Zalawad is a region in Gujarat made up of a host of princely states such as Dhangadhra, Wakanel, Limbdi, Wadhwan, Lakhtar, Sayla, Chuda, etc. Zalawad was once ruled by the Zalas, a clan of Rajputs hailed for their straightforwardness and big Bangles or ‘chudas.’
In the 1900s, a lot of Zalawadis migrated to Mumbai in the hope of a better life. In order to stay connected to their hometown and create a better community life, around 25 religious and sadharmic Zalawadis spearheaded the Shree Zalawad Sabha in 1902 under the presidency of Shree Vrajlal Khimchand Shah (Solicitor).
Post inception, the Sabha began providing Educational Assistance to the children of Zalawadi migrants to Mumbai. In 1930, the Sabha also began to provide educational assistance in the form of Scholarships for Higher Education, Academic Loans including School fees, Notebooks,Uniforms etc.
The credit for being the founding members of the Sabha in the format it is today goes to Shree Kantilal Laxmichand Vora, Shree Keshavlal M Shah and Shree Rasiklal Leherchand Shah for founding the Shree Zalawadi Sthanakwasi Jain Sabha in 1960.
ઝાલાવાડ છે ખમીરવંતુ, મારૂ ઝાલાવાડ છે ખમીરવંતુ બાંધીને રાખ્યો છે લાગણીઓનો તંતુ, સાધર્મિક બંધુત્વ નો એકમાત્ર હેતુ, સહુ હાથ પકડીને ચાલી શકે એવો બાંધ્યો છે સેતુ, એવું મારૂ ઝાલાવાડ છે ખમીરવંતુ…
આપણું ઝાલાવાડ, સમૃદ્ધ ઝાલાવાડ, જેમાં નથી કોઈ ઊંચ નીચ ની વાડ, વડીલોએ લડાવ્યા છે ખુબ સહુને લાડ, મદદ માટે જ્યારે જ્યારે પડયો છે કોઇ સાદ, પહોંચી વળે છે ત્યા ત્યા આપણુ ઝાલાવાડ..સમૃદ્ધ ઝાલાવાડ.
Once established, the founders began to think of ways to reach out to their brothers and get them all together. They brainstormed activities that would enable all members of the community to get to know one another.
And just as Shri Lokamanya Tilak established the concept of public gatherings on the occasion of Ganapati in Maharashtra, which was a cornerstone in India’s freedom movement, Shree Zalawadi Sthankwasi Jain Sabha began a host of Religious Activities to bring together their fellow brothers in 1960. Religions activities during Paryushan such as Samuh Pratikraman, Prabhavnas, Swamivatsalya and Felicitation of Tapasvees were initiated.
These activities led to the better bonding between the Samaj and therefore the Sabha arranged for members of the community to be welcomed into the Sabha in the form of Annual and Life Memberships which led to 100 – 125 members joining. For the first time ever in 1985, Elections were introduced for the post of Trustees in the Sabha, with the first-ever Presidents being:
Over time, the number of Zalawadi families migrating to Mumbai began to grow, and the Shree Zalawadi Sthanakwasi Jain Sabha decided to construct a colony just for Zalawadis in Andheri. It was in 1962, that the iconic Zalawad Nagar was constructed and opened to its community. In 1964, the Sabha decided to boost their support to the community with another scheme, namely the Medical Relief Fund Plan. The sheer dedication of our forefathers towards working for the betterment of their extended family is truly commendable.
1. Shree Vrajlal Khimchand Shah (1936 – 1949)
2. Shree Chimanlal Chakubhai Shah (1949 – 1982)
3. Shree Keshav Lal Maganlal Shah (1982 – 1990)
4. Shree C. U. Shah (1990 – 2013)
5. Shree G. D. Shah (2013 onwards)
By 1990, almost 90% of Zalawadi families had moved to Mumbai. Sadly though, it was an extreme struggle for a lot of them to settle in and find good work.
In order to help such people settle in, the Sabha initiated their next scheme, titled the Sadharmik Sanman Yojana , whose main aim was to enrich our society by helping one another get settled.
The number of activities and projects spearheaded by the Sabha are innumerable and consistently persistent. A timeline of some of their commendable initiatives is as follows:
