Date: 24/02/2025
Dear All,
Bismillahi Rahmani Raheeem,
Aims and objectives of the work force group
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for the trust you have placed in Sammer Bau, Allarakha
Sodha, and myself (Issak Bhojani) following our meetng on 21st February 2025. Out of the 25
members invited, 13 attended, and these individuals were selected based on their historical actve
involvement within the Jamaat.
During the meeting, it became evident that more questions were raised than were answered.
Consequently, a task force has been established to address these questions, assess the current
situation, and propose viable solutions for moving forward.
We regret that the invitation to this meeting was not extended to the entire Cutchi Community;
however, please be assured that we are in the process of compiling a comprehensive list of all
members of the Cutchi Community Centre. We will actively encourage enrolment from those
members who have chosen not to join the centre thus far. Additionally, we will include both current
and new members in a newly formed WhatsApp group to keep everyone informed of our progress as
we advance.
Our primary objective is to lay a strong foundation that ensures the long-term sustainability of our
community while fulfilling the goals outlined in our constitution. We intend to achieve this by
leveraging our strengths, addressing weaknesses, mitigating potential risks, and seizing available
opportunities.
As discussed in the meeting, the key priorities moving forward are as follows:
- To conduct a thorough review of the current occupancy situation with the tenant, specifically
regarding the absence of a formal tenancy agreement. - To account for all income generated through this tenancy and other sources over the years.
- To engage qualified professionals to manage the legal and financial aspects of the
community organisation. - To ensure that the community building is adequately insured.
We emphasize the importance of receiving feedback throughout this process and encourage a
collaborative approach. We invite as many perspectives as possible from the members of the Cutchi
Community Centre as we move forward with our initiative
28.02.2025
Dear All , Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem
A very important question has been raised: Why were members not invited, but non-
members were?
To answer this question, I will provide some background information to help put my
response into some context.
Since the Community’s establishment in 1972, numerous efforts have been made to list the
membership. Several criteria were set for allowing membership, primarily being of Cutchi
background and the payment of membership fees. Over the years, various attempts have
been made to encourage membership, but some individuals, understandably, have remained
dissatisfied and have chosen not to join. However, among these individuals who have chosen
not to join, some have maintained a connection to the community and taken an interest in
its affairs and while others are not interested in joining the community at all.
Currently, we do not have a comprehensive list of members or their current details. Due to
the escalating challenges faced by the community and the urgency to address these issues,
invitations for the meeting in question were sent to certain individuals whom we believed
have strong connections with the community and are long-serving members. I must admit,
there was no random selection of participants for the meeting, and I understand that some
individuals attended without any invitation.
The main aim of the meeting was to begin the process of getting our community better
organized, discuss the current urgent needs of the community. It was not the remit of the
meeting to make major decisions for the entire community as that would not have been
democratic. For the sake of transparency, the main issues highlighted at the meeting have
been circulated in my previous WhatsApp message entitled “Introductory Letter to Jamaat,”
and the full minutes have been documented and can be made available on request once
they are approved at our next meeting.
Our goal is to create an official list of members by enrolling those who meet the criteria for
membership. We are in the process of reviewing what these criteria should be, and once
finalized, we will invite all eligible members to renew their membership and encourage
eligible non-members to join. Any future invitations to such meetings will be extended
exclusively to all members.
Jazakallah
Thank you for your comment. I don’t think you should sound awkward at all—on the contrary,
you’ve raised a very valid point, one that I’m sure is on the minds of others as well. I enjoy when
things are a bit challenging.
You’re absolutely right that some matters should be handled by the elected representatives
further down the line. However, to get to that point, there are some prerequisite steps we need
to take.
In order to hold an election, we need registered members who are willing to show up and vote.
From what I understand, while there is a list of current members “somewhere,” I do not have an
up-to-date, valid list. As far as I know, the last collection of member fees was done in 2016, so
we don’t have a list of paid-up members. This raises the question: who should we call upon to
vote in the general election?
If we follow our constitution, it would allow individuals like Gujrati, Kathiawadi, Karwadi, and
Sunni Muslims residing in the UK to join!!! The last thing we want is to be overwhelmed by
outsiders and lose all control. FurtenIn the absence of a recognized Cutchi committee, the
task force took the liberty to gather feedback from people of Cutchi heritage to answer the
question: who should we invite to join the community? The intent was to move to the next step
of inviting these individuals to register as Cutchi community members, which would allow
them to stand for election or vote.
Furthermore, the morale among the so-called members and non-members of Cutchi origin is
low, largely due to perceived mismanagement and a lack of trust and misinfromation. To
address this, the task force incorporated a second debate motion: what do members expect
from being part of the community? These expectations have been summarized in a members’
charter. As you can see, we have been careful not to put a price on membership and have left
that for the new committee to address. OƯ course, these are not set in stone and will need to
be addressed and if appropriate, embedded in the constitution when the new committee is
formed. The intention from the task force was to reassure the members, signaling a cultural
shift within the Cutchi community. Hopefully, this will convince those sitting on the fence to
join, stand for oƯice, and/or vote to choose oƯice bearers.
As members of the task force, it would give us enormous pleasure to see membership
registration growing rapidly and a large number of candidates fighting for election. To address
your concern about potential bias, I can assure you that none of the task group members have
any desire to stand for key committee positions, and I can explain to any prospective
candidates that we do not wish to influence the election in any way. Even if we are thinking of
standing for any position, I would it twice before I do in the current climate. I can assure you
that, as you’ve seen, the task force is driving this change as quickly as we can, and the sooner
the task force can wrap up its objectives, the sooner the group can cease to exist.
JZK