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Gujarat

Gujarat (/ˌɡʊəˈrɑːt/ GUUJ-ə-RAHT, Gujarati: [ˈɡudʒəɾat̪] ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about 1,600 km (990 mi) is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some 196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi); and the ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad.[13] The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language, Gujarati, is the state's official language.

Gujarat
Etymology: Land of Gurjars
Nickname: 
"Jewel of Western India"
Motto
Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs)
Anthem: Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat ("Victory to Proud Gujarat")[1]
Location of Gujarat in India
Coordinates: 23°13′12″N 72°39′18″E / 23.220°N 72.655°E / 23.220; 72.655
Country India
RegionWest India
Before wasBombay State
Formation
(by bifurcation)
1 May 1960
CapitalGandhinagar
Largest cityAhmedabad
Largest metroAhmedabad
Districts33
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Gujarat
 • GovernorAcharya Devvrat
 • Chief ministerBhupendrabhai Patel (BJP)
State LegislatureUnicameral
 • AssemblyGujarat Legislative Assembly (182 seats)
National ParliamentParliament of India
 • Rajya Sabha11 seats
 • Lok Sabha26 seats
High CourtGujarat High Court
Area
 • Total196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi)
 • Rank5th
Dimensions
 • Length590 km (370 mi)
 • Width500 km (300 mi)
Elevation
137 m (449 ft)
Highest elevation1,145 m (3,757 ft)
Lowest elevation−1 m (−3 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total 60,439,692
 • Rank9th
 • Density308/km2 (800/sq mi)
 • Urban
42.6%
 • Rural
57.4%
DemonymGujarati[3]
Language
 • OfficialGujarati, Hindi[4][5]
 • Official scriptGujarati script, Devanagari script
GDP
 • Total (2020-2021)16.55 trillion (US$210 billion)
 • Rank4th
 • Per capita213,936 (US$2,700) (11th)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-GJ
Vehicle registrationGJ
HDI (2019) 0.672 Medium[7] (23rd)
Literacy (2011) 78.03%[8] (17th)
Sex ratio (2011)919/1000 [9] (16th)
Websitegujaratindia.gov.in
Symbols of Gujarat
SongJai Jai Garavi Gujarat ("Victory to Proud Gujarat")[1]
Foundation dayGujarat Day
BirdGreater flamingo
FishBlackspotted croaker[11]
FlowerMarigold[10]
FruitMango[12]
MammalAsiatic lion[10]
TreeBanyan[10]
State highway mark
State highway of Gujarat
GJ SH1 - GJ SH173
List of Indian state symbols
^† The state of Bombay was divided into two states i.e. Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Bombay (Reorganisation) Act 1960.

The state encompasses 23 sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation (more than any other state). The most important sites are Lothal (the world's first dry dock), Dholavira (the fifth largest site), and Gola Dhoro (where 5 uncommon seals were found). Lothal is believed to have been one of the world's first seaports.[14] Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat,[15] served as ports and trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires and during the succession of royal Saka dynasties in the Western Satraps era.[16][17] Along with Bihar, Mizoram and Nagaland, Gujarat is one of four Indian states to prohibit the sale of alcohol.[18] The Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is home to the only wild population of the Asiatic lion in the world.[19]

The economy of Gujarat is the fourth-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of 16.55 trillion (equivalent to 19 trillion or US$230 billion in 2023) and has the country's 10th-highest GSDP per capita of 215,000 (US$2,700).[6] Gujarat has the highest exports of all states, accounting for around one-third of national exports.[20] It ranks 21st among Indian states and union territories in human development index.[21] Gujarat is regarded as one of the most industrialised states and has a low unemployment rate,[22] but the state ranks poorly on some social indicators and is at times affected by religious violence.[23]

Etymology

Gujarat is derived from the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, who ruled Gujarat in the 8th and 9th centuries CE.[24][25][26][27] Parts of modern Rajasthan and Gujarat have been known as Gurjarat or Gurjarabhumi for centuries before the Mughal period.[28]

History

Ancient history

Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley civilisation, which is centred primarily in modern Pakistan.[29] It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley such as Lothal, Dholavira and Gola Dhoro.[30] The ancient city of Lothal was where India's first port was established.[14] The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation. The most recent discovery was Gola Dhoro. Altogether, about fifty Indus Valley settlement ruins have been discovered in Gujarat.[31]

 
Dholavira, one of the largest cities of Indus Valley civilisation, with stepwell steps to reach the water level in artificially constructed reservoirs[32]
 
Archaeological remains of washroom drainage system at Lothal

The ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by the commercial activities of its inhabitants. There is clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with Egypt, Bahrain and Sumer in the Persian Gulf during the time period of 1000 to 750 BCE.[31][33] There was a succession of various Indian empires such as the Mauryan dynasty, Western Satraps, Satavahana dynasty, Gupta Empire, Chalukya dynasty, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire and Gurjara-Pratihara Empire, as well as the Maitrakas and then the Chaulukyas.

The early history of Gujarat includes the imperial grandeur of Chandragupta Maurya who conquered a number of earlier states in what is now Gujarat. Pushyagupta, a Vaishya, was appointed the governor of Saurashtra by the Mauryan regime. He ruled Girinagar (modern-day Junagadh) (322 BCE to 294 BCE) and built a dam on the Sudarshan lake. Emperor Ashoka the Great, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, not only ordered his edicts engraved in the rock at Junagadh, but also asked Governor Tusherpha to cut canals from the lake where an earlier Indian governor had built a dam. Between the decline of Mauryan power and Saurashtra coming under the sway of the Samprati Mauryas of Ujjain, there was an Indo-Greek defeat in Gujarat of Demetrius. In 16th century manuscripts, there is an apocryphal story of a merchant of King Gondophares landing in Gujarat with Apostle Thomas. The incident of the cup-bearer torn apart by a lion might indicate that the port city described is in Gujarat.[34][35]

For nearly 300 years from the start of the 1st century CE, Saka rulers played a prominent part in Gujarat's history. The weather-beaten rock at Junagadh gives a glimpse of the ruler Rudradaman I (100 CE) of the Saka satraps known as Western Satraps, or Kshatraps. Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I founded the Kardamaka dynasty which ruled from Anupa on the banks of the Narmada up to the Aparanta region bordering Punjab. In Gujarat, several battles were fought between the Indian dynasties such as the Satavahana dynasty and the Western Satraps. The greatest and the mightiest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Western Satraps and conquered some parts of Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.[36]

 
Coin of the Gujuras of Sindh, Chavda dynasty, c. 570–712 CE. Crowned Sasanian-style bust right / Fire altar with ribbons and attendants; star and crescent flanking flames.[37]

The Kshatrapa dynasty was replaced by the Gupta Empire with the conquest of Gujarat by Chandragupta Vikramaditya. Vikramaditya's successor Skandagupta left an inscription (450 CE) on a rock at Junagadh which gives details of the governor's repairs to the embankment surrounding Sudarshan lake after it was damaged by floods. The Anarta and Saurashtra regions were both parts of the Gupta empire. Towards the middle of the 5th century, the Gupta empire went into decline. Senapati Bhatarka, the general of the Guptas, took advantage of the situation and in 470 set up what came to be known as the Maitraka state. He shifted his capital from Giringer to Valabhi, near Bhavnagar, on Saurashtra's east coast. The Maitrakas of Vallabhi became very powerful with their rule prevailing over large parts of Gujarat and adjoining Malwa. A university was set up by the Maitrakas, which came to be known far and wide for its scholastic pursuits and was compared with the noted Nalanda University. It was during the rule of Dhruvasena Maitrak that Chinese philosopher-traveler Xuanzang/ I Tsing visited in 640 along the Silk Road.[38]

Gujarat was known to the ancient Greeks and was familiar with other Western centers of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages. The oldest written record of Gujarat's 2,000-year maritime history is documented in a Greek book titled The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century.[39][40]

Medieval history

In the early 8th century, the Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate established an empire in the name of the rising religion of Islam, which stretched from Spain in the west to Afghanistan and modern-day Pakistan in the east. Al-Junaid, the successor of Qasim, finally subdued the Hindu resistance within Sindh and established a secure base. The Arab rulers tried to expand their empire southeast, which culminated in the Caliphate campaigns in India fought in 730; they were defeated and expelled west of the Indus river, probably by a coalition of the Indian rulers Nagabhata I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty and Bappa Rawal of the Guhila dynasty. After this victory, the Arab invaders were driven out of Gujarat. General Pulakeshin, a Chalukya prince of Lata, received the title Avanijanashraya (refuge of the people of the earth) and honorific of "Repeller of the unrepellable" by the Chalukya emperor Vikramaditya II for his victory at the battle at Navsari, where the Arab troops suffered a crushing defeat.[41]

In the late 8th century, the Kannauj Triangle period started. The three major Indian dynasties – the northwestern Indian Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, the southern Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty and the eastern Indian Pala Empire – dominated India from the 8th to 10th centuries. During this period the northern part of Gujarat was ruled by the northern Indian Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty and the southern part of Gujarat was ruled by the southern Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty.[42] However, the earliest epigraphical records of the Gurjars of Broach attest that the royal bloodline of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of Dadda I, II and III (650–750) ruled south Gujarat.[43] Southern Gujarat was ruled by the Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Indian ruler Tailapa II of the Western Chalukya Empire.[44]

Zoroastrians from Greater Iran migrated to the western borders of India (Gujarat and Sindh) during the 8th or 10th century,[45] to avoid persecution by Muslim invaders who were in the process of conquering Iran. The descendants of those Zoroastrian refugees came to be known as the Parsi.[46][47][48][49]

Subsequently, Lāṭa in southern Gujarat was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Western Chalukya ruler Tailapa II.[44][50]

The Chaulukya dynasty[51] ruled Gujarat from c. 960 to 1243. Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade, and their capital at Anhilwara (Patan) was one of the largest cities in India, with a population estimated at 100,000 in the year 1000. After 1243, the Solankis lost control of Gujarat to their feudatories, of whom the Vaghela chiefs of Dholka came to dominate Gujarat. In 1292 the Vaghelas became tributaries of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri in the Deccan. Karandev of the Vaghela dynasty was the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat. He was defeated and overthrown by the superior forces of Alauddin Khalji from Delhi in 1297. With his defeat, Gujarat became part of the Delhi Sultanate, and the Rajput hold over Gujarat would never be restored.

Fragments of printed cotton from Gujarat have been discovered in Egypt, providing evidence for medieval trade in the western Indian Ocean.[52] These fragments represent the Indian cotton traded in Egypt during the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, from the tenth to sixteenth centuries. Similar cotton was also traded as far east as Indonesia.[52]

 
Sun Temple of Modhera, with stepwell surrounding the kunda (tank), was built by Bhima I of Chaulukya dynasty in 1026. It is one of the finest examples of stepwell architecture of Gujarat.
 
Rani ki vav, 11th century
 
Taranga Jain temple constructed by Kumarapala (1143–1172)

Muslim rule

 
Muhammad ibn Qasim's conquest of Sindh (711–715 CE).
  Desert areas (Registan Desert and Thar Desert)
  Kingdom of Sindh (c. 632–712 CE)
  Maitraka Kingdom (c. 475 – c. 776 CE)

Islamic conquests, 1197–1614

 
The Mughal Emperor Akbar triumphantly enters Surat.

After the Ghoris had assumed a position of Muslim supremacy over North India, Qutbuddin Aibak attempted to conquer Gujarat and annex it to his empire in 1197, but failed in his ambitions.[53] An independent Muslim community continued to flourish in Gujarat for the next hundred years, championed by Arab merchants settling along the western coast. From 1297 to 1300, Alauddin Khalji, the Turko-Afghan Sultan of Delhi, destroyed the Hindu metropolis of Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate. After Timur sacked Delhi at the end of the 14th century, weakening the Sultanate, Gujarat's Muslim Khatri governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar (Muzaffar Shah I) asserted his independence, and his son, Sultan Ahmed Shah (ruled 1411–1442), established Ahmedabad as the capital. Khambhat eclipsed Bharuch as Gujarat's most important trade port. Gujarat's relations with Egypt, which was then the premier Arab power in the Middle East, remained friendly over the next century and the Egyptian scholar, Badruddin-ad-Damamimi, spent several years in Gujarat in the shade of the Sultan before proceeding to the Bahmani Sultanate on the Deccan Plateau.[54][55]

Shah e Alam, a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti order who was the descendant of Makhdoom Jahaniyan Jahangasht from Bukhara, soon arrived in a group that included Arab theologian Ibn Suwaid, several Sayyid Sufi members of the Aydarus family of Tarim in Yemen,[56] Iberian court interpreter Ali al-Andalusi from Granada,[57] and the Arab jurist Bahraq from Hadramaut who was appointed a tutor of the prince.[58] Among the illustrious names who arrived during the reign of Mahmud Begada was the philosopher Haibatullah Shah Mir from Shiraz, and the scholar intellectual Abu Fazl Ghazaruni from Persia[59][60] who tutored and adopted Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, author of the Akbarnama.[61] Later, a close alliance between the Ottoman Turks and Gujarati sultans to effectively safeguard Jeddah and the Red Sea trade from Portuguese imperialism, encouraged the existence of powerful Rumi elites within the kingdom who took the post of viziers in Gujarat keen to maintain ties with the Ottoman state.[62][63][64][65][66]

Humayun also briefly occupied the province in 1536, but fled due to the threat Bahadur Shah, the Gujarat king, imposed.[67] The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1572, when the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire.[68]

The Surat port (the only Indian port facing west) then became the principal port of India during Mughal rule, gaining widespread international repute. The city of Surat, famous for its exports of silk and diamonds, had reached a par with contemporary Venice and Beijing, great mercantile cities of Europe and Asia,[69] and earned the distinguished title, Bab al-Makkah (Gate of Mecca).[16][17]

Drawn by the religious renaissance taking place under Akbar, Mohammed Ghaus moved to Gujarat and established spiritual centers for the Shattari Sufi order from Iran, founding the Ek Toda Mosque and producing such devotees as Wajihuddin Alvi of Ahmedabad whose many successors moved to Bijapur during the height of the Adil Shahi dynasty.[70] At the same time, Zoroastrian high priest Azar Kayvan who was a native of Fars, immigrated to Gujarat founding the Zoroastrian school of illuminationists which attracted key Shi'ite Muslim admirers of the Safavid philosophical revival from Isfahan.

Early 14th-century Maghrebi adventurer, Ibn Batuta, who famously visited India with his entourage, recalls in his memoirs about Cambay, one of the great emporia of the Indian Ocean that indeed:

Cambay is one of the most beautiful cities as regards the artistic architecture of its houses and the construction of its mosques. The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants, who continually build their beautiful houses and wonderful mosques – an achievement in which they endeavor to surpass each other.

 
16th-century Portuguese illustration from the Códice Casanatense, depicting inhabitants of Gujarat

Many of these "foreign merchants" were transient visitors, men of South Arabian and Persian Gulf ports, who migrated in and out of Cambay with the rhythm of the monsoons. But others were men with Arab or Persian patronyms whose families had settled in the town generations, even centuries earlier, intermarrying with Gujarati women, and assimilating everyday customs of the Hindu hinterland.[71]

The Age of Discovery heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long-distance travel in search of alternative trade routes to "the East Indies", moved by the trade of gold, silver and spices. In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama is said to have discovered the Europe-to-India sea route which changed the course of history, thanks to Kutchi sailor Kanji Malam, who showed him the route from the East African coasts of Mozambique sailing onwards to Calicut off the Malabar coast in India.[72][73][74] Later, the Gujarat Sultanate allied with the Ottomans and Egyptian Mamluks naval fleets led by governor-generals Malik Ayyaz and Amir Husain Al-Kurdi, vanquished the Portuguese in the 1508 Battle of Chaul resulting in the first Portuguese defeat at sea in the Indian Ocean.[75]

To 16th-century European observers, Gujarat was a fabulously wealthy country. The customs revenue of Gujarat alone in the early 1570s was nearly three times the total revenue of the whole Portuguese empire in Asia in 1586–87, when it was at its height.[76] Indeed, when the British arrived on the coast of Gujarat, houses in Surat already had windows of Venetian glass imported from Constantinople through the Ottoman empire.[77] In 1514, the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa described the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Rander known otherwise as City of Mosques in Surat province, which gained the fame and reputation of illustrious Islamic scholars, Sufi-saints, merchants and intellectuals from all over the world:[78]

Ranel (Rander) is a good town of the Moors, built of very pretty houses and squares. It is a rich and agreeable place ... the Moors of the town trade with Malacca, Bengal, Tawasery (Tannasserim), Pegu, Martaban, and Sumatra in all sort of spices, drugs, silks, musk, benzoin and porcelain. They possess very large and fine ships and those who wish Chinese articles will find them there very completely. The Moors of this place are white and well dressed and very rich they have pretty wives, and in the furniture of these houses have china vases of many kinds, kept in glass cupboards well arranged. Their women are not secluded like other Moors, but go about the city in the day time, attending to their business with their faces uncovered as in other parts.

