OMAN SULTANS BANKED ON KUTCHI MONEYBAGS

AHMEDABAD: The sultans of Oman and Zanzibar heavily banked on Kutchi moneybags. Many of them were in debt of banker-merchant from Mundra, Jairam Shivji.

After the death of Jairam Shivji in 1867, the amount of debt which the Sultans owed him stood at 600,000 dollars. A large number of European explorers also depended on the financial assistance of Gujarati banker-merchants like Jairam.

"Jairam, a Kutchi Bhatia, had a consolidated trading and banking network between Mandvi, Mundra, Bombay, Muscat and Zanzibar in the 18th and 19th centuries. After his death, the amount of debt which the Sultans owed him had reached such a magnitude as to lead the British consuls to intervene in the matter . The issue was finally settled with the help of John Kirk, political agent of Zanzibar, when the debt was reduced to 200,000 dollars," writes former Gujarat University professor Shirin Mehta in the book 'Gujarat and the Sea' .

Kutchi Bhatias established sophisticated commercial practices , including marine insurance, the hundi system for monetary transactions and Mahajans at the overseas ports.

They lived in port towns such as Mandvi, Mundra, Veraval, Ghogha, Porbandar and to some extent in Surat, from where they coordinated their commercial activities overseas. The Mandvi and Mundra ports they constructed with the help of other entrepreneurs served as the gateways to carry on brisk trade with eastern African ports. Considering their Kshatriya background , their ships contained arms and ammunition which helped them fight pirates on high seas.

Formerly they were Rajputs but smooth transition into the business community by embracing the Vaishnav faith. The Bhatias were very methodical in maintaining their ledgers and account books, which they wrote in Gujarati language. They clung to their Kutchi language, dress and religious customs and cherished hopes of returning to their motherland Kutch.

A large number of Bhatias migrated from Kutch to Muscat and from Muscat to Zanzibar following the transfer of capital there. It is believed that the Omani Sultan transferred his capital on the advice of Jairam's father Shivji Topan. The Sultan appointed Jairam as the customs collector-an influential and lucrative position.

Jean de Thevenot, a French traveller who visited Persian ports in 1665, saw numerous Bhatias operating exclusively as sharafs (coinchangers ), money lenders and merchants .

SOURCE: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com