Bantva

Bantva, or Bantwa, is a small town in Saurashtra region of the state of Gujarat in India.

Geography
Bantva is located at an altitude of 20 meters. Nearby towns are Nanadiya, Limbuda, Nakara Manavadar, Vanthali, Junagadh, Keshod, Visavadar, Kutiyana, Dhoraji, Porbandar and Rajkot. The town is roughly 10 kilometers from the Arabian Sea.



History
Before the Independence of India in 1947, Bantva was part of the princely state of Bantva Manavadar in Kathiawar, founded in 1760 and locally ruled until February 1948 by Khan Himmat Khan, son of Khan Amir Khan, of the Muslim Babi family of Junagadh State. In 1947 it followed the neighboring and more powerful Princely state of Junagadh into union with Pakistan, but that decision was quickly reversed by Indian occupation and subsequent plebiscite. It is a decision Pakistan has never accepted.

Demographics
Before 1947, the population of Bantva was approximately 20,000; 80% of its population was lower caste Memon. As of the 2001 India census, Bantva had a population of 15,216. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bantva has an average illiteracy rate of 40%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Places of interest
Places of interest in Bantva are:
 * 1) Bantwa Gymkhana
 * 2) Barwali Masjid
 * 3) Jamia Masjid
 * 4) Madrassa E Islamia
 * 5) Mazaar Of Bukhari Sharif
 * 6) Yateem Khana Islamia

Notable locals of Bantva

 * Arif Habib - Pakistani business magnate and stock market trader who is the founder of the Arif Habib Group
 * Abdul Sattar Edhi - Humanitarian, Social Worker and founder of Edhi Foundation, which has the largest private ambulance service network in the world. Born in a Memon family, which, during partition, migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi.
 * Bilquis Edhi - Wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi
 * Ahmad Adaya - founder of IDS Real Estate Group, one of the California's largest real estate companies.
 * Ahmed Dawood - Pakistani pioneer merchant, industrialist, philanthropist and founder of the Dawood Group.
 * Inder Bhojwani - Indian poet of Sindhi language.
 * Shrikant Shah - Indian novelist and short story writer.
 * Rajendra Shukla - Indian poet
 * Mustafa Hanif Balagamwala - Served as Honorary Secretary General of Memon Professional Forum for the Term 2015–2017. He is now Vice President of Memon Professional Forum.
 * Ashfaq Yousuf Tola- Tax Consultant

Sources and external links

 * My Memories of Bantva By: Abdur Razzaq Thaplawala
 * Batva Recollection (Excerpts from "A Ramble Through Life" by Mr. Kassim Dada)
 * Memon Po!nt by Abdul Ghaffar Variend, Chicago, IL USA
 * World Memon Organization of North America, Chicago, IL USA
 * Manavadar-Bantva Princely State