Dahya Punja Library
Dahya Punja Library, built Dar es Salaam in 1928, is considered to be the families cultural link and educational empowerment for the immigrants from Gujarat, when they first arrived to Dar es Salaam.
It was the first Indian Gujarati Library in Africa and served a key role as a cornerstone of its roots for the Gujarati community. It became a centre where readers and intellectuals spent time contemplating their plans to establish themselves in Tanzania.
Dahya Punja, an Khoja Ismaili emigrated to this region from Gujarat in the mid-1800 (exact date is unknown). He was between the ages of 9-12 years when his family told him to move to Dar es Salaam. He accidentally landed in Zanzibar where he spent most of his early life until he reached in his twenties, when he went back to British Indiato get married. He and his bride came to Dar es Salaam where he bought a huge farm, much of what is now Upanga. The family eventually lost the farm after successive deaths of young Jaffer Daya and lack of support from the community at large.
Daya Punja was an avid reader with a large collection of books, mostly in Gujarati and on a broad range of subjects.
Upon his passing, his son Jaffer Daya, bought the land and erected Dahya Punja Library in 1928 to honour his father and give back to the community. Daya Punja’s books were donated to this library by Jaffer Dahya to provide the community at large with access to knowledge and information. My understanding is that the books were signed in and out using an honour system and may have changed to a fee structure but that is unknown. Most of the books were eventually signed out and never signed back in and eventually robbed the library of its treasures. There is a gap in my knowledge of this place after it stopped functioning as a library and the trustees and their role.
A further tid-bit of information regarding the library also comes from Mumtaz Ali Tajddin Sadik Ali who notes that on July 16, 1927, a function was organized by Alidina Datoo Patel at the Dahya Punja Indian Library attended by President of Council, Kanji Nanji and other notable individuals. The opening remarks were made by the head of the Ismailia School (Dhanani) who spoke about services of various Ismailis of the past and concluded with few words for Khuda Baksh Talib. Other speakers included Major Murji and Mukhi Akbar Ali Ratansi Kanji.
Contributed By: Zamir K. Punja, PhD
Established 1923
