SONPAL FAMILY HISTORY

By Naren Sonpal (AKA Narendra Sonpal)

( some of the early information have been obtained on internet and interviews with people in Hadiyana)

Around the 10th or 11th century a region called Lohar Pradesh consisted of what is today Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and Hindu Kush. Lohar Pradesh was ruled by the Raghukul Dynasty. Lohar Pradesh consisted of 24 provinces and the people were called Lohranas. Today their descendents in India are called Lohanas. They were warriors or Shatriyas. (Loh=Iron, ranas=soldiers)

Lohar Pradesh was located in the northwest region of India. The rulers of India considered them protectors from invaders like the Turks and others who would have to pass through Lohar Pradesh to enter India.

Around the 11th century Veer Jasraj Dada of Lohar Pradesh had invited other leaders to a wedding. The Turks seized the opportunity and invaded Lohar Pradesh. Jasraj Dada died in the battle in Hindu Kush. Following Jasraj Dada’s death Lohar Pradesh began to disintegrate as the invading armies occupied the region and imposed their will on the people. Mass migrations of Lohranas to Indian provinces such as Saurashtra, Kutch, and Punjab began. In Saurashtra and Kutch many Lohranas joined local armies while others went into commerce and trade.

The Sonpal family settled in the northwest region of Saurashtra in a town called Hadiyana. Many Lohanas today still worship Jasraj Dada as their leader. A temple honoring Jasraj Dada is in our house in Hadiyana as well. Our ancestor Devraj Sonpal was his contemporary.

We have a record of our ancestry going to Nanda Sonpal in the 1800s. One of his sons, Govindjee, had two sons. One son Lila Govindjee Sonpal (one’s middle name in our custom is always the father’s first name for men and unmarried women. When the women get married they take the husband’s first name as their middle name) went to Sind and changed the last name to Nandani. The other son Devjee Sonpal settled in Hadiyana. He had two wives and several children living together.

Devjee Sonpal became a successful businessman. The king of Jamnagar (Jambapu) sold him 100 acres of land at a very low price. The land remained in the family’s name until sold in the 1960’s when the Indian government ruled that land belonged to the farmers who had been tilling it. Hadiyana was pretty much settled by the Sonpal family. The family built a school, medical facility and a crematory.

The entire family of Devjee (Vithaldas, Gordhandas, and Girdhardas etc.) lived together as family. Their wool business expanded substantially and they exported wool to England from a port known as Jamkhambhadia. For a time the family was known as Unia, meaning “one dealing in wool” rather than Sonpal. The family’s building is still standing (it is in bad repair) and the photos show glimpses of the prosperity they enjoyed

in those days. It is said that Vithaldas had a mare and he used to travel on her from Hadiyana to Jamkhambhadia while fast asleep.

Girdhardas moved to Jamnagar. Vithaldas Devjee lived in a big building and Gordhandas in a smaller building which is not much more than rubble now, as you can see in the picture.

Once England started buying Australian, higher quality wool, the Indian wool market collapsed and the family got into financial trouble for a short time. Girdhardas and Narsidas went to Bombay looking for jobs. Narsidas died in Bombay and Girdhardas started a cotton business. His shop was in Badamvadi in Kalbadevi Bombay. The business was known as Devjee Govindjee.

In his old age Girdhardas moved to Calcutta with his son, Laxmidas and his nephew, Muljee to expand the business and diversify as the family was getting larger. All the businesses were still under the joint family business. The business again prospered. They had a movie and a cotton business. The movie business was handled mainly by Kisan, but it was not the right line of business, it had a bad influence on kids and was losing money.

My (Narendra’s) grandfather’s brother, Manial, moved to Kenya to work for a Dutch trading company. His children, Indu and Girish, were educated in Kenya and eventually moved to the United States. Manilal’s son, Ashwin, moved to Canada in the 1970s. His son, Kirty, was killed by robbers in Nairobi and his youngest son, Jagdish, moved to the USA in 2003.

Bhagwanjee’s older son Hansraj ran the business in Calcutta and the younger son Harjiwan went to the London School of Economics. By the time he returned and started practicing law in Bombay, the Indian independence movement was gaining momentum At the same time the family business was declining. There were many family members involved and the business lacked direction. Harjiwan left the practice of law and joined the family business. The family was in debt so he took over the Devjee Govindjee firm in partnership with Narbheram. They built up the business and eventually the two partners separated. Harjiwan and his son Ravindra took over Devjee Govindjee firm and Narbheram took over a part of it which he ran as Narbheram Gokaldas (R. Narbheram & co.), at the same location as the original Devjee Govindjee had originally been started in Bombay.

Harjiwan’s other son, Narendra emigrated to the United States. Narbheram’s son Raju joined his father’s business and got into the export of clothing.

Muljee ran a cloth business in Calcutta which his sons Harendra and Ravindra took over and eventually they got out of cotton business and Ravindra started a construction business in Calcutta.

Hansraj and his sons eventually moved to Bombay. His sons Ramesh and Haresh continued their cloth brokerage business and Nalin went into insurance business. Nalin finally moved to USA.