It was on a Friday evening at 4.30 PM on 15th
April 1988 when the Kerala Muslim Welfare Association, Delhi was established in
its first meeting held in Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi. A group of five people (KV Hamza, K Mohammed
Kunhi, PNP Haris, KMA Rahiman and Ismail Melady) conceptualized the idea and worked
out the strategy to form an association of the non-resident Keralite Muslims
living in the Capital City of Delhi with the absolute objectives of just know
each other, extending the care and support in personal and public life of the
members, reaching out to the needy in case of diseases, accidents, supporting
the downtrodden sections of the society etc.
The first person waiting for us in Lodhi Gardens for the
meeting was Mr. M. Nazarudheen of CPWD who heard about this endeavour and was
more than punctual in those days when own vehicle like even a two wheeler was a
luxury and the rapid transport system like metro rail was not heard of. An irony was that the Mr. KMA Rahiman was the
person who decided the venue for the first meeting, but unfortunately went
round and round in the lengths and breadths of Lodhi Garden and failed to locate
the group gathering and thereby missing the meeting.
Some of the names of the 26 participants including the five original
conceptualizers were: KV Hamza, K Mohammed Kunhi, PNP Haris, KMA Rahiman and
Ismail Melady, Dr. Bahavudheen, Ex Principal of then REC, Calicut, Abu Bakar,
Research Officer M/o Commerce, O. Mohammed, Executive Engineer of then DESU, M.
Nazarudheen of CPWD, KP Mahmood, Dy. Dir. DGFT, PC Hamza the Publisher, Abdul
Jabbar, the ex Airforce, etc., as I am unable to remember the names of all of
them after long 26 years. Those were the
days when, forget about mobile phones, even landlines telephones at homes were
also the prized possessions of the high or mighty only. So communication was through the now
forgotten poor postal service only, else calling the office number of members from
public booths by inserting coins. I still
can vividly remember the days accompanying Mr. AVM Kutty to the public
telephone kept in the External Affairs Hostel carrying coins in hand or making telephone
calls from the Kashmeri Store, the provisional store at Gole Market to invite
members for programs of the Association.
Computers were seen either in NIC centres or in computer education institutions
only. It used to be a real effort to make
letters with the kind help of old and noisy Remington typewriters followed by
electronic typewriters after few years that too mostly in the offices of higher
officers in the ministries/departments only.
Mr. PC Hamza wrote the minutes of the first meeting of the
Association and an ad-hoc committee comprising President, Vice President,
General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and 6 Executive Members were
unanimously elected to functionalize the organization. Subsequent meetings, further developments and
progress of the Association have gone through various committed and abled hands
like, AVM Kutty, KM Jamaludheen, AR Kutty, KM Hamza, Shaikh Moideen, PP Abdul
Rahiman, Dr. MM Kunju, MK Abdul Nazer, N Abdul Khader, Abdul Khalik PP, Abdul
Salam, Shaikh Mehboob, Aboobacker Kunju, AM Basheer, AT Sainudin, as the stalwarts. The current main office bearers of the
Association are KK Basheer, Mansoor Kattanam & Anas as President, Secretary
and Treasurer respectively with the active support of others and Executive
Members.
The organization started in the small gathering in Lodhi
Gardens 26 years has now grown leaps and bounds and reached with its own foot
strongly in the culturally fertile ground of this historical Delhi and acquiring
400 Sq. meter plot of land and constructing a 3 storeyed structure to be used
as the Association’s office and Kerala Islamic Centre after completion of the
work.
Looking back to more than a quarter of the century, this organization
still remains the common platform for not only Keralite Muslims, but also for
the entire Keralites to look forward for shade under its leaves. The ardent community and fellow feelings of
great leaders like Late Janab Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait, Late Janab GM Banatwala,
Late Janab PM Sayeed, Mr. E Ahamed, Mr. T.K.A. Nair, Mr. C.K. Menon, Mr. ET
Mohammed Basheer, Mr. Yusuffali MA etc., have benefitted the organization in
its growth and remaining as a non-partisan entity for the welfare and
advancement of the downtrodden sections of the society.
So we, the members of
Kerala Muslim Welfare Association would like to express our heartfelt gratitude
to one and all who stood with us, walked with us, led us to the path of
progress in this cosmopolitan and capital city of Delhi. We expect the cooperation and togetherness
from all of you always so that the Kerala Muslim Welfare Association can
proudly stand as an icon of communal harmony and National Integration.
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