Welcome to Variav website
Variav is a small village
situated in Surat District,
Gujarat, India. Variav is on
the right bank of Tapti River.
Variav was recently added
to the region of Surat
Municipal Corporation, and
is now part of Greater
Surat.
Water Supply
Variav gets it drinking water supply from Madha Water Works from
1903.set up by Ebrahim Madha of the Sunni Vohra community. The actual
machinery was imported from Belgium.
In terms of religious establishments, there are four
Mosques, 2 madrassa.
Other public facilities include two government-run
schools and a library. One reader commented that
“Variav Mehfil-e-Nurl-Islam library is the second
oldest Library in Gujarat”.
The Library is managed by Variav Sunni Vohra
Jamat. Variav Library is located on a bend in the
river Tapi, and has the best view on both sides.
There is a bank serving the local population.
History
Variav is small village with a historical importance.
As early as the seventh century CE it may have
been known as a place of migration of Zoroastrians
fleeing the fall of the Sassanid Empire. The arrival
of Zoroastrians in India is documented in Qissa-i
Sanjan, and the date of first arrival is variously
interpreted as being 936 AD, 765 AD and 716 AD.
Many centuries later, after Mahmud Begada
conquered the partially Parsi city of Sanjan
(Gujarat) in the 1480s, Variav was one of many
towns and villages that received a further influx of
Parsis, along with Navsari, Surat, Wankaner,
Ankleshwar, Bharuch and Khambhat to the north
of Sanjan and Thane to the south.
According to P. P. Balsara s "Highlights of Parsi
History", published in 1963, Variav is renowned for
one other historical snippet. Towards the end of
the 11th century the Parsi settlement at Variav
refused to pay taxes to the Rajput prince of the
area. The prince sent a force to the town that
arrived while the men were away. The Parsi
women fought the Rajputs.
One of the women lost her helmet, and the
Rajputs, seeing that they were fighting women,
rallied. The Parsi women drowned themselves in
the river rather than risk capture.[1] This event is
still remembered with a ceremony performed in
Surat every year.
the British first landed in India in 1608 was in
Surat.They came to trade.From here they began
the adventure that climaxed two centuries of
British Rule.
Variav is home to a mixed population of Sunni
Muslim Vohra, Parsi, and various castes of Hindu.
Most of the Sunni Muslim Vohra population
migrated to Burma (now Myanmar) where they
flourished as a business community, while many
maintain significant links back to Variav. In many
cases, this included maintenance of houses. It was
a similar story for the Parsi community, almost all
of whom migrated to Mumbai and other parts of
India. Both communities can now be found
scattered throughout the world.
From early times Variavwala were interested in
trade and commerce and travelled to foreign lands,
undertaking long sea voyages. People left Variav in
the early 19th century to settle in Burma, where
they established many businesses and were great
entrepreneurs; a number of them even became
advisors to the Burmese rulers.
Then came the migration to England from the
1950s to the 1970s, a number then left for Canada
particularly during the period from the 1970s to
the 1990s. Similarly for USA, a considerable
number of Variavwala migrated to many other
countries. They are now in UK, USA, Canada,
Burma, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France etc. and
many more.
Despite the fact that Variav is only a small village,
its people have made valuable
contributions in societies around the world.
Variavwala have always been great
philanthropists and have set up many Waqfs or
Religious Foundations to help poor, needy,
disadvantaged and unfortunate members of
society, particularly in Burma and in Variav itself.
The largest population of Variavwala outside India
is in UK, where the community settled in the 1950s
and 1960s.
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