The conquest of the Kingdom of Gujarat marked a significant event of Akbar's reign. Being the major trade gateway and departure harbour of pilgrim ships to Mecca, it gave the Mughal Empire free access to the Arabian sea and control over the rich commerce that passed through its ports. The territory and income of the empire were vastly increased.[79]

The Sultanate of Gujarat and the merchants

 
A modern Zoroastrian Agiary in Western India

For the best part of two centuries, the independent Khatri Sultanate of Gujarat was the cynosure of its neighbours on account of its wealth and prosperity, which had long made the Gujarati merchant a familiar figure in the ports of the Indian Ocean.[54][80] Gujaratis, including Hindus and Muslims as well as the enterprising Parsi class of Zoroastrians, had been specialising in the organisation of overseas trade for many centuries, and had moved into various branches of commerce such as commodity trade, brokerage, money-changing, money-lending and banking.[81]

By the 17th century, Chavuse and Baghdadi Jews had assimilated into the social world of the Surat province, later on their descendants would give rise to the Sassoons of Bombay and the Ezras of Calcutta, and other influential Indian-Jewish figures who went on to play a philanthropical role in the commercial development of 19th-century British Crown Colony of Shanghai.[82] Spearheaded by Khoja, Bohra, Bhatiya shahbandars and Moorish nakhudas who dominated sea navigation and shipping, Gujarat's transactions with the outside world had created the legacy of an international transoceanic empire which had a vast commercial network of permanent agents stationed at all the great port cities across the Indian Ocean. These networks extended to the Philippines in the east, East Africa in the west, and via maritime and the inland caravan route to Russia in the north.[83]

Tomé Pires, a Portuguese official at Malacca, wrote of conditions during the reigns of Mahmud I and Mozaffar II:

"Cambay stretches out two arms; with her right arm she reaches toward Aden and with the other towards Malacca"[84]

He also described Gujarat's active trade with Goa, the Deccan Plateau and the Malabar. His contemporary, Duarte Barbosa, describing Gujarat's maritime trade, recorded the import of horses from the Middle East and elephants from Malabar, and lists exports which included muslins, chintzes and silks, carnelian, ginger and other spices, aromatics, opium, indigo and other substances for dyeing, cereals and legumes.[85] Persia was the destination for many of these commodities, and they were partly paid for in horses and pearls taken from Hormuz.[86] The latter item, in particular, led Sultan Sikandar Lodi of Delhi, according to Ali-Muhammad Khan, author of the Mirat-i-Ahmadi, to complain that the

support of the throne of Delhi is wheat and barley but the foundation of the realm of Gujarat is coral and pearls[87]

Hence, the sultans of Gujarat possessed ample means to sustain lavish patronage of religion and the arts, to build madrasas and ḵānaqāhs, and to provide douceurs for the literati, mainly poets and historians, whose presence and praise enhanced the fame of the dynasty.[88]

 
Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad

Even at the time of Tomé Pires' travel to the East Indies in the early 16th century, Gujarati merchants had earned an international reputation for their commercial acumen and this encouraged the visit of merchants from Cairo, Armenia, Abyssinia, Khorasan, Shiraz, Turkestan and Guilans from Aden and Hormuz.[89] Pires noted in his Suma Orientale:[90]

These [people] are [like] Italians in their knowledge of and dealings in merchandise ... they are men who understand merchandise; they are so properly steeped in the sound and harmony of it, that the Gujaratees say that any offence connected with merchandise is pardonable. There are Gujaratees settled everywhere. They work some for some and others for others. They are diligent, quick men in trade. They do their accounts with fingers like ours and with our very writings.

Gujarat in the Mughal Empire

 
Portrait of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb

Gujarat was one of the twelve original subahs (imperial top-level provinces) established by Mughal Emperor (Badshah) Akbar, with seat at Ahmedabad, bordering on Thatta (Sindh), Ajmer, Malwa and later Ahmadnagar subahs.

Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor, was born in Dahod, Gujarat. He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.[91] At the time of his birth, his father, Shah Jahan, was then the Subahdar (governor) of Gujarat, and his grandfather, Jehangir, was the Mughal Emperor. Before he became emperor, Aurangzeb was made Subahdar of Gujarat subah as part of his training and was stationed at Ahmedabad.[citation needed]

Aurangzeb had great love for his place of birth. In 1704, he wrote a letter to his eldest son, Muhammad Azam Shah, asking him to be kind and considerate to the people of Dahod as it was his birthplace. Muhammad Azam was then the Subedar (governor) of Gujarat.[92]

In his letter, Aurangzeb wrote:[92]

My son of exalted rank, the town of Dahod, one of the dependencies of Gujarat, is the birthplace of this sinner. Please consider a regard for the inhabitants of that town as incumbent on you.

Maratha Empire

When the cracks had started to develop in the edifice of the Mughal Empire in the mid-17th century, the Marathas were consolidating their power in the west, Chatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler, attacked Surat in southern Gujarat twice first in 1664 and again in 1672.[93] These attacks marked the entry of the Marathas into Gujarat. However, before the Maratha had made inroads into Gujarat, the Europeans had made their presence felt, led by the Portuguese, and followed by the Dutch and the English.

The Peshwas had established sovereignty over parts of Gujarat and collected taxes and tributes through their representatives. Damaji Rao Gaekwad and Kadam Bande divided the Peshwa territory between them,[94] with Damaji establishing the sway of Gaekwad over Gujarat and making Baroda (present day Vadodara in southern Gujarat) his capital. The ensuing internecine war among the Marathas was fully exploited by the British, who interfered in the affairs of both Gaekwads and the Peshwas.

In Saurashtra, as elsewhere, the Marathas were met with resistance.[95] The decline of the Mughal Empire helped form larger peripheral states in Saurashtra, including Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and a few others, which largely resisted the Maratha incursions.[95]

European colonialism, 1614–1947

 
Territory ceded by the Sultanate of Gujarat to Portugal in 1534 according to the Treaty of Bassein.

In the 1600s, the Dutch, French, English and Portuguese all established bases along the western coast of the region. Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat, and after the Battle of Diu, acquired several enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including Daman and Diu as well as Dadra and Nagar Haveli. These enclaves were administered by Portuguese India under a single union territory for over 450 years, only to be later incorporated into the Republic of India on 19 December 1961 by military conquest.

The British East India Company established a factory in Surat in 1614 following the commercial treaty made with Mughal Emperor Nuruddin Salim Jahangir, which formed their first base in India, but it was eclipsed by Bombay after the English received it from Portugal in 1668 as part of the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. The state was an early point of contact with the west, and the first British commercial outpost in India was in Gujarat.[96]

17th-century French explorer François Pyrard de Laval, who is remembered for his 10-year sojourn in South Asia, bears witness in his account that the Gujaratis were always prepared to learn workmanship from the Portuguese, and in turn imparted skills to the Portuguese:[97]

I have never seen men of wit so fine and polished as are these Indians: they have nothing barbarous or savage about them, as we are apt to suppose. They are unwilling indeed to adopt the manners and customs of the Portuguese; yet do they regularly learn their manufactures and workmanship, being all very curious and desirous of learning. In fact, the Portuguese take and learn more from them than they from the Portuguese.

Later in the 17th century, Gujarat came under control of the Hindu Maratha Empire that arose, defeating the Muslim Mughals who had dominated the politics of India. Most notably, from 1705 to 1716, Senapati Khanderao Dabhade led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda. Pilaji Gaekwad, first ruler of Gaekwad dynasty, established the control over Baroda and other parts of Gujarat.

The British East India Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1802–1803. Many local rulers, notably the Maratha Gaekwad Maharajas of Baroda (Vadodara), made a separate peace with the British and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule.

An epidemic in 1812 killed half the population of Gujarat.[98]

Gujarat was placed under the political authority of the Bombay Presidency, with the exception of Baroda State, which had a direct relationship with the Governor-General of India. From 1818 to 1947, most of present-day Gujarat, including Kathiawar, Kutch and northern and eastern Gujarat were divided into hundreds of princely states, but several districts in central and southern Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Broach (Bharuch), Kaira (Kheda), Panchmahal and Surat, were governed directly by British officials. In 1819, Sahajanand Swami established the World's First Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur, Ahmedabad.

Post-independence

 
Gujarat in Bombay state
 
Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad
 
Gandhinagar Capital railway station

Initially there was confusion over whether Junagadh would join India or Pakistan. This was resolved in 1947 with a plebiscite for full union with India following the next year.[99]

After Indian independence and the partition of India in 1947, the new Indian government grouped the former princely states of Gujarat into three larger units; Saurashtra, which included the former princely states on the Kathiawad peninsula, Kutch, and Bombay state, which included the former British districts of Bombay Presidency together with most of Baroda State and the other former princely states of eastern Gujarat. Bombay state was enlarged to include Kutch, Saurashtra (Kathiawar) and parts of Hyderabad state and Madhya Pradesh in central India. The new state had a mostly Gujarati-speaking north and a Marathi-speaking south. Agitation by Gujarati nationalists, the Mahagujarat Movement, and Marathi nationalists, the Samyukta Maharashtra, for their own states led to the split of Bombay state on linguistic lines; on 1 May 1960, it became the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. In 1969 riots, at least 660 died and properties worth millions were destroyed.[100][101]

The first capital of Gujarat was Ahmedabad. The capital of Gujarat was moved to Gandhinagar in 1970. Nav Nirman Andolan was a socio-political movement of 1974. It was a students' and middle class people's movement against economic crisis and corruption in public life. This was the first and last successful agitation after the Independence of India that ousted an elected government.[102][103][104]

Gujarat has emerged as an important industrial hub in India. In Western India Surat was among the strongest industrial clusters in the 1970s. Between 1971 and 1981 diamond cutting was established as industry in Surat. At the same time the production of artificial silk and a substantial petrochemical industry became a fixture in Surat.[105]

The Morvi dam failure, in 1979, resulted in the death of thousands of people and large economic loss.[106] In the 1980s, a reservation policy was introduced in the country, which led to anti-reservation protests in 1981 and 1985. The protests witnessed violent clashes between people belonging to various castes.[107]

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake was located about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in the Bhachau taluka of Kutch District. This magnitude 7.7 shock killed around 20,000 people (including at least 18 in South-eastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.[108]

In February 2002, the Godhra train burning led to statewide riots, resulting in the deaths of 1044 people – 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus, and hundreds missing still unaccounted for.[109] Akshardham Temple was attacked by two terrorists in September 2002, killing 32 people and injuring more than 80 others. National Security Guards intervened to end the siege killing both terrorists.[110] On 26 July 2008 a series of seventeen bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad, killing and injuring several people.[111]

Geography

 
Physical map of Gujarat
 

Gujarat borders the Tharparkar, Badin and Thatta districts of Pakistan's Sindh province to the northwest, is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, the state of Rajasthan to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and by Maharashtra, the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south. Historically, the north was known as Anarta, the Kathiawar peninsula, "Saurastra", and the south as "Lata".[112] Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna.[113] The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km2) with the longest coastline (24% of Indian sea coast) 1,600 km (990 mi), dotted with 41 ports: one major, 11 intermediate and 29 minor.

The Narmada is the largest river in Gujarat followed by the Tapi. The Sabarmati has the longest course through the state. The Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada, one of the major rivers of peninsular India where it is one of only three major rivers that run from east to west – the others being the Tapi and the Mahi. It is about 1,312 km (815 mi) long. Several riverfront embankments have been built on the Sabarmati River.

The eastern borders have fringes of low mountains of India, the Aravalli, Sahyadri (Western Ghats), Vindhya and Saputara. Apart from this the Gir hills, Barda, Jessore and Chotila together make up a large minority of Gujarat. Girnar is the tallest peak and Saputara is the only hill-station (hilltop resort) in the state.

Rann of Kutch

Rann (રણ) is Gujarati for desert. The Rann of Kutch is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert in the Thar Desert biogeographic region between the Pakistani province of Sindh and the rest of the state of Gujarat; it commences 8 km (5.0 mi) from the village of Kharaghoda, Surendranagar District.

Flora and fauna

Prehistoric fauna

 
Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park, Gandhinagar

In the early 1980s, palaeontologists found dinosaur egg hatcheries and fossils of at least 13 species in Balasinor.[114] The most important find was that of a carnivorous abelisaurid dinosaur named Rajasurus narmadensis which lived in the Late Cretaceous period.[114][115] A notable discovery in the village of Dholi Dungri was that of Sanajeh indicus, a primitive madtsoiid snake that likely preyed on sauropod dinosaur hatchlings and embryos.[115][116]

Extant species

According to the India State of Forest Report 2011, Gujarat has 9.7% of its total geographical area under forest cover.[117] Among the districts, The Dangs has the largest area under forest cover. Gujarat has four national parks and 21 sanctuaries. It is the only home of Asiatic lions and, outside Africa, is the only present natural habitat of lions.[118] Gir Forest National Park in the southwest part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, Indian leopards are also found in the state. They are spread across the large plains of Saurashtra and the mountains of South Gujarat. Other National Parks include Vansda National Park, Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar and Narara Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutchh, Jamnagar. Wildlife sanctuaries include Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Porbandar Bird Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Anjal, Balaram-Ambaji, Barda, Jambughoda, Khavda, Paniya, Purna, Rampura, Ratan Mahal, and Surpaneshwar.

In February 2019, a Bengal tiger claimed to be from Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh was spotted in the area of Lunavada in Mahisagar district, in the eastern part of the state,[119][120] before being found dead later that month, likely from starvation.[121]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1901 9,094,748—    
1911 9,803,587+7.8%
1921 10,174,989+3.8%
1931 11,489,828+12.9%
1941 13,701,551+19.2%
1951 16,263,000+18.7%
1961 20,633,000+26.9%
1971 26,697,000+29.4%
1981 34,086,000+27.7%
1991 41,310,000+21.2%
2001 50,671,000+22.7%
2011 60,383,628+19.2%
Source: Census of India[122]

The population of Gujarat was 60,439,692 (31,491,260 males and 28,948,432 females) according to the 2011 census data.[123] The population density is 308 persons per square kilometre (800 persons/sq mi), lower than other Indian states. As per the census of 2011, the state has a sex ratio of 918 females for every 1000 males, one of the lowest (ranked 24) among the 29 states in India.

While Gujarati speakers constitute a majority of Gujarat's population, the metropolitan areas of Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat are cosmopolitan, with numerous other ethnic and language groups. Marwaris compose large minorities of economic migrants; smaller communities of people from the other states of India have also migrated to Gujarat for employment. Luso-Indians, Anglo-Indians, Jews and Parsis also live in the areas.[124] Sindhi presence is traditionally important here following the Partition of India in 1947.[125] The Koli forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the state.[126][127]

Religion

Religion in Gujarat (2011)[128]

  Hinduism (88.57%)
  Islam (9.67%)
  Jainism (0.96%)
  Christianity (0.52%)
  Sikhism (0.1%)
  Buddhism (0.05%)
  Others (0.03%)
  Not stated (0.1%)

According to 2011 census, the religious makeup in Gujarat was 88.57% Hindu, 9.67% Muslim, 0.96% Jain, 0.52% Christian, 0.10% Sikh, 0.05% Buddhist and 0.03% others. Around 0.1% did not state any religion.[128] Hinduism is the majority religion, and is over 93% in rural areas. Muslims are the biggest minority in the state accounting for 9.7% of the population. Gujarat has the third-largest population of Jains in India, following Maharashtra and Rajasthan, almost all of whom live in urban areas like Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Surat.[129]

Language

 
Gujarati written in Gujarati script

Languages of Gujarat (2011)

  Gujarati (85.97%)
  Hindi (6.07%)
  Marathi (1.52%)
  Kachchhi (1.43%)
  Others (5.01%)

Gujarati is the official language of the state. It is spoken natively by 86% of the state's population, or 52 million people (as of 2011). Hindi is the second-largest language, spoken by over 6% of the population. Marathi is also spoken in urban areas.[130]

People from the Kutch region of Gujarat also speak in the Kutchi mother tongue, and to a great extent understand Sindhi as well. Memoni is the mother tongue of Kathiawar and Sindhi Memons, most whom are Muslims.

