Seth Naomal Hotchand

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Seth Naomal Hotchand

CIE CSI
Born
Seth Naomal Hotchand Bhojwani[1]

1804 (1804)
Kharadar, Karachi
DiedSeptember 16, 1878(1878-09-16) (aged 73–74)
Karachi, British India
OccupationMerchant, Military contractor
Years active1832–1878
Parent(s)
  • Seth Hotchand[2] (father)

Seth Naomal Hotchand Bhojwani CIE CSI (1804 – 16 September 1878) was a Sindhi merchant and military contractor, known for helping the East India Company conquer Sindh around 1832 in an attempt to achieve notable position in the society through money and chivalry.[3]

Biography[]

He was born in Kharadar, Karachi in 1804. Naomal was the great grandson of a Hindu trader Bhojomal, known for founding Karachi in 1729. Naomal's father Hotchand was also a merchant who ran business extending all the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East such as Afghanistan, Iran and Muscat. Seth's family was one of the richest families at times who used to lend money the Mirs of Sindh.[3]

Around 1832, a communal violence broke out between Hindu and Muslim communities in Karachi, following which one of Naomal's teacher beat him up. He subsequently established his association with British Company and worked as a British India Army contractor against the Mirs of Karachi's rule in the region.[4]

Muhammad Usman Damohi, a historian published a book in 2013 titled Karachi: Taareekh Kay Aaenay Main arguing that his alleged lust for money and status placed Sindhi people under British rule.

He died on September 16, 1878 in Karachi.[3]

Titles and memoirs[]

His role in conquering Sindhi was appreciated by the British Company for which Queen Victoria awarded him Companion of the Most Exalted Order of Staff of Indian Empire (CIE)[3] and Order of the Star of India (CSI).[5]

In 1996, Literary Board of Sindh printed an edition titled Memoirs of Seth Naomul Hotchand of Karachi which was translated into English in 1915.[3] It was originally published in 1982 by Oxford University Press.[6]

Books[]

  • HOTCHAND, NAOMAL (1995). A Forgotten Chapter of Indian History, as Described in the Memoirs of Seth Naomul Hotchand. W. Pollard & Company. Retrieved 2021-03-27.

References[]

  1. ^ "Karachi was a sweet Bombay". dnaindia.com.
  2. ^ Ahmed, Khaled (2015-01-24). "On religious conversion, a question". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e Balouch, Akhtar (2014-07-01). "'Traitor of Sindh' Seth Naomal: A case of blasphemy in 1832". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  4. ^ Markovits, C. (2000). The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama. Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-139-43127-9. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  5. ^ "A forgotten chapter of Indian history as described in the memoirs of Seth Naomul Hotchand, C.S.I., of Karachi. 1804-1878". Digital Public Library of America. 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  6. ^ Markovits, Claude (2009-01-01). "The Political Economy of Opium Smuggling in Early Nineteenth Century India: Leakage or Resistance? - Modern Asian Studies". Modern Asian Studies. 43 (1): 89–111. doi:10.1017/S0026749X07003344. ISSN 1469-8099. S2CID 202930136. Retrieved 2021-03-27.

Further reading[]

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