Eklera

Eklera Eklera
village

Eklera is a small Muslim farming village located in the district of Surat, Gujarat, India. It is about 15 km from the Arabian Sea coast and less than 4 km from Surat City Municipal Boundary. Its nearest railhead is Bhestan, Surat City about 5 km distance from the village. The adjoining smaller village of Bhanodra is a continuation of Eklera and hence counted within it. Eklera has a population of about 1200 people, the vast majority being Sunni Surti Vohra and a small number of Tribal Hindus. Most of the families are engaged in agriculture.

Approximately a quarter of the population is settled abroad including in the UK (mainly in London and Yorkshire), Botswana, Panama, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand. The Muslim population has many families, the more prominent being the Patels specifically those residing in the Dabi Mollah Street of the village. Sharing a common relative and tracing their roots to the village of Baleshwar (Surat District) these early pioneers are said to have settled in the village in the late 1800s and established it. The Patels have traditionally dominated the villages politics as well as owning the vast majority of land and were among the first to settle abroad. The family is very large and today the majority members of the Patel family are settled in London, UK and are now in their Second Generation and third generation. Other Muslim families include Bhana Patel, Rawat, Kola, Vesamiya, Boda, Hafejee, Mutvalli, Aswat, Joita, Hafez, Natali, Rangooni and others. Some families have their own history of migration from other villages prior to settling in Eklera.

Some of the largely Vohra Muslim populace, especially those of the local Patel are known have originally belonged to the Brahmin caste of Hindus (see also Sidhra-Rudhra Brahmins) and land owners before adopting Islam sometime during the rule of Zafar Shah and the Muzaffarid dynasty 1391-1583AD. During British rule Eklera was part of the Nawab of Sachins domains.

The Bollywood writer Abbas Dadhiwala's family tree can be traced back to this village. Many former residents of the village have made their name as lawyers, teachers, doctors and businessmen in the countries to which they have migrated.

Eklera (incorporating Bhanodra) has two mosques, two schools, a water-works, a mill and a dairy. There are also some small shops supplying essentials to the villagers and also to the passing trade. In 2007 both Eklera and Bhanodra embarked on a major mosque construction project including a four-storey madrassah (Islamic supplementary school) which will also include a pharmacy and a multi-functional hall. The finances for the project were raised mostly from non-resident Indians.

In more recent times much development has been seen both in the village itself and in the immediate vicinity with the rise of new houses with modern facilities, construction of roads and other infrastructure, townships and residences on land previously belonging to the village largely due to its proximity with Surat City. Growth has been further fueled by the conversion of agricultural land belonging to the village to the residential zone category.

There are three major roads connecting the village with nearby Unn, Sachin and Bhestan. The relative prosperity of the village has also increased substantially within recent times due to the high land prices in the village and because of the return of many former NRI's (Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin) and thus their contributions to the village's welfare. The NRIs play a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the two villages. Regular remittances to families and the wider community enables the village 'panchayat' to carry out improvements in infrastructure. Both villages have set up special funds providing vital assistance to poor villagers, regardless of their background, who can not afford to pay for their medical care.

It is also widely expected that the next major expansion of Surat City will incorporate Eklera within its boundaries thus facilitating further development.