Almost 88% of the Gujarati Muslims speak Gujarati as their mother tongue, whilst the other 12% speak Urdu. A sizeable proportion of Gujarati Muslims are bilingual in the two languages; Islamic academic institutions (Darul Uloom) place a high prestige on learning Urdu and Arabic, with students' memorising the Quran and ahadith, and emphasising the oral and literary importance of mastering these languages as a compulsory rite of religion.

In rural areas among the tribals, various Bhil dialects are spoken by around 1.37% of the population. In the northeast, Bhili is spoken, in the central part is spoken Bhili, Bhilali and Vasava, while in the southeast is spoken Dangi, Varli Chodri and Dhodia which are related to Marathi.

Apart from this, English, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marwari, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and others are spoken by a considerable number of economic migrants from other states of India seeking employment.[131]

The languages taught in schools under the three-language formula are:[132]

First language: Gujarati/Hindi/English

Second language: Gujarati/English

Third language: Hindi

Governance and administration

 
Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat State. The picture shown above is of the Legislative Assembly and seat of Gujarat government.

"Structurally Gujarat is divided into districts (Zila), Prant (subdivisions), Taluka (blocks) & villages. The state is divided into 33 districts, 122 prants, 248 talukas.[133] There are 08 municipal corporations, 156 municipalities and 14,273 Panchayats, for administrative purposes.'

India
Gujarat
Districts
Prant
(Subdivisions)
Municipal Corporations
(Mahanagar Palika)
Municipalities
(Nagar Palika)
Town Council
(Nagar Panchayat)
Taluka
(Block/Tehsil)
Wards

Gujarat has 33 districts and 250 talukas.[134][135]

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Gujarat
As of the 2011 Census
Rank Name District Pop. Rank Name District Pop.
 
Ahmedabad
 
Surat
1 Ahmedabad Ahmedabad 6,357,693 11 Morbi Morbi 210,451  
Vadodara
 
Rajkot
2 Surat Surat 5,935,000 12 Anand Anand 209,410
3 Vadodara Vadodara 4,065,771 13 Mehsana Mehsana 190,753
4 Rajkot Rajkot 1,390,640 14 Surendranagar Dudhrej Surendranagar 177,851
5 Bhavnagar Bhavnagar 605,882 15 Veraval Gir Somnath 171,121
6 Jamnagar Jamnagar 479,920 16 Navsari Navsari 171,109
7 Junagadh Junagadh 319,462 17 Bharuch Bharuch 169,007
8 Gandhinagar Gandhinagar 292,167 18 Vapi Valsad 163,630
9 Gandhidham Kutch 248,705 19 Porbandar Porbandar 152,760
10 Nadiad Kheda 225,071 20 Bhuj Kutch 148,834

Gujarat is governed by a Legislative Assembly of 182 members. Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one of 182 constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for scheduled castes and 27 for scheduled tribes. The term of office for a member of the Legislative Assembly is five years. The Legislative Assembly elects a speaker who presides over the meetings of the legislature. A governor is appointed by the President of India, and is to address the state legislature after every general election and the commencement of each year's first session of the Legislative Assembly. The leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature (Chief Minister) or his or her designee acts as the Leader of the Legislative Assembly. The administration of the state is led by the Chief Minister.

 
Swarnim Sankul 2, Office of Gujarat Government

After the independence of India in 1947, the Indian National Congress (INC) ruled the Bombay State (which included present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra). Congress continued to govern Gujarat after the state's creation in 1960.

During and after India's State of Emergency of 1975–1977, public support for the INC eroded, but it continued to hold government until 1995 with the brief rule of nine months by Janata Morcha. In the 1995 Assembly elections, the Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Keshubhai Patel who became the Chief Minister. His government lasted only two years. The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by Shankersinh Vaghela. BJP again won election in 1998 with clear majority. In 2001, following the loss of two assembly seats in by-elections, Keshubhai Patel resigned and yielded power to Narendra Modi. BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election, and Narendra Modi remained as Chief Minister. On 1 June 2007, Narendra Modi became the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat.[136][137][138] BJP retained the power in subsequent elections in 2007 and 2012 and Narendra Modi continued as the chief minister. After Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India in 2014, Anandiben Patel became the first female chief minister of the state. Vijay Rupani took over as chief minister and Nitin Patel as deputy chief minister on 7 August 2016 after Anandiben Patel resigned earlier on 3 August. Bhupendrabhai Patel became chief minister in September 2021 after the resignation of Vijay Rupani.

The incumbent chief secretary of Gujarat is Raj Kumar[139] and director general of police (DGP) is Vikas Sahay.[140]

Economy

 
Mundra Port, Kutch

During the British Raj, Gujarati businesses played a major role in enriching the economies of Karachi and Mumbai.[141] Major agricultural produce of the state includes cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol.[142] Gujarat is ranked number one in the pharmaceutical industry in India, with a 33% share in drug manufacturing and 28% share in drug exports. The state has 130 USFDA certified drug manufacturing facilities. Ahmedabad and Vadodara are considered as pharmaceutical hubs, as there are many big and small pharmaceutical companies established in these cities.[143]

Gujarat has the longest coastline in India (1600 km), and its ports (both private and public sector) handle around 40% of India's ocean cargo, with Mundra Port located in Gulf of Kutch being the largest port of India by cargo handled (144 million tons) due to its favourable location on the westernmost part of India and closeness to global shipping lanes. Gujarat also contributes around 20% share in India's industrial production and merchandise exports. According to a 2009 report on economic freedom by the Cato Institute, Gujarat is the most free state in India (the second one being Tamil Nadu).[144] Reliance Industries operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar, which is the world's largest grass-roots refinery at a single location. The world's largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang. India's only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at Dahej, developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd. Gujarat has two of the three liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the country (Dahej and Hazira). Two more LNG terminals are proposed, at Pipavav and Mundra.

Gujarat has 85% village connectivity with all‐weather roads.[145] Nearly 100% of Gujarat's 18,000 villages have been connected to the electrical grid for 24-hour power to households and eight hours of power to farms, through the Jyotigram Yojana.[146] As of 2015, Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas-based thermal electricity generation with a national market share of over 8%, and second nationwide in nuclear electricity generation with national market share of over 1%.[147]

The state registered 12.8% agricultural growth in the last five years against the national average of 2%.[148]

Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97%. Over 20% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat.[149] As per RBI report[which?], in year 2006–07, 26% of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat.[citation needed]

According to a 2012 survey report of the Chandigarh Labour Bureau, Gujarat had the lowest unemployment rate of 1% against the national average of 3.8%.[150]

Legatum Institute's Global Prosperity Index 2012 recognised Gujarat as one of the two highest-scoring among all states of India on matters of social capital.[151] The state ranks 15th alongside Germany in a list of 142 nations worldwide: higher than several developed nations.[152]

Infrastructure

 
Tallest building in Gujarat: GIFT One

The tallest tower in Gujarat, GIFT One was inaugurated on 10 January 2013. One other tower called GIFT Two has been finished and more towers are planned.[153]

Industrial growth

Gujarat's major cities include Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. In 2010, Forbes' list of the world's fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3 after Chengdu and Chongqing from China.[154][155] The state is rich in calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite, limestone, agate, feldspar, and quartz sand, and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas. Jamnagar is the hub for manufacturing brass parts. Gujarat produces about 98% of India's required amount of soda ash, and gives the country about 78% of the national requirement of salt. It is one of India's most prosperous states, having a per-capita GDP significantly above India's average. Kalol, Khambhat, and Ankleshwar are today known for their oil and natural gas production. Dhuvaran has a thermal power station, which uses coal, oil, and gas. Also, on the Gulf of Khambhat, 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Bhavnagar, is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard (the world's largest). MG Motor India manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara, Tata Motors manufactures the Tata Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad, and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj. Surat, a city by the Gulf of Khambhat, is a hub of the global diamond trade. In 2003, 92% of the world's diamonds were cut and polished in Surat.[156] The diamond industry employs 500,000 people in Gujarat.[157]

At an investor's summit entitled "Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit", arranged between 11 and 13 January 2015, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, the state government signed 21000 Memoranda of Understanding for Special Economic Zones worth a total of 2.5 million crores (short scale).[158] However, most of the investment was from domestic industry.[159] In the fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit held at Science City, Ahmedabad, in January 2009, there were 600 foreign delegates. In all, 8668 MOUs worth 12500 billion were signed, estimated to create 2.5 million new job opportunities in the state.[160] In 2011, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit MOUs worth 21 trillion (US$ 463 billion) were signed.

Gujarat is a state with surplus electricity.[161] The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station is a nuclear power station run by NPCIL that lies in the proximity of the city of Surat. According to the official sources, against demand of 40,793 million units during the nine months since April 2010, Gujarat produced 43,848 million units. Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 states: Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal.[162]

Energy

 
Astonfield's 11.5 MW solar plant in Gujarat

As of April 2022, the peak power requirement of state is 20,277 MW.[164] Total installed power generation capacity is 44,127.43 MW. Of this 25,688.66 MW belongs to thermal power generation capacity while 17,879.77 MW belongs to renewable energy generation capacity. The rest 559 MW is nuclear power generation capacity.[165] The renewable energy installed capacity includes 9,209 MW wind power and 7,180 MW solar power, as of March 2022.[166]

Agriculture

 
Traditional farming

The total geographical area of Gujarat is 19,602,400 hectares, of which crops take up 10,630,700 hectares.[verification needed][167] The three main sources of growth in Gujarat's agriculture are from cotton production, the rapid growth of high-value foods such as livestock, fruits and vegetables, and from wheat production, which saw an annual average growth rate of 28% between 2000 and 2008 (According to the International Food Policy Research Institute).[168] Other major produce includes bajra, groundnut, cotton, rice, maize, wheat, mustard, sesame, pigeon pea, green gram, sugarcane, mango, banana, sapota, lime, guava, tomato, potato, onion, cumin, garlic, isabgul and fennel. Whilst, in recent times, Gujarat has seen a high average annual growth of 9% in the agricultural sector, the rest of India has an annual growth rate of around 3%. This success was lauded by former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam.[169]

The strengths of Gujarat's agricultural success have been attributed to diversified crops and cropping patters; climatic diversity (8 climatic zones for agriculture); the existence of 4 agricultural universities in the state, which promote research in agricultural efficiency and sustainability;[170] co-operatives; adoption of hi-tech agriculture such as tissue culture, green houses and shed-net houses; agriculture export zones; strong marketing infrastructure, which includes cold storage, processing units, logistic hubs and consultancy facilities.[171]

Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major food crops produced are rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, tur, and gram. The state has an agricultural economy; the total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total land area.[172]

Animal husbandry and dairying have played vital roles in the rural economy of Gujarat. Dairy farming, primarily concerned with milk production, functions on a co-operative basis and has more than a million members. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India. The Amul milk co-operative federation is well known all over India, and it is Asia's biggest dairy.[173] Among the livestock raised are, buffaloes and other cattle, sheep, and goats. As per the results of livestock census 1997, there were 20.97 million head of livestock in Gujarat State. In the estimates of the survey of major livestock products, during the year 2002–03, Gujarat produced 6.09 million tonnes of milk, 385 million eggs and 2.71 million kg of wool. Gujarat also contributes inputs to the textiles, oil, and soap industries.

The adoption of cooperatives in Gujarat is widely attributed to much of the success in the agricultural sector, particularly sugar and dairy cooperatives. Cooperative farming has been a component of India's strategy for agricultural development since 1951. Whilst the success of these was mixed throughout the country, their positive impact on the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been the most significant. In 1995 alone, the two states had more registered co-operatives than any other region in the country. Out of these, the agricultural cooperatives have received much attention. Many have focused on subsidies and credit to farmers and rather than collective gathering, they have focused on facilitating collective processing and marketing of produce. However, whilst they have led to increased productivity, their effect on equity in the region has been questioned, because membership in agricultural co-operatives has tended to favour landowners whilst limiting the entry of landless agricultural labourers.[174] An example of co-operative success in Gujarat can be illustrated through dairy co-operatives, with the particular example of Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited).

 
Amul plant at Anand

Amul was formed as a dairy cooperative in 1946,[175] in the city of Anand, Gujarat. The cooperative, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), is jointly owned by around 2.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. Amul has been seen as one of the best examples of cooperative achievement and success in a developing economy and the Amul pattern of growth has been taken as a model for rural development, particularly in the agricultural sector of developing economies. The company stirred the White Revolution of India (also known as Operation Flood), the world's biggest dairy development program, and made the milk-deficient nation of India the largest milk producer in the world, in 2010.[176] The "Amul Model" aims to stop the exploitation by middlemen and encourage freedom of movement since the farmers are in control of procurement, processing and packaging of the milk and milk products.[177] The company is worth 2.5 billion US dollars (as of 2012).[178]

70% of Gujarat's area is classified as semi-arid to arid climatically, thus the demand on water from various economic activities puts a strain on the supply.[179] Of the total gross irrigated area, 16–17% is irrigated by government-owned canals and 83–84% by privately owned tube wells and other wells extracting groundwater, which is the predominant source of irrigation and water supply to the agricultural areas. As a result, Gujarat has faced problems with groundwater depletion, especially after demand for water increased in the 1960s. As access to electricity in rural areas increased, submersible electric pumps became more popular in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the Gujarat Electricity Board switched to flat tariff rates linked to the horsepower of pumps, which increased tubewell irrigation again and decreased the use of electric pumps. By the 1990s, groundwater abstraction rates exceeded groundwater recharge rate in many districts, whilst only 37.5% of all districts has "safe" recharge rates. Groundwater maintenance and preventing unnecessary loss of the available water supplies is now an issue faced by the state.[180] The Sardar Sarovar Project, a debated dam project in the Narmada valley consisting of a network of canals, has significantly increased irrigation in the region. However, its impact on communities who were displaced is still a contested issue. In 2012 Gujarat began an experiment to reduce water loss due to evaporation in canals and to increase sustainability in the area, by constructing solar panels over the canals. In a one megawatt (MW) solar power project set up at Chandrasan, Gujarat uses solar panels fixed over a 750-metre stretch of an irrigation canal. Unlike many solar power projects, this one does not take up large amounts of land since the panels are constructed over the canals, and not on additional land. This results in lower upfront costs since land does not need to be acquired, cleared or modified to set up the panels. The Chandrasan project is projected to save 9 million litres of water per year.[181]

The Government of Gujarat, to improve soil management and introduce farmers to new technology, started on a project which involved giving every farmer a Soil Health Card. This acts like a ration card, providing permanent identification for the status of cultivated land, as well as farmers' names, account numbers, survey numbers, soil fertility status and general fertiliser dose. Samples of land from each village are taken and analysed by the Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Corporation, State Fertiliser Corporation and Indian Farmers Fertilisers Co-operative. 1,200,000 soil test data from the villages was collected as of 2008, from farmer's field villages have gone into a database. Assistance and advice for this project was given by local agricultural universities and crop and soil-specific data was added to the database. This allows the soil test data to be interpreted and recommendations or adjustments made in terms of fertiliser requirements, which are also added to the database.[182]

Culture

Gujarat is home for the Gujarati people. Gujarat was also the home of Mahatma Gandhi, a worldwide figure known for his non-violent struggle against British rule, and Vallabhbhai Patel, a founding father of the Republic of India.

Literature

 
Hemchandra acharya with his disciple Kumarpal Raja. He is regarded as the father of the Gujarati language.
 
Depiction of Shrimad Rajchandra writing Atmasiddhi in single sitting of 1.5 hrs, one of the longest Gujarati poems based on Jain philosophy.

The history of Gujarati literature may be traced back to 1000 CE. Well-known laureates of Gujarati literature include Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Mirabai, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Mahatma Gandhi, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Swaminarayan, Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Shah.[183]

Kavi Kant, Zaverchand Meghani and Kalapi are famous Gujarati poets.

Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature. Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like Aanand Shankar Dhruv, Ashvini Bhatt, Balwantray Thakore, Bhaven Kachhi, Bhagwatikumar Sharma, Chandrakant Bakshi, Gunvant Shah, Harindra Dave, Harkisan Mehta, Jay Vasavada, Jyotindra Dave, Kanti Bhatt, Kavi Nanalal, Khabardar, Sundaram, Makarand Dave, Ramesh Parekh, Suresh Dalal, Tarak Mehta, Vinod Bhatt, Dhruv Bhatt and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A notable contribution to Gujarati literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Brahmanand Swami, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.[184]

Shrimad Rajchandra Vachnamrut and Shri Atma Siddhi Shastra, written in 19th century by Jain philosopher and poet Shrimad Rajchandra (Mahatma Gandhi's guru) are very well known.[185][186]

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to Bhavai. Bhavai is a folk musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai, Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Mumbai theatre veteran, Alyque Padamsee, best known in the English-speaking world for playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sir Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, was from a traditional Gujarati-Kutchi family from Kathiawar.[187]

Cuisine

 
Gujarati thali

Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati thali consists of rotli or bhakhari or thepala or rotlo, dal or kadhi, khichdi, Bhat and shak. Athanu (Indian pickle) and chhundo are used as condiments. The four major regions of Gujarat all bring their own styles to Gujarati food. Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time. In the Saurashtra region, chhash (buttermilk) is believed to be a must-have in their daily food.

Cinema

The Gujarati film industry dates back to 1932, when the first Gujarati film, Narsinh Mehta, was released.[188][189][190] After flourishing through the 1960s to 1980s, the industry saw a decline. The industry is revived in recent times. The film industry has produced more than one thousand films since its inception.[191] The Government of Gujarat announced a 100% entertainment tax exemption for Gujarati films in 2005[192] and a policy of incentives in 2016.[193]

Music

Gujarati folk music, known as Sugam Sangeet, is a hereditary profession of the Barot community. Gadhvi and Charan communities have contributed heavily in modern times. The omnipresent instruments in Gujarati folk music include wind instruments, such as turi, bungal, and pava, string instruments, such as the ravan hattho, ektaro, and jantar and percussion instruments, such as the manjira and zanz pot drum.[194]

Festivals

The folk traditions of Gujarat include bhavai and raas-garba. Bhavai is a folk theatre; it is partly entertainment and partly ritual, and is dedicated to Amba. The raas-garba is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people. The folk costume of this dance is chaniya choli for women and kedia for men. Different styles and steps of garba include dodhiyu, simple five, simple seven, popatiyu, trikoniya (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), lehree, tran taali, butterfly, hudo, two claps and many more. Sheri garba is one of the oldest form of garba where all the women wear red patola sari and sing along while dancing. It is a very graceful form of garba.[195] Makar Sankranti is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites. In Gujarat, from December through to Makar Sankranti, people start enjoying kite flying. Undhiyu, a special dish made of various vegetables, is a must-have of Gujarati people on Makar Sankranti. Surat is especially well known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge.[196]

Apart from Navratri and Uttarayana, Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Eid, Tazia, Paryushan and others are also celebrated.

Diffusion of culture

Due to close proximity to the Arabian Sea, Gujarat has developed a mercantile ethos which maintained a cultural tradition of seafaring, long-distance trade, and overseas contacts with the outside world since ancient times, and the diffusion of culture through Gujarati diaspora was a logical outcome of such a tradition. During the pre-modern period, various European sources have observed that these merchants formed diaspora communities outside of Gujarat, and in many parts of the world, such as the Persian Gulf, Middle East, Horn of Africa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Philippines.[197] long before the internal rise of the Maratha dynasty, and the British Raj colonial occupation.[198]

Early 1st-century Western historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius are testament to Gujarati people's role in the spread of Buddhism in the Mediterranean, when it was recorded that the sramana monk Zarmanochegas (Ζαρμανοχηγὰς) of Barygaza met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch while Augustus ruled the Roman Empire, and shortly thereafter proceeded to Athens where died by setting himself on fire to demonstrate his faith.[199][200] A tomb to the sramana, was still visible in the time of Plutarch,[201] which bore the mention "ΖΑΡΜΑΝΟΧΗΓΑΣ ΙΝΔΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΒΑΡΓΟΣΗΣ" ("The sramana master from Barygaza in India").[202]

The progenitor of the Sinhala language is believed to have been Prince Vijaya, son of King Simhabahu, who ruled Simhapura (modern-day Sihor near Bhavnagar).[203] Prince Vijaya was banished by his father for his lawlessness and set forth with a band of adventurers. This tradition was followed by other Gujaratis. For example, in the Ajanta frescoes, a Gujarati prince is shown entering Sri Lanka.[204]

Many Indians migrated to Indonesia and the Philippines, most of them Gujaratis. King Aji Saka, who is said to have come to Java in Indonesia in year 1 of the Saka calendar, is believed by some to have been a king of Gujarat.[205] The first Indian settlements in the Philippines and Java Island of Indonesia are believed to have been established with the coming of Prince Dhruvavijaya of Gujarat, with 5000 traders.[205] Some stories propose a Brahmin named Tritresta was the first to bring Gujarati migrants with him to Java, so some scholars equate him with Aji Saka.[206] A Gujarati ship has been depicted in a sculpture at Borabudur, Java.[204]

Tourism

 
Saputara – a hill station in Gujarat

Gujarat's natural environment includes the Great Rann of Kutch and the hills of Saputara, and it is the sole home of pure Asiatic lions in the world.[207] During the historic reigns of the sultans, Hindu craftsmanship blended with Islamic architecture, giving rise to the Indo-Saracenic style. Many structures in the state are built in this fashion. It is also the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, great iconic figures of India's Independence movement. Amitabh Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism.[208]

 
Statue of Unity facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony

Museums and memorials

Gujarat has a variety of museums on different genres that are run by the state's Department of Museums located at the principal state museum, Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery in Vadodara,[209] which is also the location of the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum. The Kirti Mandir, Porbandar, Sabarmati Ashram, and Kaba Gandhi No Delo are museums related to Mahatma Gandhi, the former being the place of his birth and the latter two where he lived in his lifetime. Kaba Gandhi No Delo in Rajkot exhibits part of a rare collection of photographs relating to the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Sabarmati Ashram is the place where Gandhi initiated the Dandi March. On 12 March 1930 he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence.[210]

The Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum is housed within Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the residence of the erstwhile Maharajas, located in Vadodara.

The Calico Museum of Textiles is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ahmedabad.[citation needed]

The Lakhota Museum at Jamnagar is a palace transformed into museum, which was residence of the Jadeja Rajputs. The collection of the museum includes artefacts spanning from 9th to 18th centuries, pottery from medieval villages nearby and the skeleton of a whale.

Other well-known museums in the state include the Kutch Museum in Bhuj, which is the oldest museum in Gujarat founded in 1877, the Watson Museum of human history and culture in Rajkot,[211] Gujarat Science City and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad. In October 2018, the world's tallest statue commemorating the independence leader Sardar Patel was unveiled. At 182 metres tall the Statue of Unity is the newest tourist attraction with over 30,000 visitors every day.[212][213]

Religious sites

Religious sites play a major part in the tourism of Gujarat. Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, and is mentioned in the Rigveda. The Dwarakadheesh Temple, Radha Damodar Temple, Junagadh and Dakor are holy pilgrimage sites with temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. The Sun Temple, Modhera is a ticketed monument, handled by the Archaeological Survey of India.[214] Other religious sites in state include Ambaji, Dakor, Shamlaji, Chotila, Becharaji, Mahudi, Shankheshwar etc. The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Shatrunjaya, Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara and Digambara Jain community.[215] Palitana is the world's only mountain with more than 900 temples.[216] The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and Jama Masjid are holy mosques for Gujarati Muslims.

Fairs

 
Tarnetar Fair, Tarnetar
 
A man in traditional costumes during Tarnetar fair

A five-day festival is held during Maha Shivaratri at the fort of Girnar, Junagadh, known as the Bhavanth Mahadev Fair (Gujarati: ભવનાથ નો મેળો). The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival (Gujarati: કચ્છ or રણ ઉત્સવ) is a festival celebrated at Kutch during Mahashivratri. The Modhra Dance Festival is a festival for classical dance, arranged by the Government of Gujarat's Cultural Department, to promote tourism in state and to keep traditions and culture alive.[217]

The Ambaji Fair is held in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad (around August–September) at Ambaji, during a time which is particularly suitable for farmers, when the busy monsoon season is about to end. The Bhadrapad fair is held at Ambaji which is in the Danta Taluka of Banaskantha district, near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. The walk from the bus station to the temple is less than one kilometre, under a roofed walkway. Direct buses are available from many places, including Mount Abu (45 km away), Palanpur (65 km away), Ahmedabad and Idar. The Bhadrapad fair is held in the centre of the Ambaji village just outside the temple premises. The village is visited by the largest number of sanghas (pilgrim groups) during the fair. Many of them go there on foot, which is particularly enriching as it happens immediately after the monsoon, when the landscape is rich with greenery, streams are full of sparkling water and the air is fresh. About 1.5 million devotees are known to attend this fair each year from all over the world. Not only Hindus, but some devout Jains and Parsis also attend the functions, whilst some Muslims attend the fair for trade.

The Tarnetar Fair is held during the first week of Bhadrapad, (September–October according to Gregorian calendar), and mostly serves as a place to find a suitable bride for tribal people from Gujarat. The region is believed to be the place where Arjuna took up the difficult task of piercing the eye of a fish, rotating at the end of a pole, by looking at its reflection in the pond water, to marry Draupadi.[218] Other fairs in Gujarat include Dang Durbar, Shamlaji Fair, Chitra Vichitra Fair, Dhrang Fair and Vautha Fair.

The Government of Gujarat has banned alcohol since 1960.[219] Gujarat government collected the Best State Award for 'Citizen Security' by IBN7 Diamond States on 24 December 2012.[220]

Transport

Air

There are three international airports (Ahmedabad and Surat, Vadodara), nine domestic airports (Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Kandla, Porbandar, Rajkot, Amreli, Keshod), two private airports (Mundra, Mithapur) and three military bases (Bhuj, Jamnagar, Naliya) in Gujarat. Two more airports (Ankleshwar, Rajkot) are under construction. There are three disused airports situated at Deesa, Mandvi and Mehsana; the last serving as a flying school. Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL) has been established by the Government of Gujarat to foster development of aviation infrastructure in the state.[221]

These airports are operated and owned by either the Airports Authority of India, Indian Air Force, Government of Gujarat or private companies.[222][223]

Rail

Gujarat comes under the Western Railway Zone of the Indian Railways. Ahmedabad Railway Station is the most important, centrally located and biggest railway station in Gujarat which connects to all important cities of Gujarat and India.Surat railway station and Vadodara Railway Station is also the busiest railway station in Gujarat and the ninth busiest railway station in India. Other important railway stations are Palanpur Junction, Bhavnagar Terminus, Rajkot Railway Station, Sabarmati Junction, Nadiad Junction, Valsad Railway Station, Bharuch Junction, Gandhidham Junction, Anand Junction, Godhra Railway Station, etc. Indian Railways is planning a dedicated rail freight route Delhi–Mumbai passing through the state.

The 39.259 km (24.394 mi) long tracks of the first phase of MEGA, a metro rail system for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is under construction. It is expected to complete by 2024. The construction started on 14 March 2015.[224][225]

Sea

 
Operational Ports and harbours of Gujarat

Gujarat State has the longest sea coast of 1214 km in India. Kandla Port is one of the largest ports serving Western India. Other important ports in Gujarat are the Port of Navlakhi, Port of Magdalla, Port Pipavav, Bedi Port, Port of Porbandar, Port of Veraval and the privately owned Mundra Port. The state also has Ro-Ro ferry service.[226]

Road

 
Bus terminal in Vadodara

Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) is the primary body responsible for providing the bus services within the state of Gujarat and also with the neighbouring states. It is a public transport corporation providing bus services and public transit within Gujarat and to the other states in India. Apart from this, there are a number of services provided by GSRTC.

  • Mofussil Services – connects major cities, smaller towns and villages within Gujarat.[227]
  • Intercity Bus Services – connects major cities – Ahmedabad, Surat, Veraval, Vapi, Vadodara (Baroda), Rajkot, Bharuch etc.[227]
  • Interstate Bus Services – connects various cities of Gujarat with the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.[227]
  • City Services – GSRTC provides city bus services at Surat, Vadodara, Vapi, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, within the state of Gujarat.[227]
  • Parcel Services – service used for transporting goods.[227]

Apart from this, the GSRTC provides special bus services for festivals, industrial zones, schools, colleges and pilgrim places also buses are given on contract basis to the public for certain special occasions.[227]

  • There are also city buses in cities like Ahmedabad (AMTS and Ahmedabad BRTS), Surat (Surat BRTS), Bhavnagar (BMC CITY BUS) ) Vadodara (Vinayak Logistics), Gandhinagar (VTCOS), Rajkot (RMTS and Rajkot BRTS), Anand (VTCOS) Bharuch (Gurukrupa) etc.

Auto rickshaws are common mode of transport in Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat is promoting bicycles to reduce pollution by the way of initiative taken by free cycle rides for commuters..

Education and research

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) are in charge of the schools run by the Government of Gujarat. However, most of the private schools in Gujarat are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board. Gujarat has 13 state universities and four agricultural universities.

Institutes for Engineering and Research in the area include IIT Gandhinagar, Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara (IIITV), Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA-IICT) also in Gandhinagar, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) and P P Savani University in Surat, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) in Gandhinagar, Nirma University in Ahmedabad, M.S. University in Vadodara, Marwadi Education Foundation's Group of Institutions (MEFGI) in Rajkot and Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya (BVM) in Vallabh Vidyanagar (a suburb in Anand district).

Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) is an institute for mass communication.

In addition, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) is one of the leading sectoral institution in rural management. IRMA is a unique institution in the sense that it provides professional education to train managers for rural management. It is the only one of its kind in all Asia.

The National Institute of Design and development (NID) in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research. Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology University, popularly known as (CEPT) is one of the best planning and architectural school not in India, but across the world; providing various technical and professional courses.

In the emerging area of legal education, a premier institution Gujarat National Law University was founded in the capital city Gandhinagar which started imparting education in 2004 and is ranked in top institutions in the country.

Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering (LDCE) is also one of the top engineering college of the state.

The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, is a premier university of Gujarat. It is one of the oldest universities of Gujarat and provides education in Faculty of Fine Arts, Engineering, Arts, Journalism, Education, Law, Social Work, Medicine, Science and Performing Arts. Originally known as the Baroda College of Science (established 1881), it became a university in 1949 after the independence of the country and later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the former ruler of Baroda State.

Gujarat University, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Sardar Patel University, Ahmedabad University, Saurashtra University, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Dharmsinh Desai University and Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University are also among reputed universities, affiliating many reputed colleges.

Research

 
Rocket model at Science City, Ahmedabad

The Space Applications Centre (SAC) is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad, India, under the aegis of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Vikram Sarabhai, a renowned scientist, industrialist, and visionary Gujarati, played an important role in it. He also founded Physical Research Laboratory, a research institute encompasses Astrophysics, Solar System, and cosmic radiation. He also envisioned Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country.[228][229]

Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute has been established under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Government of India at Bhavnagar. It was inaugurated by Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India on 10 April 1954, with a view to carry out research on marine salt, and salt from inland lakes and sub-soil brine. It is working on reverse osmosis, electro membrane process, salt and marine chemicals, analytical science, marine biotechnology, and other related fields. The Gujarat National Law University situated at Gandhinagar is the 5th Best Law School currently in India.

Gujarat Science City,[230] is a government initiative to draw more students towards education in science, which hosts India's first IMAX 3D theatre, an energy park, a hall of science, an amphitheatre, and dancing musical fountains among others. Institute of Management under Nirma University is constantly ranked among the top MBA colleges in India. International Institute of Management and Technical Studies affiliated with Gujarat Knowledge Society, European Association for Distance Learning, Association of Indian Management Schools and Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association has performed globally for its higher education certification courses for working professionals. IIMT STUDIES also launched GET SET GO programme in 2013 in affiliation with Gujarat Technological University and Gujarat Knowledge Society, Department of Technical Education- Government of Gujarat.[231][232][233][234][235] B.K. School of Business Management is ranked sixth in financial management. K. S. School of Business Management is also an MBA college in Gujarat University providing a five-year integrated MBA course. Shanti Business School in Ahmedabad is a business school offering a post-graduate diploma in management through a corporate citizenship initiative.

The Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) was established by the Science and Technology Department, Government of Gujarat, in 2003 and is registered as a society. ISR campus is at Raisan, Gandhinagar, on the banks of Sabarmati river. Aims and objectives include assigning optimum seismic factors for buildings in different regions and long-term assessment of potential. The ISR is the only institute in India fully dedicated to seismological research and is planned to be developed into a premier international institute in few years time.

