Directory of Konkan Muslims aims to go global in second edition
A decade after Dr AR Undre decided to bring together all Konkan Muslims across the country through a directory, the surgeon on Friday expressed his desire to now accommodate Konkan Muslims all over the globe.
A decade after Dr AR Undre decided to bring together all Konkan Muslims across the country through a directory, the surgeon on Friday expressed his desire to now accommodate Konkan Muslims all over the globe. In 2008, he launched the first Konkan directory that comprised information about Konkani Muslims for four districts in the state.
“We faced a lot of scepticism before the first directory could materialise and it took us ten years to realise our dream. But I am confident that the second volume of the Konkan Directory will be out within a year”, said Undre, who is also the founder of the 30-year-old Royal Education Society. The bilingual directory (in English and Urdu) compiles information of individuals and organisations of the Konkan Muslim community from four Maharashtra districts – Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
According to Dr Undre, chief patron of the project, the primary objective has been to document and preserve the contributions made by Konkani Muslims to different fields of life like science, technology, medicine, shipping, politics, social work, education, literature, art and culture.
The directory also gives an insight into the socio-political history and geographical environment of Konkan including Mumbai. Dr Farooque Rehman, project co-ordinator, said, “After receiving a warm response to our first edition, that had 291 contacts, we are sure that our new volume will carry up to a thousand profiles of Konkani Muslims residing in different parts of the world”. The team claims to have used all forms of media to reach out to members of the Konkani Muslim community.
“We have been sending emails, distributing forms, calling personal contacts, giving advertisements and relying on word-of-mouth to ensure all our Konkan friends share their information with us,” said Rehman.