of imparting the barest rudiments of education in the form of reading and writing and a smattring of religious education to their children.

To this humble and obscure community came tales of the discovery of gold in a far off land, at the bottom of the continent of Africa, in a country called the South African Republic which we know as the Transvaal. Attracted by the lure of adventure and wealth, and the chance of making a new life in an unknown land, a number of energetic and adventurous young men set sail, braving the open sea, and after a treacherous voyage, arrived in the Transvaal in the year 1883. The trail these pioneers blazed was followed in the ensuing years, with the result that we have a sizeable community of Kholvadians today in South Africa, mainly concentrated in the platteland of the Transvaal.

For the first time in their lives these simple God-fearing folk came into conflict with a strange land and peoples, and with new ideas and languages and completely unfamiliar conditions.
 
The inevitable fact dawned upon them that illiteracy and ignorance were the twin barriers to their progress in their new land of adoption. This conflict gave rise to an irrepressible urge to do something about the education of the children they left behind in Kholvad, so that when they joined their fathers in South Africa, they would be better equipped to face life in a new country.

This new urge for education culminated in the coming together in Johannesburg in 1895 of a small group of Kholvadians who collected a sum of ₤500 from amongst themselves, and an income bearing property was purchased in the Old Indian Location in Johannesburg with the specific intention of running a Madressa-and –school in Kholvad.

When this property was expropriated by the City Council in 1905, another meeting was called and a new Trust compromising of 11 Trustees was formed.

During the next five years, a property replacing the expropriated one, was purchased, one in Vrededorp was donated to the Trust by Hajee Ismail Hasanjee, while another was purchased in Bombay, with the result that both religious and secular education was given a new impetus in Kholvad.

MADRESSA ANJUMAN ISLAM FORMED

From these austere beginnings a big stride forward was taken in 1914, when a meeting of Kholvadians was held in Krugersdorp, where the sum of ₤2,000 was donated by members towards consolidating the financial status of the Madressa.

At this historical meeting it was decided to register the Madressa in terms of the Companies Act of 1909 and to draw-up a new Trust Deed. The new Trust comprised of 23 Trustees who constituted the first board of Management, and it is under this Deed of Trust that the Madressa Anjuman Islam of Kholvad as we know it today came into formal and constitutional existence, and its various activities over the past 50 years have been successfully carried out.

THE DANGORIAN ERA

No story of the Madressa can be complete without recounting the invaluable services rendered to the Madressa by the late Mr.M.S.Dangor affectionately referred to by his contemporaries as “M.S.”

When this brilliant and dynamic man took over the office of secretary in 1917, he bought all his gifts of foresight, initiative and drive to his office, and set about the task of creating a truly worthwhile institution.

During his stewardship as secretary from 1917 up to the time of his death in 1932, we did not only see the Madressa’s investments grow by leaps and bounds, but in keeping with his tempo of progress, we saw the birth of Kholvad waterworks and the Kholvad electric supply corporation thus providing two very essential amenities to the people of Kholvad.

This period was also heralded considerable advancement in the field of education both in Kholvad and here, and”M.S.”was responsible for establishing the Kholvad Hostel in Johannesburg for the school-going sons of far-flung Kholvadians who otherwise might very well have been deprived of the benefits of education.

He was also instrumental in establishing a Club House at 27 market Street, Johannesburg which fulfilled a very vital need as a place for refuge for country visitors; and which today very rightly holds a place of pride in our achievements in South Africa.

KHOLVAD HOUSE

In 1942, in the face of stern opposition  from certain Prophets of Doom; work on the modern 5 storey building to be known as “Kholvad House”; on the site where the Old Kholvad Club stood at 27 Market Street, and to the joy of all those who took part in this venture the building was completed early in 1943.

Kholvad House signifies the culminating point of the collective efforts and endevours undertaken by Kholvadians in the Transvaal, and serves as a challenge to both the present and the future generations to strive for greater and nobler things.

One can safely say that this courageous venture changed the educational pattern both in Kholvad and here, and it is set as tempo of greater things to come.

The foresight of the then Trustees paved the way to increased activities in the field of education and it is our proud record that over the years we have been successful with the help of the Almighty Allah to eradicate  the curse of illiteracy in Kholvad and in a lesser degree the surrounding villages.

Indeed in recent years we have produced in Kholvad a number of graduates in the faculties of law and science, and a number of teachers and technicians, while locally the Madressa has been granting Scholarships worth nearly ₤2,000 annually with very satisfactory results.  Over the years the Madressa has produced in South Africa a number of doctors, scientists and graduates in various other faculties as well as many teachers, etc.

All this does not mean that our activities are confined to Kholvadians only, our schools in Kholvad are open to all and in addition grants-in-aid are being given from time to time to non-Kholvadian institutions and individuals both in Kholvad and here.

In order to meet the growing demand for more accommodation in our schools in Kholvad, and to meet the ever-increasing requests for Scholarships, we have in 1962 purchased a very centrally situated property in Manzini, Swaziland, the income from which will in tine, go a long way towards satisfying the increased demands.

Also in 1962 an imposing new Madressa building was erected in Kholvad by the Dadabhai family at a cost of Rs. 100,000, this gift is all the more welcome because the children now receive their religious instructions under the most hygienic conditions.

High-light of this the Madressa’s Jubilee year is the commencement of construction on the new Primary and High school buildings in Kholvad, on the site known as Patel’s Bungalow so generously donated by the Patel family in Bloemhof.

The building when completed will have cost less than 2 lac Rupees, and will be one of the most modern School buildings in Gujrat, over-looking the main Bombay – Delhi highway. It will have up-to-date science laboratories, apparatus, a fully equipped projection room as well as airy and well-furnished classrooms.

The bulk of the Madressa’s income of over £7,000 annually has been spent in the fight against illiteracy and in the furtherance of education and it has always been and Insha Allah will always be the endeavour of successive Boards of Management to ensure that no deserving student desiring to further his or her studies is denied the opportunity of achieving his or her ambition.