Notable people

Notable people of Gujarat
 
Narendra Modi ( Incumbent PM Of India )


Sister states

See also

Citations

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gujarat, this, article, about, state, india, other, uses, gujrat, ɑː, guuj, raht, ˈɡudʒəɾat, state, along, western, coast, india, coastline, about, longest, country, most, which, lies, kathiawar, peninsula, fifth, largest, indian, state, area, covering, some, . This article is about the state in India For other uses see Gujrat Gujarat ˌ ɡ ʊ dʒ e ˈ r ɑː t GUUJ e RAHT Gujarati ˈɡudʒeɾat is a state along the western coast of India Its coastline of about 1 600 km 990 mi is the longest in the country most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula Gujarat is the fifth largest Indian state by area covering some 196 024 km2 75 685 sq mi and the ninth most populous state with a population of 60 4 million in 2011 It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south Maharashtra to the southeast Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west Gujarat s capital city is Gandhinagar while its largest city is Ahmedabad 13 The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language Gujarati is the state s official language GujaratStateFrom top and L R Sabarmati Ashram Gujarati attire Somnath Temple Rann of Kutch Dwarkadhish Temple Statue of Unity Laxmi Vilas Palace at VadodaraEmblem of GujaratEtymology Land of GurjarsNickname Jewel of Western India Motto Satyameva Jayate Truth alone triumphs Anthem Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat Victory to Proud Gujarat 1 Location of Gujarat in IndiaCoordinates 23 13 12 N 72 39 18 E 23 220 N 72 655 E 23 220 72 655Country IndiaRegionWest IndiaBefore wasBombay StateFormation by bifurcation 1 May 1960CapitalGandhinagarLargest cityAhmedabadLargest metroAhmedabadDistricts33Government BodyGovernment of Gujarat GovernorAcharya Devvrat Chief ministerBhupendrabhai Patel BJP State LegislatureUnicameral AssemblyGujarat Legislative Assembly 182 seats National ParliamentParliament of India Rajya Sabha11 seats Lok Sabha26 seatsHigh CourtGujarat High CourtArea Total196 024 km2 75 685 sq mi Rank5thDimensions Length590 km 370 mi Width500 km 300 mi Elevation137 m 449 ft Highest elevation Girnar 2 1 145 m 3 757 ft Lowest elevation Arabian Sea 1 m 3 ft Population 2011 Total60 439 692 Rank9th Density308 km2 800 sq mi Urban42 6 Rural57 4 DemonymGujarati 3 Language OfficialGujarati Hindi 4 5 Official scriptGujarati script Devanagari scriptGDP 6 Total 2020 2021 16 55 trillion US 210 billion Rank4th Per capita 213 936 US 2 700 11th Time zoneUTC 05 30 IST ISO 3166 codeIN GJVehicle registrationGJHDI 2019 0 672 Medium 7 23rd Literacy 2011 78 03 8 17th Sex ratio 2011 919 1000 9 16th Websitegujaratindia wbr gov wbr inSymbols of GujaratEmblem of GujaratSongJai Jai Garavi Gujarat Victory to Proud Gujarat 1 Foundation dayGujarat DayBirdGreater flamingoFishBlackspotted croaker 11 FlowerMarigold 10 FruitMango 12 MammalAsiatic lion 10 TreeBanyan 10 State highway markState highway of Gujarat GJ SH1 GJ SH173List of Indian state symbols The state of Bombay was divided into two states i e Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960 The state encompasses 23 sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation more than any other state The most important sites are Lothal the world s first dry dock Dholavira the fifth largest site and Gola Dhoro where 5 uncommon seals were found Lothal is believed to have been one of the world s first seaports 14 Gujarat s coastal cities chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat 15 served as ports and trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires and during the succession of royal Saka dynasties in the Western Satraps era 16 17 Along with Bihar Mizoram and Nagaland Gujarat is one of four Indian states to prohibit the sale of alcohol 18 The Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is home to the only wild population of the Asiatic lion in the world 19 The economy of Gujarat is the fourth largest in India with a gross state domestic product GSDP of 16 55 trillion equivalent to 19 trillion or US 230 billion in 2023 and has the country s 10th highest GSDP per capita of 215 000 US 2 700 6 Gujarat has the highest exports of all states accounting for around one third of national exports 20 It ranks 21st among Indian states and union territories in human development index 21 Gujarat is regarded as one of the most industrialised states and has a low unemployment rate 22 but the state ranks poorly on some social indicators and is at times affected by religious violence 23 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Ancient history 2 2 Medieval history 2 3 Muslim rule 2 3 1 Islamic conquests 1197 1614 2 3 2 The Sultanate of Gujarat and the merchants 2 3 3 Gujarat in the Mughal Empire 2 4 Maratha Empire 2 5 European colonialism 1614 1947 2 6 Post independence 3 Geography 3 1 Rann of Kutch 3 2 Flora and fauna 3 2 1 Prehistoric fauna 3 2 2 Extant species 4 Demographics 4 1 Religion 4 2 Language 5 Governance and administration 6 Economy 6 1 Infrastructure 6 2 Industrial growth 6 3 Energy 6 4 Agriculture 7 Culture 7 1 Literature 7 2 Cuisine 7 3 Cinema 7 4 Music 7 5 Festivals 7 6 Diffusion of culture 8 Tourism 8 1 Museums and memorials 8 2 Religious sites 8 3 Fairs 9 Transport 9 1 Air 9 2 Rail 9 3 Sea 9 4 Road 10 Education and research 10 1 Research 11 Notable people 12 Sister states 13 See also 14 Citations 15 General and cited sources 16 Further reading 17 External linksEtymologyGujarat is derived from the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty who ruled Gujarat in the 8th and 9th centuries CE 24 25 26 27 Parts of modern Rajasthan and Gujarat have been known as Gurjarat or Gurjarabhumi for centuries before the Mughal period 28 HistoryMain article History of Gujarat Ancient history Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley civilisation which is centred primarily in modern Pakistan 29 It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley such as Lothal Dholavira and Gola Dhoro 30 The ancient city of Lothal was where India s first port was established 14 The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation The most recent discovery was Gola Dhoro Altogether about fifty Indus Valley settlement ruins have been discovered in Gujarat 31 Indus Valley civilisation nbsp Dholavira one of the largest cities of Indus Valley civilisation with stepwell steps to reach the water level in artificially constructed reservoirs 32 nbsp Archaeological remains of washroom drainage system at Lothal The ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by the commercial activities of its inhabitants There is clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with Egypt Bahrain and Sumer in the Persian Gulf during the time period of 1000 to 750 BCE 31 33 There was a succession of various Indian empires such as the Mauryan dynasty Western Satraps Satavahana dynasty Gupta Empire Chalukya dynasty Rashtrakuta Empire Pala Empire and Gurjara Pratihara Empire as well as the Maitrakas and then the Chaulukyas The early history of Gujarat includes the imperial grandeur of Chandragupta Maurya who conquered a number of earlier states in what is now Gujarat Pushyagupta a Vaishya was appointed the governor of Saurashtra by the Mauryan regime He ruled Girinagar modern day Junagadh 322 BCE to 294 BCE and built a dam on the Sudarshan lake Emperor Ashoka the Great the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya not only ordered his edicts engraved in the rock at Junagadh but also asked Governor Tusherpha to cut canals from the lake where an earlier Indian governor had built a dam Between the decline of Mauryan power and Saurashtra coming under the sway of the Samprati Mauryas of Ujjain there was an Indo Greek defeat in Gujarat of Demetrius In 16th century manuscripts there is an apocryphal story of a merchant of King Gondophares landing in Gujarat with Apostle Thomas The incident of the cup bearer torn apart by a lion might indicate that the port city described is in Gujarat 34 35 For nearly 300 years from the start of the 1st century CE Saka rulers played a prominent part in Gujarat s history The weather beaten rock at Junagadh gives a glimpse of the ruler Rudradaman I 100 CE of the Saka satraps known as Western Satraps or Kshatraps Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I founded the Kardamaka dynasty which ruled from Anupa on the banks of the Narmada up to the Aparanta region bordering Punjab In Gujarat several battles were fought between the Indian dynasties such as the Satavahana dynasty and the Western Satraps The greatest and the mightiest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Western Satraps and conquered some parts of Gujarat in the 2nd century CE 36 nbsp Coin of the Gujuras of Sindh Chavda dynasty c 570 712 CE Crowned Sasanian style bust right Fire altar with ribbons and attendants star and crescent flanking flames 37 The Kshatrapa dynasty was replaced by the Gupta Empire with the conquest of Gujarat by Chandragupta Vikramaditya Vikramaditya s successor Skandagupta left an inscription 450 CE on a rock at Junagadh which gives details of the governor s repairs to the embankment surrounding Sudarshan lake after it was damaged by floods The Anarta and Saurashtra regions were both parts of the Gupta empire Towards the middle of the 5th century the Gupta empire went into decline Senapati Bhatarka the general of the Guptas took advantage of the situation and in 470 set up what came to be known as the Maitraka state He shifted his capital from Giringer to Valabhi near Bhavnagar on Saurashtra s east coast The Maitrakas of Vallabhi became very powerful with their rule prevailing over large parts of Gujarat and adjoining Malwa A university was set up by the Maitrakas which came to be known far and wide for its scholastic pursuits and was compared with the noted Nalanda University It was during the rule of Dhruvasena Maitrak that Chinese philosopher traveler Xuanzang I Tsing visited in 640 along the Silk Road 38 Gujarat was known to the ancient Greeks and was familiar with other Western centers of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages The oldest written record of Gujarat s 2 000 year maritime history is documented in a Greek book titled The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century 39 40 Medieval history In the early 8th century the Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate established an empire in the name of the rising religion of Islam which stretched from Spain in the west to Afghanistan and modern day Pakistan in the east Al Junaid the successor of Qasim finally subdued the Hindu resistance within Sindh and established a secure base The Arab rulers tried to expand their empire southeast which culminated in the Caliphate campaigns in India fought in 730 they were defeated and expelled west of the Indus river probably by a coalition of the Indian rulers Nagabhata I of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty and Bappa Rawal of the Guhila dynasty After this victory the Arab invaders were driven out of Gujarat General Pulakeshin a Chalukya prince of Lata received the title Avanijanashraya refuge of the people of the earth and honorific of Repeller of the unrepellable by the Chalukya emperor Vikramaditya II for his victory at the battle at Navsari where the Arab troops suffered a crushing defeat 41 In the late 8th century the Kannauj Triangle period started The three major Indian dynasties the northwestern Indian Gurjara Pratihara dynasty the southern Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty and the eastern Indian Pala Empire dominated India from the 8th to 10th centuries During this period the northern part of Gujarat was ruled by the northern Indian Gurjara Pratihara dynasty and the southern part of Gujarat was ruled by the southern Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty 42 However the earliest epigraphical records of the Gurjars of Broach attest that the royal bloodline of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty of Dadda I II and III 650 750 ruled south Gujarat 43 Southern Gujarat was ruled by the Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Indian ruler Tailapa II of the Western Chalukya Empire 44 Zoroastrians from Greater Iran migrated to the western borders of India Gujarat and Sindh during the 8th or 10th century 45 to avoid persecution by Muslim invaders who were in the process of conquering Iran The descendants of those Zoroastrian refugees came to be known as the Parsi 46 47 48 49 Subsequently Laṭa in southern Gujarat was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Western Chalukya ruler Tailapa II 44 50 The Chaulukya dynasty 51 ruled Gujarat from c 960 to 1243 Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade and their capital at Anhilwara Patan was one of the largest cities in India with a population estimated at 100 000 in the year 1000 After 1243 the Solankis lost control of Gujarat to their feudatories of whom the Vaghela chiefs of Dholka came to dominate Gujarat In 1292 the Vaghelas became tributaries of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri in the Deccan Karandev of the Vaghela dynasty was the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat He was defeated and overthrown by the superior forces of Alauddin Khalji from Delhi in 1297 With his defeat Gujarat became part of the Delhi Sultanate and the Rajput hold over Gujarat would never be restored Fragments of printed cotton from Gujarat have been discovered in Egypt providing evidence for medieval trade in the western Indian Ocean 52 These fragments represent the Indian cotton traded in Egypt during the Fatimid Ayyubid and Mamluk periods from the tenth to sixteenth centuries Similar cotton was also traded as far east as Indonesia 52 nbsp Sun Temple of Modhera with stepwell surrounding the kunda tank was built by Bhima I of Chaulukya dynasty in 1026 It is one of the finest examples of stepwell architecture of Gujarat nbsp Rani ki vav 11th century nbsp Taranga Jain temple constructed by Kumarapala 1143 1172 Muslim rule nbsp Muhammad ibn Qasim s conquest of Sindh 711 715 CE Desert areas Registan Desert and Thar Desert Zunbils Kingdom of Sindh c 632 712 CE Maitraka Kingdom c 475 c 776 CE Islamic conquests 1197 1614 nbsp The Mughal Emperor Akbar triumphantly enters Surat After the Ghoris had assumed a position of Muslim supremacy over North India Qutbuddin Aibak attempted to conquer Gujarat and annex it to his empire in 1197 but failed in his ambitions 53 An independent Muslim community continued to flourish in Gujarat for the next hundred years championed by Arab merchants settling along the western coast From 1297 to 1300 Alauddin Khalji the Turko Afghan Sultan of Delhi destroyed the Hindu metropolis of Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate After Timur sacked Delhi at the end of the 14th century weakening the Sultanate Gujarat s Muslim Khatri governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar Muzaffar Shah I asserted his independence and his son Sultan Ahmed Shah ruled 1411 1442 established Ahmedabad as the capital Khambhat eclipsed Bharuch as Gujarat s most important trade port Gujarat s relations with Egypt which was then the premier Arab power in the Middle East remained friendly over the next century and the Egyptian scholar Badruddin ad Damamimi spent several years in Gujarat in the shade of the Sultan before proceeding to the Bahmani Sultanate on the Deccan Plateau 54 55 Shah e Alam a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti order who was the descendant of Makhdoom Jahaniyan Jahangasht from Bukhara soon arrived in a group that included Arab theologian Ibn Suwaid several Sayyid Sufi members of the Aydarus family of Tarim in Yemen 56 Iberian court interpreter Ali al Andalusi from Granada 57 and the Arab jurist Bahraq from Hadramaut who was appointed a tutor of the prince 58 Among the illustrious names who arrived during the reign of Mahmud Begada was the philosopher Haibatullah Shah Mir from Shiraz and the scholar intellectual Abu Fazl Ghazaruni from Persia 59 60 who tutored and adopted Abu l Fazl ibn Mubarak author of the Akbarnama 61 Later a close alliance between the Ottoman Turks and Gujarati sultans to effectively safeguard Jeddah and the Red Sea trade from Portuguese imperialism encouraged the existence of powerful Rumi elites within the kingdom who took the post of viziers in Gujarat keen to maintain ties with the Ottoman state 62 63 64 65 66 Humayun also briefly occupied the province in 1536 but fled due to the threat Bahadur Shah the Gujarat king imposed 67 The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1572 when the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire 68 The Surat port the only Indian port facing west then became the principal port of India during Mughal rule gaining widespread international repute The city of Surat famous for its exports of silk and diamonds had reached a par with contemporary Venice and Beijing great mercantile cities of Europe and Asia 69 and earned the distinguished title Bab al Makkah Gate of Mecca 16 17 Drawn by the religious renaissance taking place under Akbar Mohammed Ghaus moved to Gujarat and established spiritual centers for the Shattari Sufi order from Iran founding the Ek Toda Mosque and producing such devotees as Wajihuddin Alvi of Ahmedabad whose many successors moved to Bijapur during the height of the Adil Shahi dynasty 70 At the same time Zoroastrian high priest Azar Kayvan who was a native of Fars immigrated to Gujarat founding the Zoroastrian school of illuminationists which attracted key Shi ite Muslim admirers of the Safavid philosophical revival from Isfahan Early 14th century Maghrebi adventurer Ibn Batuta who famously visited India with his entourage recalls in his memoirs about Cambay one of the great emporia of the Indian Ocean that indeed Cambay is one of the most beautiful cities as regards the artistic architecture of its houses and the construction of its mosques The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants who continually build their beautiful houses and wonderful mosques an achievement in which they endeavor to surpass each other nbsp 16th century Portuguese illustration from the Codice Casanatense depicting inhabitants of Gujarat Many of these foreign merchants were transient visitors men of South Arabian and Persian Gulf ports who migrated in and out of Cambay with the rhythm of the monsoons But others were men with Arab or Persian patronyms whose families had settled in the town generations even centuries earlier intermarrying with Gujarati women and assimilating everyday customs of the Hindu hinterland 71 The Age of Discovery heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long distance travel in search of alternative trade routes to the East Indies moved by the trade of gold silver and spices In 1497 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama is said to have discovered the Europe to India sea route which changed the course of history thanks to Kutchi sailor Kanji Malam who showed him the route from the East African coasts of Mozambique sailing onwards to Calicut off the Malabar coast in India 72 73 74 Later the Gujarat Sultanate allied with the Ottomans and Egyptian Mamluks naval fleets led by governor generals Malik Ayyaz and Amir Husain Al Kurdi vanquished the Portuguese in the 1508 Battle of Chaul resulting in the first Portuguese defeat at sea in the Indian Ocean 75 To 16th century European observers Gujarat was a fabulously wealthy country The customs