Jaffer Daya
- Business
- Parents
- Siblings
- Karamali Dahya Walji 1925
The German Colonial Handbook 1903 mentions "Javar Daya & Co." as an Indian trader in Tabora in 1903.
He is also listed in the 1908 German Colonial Handbook as a distributor in Tabora in 1908
German Colonial Manual Supplement 1903
German Colonial Handbook 1908
German Colonial Handbook, page 1 1908
Indian Traders in Tabaora 1908
Dahya 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.
Established 1923
Contributed By: Zamir K. Punja, PhD
