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Notes From Worldwide
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Lohanas
Today
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The Lohanas
are said to be the descendants of Lord
Rama. Lava, Lord Rama's son is called
Lohanas' progenitor. One of the eighteen lines of Kshatriyas was called
Lavan. 'Lavan' and 'Lohana' are said to be the corrupted forms of the word
'Lavan'. The Lohana have 84 different surnames.
History says that Lohanas are not of Gujarati origin. They have migrated to Gujarat from some other places and have become Gujarati as some other communities have done.
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They are
stout Lohanas, in the current century, have settled not only in different parts of India but also in far away corners of the world.
The two large industrial complexes in Uganda-the Madhavani and the
Mehta's are those of Lohanas.
Persecution by the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin compelled the
Madhvanis and the Mehtas to leave Uganda and settle in England.
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Besides
setting up the Lohana schools, hostels and caravansaries in
Gujarat, Lohanas have donated large sums to establish useful
public institutions-the most famous of them being the Gujarati
Samaj at Haridwar. Lohanas prefer to identify themselves with
the places they hail from like the Kutchchhis, the Halaris, the
Ghogharis or the Nagarthathhas.
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The Religious life of Gujarat
has been greatly enriched by many Lohana saints, the most
outstanding of them being Jalaram Bapa and Swami Swami
Jnanjivandasji- 'Yogiji Maharaj' of the Swaminarayana sect.
Practically every Lohana house is found with a photograph or
an idol of Jalaram Bapa- a symbol of Lohana's great devotion
to this noble saint. Inspired by reading of Shri Yogiji
Maharaj, many Lohana families have embraced the Swaminarayana
sect.
The followers of this sect believe that Shri Sahajanand
Swami; the founder of the Swaminarayan sect was an incarnation
of Lord Krishna. The names of Shri Bhikshu Akhandanand, the
founder of 'Sastu Sahityavardhak Karyalaya' and Shri
Thakkarbapa, known for his great services to the tribal of
Gujarat are two well known.
Late Shri Nanji Kalidas Mehta, another great personality, set up many social service institutions at
Porbandar. His son Shekhar Mehta was first Gujarati to become a champion in the 'Speed Car' racing. Uttam Chandarana in table tennis; Maganbhai Radia in water-sports; Mohanlal Chandarana in cricket and Kishore Lotwala in badminton are a few leading Lohana names.
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Shri Vaju Kotak - The founder editor of a famous Gujarati weekly
'Chitralekha', Ramu Thakkar, Gokuldas Raichura, Karsandas Manek, Pandit Visanji Thakkur have made their mark in the fields of literature and journalism.
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