revenue of Gujarat alone in the early 1570s was nearly three times the total revenue of the whole Portuguese empire in Asia in 1586 87 when it was at its height 76 Indeed when the British arrived on the coast of Gujarat houses in Surat already had windows of Venetian glass imported from Constantinople through the Ottoman empire 77 In 1514 the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa described the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Rander known otherwise as City of Mosques in Surat province which gained the fame and reputation of illustrious Islamic scholars Sufi saints merchants and intellectuals from all over the world 78 Ranel Rander is a good town of the Moors built of very pretty houses and squares It is a rich and agreeable place the Moors of the town trade with Malacca Bengal Tawasery Tannasserim Pegu Martaban and Sumatra in all sort of spices drugs silks musk benzoin and porcelain They possess very large and fine ships and those who wish Chinese articles will find them there very completely The Moors of this place are white and well dressed and very rich they have pretty wives and in the furniture of these houses have china vases of many kinds kept in glass cupboards well arranged Their women are not secluded like other Moors but go about the city in the day time attending to their business with their faces uncovered as in other parts The conquest of the Kingdom of Gujarat marked a significant event of Akbar s reign Being the major trade gateway and departure harbour of pilgrim ships to Mecca it gave the Mughal Empire free access to the Arabian sea and control over the rich commerce that passed through its ports The territory and income of the empire were vastly increased 79 The Sultanate of Gujarat and the merchants nbsp A modern Zoroastrian Agiary in Western India For the best part of two centuries the independent Khatri Sultanate of Gujarat was the cynosure of its neighbours on account of its wealth and prosperity which had long made the Gujarati merchant a familiar figure in the ports of the Indian Ocean 54 80 Gujaratis including Hindus and Muslims as well as the enterprising Parsi class of Zoroastrians had been specialising in the organisation of overseas trade for many centuries and had moved into various branches of commerce such as commodity trade brokerage money changing money lending and banking 81 By the 17th century Chavuse and Baghdadi Jews had assimilated into the social world of the Surat province later on their descendants would give rise to the Sassoons of Bombay and the Ezras of Calcutta and other influential Indian Jewish figures who went on to play a philanthropical role in the commercial development of 19th century British Crown Colony of Shanghai 82 Spearheaded by Khoja Bohra Bhatiya shahbandars and Moorish nakhudas who dominated sea navigation and shipping Gujarat s transactions with the outside world had created the legacy of an international transoceanic empire which had a vast commercial network of permanent agents stationed at all the great port cities across the Indian Ocean These networks extended to the Philippines in the east East Africa in the west and via maritime and the inland caravan route to Russia in the north 83 Tome Pires a Portuguese official at Malacca wrote of conditions during the reigns of Mahmud I and Mozaffar II Cambay stretches out two arms with her right arm she reaches toward Aden and with the other towards Malacca 84 He also described Gujarat s active trade with Goa the Deccan Plateau and the Malabar His contemporary Duarte Barbosa describing Gujarat s maritime trade recorded the import of horses from the Middle East and elephants from Malabar and lists exports which included muslins chintzes and silks carnelian ginger and other spices aromatics opium indigo and other substances for dyeing cereals and legumes 85 Persia was the destination for many of these commodities and they were partly paid for in horses and pearls taken from Hormuz 86 The latter item in particular led Sultan Sikandar Lodi of Delhi according to Ali Muhammad Khan author of the Mirat i Ahmadi to complain that the support of the throne of Delhi is wheat and barley but the foundation of the realm of Gujarat is coral and pearls 87 Hence the sultans of Gujarat possessed ample means to sustain lavish patronage of religion and the arts to build madrasas and ḵanaqahs and to provide douceurs for the literati mainly poets and historians whose presence and praise enhanced the fame of the dynasty 88 nbsp Jama Masjid Ahmedabad Even at the time of Tome Pires travel to the East Indies in the early 16th century Gujarati merchants had earned an international reputation for their commercial acumen and this encouraged the visit of merchants from Cairo Armenia Abyssinia Khorasan Shiraz Turkestan and Guilans from Aden and Hormuz 89 Pires noted in his Suma Orientale 90 These people are like Italians in their knowledge of and dealings in merchandise they are men who understand merchandise they are so properly steeped in the sound and harmony of it that the Gujaratees say that any offence connected with merchandise is pardonable There are Gujaratees settled everywhere They work some for some and others for others They are diligent quick men in trade They do their accounts with fingers like ours and with our very writings Gujarat in the Mughal Empire nbsp Portrait of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Gujarat was one of the twelve original subahs imperial top level provinces established by Mughal Emperor Badshah Akbar with seat at Ahmedabad bordering on Thatta Sindh Ajmer Malwa and later Ahmadnagar subahs Aurangzeb the sixth Mughal Emperor was born in Dahod Gujarat He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal 91 At the time of his birth his father Shah Jahan was then the Subahdar governor of Gujarat and his grandfather Jehangir was the Mughal Emperor Before he became emperor Aurangzeb was made Subahdar of Gujarat subah as part of his training and was stationed at Ahmedabad citation needed Aurangzeb had great love for his place of birth In 1704 he wrote a letter to his eldest son Muhammad Azam Shah asking him to be kind and considerate to the people of Dahod as it was his birthplace Muhammad Azam was then the Subedar governor of Gujarat 92 In his letter Aurangzeb wrote 92 My son of exalted rank the town of Dahod one of the dependencies of Gujarat is the birthplace of this sinner Please consider a regard for the inhabitants of that town as incumbent on you Maratha Empire When the cracks had started to develop in the edifice of the Mughal Empire in the mid 17th century the Marathas were consolidating their power in the west Chatrapati Shivaji the great Maratha ruler attacked Surat in southern Gujarat twice first in 1664 and again in 1672 93 These attacks marked the entry of the Marathas into Gujarat However before the Maratha had made inroads into Gujarat the Europeans had made their presence felt led by the Portuguese and followed by the Dutch and the English The Peshwas had established sovereignty over parts of Gujarat and collected taxes and tributes through their representatives Damaji Rao Gaekwad and Kadam Bande divided the Peshwa territory between them 94 with Damaji establishing the sway of Gaekwad over Gujarat and making Baroda present day Vadodara in southern Gujarat his capital The ensuing internecine war among the Marathas was fully exploited by the British who interfered in the affairs of both Gaekwads and the Peshwas In Saurashtra as elsewhere the Marathas were met with resistance 95 The decline of the Mughal Empire helped form larger peripheral states in Saurashtra including Junagadh Jamnagar Bhavnagar and a few others which largely resisted the Maratha incursions 95 European colonialism 1614 1947 nbsp Territory ceded by the Sultanate of Gujarat to Portugal in 1534 according to the Treaty of Bassein In the 1600s the Dutch French English and Portuguese all established bases along the western coast of the region Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat and after the Battle of Diu acquired several enclaves along the Gujarati coast including Daman and Diu as well as Dadra and Nagar Haveli These enclaves were administered by Portuguese India under a single union territory for over 450 years only to be later incorporated into the Republic of India on 19 December 1961 by military conquest The British East India Company established a factory in Surat in 1614 following the commercial treaty made with Mughal Emperor Nuruddin Salim Jahangir which formed their first base in India but it was eclipsed by Bombay after the English received it from Portugal in 1668 as part of the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza daughter of King John IV of Portugal The state was an early point of contact with the west and the first British commercial outpost in India was in Gujarat 96 17th century French explorer Francois Pyrard de Laval who is remembered for his 10 year sojourn in South Asia bears witness in his account that the Gujaratis were always prepared to learn workmanship from the Portuguese and in turn imparted skills to the Portuguese 97 I have never seen men of wit so fine and polished as are these Indians they have nothing barbarous or savage about them as we are apt to suppose They are unwilling indeed to adopt the manners and customs of the Portuguese yet do they regularly learn their manufactures and workmanship being all very curious and desirous of learning In fact the Portuguese take and learn more from them than they from the Portuguese Later in the 17th century Gujarat came under control of the Hindu Maratha Empire that arose defeating the Muslim Mughals who had dominated the politics of India Most notably from 1705 to 1716 Senapati Khanderao Dabhade led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda Pilaji Gaekwad first ruler of Gaekwad dynasty established the control over Baroda and other parts of Gujarat The British East India Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the Second Anglo Maratha War in 1802 1803 Many local rulers notably the Maratha Gaekwad Maharajas of Baroda Vadodara made a separate peace with the British and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self rule An epidemic in 1812 killed half the population of Gujarat 98 Gujarat was placed under the political authority of the Bombay Presidency with the exception of Baroda State which had a direct relationship with the Governor General of India From 1818 to 1947 most of present day Gujarat including Kathiawar Kutch and northern and eastern Gujarat were divided into hundreds of princely states but several districts in central and southern Gujarat namely Ahmedabad Broach Bharuch Kaira Kheda Panchmahal and Surat were governed directly by British officials In 1819 Sahajanand Swami established the World s First Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur Ahmedabad nbsp Princely states of Gujarat in 1924 nbsp Bombay Presidency in 1909 northern portion nbsp Mahatma Gandhi picking salt at Dandi beach South Gujarat ending the Salt satyagraha on 5 April 1930 nbsp Foundational Swaminarayan Mandir est 1819 Post independence nbsp Gujarat in Bombay state nbsp Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad nbsp Gandhinagar Capital railway station Initially there was confusion over whether Junagadh would join India or Pakistan This was resolved in 1947 with a plebiscite for full union with India following the next year 99 After Indian independence and the partition of India in 1947 the new Indian government grouped the former princely states of Gujarat into three larger units Saurashtra which included the former princely states on the Kathiawad peninsula Kutch and Bombay state which included the former British districts of Bombay Presidency together with most of Baroda State and the other former princely states of eastern Gujarat Bombay state was enlarged to include Kutch Saurashtra Kathiawar and parts of Hyderabad state and Madhya Pradesh in central India The new state had a mostly Gujarati speaking north and a Marathi speaking south Agitation by Gujarati nationalists the Mahagujarat Movement and Marathi nationalists the Samyukta Maharashtra for their own states led to the split of Bombay state on linguistic lines on 1 May 1960 it became the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra In 1969 riots at least 660 died and properties worth millions were destroyed 100 101 The first capital of Gujarat was Ahmedabad The capital of Gujarat was moved to Gandhinagar in 1970 Nav Nirman Andolan was a socio political movement of 1974 It was a students and middle class people s movement against economic crisis and corruption in public life This was the first and last successful agitation after the Independence of India that ousted an elected government 102 103 104 Gujarat has emerged as an important industrial hub in India In Western India Surat was among the strongest industrial clusters in the 1970s Between 1971 and 1981 diamond cutting was established as industry in Surat At the same time the production of artificial silk and a substantial petrochemical industry became a fixture in Surat 105 The Morvi dam failure in 1979 resulted in the death of thousands of people and large economic loss 106 In the 1980s a reservation policy was introduced in the country which led to anti reservation protests in 1981 and 1985 The protests witnessed violent clashes between people belonging to various castes 107 The 2001 Gujarat earthquake was located about 9 km south southwest of the village of Chobari in the Bhachau taluka of Kutch District This magnitude 7 7 shock killed around 20 000 people including at least 18 in South eastern Pakistan injured another 167 000 and destroyed nearly 400 000 homes 108 In February 2002 the Godhra train burning led to statewide riots resulting in the deaths of 1044 people 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus and hundreds missing still unaccounted for 109 Akshardham Temple was attacked by two terrorists in September 2002 killing 32 people and injuring more than 80 others National Security Guards intervened to end the siege killing both terrorists 110 On 26 July 2008 a series of seventeen bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad killing and injuring several people 111 GeographyMain article Geography of Gujarat See also Climate of Gujarat and List of rivers of Gujarat nbsp Physical map of Gujarat nbsp Sardar Sarovar Dam Gujarat Gujarat borders the Tharparkar Badin and Thatta districts of Pakistan s Sindh province to the northwest is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest the state of Rajasthan to the northeast Madhya Pradesh to the east and by Maharashtra the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south Historically the north was known as Anarta the Kathiawar peninsula Saurastra and the south as Lata 112 Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna 113 The Arabian Sea makes up the state s western coast The capital Gandhinagar is a planned city Gujarat has an area of 75 686 sq mi 196 030 km2 with the longest coastline 24 of Indian sea coast 1 600 km 990 mi dotted with 41 ports one major 11 intermediate and 29 minor The Narmada is the largest river in Gujarat followed by the Tapi The Sabarmati has the longest course through the state The Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada one of the major rivers of peninsular India where it is one of only three major rivers that run from east to west the others being the Tapi and the Mahi It is about 1 312 km 815 mi long Several riverfront embankments have been built on the Sabarmati River The eastern borders have fringes of low mountains of India the Aravalli Sahyadri Western Ghats Vindhya and Saputara Apart from this the Gir hills Barda Jessore and Chotila together make up a large minority of Gujarat Girnar is the tallest peak and Saputara is the only hill station hilltop resort in the state Rann of Kutch Main article Rann of Kutch Rann રણ is Gujarati for desert The Rann of Kutch is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert in the Thar Desert biogeographic region between the Pakistani province of Sindh and the rest of the state of Gujarat it commences 8 km 5 0 mi from the village of Kharaghoda Surendranagar District nbsp Mount Karo Kutch nbsp Cracked earth in the Rann of Kutch nbsp The colourful Rann Utsav Festival is held annually in the Rann of Kutch nbsp People enjoying Raan Utsav at Dhordo Kutch nbsp Camel ride in Rann of Kutch nbsp Greater Flamingo at Rann of Kutch Flora and fauna Main articles Fauna of Gujarat and List of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Gujarat India Prehistoric fauna nbsp Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park Gandhinagar In the early 1980s palaeontologists found dinosaur egg hatcheries and fossils of at least 13 species in Balasinor 114 The most important find was that of a carnivorous abelisaurid dinosaur named Rajasurus narmadensis which lived in the Late Cretaceous period 114 115 A notable discovery in the village of Dholi Dungri was that of Sanajeh indicus a primitive madtsoiid snake that likely preyed on sauropod dinosaur hatchlings and embryos 115 116 Extant species According to the India State of Forest Report 2011 Gujarat has 9 7 of its total geographical area under forest cover 117 Among the districts The Dangs has the largest area under forest cover Gujarat has four national parks and 21 sanctuaries It is the only home of Asiatic lions and outside Africa is the only present natural habitat of lions 118 Gir Forest National Park in the southwest part of the state covers part of the lions habitat Apart from lions Indian leopards are also found in the state They are spread across the large plains of Saurashtra and the mountains of South Gujarat Other National Parks include Vansda National Park Blackbuck National Park Velavadar and Narara Marine National Park Gulf of Kutchh Jamnagar Wildlife sanctuaries include Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary Porbandar Bird Sanctuary Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary Kutch Bustard Sanctuary Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary Anjal Balaram Ambaji Barda Jambughoda Khavda Paniya Purna Rampura Ratan Mahal and Surpaneshwar In February 2019 a Bengal tiger claimed to be from Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh was spotted in the area of Lunavada in Mahisagar district in the eastern part of the state 119 120 before being found dead later that month likely from starvation 121 nbsp An Asiatic lion family which occurs in and around Gir National Park nbsp Greater flamingo Jamnagar nbsp Striped hyena at the Gir Forest National ParkDemographicsMain article Gujarati people Historical populationYearPop 19019 094 748 19119 803 587 7 8 192110 174 989 3 8 193111 489 828 12 9 194113 701 551 19 2 195116 263 000 18 7 196120 633 000 26 9 197126 697 000 29 4 198134 086 000 27 7 199141 310 000 21 2 200150 671 000 22 7 201160 383 628 19 2 Source Census of India 122 The population of Gujarat was 60 439 692 31 491 260 males and 28 948 432 females according to the 2011 census data 123 The population density is 308 persons per square kilometre 800 persons sq mi lower than other Indian states As per the census of 2011 the state has a sex ratio of 918 females for every 1000 males one of the lowest ranked 24 among the 29 states in India While Gujarati speakers constitute a majority of Gujarat s population the metropolitan areas of Ahmedabad Vadodara and Surat are cosmopolitan with numerous other ethnic and language groups Marwaris compose large minorities of economic migrants smaller