Sidhpur Cultural Museum

Migration is one of the historical forces that have shaped the world. Migration has always been a part of human behavior. Migration is a natural phenomenon as old as history itself. While it is no doubt true that people have always “migrated” in the broadest sense of the word, from one settlement to another, from village to village, and from town to town, it would be mistake to assume that migration as it is practiced or experienced today is the same as it has been in the past. The word “migration” may conceal many shades and complexities of meaning.

Human beings have migrated since their emergence as a species. For this matter Sidhpur Ismaili Community is no exception. It is said that after embracing Ismailism – a branch of Islam, in 1454 our forefathers finally settled in north Gujarat area in 1660 in Mudana & Samoda in Patanwada area and Meta, Nagalpur, Salemkot and Badarpura villages in Dhandhar area. Our forefathers were illiterate agriculturist. They struggled to survive their identity crisis and confronted with problems in Mogul era. In the course of time they abandoned Nagalpur, Salemkot and Badarpuravillages and migrated to Sidhpur, Methan, Metrana, Kuvara, Karimabad, Versila, Dethali, Abadpura, Alipura, Meloj, Ladjipura, Sandesari, Hisor, Punasan , Vanasan, Karan, Ismailpura in Mehsana district, Deoderdapura, Lodhpur in Patan district, Mahi (Mahendipura) and Manpura in Banskantha district as the area was relatively safe and land was fertile with abundance water for irrigation. Since old days Sidhpur has been a center of all the Ismaili villages we are widely known as Sidhpur Muman. The original surnames of Sidhpur Ismaili Momin Community are Badarpura, Charoliya, Dauwa, Dholsaniya, Dhukka, Kadiwal, Karedia, Karovaliya, Maknojia, Manasia, Maredia, Mahesaniya, Prasla, Sherwa, Sunesara, Umatiya and Vakaliya.

Sidhpur is an historical place, located in North Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of Saraswati River. Sidhpur is the taluka headquarters of Sidhpur taluka. The climate of Sidhpur is continental. Around the 10th century, under Solanki rulers, the city was the zenith of fame and glory. The ruler Siddhraj Jaisingh built his capital at Sidhpur, thus the name Sidhpur which literally means Siddhraj’s town. The summer season is hot and dry, with temperature in the range of 40°C. while in winter it is pleasant with temperature around 20°C.The average rainfall is 40-50 inches. The main economic activity is agriculture and allied activities. Sidhpur is famous for Isabgol (Psylium husk) production in the world.

In 1913 some of the members from Sidhpur community migrated to Mumbai. And gradually many families settled in Mumbai. From Mumbai some families migrated to Pakistan before the partition of India and also migrated to USA and Canada. Currently Sidhpur Momin community is residing in India, Pakistan, USA, Canada, UK, and Australia and other parts of the globe.