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Ah History!
History is replete with chronicles which are enigmatic, paradoxical, baffling, always making you wonder if the course of said history would have been any different if certain things had happened differently. Here is one such story to ponder:
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History is replete with chronicles which are enigmatic, paradoxical, baffling, always making you wonder if the course of said history would have been any different if certain things had happened differently. Here is one such story to ponder:
1/8
Time: early 1800s
Place:Kathiawad, Gujarat
Protagonist :Premjibhai Meghji Thakkar, a Hindu Rajput of Lohana caste
Occupation: A flourishing fish business
Conflict:Two of the prominent Gujarati traits not in sync(in this particular plot): religion & enterprise
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Place:Kathiawad, Gujarat
Protagonist :Premjibhai Meghji Thakkar, a Hindu Rajput of Lohana caste
Occupation: A flourishing fish business
Conflict:Two of the prominent Gujarati traits not in sync(in this particular plot): religion & enterprise
2/8
Corollary of the conflict:
Ostracism of Premjibhai from his highly conservative & strictly vegetarian Lohana caste.
for the ‘sin’ of dabbling in fish (non-vegetarian) business.
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Ostracism of Premjibhai from his highly conservative & strictly vegetarian Lohana caste.
for the ‘sin’ of dabbling in fish (non-vegetarian) business.
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One can only imagine what a mental torture it would have been for him to be shunned like that;
Hence like a reformed proverbial prodigal son, Premjibhai decided to relinquish his well established albeit sinful trade & come back to his caste.
4/8
Hence like a reformed proverbial prodigal son, Premjibhai decided to relinquish his well established albeit sinful trade & come back to his caste.
4/8
But ...
Pause & pay heed folks...it’s a very important ‘BUT’.
Because many turning points in history are just some random innocuous events which no one thinks much about but which end up changing the course of future forever!
5/8
Pause & pay heed folks...it’s a very important ‘BUT’.
Because many turning points in history are just some random innocuous events which no one thinks much about but which end up changing the course of future forever!
5/8
As I was saying: But Premjibhai’s caste & community refused to accept and take him back into the fold.
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6/8
Repercussion: Premjibhai had a son, Punjalal Thakkar, who felt so enraged at his father’s humiliation that he decided to convert himself and his four sons to Islam & leave religion of his birth forever behind.
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7/8
Now why is this little trivia so extraordinarily interesting:
One of Punjalal’s four sons was Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Now go figure...
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah_fa…
One of Punjalal’s four sons was Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Now go figure...
8/8
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah_fa…