communities of people from the other states of India have also migrated to Gujarat for employment Luso Indians Anglo Indians Jews and Parsis also live in the areas 124 Sindhi presence is traditionally important here following the Partition of India in 1947 125 The Koli forms the largest caste cluster comprising 24 of the total population of the state 126 127 Religion Religion in Gujarat 2011 128 Hinduism 88 57 Islam 9 67 Jainism 0 96 Christianity 0 52 Sikhism 0 1 Buddhism 0 05 Others 0 03 Not stated 0 1 According to 2011 census the religious makeup in Gujarat was 88 57 Hindu 9 67 Muslim 0 96 Jain 0 52 Christian 0 10 Sikh 0 05 Buddhist and 0 03 others Around 0 1 did not state any religion 128 Hinduism is the majority religion and is over 93 in rural areas Muslims are the biggest minority in the state accounting for 9 7 of the population Gujarat has the third largest population of Jains in India following Maharashtra and Rajasthan almost all of whom live in urban areas like Vadodara Ahmedabad and Surat 129 nbsp Hathisingh Jain Temple Ahmedabad nbsp Palitana temples nbsp Modhera Sun Temple built by Bhimdev nbsp Gurudwara Govinddham Ahmedabad nbsp Magen Abraham Jewish Synagogue nbsp Jama Masjid Friday Mosque 15th century Ahmedabad Language nbsp Gujarati written in Gujarati script Languages of Gujarat 2011 Gujarati 85 97 Hindi 6 07 Marathi 1 52 Kachchhi 1 43 Others 5 01 Gujarati is the official language of the state It is spoken natively by 86 of the state s population or 52 million people as of 2011 Hindi is the second largest language spoken by over 6 of the population Marathi is also spoken in urban areas 130 People from the Kutch region of Gujarat also speak in the Kutchi mother tongue and to a great extent understand Sindhi as well Memoni is the mother tongue of Kathiawar and Sindhi Memons most whom are Muslims Almost 88 of the Gujarati Muslims speak Gujarati as their mother tongue whilst the other 12 speak Urdu A sizeable proportion of Gujarati Muslims are bilingual in the two languages Islamic academic institutions Darul Uloom place a high prestige on learning Urdu and Arabic with students memorising the Quran and ahadith and emphasising the oral and literary importance of mastering these languages as a compulsory rite of religion In rural areas among the tribals various Bhil dialects are spoken by around 1 37 of the population In the northeast Bhili is spoken in the central part is spoken Bhili Bhilali and Vasava while in the southeast is spoken Dangi Varli Chodri and Dhodia which are related to Marathi Apart from this English Bengali Kannada Malayalam Marwari Odia Punjabi Tamil Telugu and others are spoken by a considerable number of economic migrants from other states of India seeking employment 131 The languages taught in schools under the three language formula are 132 First language Gujarati Hindi EnglishSecond language Gujarati EnglishThird language HindiGovernance and administrationMain articles Politics of Gujarat Government of Gujarat Gujarat Legislative Assembly Districts of Gujarat Cities of Gujarat and Talukas of Gujarat See also Chief Ministers of Gujarat nbsp Gandhinagar the capital of Gujarat State The picture shown above is of the Legislative Assembly and seat of Gujarat government Structurally Gujarat is divided into districts Zila Prant subdivisions Taluka blocks amp villages The state is divided into 33 districts 122 prants 248 talukas 133 There are 08 municipal corporations 156 municipalities and 14 273 Panchayats for administrative purposes India Gujarat Districts Prant Subdivisions Municipal Corporations Mahanagar Palika Municipalities Nagar Palika Town Council Nagar Panchayat Taluka Block Tehsil Wards Gujarat has 33 districts and 250 talukas 134 135 Surat Bharuch Dang Navsari Tapi Valsad Narmada Ahmedabad Vadodara Anand Chhota Udaipur Dahod Kheda Mahisagar Panchmahal Gandhinagar Aravalli Banaskantha Mehsana Patan Sabarkantha Rajkot Jamnagar Amreli Bhavnagar Botad Devbhoomi Dwarka Gir Somnath Junagadh Morbi Porbandar Surendranagar Kachchh Largest cities or towns in Gujarat As of the 2011 Census Rank Name District Pop Rank Name District Pop nbsp Ahmedabad nbsp Surat 1 Ahmedabad Ahmedabad 6 357 693 11 Morbi Morbi 210 451 nbsp Vadodara nbsp Rajkot 2 Surat Surat 5 935 000 12 Anand Anand 209 410 3 Vadodara Vadodara 4 065 771 13 Mehsana Mehsana 190 753 4 Rajkot Rajkot 1 390 640 14 Surendranagar Dudhrej Surendranagar 177 851 5 Bhavnagar Bhavnagar 605 882 15 Veraval Gir Somnath 171 121 6 Jamnagar Jamnagar 479 920 16 Navsari Navsari 171 109 7 Junagadh Junagadh 319 462 17 Bharuch Bharuch 169 007 8 Gandhinagar Gandhinagar 292 167 18 Vapi Valsad 163 630 9 Gandhidham Kutch 248 705 19 Porbandar Porbandar 152 760 10 Nadiad Kheda 225 071 20 Bhuj Kutch 148 834 Gujarat is governed by a Legislative Assembly of 182 members Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one of 182 constituencies of which 13 are reserved for scheduled castes and 27 for scheduled tribes The term of office for a member of the Legislative Assembly is five years The Legislative Assembly elects a speaker who presides over the meetings of the legislature A governor is appointed by the President of India and is to address the state legislature after every general election and the commencement of each year s first session of the Legislative Assembly The leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature Chief Minister or his or her designee acts as the Leader of the Legislative Assembly The administration of the state is led by the Chief Minister nbsp Swarnim Sankul 2 Office of Gujarat Government After the independence of India in 1947 the Indian National Congress INC ruled the Bombay State which included present day Gujarat and Maharashtra Congress continued to govern Gujarat after the state s creation in 1960 During and after India s State of Emergency of 1975 1977 public support for the INC eroded but it continued to hold government until 1995 with the brief rule of nine months by Janata Morcha In the 1995 Assembly elections the Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP led by Keshubhai Patel who became the Chief Minister His government lasted only two years The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by Shankersinh Vaghela BJP again won election in 1998 with clear majority In 2001 following the loss of two assembly seats in by elections Keshubhai Patel resigned and yielded power to Narendra Modi BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election and Narendra Modi remained as Chief Minister On 1 June 2007 Narendra Modi became the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat 136 137 138 BJP retained the power in subsequent elections in 2007 and 2012 and Narendra Modi continued as the chief minister After Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India in 2014 Anandiben Patel became the first female chief minister of the state Vijay Rupani took over as chief minister and Nitin Patel as deputy chief minister on 7 August 2016 after Anandiben Patel resigned earlier on 3 August Bhupendrabhai Patel became chief minister in September 2021 after the resignation of Vijay Rupani The incumbent chief secretary of Gujarat is Raj Kumar 139 and director general of police DGP is Vikas Sahay 140 EconomyMain article Economy of Gujarat nbsp Mundra Port Kutch During the British Raj Gujarati businesses played a major role in enriching the economies of Karachi and Mumbai 141 Major agricultural produce of the state includes cotton groundnuts peanuts dates sugar cane milk and milk products Industrial products include cement and petrol 142 Gujarat is ranked number one in the pharmaceutical industry in India with a 33 share in drug manufacturing and 28 share in drug exports The state has 130 USFDA certified drug manufacturing facilities Ahmedabad and Vadodara are considered as pharmaceutical hubs as there are many big and small pharmaceutical companies established in these cities 143 Gujarat has the longest coastline in India 1600 km and its ports both private and public sector handle around 40 of India s ocean cargo with Mundra Port located in Gulf of Kutch being the largest port of India by cargo handled 144 million tons due to its favourable location on the westernmost part of India and closeness to global shipping lanes Gujarat also contributes around 20 share in India s industrial production and merchandise exports According to a 2009 report on economic freedom by the Cato Institute Gujarat is the most free state in India the second one being Tamil Nadu 144 Reliance Industries operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar which is the world s largest grass roots refinery at a single location The world s largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang India s only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at Dahej developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd Gujarat has two of the three liquefied natural gas LNG terminals in the country Dahej and Hazira Two more LNG terminals are proposed at Pipavav and Mundra Gujarat has 85 village connectivity with all weather roads 145 Nearly 100 of Gujarat s 18 000 villages have been connected to the electrical grid for 24 hour power to households and eight hours of power to farms through the Jyotigram Yojana 146 As of 2015 update Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas based thermal electricity generation with a national market share of over 8 and second nationwide in nuclear electricity generation with national market share of over 1 147 The state registered 12 8 agricultural growth in the last five years against the national average of 2 148 Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10 97 Over 20 of the S amp P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat 149 As per RBI report which in year 2006 07 26 of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat citation needed According to a 2012 survey report of the Chandigarh Labour Bureau Gujarat had the lowest unemployment rate of 1 against the national average of 3 8 150 Legatum Institute s Global Prosperity Index 2012 recognised Gujarat as one of the two highest scoring among all states of India on matters of social capital 151 The state ranks 15th alongside Germany in a list of 142 nations worldwide higher than several developed nations 152 Infrastructure nbsp Tallest building in Gujarat GIFT One The tallest tower in Gujarat GIFT One was inaugurated on 10 January 2013 One other tower called GIFT Two has been finished and more towers are planned 153 Industrial growth Gujarat s major cities include Ahmedabad Surat Vadodara Rajkot Jamnagar and Bhavnagar In 2010 Forbes list of the world s fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3 after Chengdu and Chongqing from China 154 155 The state is rich in calcite gypsum manganese lignite bauxite limestone agate feldspar and quartz sand and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas Jamnagar is the hub for manufacturing brass parts Gujarat produces about 98 of India s required amount of soda ash and gives the country about 78 of the national requirement of salt It is one of India s most prosperous states having a per capita GDP significantly above India s average Kalol Khambhat and Ankleshwar are today known for their oil and natural gas production Dhuvaran has a thermal power station which uses coal oil and gas Also on the Gulf of Khambhat 50 km 31 mi southeast of Bhavnagar is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard the world s largest MG Motor India manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara Tata Motors manufactures the Tata Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj Surat a city by the Gulf of Khambhat is a hub of the global diamond trade In 2003 92 of the world s diamonds were cut and polished in Surat 156 The diamond industry employs 500 000 people in Gujarat 157 At an investor s summit entitled Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit arranged between 11 and 13 January 2015 at Mahatma Mandir Gandhinagar the state government signed 21000 Memoranda of Understanding for Special Economic Zones worth a total of 2 5 million crores short scale 158 However most of the investment was from domestic industry 159 In the fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit held at Science City Ahmedabad in January 2009 there were 600 foreign delegates In all 8668 MOUs worth 12500 billion were signed estimated to create 2 5 million new job opportunities in the state 160 In 2011 Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit MOUs worth 21 trillion US 463 billion were signed Gujarat is a state with surplus electricity 161 The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station is a nuclear power station run by NPCIL that lies in the proximity of the city of Surat According to the official sources against demand of 40 793 million units during the nine months since April 2010 Gujarat produced 43 848 million units Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 states Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Delhi Haryana Karnataka Chhattisgarh Uttarakhand Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal 162 nbsp Shown here is the Tata Nano the world s least expensive car 163 Sanand Gujarat is home to Tata Nano nbsp Surat is one of the fastest growing cities in the world nbsp Alang shipbreaking Energy See also Solar power in Gujarat nbsp Astonfield s 11 5 MW solar plant in Gujarat As of April 2022 the peak power requirement of state is 20 277 MW 164 Total installed power generation capacity is 44 127 43 MW Of this 25 688 66 MW belongs to thermal power generation capacity while 17 879 77 MW belongs to renewable energy generation capacity The rest 559 MW is nuclear power generation capacity 165 The renewable energy installed capacity includes 9 209 MW wind power and 7 180 MW solar power as of March 2022 166 Agriculture nbsp Traditional farming The total geographical area of Gujarat is 19 602 400 hectares of which crops take up 10 630 700 hectares verification needed 167 The three main sources of growth in Gujarat s agriculture are from cotton production the rapid growth of high value foods such as livestock fruits and vegetables and from wheat production which saw an annual average growth rate of 28 between 2000 and 2008 According to the International Food Policy Research Institute 168 Other major produce includes bajra groundnut cotton rice maize wheat mustard sesame pigeon pea green gram sugarcane mango banana sapota lime guava tomato potato onion cumin garlic isabgul and fennel Whilst in recent times Gujarat has seen a high average annual growth of 9 in the agricultural sector the rest of India has an annual growth rate of around 3 This success was lauded by former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam 169 The strengths of Gujarat s agricultural success have been attributed to diversified crops and cropping patters climatic diversity 8 climatic zones for agriculture the existence of 4 agricultural universities in the state which promote research in agricultural efficiency and sustainability 170 co operatives adoption of hi tech agriculture such as tissue culture green houses and shed net houses agriculture export zones strong marketing infrastructure which includes cold storage processing units logistic hubs and consultancy facilities 171 Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco cotton and groundnuts in India Other major food crops produced are rice wheat jowar bajra maize tur and gram The state has an agricultural economy the total crop area amounts to more than one half of the total land area 172 Animal husbandry and dairying have played vital roles in the rural economy of Gujarat Dairy farming primarily concerned with milk production functions on a co operative basis and has more than a million members Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India The Amul milk co operative federation is well known all over India and it is Asia s biggest dairy 173 Among the livestock raised are buffaloes and other cattle sheep and goats As per the results of livestock census 1997 there were 20 97 million head of livestock in Gujarat State In the estimates of the survey of major livestock products during the year 2002 03 Gujarat produced 6 09 million tonnes of milk 385 million eggs and 2 71 million kg of wool Gujarat also contributes inputs to the textiles oil and soap industries The adoption of cooperatives in Gujarat is widely attributed to much of the success in the agricultural sector particularly sugar and dairy cooperatives Cooperative farming has been a component of India s strategy for agricultural development since 1951 Whilst the success of these was mixed throughout the country their positive impact on the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been the most significant In 1995 alone the two states had more registered co operatives than any other region in the country Out of these the agricultural cooperatives have received much attention Many have focused on subsidies and credit to farmers and rather than collective gathering they have focused on facilitating collective processing and marketing of produce However whilst they have led to increased productivity their effect on equity in the region has been questioned because membership in agricultural co operatives has tended to favour landowners whilst limiting the entry of landless agricultural labourers 174 An example of co operative success in Gujarat can be illustrated through dairy co operatives with the particular example of Amul Anand Milk Union Limited nbsp Amul plant at Anand Amul was formed as a dairy cooperative in 1946 175 in the city of Anand Gujarat The cooperative Gujarat Co operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd GCMMF is jointly owned by around 2 6 million milk producers in Gujarat Amul has been seen as one of the best examples of cooperative achievement and success in a developing economy and the Amul pattern of growth has been taken as a model for rural development particularly in the agricultural sector of developing economies The company stirred the White Revolution of India also known as Operation Flood the world s biggest dairy development program and made the milk deficient nation of India the largest milk producer in the world in 2010 176 The Amul Model aims to stop the exploitation by middlemen and encourage freedom of movement since the farmers are in control of procurement processing and packaging of the milk and milk products 177 The company is worth 2 5 billion US dollars as of 2012 update 178 70 of Gujarat s area is classified as semi arid to arid climatically thus the demand on water from various economic activities puts a strain on the supply 179 Of the total gross irrigated area 16 17 is irrigated by government owned canals and 83 84 by privately owned tube wells and other wells extracting groundwater which is the predominant source of irrigation and water supply to the agricultural areas As a result Gujarat has faced problems with groundwater depletion especially after demand for water increased in the 1960s As access to electricity in rural areas increased submersible electric pumps became more popular in the 1980s and 1990s However the Gujarat Electricity Board switched to flat tariff rates linked to the horsepower of pumps which increased tubewell irrigation again and decreased the use of electric pumps By the 1990s groundwater abstraction rates exceeded groundwater recharge rate in many districts whilst only 37 5 of all districts has safe recharge rates Groundwater maintenance and preventing unnecessary loss of the available water supplies is now an issue faced by the state 180 The Sardar Sarovar Project a debated dam project in the Narmada valley consisting of a network of canals has significantly increased irrigation in the region However its impact on communities who were displaced is still a contested issue In 2012 Gujarat began an experiment to reduce water loss due to evaporation in canals and to increase sustainability in the area by constructing solar panels over the canals In a one megawatt MW solar power project set up at Chandrasan Gujarat uses solar panels fixed over a 750 metre stretch of an irrigation canal Unlike many solar power projects this one does not take up large amounts of land since the panels are constructed over the canals and not on additional land This results in lower upfront costs since land does not need to be acquired cleared or modified to set up the panels The Chandrasan project is projected to save 9 million litres of water per year 181 The Government of Gujarat to improve soil management and introduce farmers to new technology started on a project which involved giving every farmer a Soil Health Card This acts like a ration card providing permanent identification for the status of cultivated land as well as farmers names account numbers survey numbers soil fertility status and general fertiliser dose Samples of land from each village are taken and analysed by the Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Corporation State Fertiliser Corporation and Indian Farmers Fertilisers Co operative 1 200 000 soil test data from the villages was collected as of 2008 from farmer s field villages have gone into a database Assistance and advice for this project was given by local agricultural universities and crop and soil specific data was added to the database This allows the soil test data to be interpreted and recommendations or adjustments made in terms of fertiliser requirements which are also added to the database 182 CultureMain article Culture of Gujarat This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions October 2016 Gujarat is home for the Gujarati people Gujarat was also the home of Mahatma Gandhi a worldwide figure known for his non violent struggle against British rule and Vallabhbhai Patel a founding father of the Republic of India Literature Main article Gujarati literature nbsp Hemchandra acharya with his disciple Kumarpal Raja He is regarded as the father of the Gujarati language nbsp Depiction of Shrimad Rajchandra writing Atmasiddhi in single sitting of 1 5 hrs one of the longest Gujarati poems based on Jain philosophy The history of Gujarati literature may be traced back to 1000 CE Well known laureates of Gujarati literature include Hemchandracharya Narsinh Mehta Mirabai Akho Premanand Bhatt Shamal Bhatt Dayaram Dalpatram Narmad Govardhanram Tripathi Mahatma Gandhi K M Munshi Umashankar Joshi Suresh Joshi Swaminarayan Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Shah 183 Kavi Kant Zaverchand Meghani and Kalapi are famous Gujarati poets Gujarat Vidhya Sabha Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi Writers like Aanand Shankar Dhruv Ashvini Bhatt Balwantray Thakore Bhaven Kachhi Bhagwatikumar Sharma Chandrakant Bakshi Gunvant Shah Harindra Dave Harkisan Mehta Jay Vasavada Jyotindra Dave Kanti Bhatt Kavi Nanalal Khabardar Sundaram Makarand Dave Ramesh Parekh Suresh Dalal Tarak Mehta Vinod Bhatt Dhruv Bhatt and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers A notable contribution to Gujarati literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso like Brahmanand Swami Premanand with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans 184 Shrimad Rajchandra Vachnamrut and Shri Atma Siddhi Shastra written in 19th century by Jain philosopher and poet Shrimad Rajchandra Mahatma Gandhi s guru are very well known 185 186 Gujarati theatre owes a lot to Bhavai Bhavai is a folk musical performance of stage plays Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai Oh Darling Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Dayro gathering involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature Mumbai theatre veteran Alyque Padamsee best known in the English speaking world for playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sir Richard Attenborough s Gandhi was from a traditional Gujarati Kutchi family from Kathiawar 187 Cuisine Main article Gujarati cuisine nbsp Gujarati thali Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian The typical Gujarati thali consists of rotli or bhakhari or thepala or rotlo dal or kadhi khichdi Bhat and shak Athanu Indian pickle and chhundo are used as condiments The four major regions of Gujarat all bring their own styles to Gujarati food Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet salty and spicy at the same time In the Saurashtra region chhash buttermilk is believed to be a must have in their daily food Cinema Main article Gujarati cinema The Gujarati film industry dates back to 1932 when the first Gujarati film Narsinh Mehta was released 188 189 190 After flourishing through the 1960s to 1980s the industry saw a decline The industry is revived in recent times The film industry has produced more than one thousand films since its inception 191 The Government of Gujarat announced a 100 entertainment tax exemption for Gujarati films in 2005 192 and a policy of incentives in 2016 193 Music Main article Music of Gujarat Gujarati folk music known as Sugam Sangeet is a hereditary profession of the Barot community Gadhvi and Charan communities have contributed heavily in modern times The omnipresent instruments in Gujarati folk music include wind instruments such as turi bungal and pava string instruments such as the ravan hattho ektaro and jantar and percussion instruments such as the manjira and zanz pot drum 194 Festivals nbsp Garba during Navaratri in Ahmedabad nbsp Navratri Garba at Ambaji temple nbsp Tourists playing Dandiya Raas nbsp International Kite Festival Ahmedabad The folk traditions of Gujarat include bhavai and raas garba Bhavai is a folk theatre it is partly entertainment and partly ritual and is dedicated to Amba The raas garba is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people The folk costume of this dance is chaniya choli for women and kedia for men Different styles and steps of garba include dodhiyu simple five simple seven popatiyu trikoniya hand movement which forms an imagery triangle lehree tran taali butterfly hudo two claps and many more Sheri garba is one of the oldest form of garba where all the women wear red patola sari and sing along while dancing It is a very graceful form of garba 195 Makar Sankranti is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites In Gujarat from December through to Makar Sankranti people start enjoying kite flying Undhiyu a special dish made of various vegetables is a must have of Gujarati people on Makar Sankranti Surat is especially well known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge 196 Apart from Navratri and Uttarayana Diwali Holi Janmashtami Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Eid Tazia Paryushan and others are also celebrated Diffusion of culture Due to close proximity to the Arabian Sea Gujarat has developed a mercantile ethos which maintained a cultural tradition of seafaring long distance trade and overseas contacts with the outside world since ancient times and the diffusion of culture through Gujarati diaspora was a logical outcome of such a tradition During the pre modern period various European sources have observed that these merchants formed diaspora communities outside of Gujarat and in many parts of the world such as the Persian Gulf Middle East Horn of Africa Hong Kong Indonesia and Philippines 197 long before the internal rise of the Maratha dynasty and the British Raj colonial occupation 198 Early 1st century Western historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius are testament to Gujarati people s role in the spread of Buddhism in the Mediterranean when it was recorded that the sramana monk Zarmanochegas Zarmanoxhgὰs of Barygaza met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch while Augustus ruled the Roman Empire and shortly thereafter proceeded to Athens where died by setting himself on fire to demonstrate his faith 199 200 A tomb to the sramana was still visible in the time of Plutarch 201 which bore the mention ZARMANOXHGAS INDOS APO BARGOSHS The sramana master from Barygaza in India 202 The progenitor of the Sinhala language is believed to have been Prince Vijaya son of King Simhabahu who ruled Simhapura modern day Sihor near Bhavnagar 203 Prince Vijaya was banished by his father for his lawlessness and set forth with a band of adventurers This tradition was followed by other Gujaratis For example in the Ajanta frescoes a Gujarati prince is shown entering Sri Lanka 204 Many Indians migrated to Indonesia and the Philippines most of them Gujaratis King Aji Saka who is said to have come to Java in Indonesia in year 1 of the Saka calendar is believed by some to have been a king of Gujarat 205 The first Indian settlements in the Philippines and Java Island of Indonesia are believed to have been established with the coming of Prince Dhruvavijaya of Gujarat with 5000 traders 205 Some stories propose a Brahmin named Tritresta was the first to bring Gujarati migrants with him to Java so some scholars equate him with Aji Saka 206 A Gujarati ship has been depicted in a sculpture at Borabudur Java 204 TourismMain articles Tourism in Gujarat and List of tourist attractions in Gujarat nbsp Saputara a hill station in Gujarat Gujarat s natural environment includes the Great Rann of Kutch and the hills of Saputara and it is the sole home of pure Asiatic lions in the world 207 During the historic reigns of the sultans Hindu craftsmanship blended with Islamic architecture giving rise to the Indo Saracenic style Many structures in the state are built in this fashion It is also the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel great iconic figures of India s Independence movement Amitabh Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism 208 nbsp Statue of Unity facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony Museums and memorials Gujarat has a variety of museums on different genres that are run by the state s Department of Museums located at the principal state museum Baroda Museum amp Picture Gallery in Vadodara 209 which is also the location of the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum The Kirti Mandir Porbandar Sabarmati Ashram and Kaba Gandhi No Delo are museums related to Mahatma Gandhi the former being the place of his birth and the latter two where he lived in his lifetime Kaba Gandhi No Delo in Rajkot exhibits part of a rare collection of photographs relating to the life of Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram is the place where Gandhi initiated the Dandi March On 12 March 1930 he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence 210 The Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum is housed within Lakshmi Vilas Palace the residence of the erstwhile Maharajas located in Vadodara The Calico Museum of Textiles is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ahmedabad citation needed The Lakhota Museum at Jamnagar is a palace transformed into museum which was residence of the Jadeja Rajputs The collection of the museum includes artefacts spanning from 9th to 18th centuries pottery from medieval villages nearby and the skeleton of a whale Other well known museums in the state include the Kutch Museum in Bhuj which is the oldest museum in Gujarat founded in 1877 the Watson Museum of human history and culture in Rajkot 211 Gujarat Science City and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad In October 2018 the world s tallest statue commemorating the independence leader Sardar Patel was unveiled At 182 metres tall the Statue of Unity is the newest tourist attraction with over 30 000 visitors every day 212 213 Religious sites Religious sites play a major part in the tourism of Gujarat Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas and is mentioned in the Rigveda The Dwarakadheesh Temple Radha Damodar Temple Junagadh and Dakor are holy pilgrimage sites with temples dedicated to Lord Krishna The Sun Temple Modhera is a ticketed monument handled by the Archaeological Survey of India 214 Other religious sites in state include Ambaji Dakor Shamlaji Chotila Becharaji Mahudi Shankheshwar etc The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Shatrunjaya Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara and Digambara Jain community 215 Palitana is the world s only mountain with more than 900 temples 216 The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and Jama Masjid are holy mosques for Gujarati Muslims Fairs nbsp Tarnetar Fair Tarnetar nbsp A man in traditional costumes during Tarnetar fair A five day festival is held during Maha Shivaratri at the fort of Girnar Junagadh known as the Bhavanth Mahadev Fair Gujarati ભવન થ ન મ ળ The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival Gujarati કચ છ or રણ ઉત સવ is a festival celebrated at Kutch during Mahashivratri The Modhra Dance Festival is a festival for classical dance arranged by the Government of Gujarat s Cultural Department to promote tourism in state and to keep traditions and culture alive 217 The Ambaji Fair is held in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad around August September at Ambaji during a time which is particularly suitable for farmers when the busy monsoon season is about to end The Bhadrapad fair is held at Ambaji which is in the Danta Taluka of Banaskantha district near the Gujarat Rajasthan border The walk from the bus station to the temple is less than one kilometre under a roofed walkway Direct buses are available from many places including Mount Abu 45 km away Palanpur 65 km away Ahmedabad and Idar The Bhadrapad fair is held in the centre of the Ambaji village just outside the temple premises The village is visited by the largest number of sanghas pilgrim groups during the fair Many of them go there on foot which is particularly enriching as it happens immediately after the monsoon when the landscape is rich with greenery streams are full of sparkling water and the air is fresh About 1 5 million devotees are known to attend this fair each year from all over the world Not only Hindus but some devout Jains and Parsis also attend the functions whilst some Muslims attend the fair for trade The Tarnetar Fair is held during the first week of Bhadrapad September October according to Gregorian calendar and mostly serves as a place to find a suitable bride for tribal people from Gujarat The region is believed to be the place where Arjuna took up the difficult task of piercing the eye of a fish rotating at the end of a pole by looking at its reflection in the pond water to marry Draupadi 218 Other fairs in Gujarat include Dang Durbar Shamlaji Fair Chitra Vichitra Fair Dhrang Fair and Vautha Fair The Government of Gujarat has banned alcohol since 1960 219 Gujarat government collected the Best State Award for Citizen Security by IBN7 Diamond States on 24 December 2012 220 nbsp Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Sabarmati Ashram Ahmedabad nbsp Somnath Temple Veraval nbsp Dwarkadhish Temple Dwarka nbsp Radha Damodar Temple Junagadh nbsp Kirti Toran Vadnagar nbsp Akshardham Gandhinagar nbsp Jama Mosque Champaner nbsp Lakhota Museum in Jamnagar nbsp Sun Temple Modhera nbsp Laxmi Vilas Palace Vadodara nbsp Vijay Vilas Palace Mandvi Kutch nbsp Mahabat Maqbara Junagadh nbsp Vasai Jain Temple Kutch nbsp Wankaner palace Wankaner nbsp Mandvi Beach KutchTransportAir nbsp Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport nbsp Surat Airport Main article List of airports in Gujarat nbsp Airports in Gujarat There are three international airports Ahmedabad and Surat Vadodara nine domestic airports Bhavnagar Bhuj Jamnagar Kandla Porbandar Rajkot Amreli Keshod two private airports Mundra Mithapur and three military bases Bhuj Jamnagar Naliya in Gujarat Two more airports Ankleshwar Rajkot are under construction There are three disused airports situated at Deesa Mandvi and Mehsana the last serving as a flying school Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited GUJSAIL has been established by the Government of Gujarat to foster development of aviation infrastructure in the state 221 These airports are operated and owned by either the Airports Authority of India Indian Air Force Government of Gujarat or private companies 222 223 Rail Main pages Railway stations in Gujarat and Indian Railways Further information Pune Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Passenger Corridor Gujarat comes under the Western Railway Zone of the Indian Railways Ahmedabad Railway Station is the most important centrally located and biggest railway station in Gujarat which connects to all important cities of Gujarat and India Surat railway station and Vadodara Railway Station is also the busiest railway station in Gujarat and the ninth busiest railway station in India Other important railway stations are Palanpur Junction Bhavnagar Terminus Rajkot Railway Station Sabarmati Junction Nadiad Junction Valsad Railway Station Bharuch Junction Gandhidham Junction Anand Junction Godhra Railway Station etc Indian Railways is planning a dedicated rail freight route Delhi Mumbai passing through the state The 39 259 km 24 394 mi long tracks of the first phase of MEGA a metro rail system for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is under construction It is expected to complete by 2024 The construction started on 14 March 2015 224 225 Sea nbsp Operational Ports and harbours of Gujarat Gujarat State has the longest sea coast of 1214 km in India Kandla Port is one of the largest ports serving Western India Other important ports in Gujarat are the Port of Navlakhi Port of Magdalla Port Pipavav Bedi Port Port of Porbandar Port of Veraval and the privately owned Mundra Port The state also has Ro Ro ferry service 226 Further information List of ports and harbours of Gujarat Road Main articles List of National Highways in Gujarat and List of state highways in Gujarat nbsp Bus terminal in Vadodara nbsp Ahmedabad BRTS Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation GSRTC is the primary body responsible for providing the bus services within the state of Gujarat and also with the neighbouring states It is a public transport corporation providing bus services and public transit within Gujarat and to the other states in India Apart from this there are a number of services provided by GSRTC Mofussil Services connects major cities smaller towns and villages within Gujarat 227 Intercity Bus Services connects major cities Ahmedabad Surat Veraval Vapi Vadodara Baroda Rajkot Bharuch etc 227 Interstate Bus Services connects various cities of Gujarat with the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra and Rajasthan 227 City Services GSRTC provides city bus services at Surat Vadodara Vapi Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad within the state of Gujarat 227 Parcel Services service used for transporting goods 227 Apart from this the GSRTC provides special bus services for festivals industrial zones schools colleges and pilgrim places also buses are given on contract basis to the public for certain special occasions 227 There are also city buses in cities like Ahmedabad AMTS and Ahmedabad BRTS Surat Surat BRTS Bhavnagar BMC CITY BUS Vadodara Vinayak Logistics Gandhinagar VTCOS Rajkot RMTS and Rajkot BRTS Anand VTCOS Bharuch Gurukrupa etc Auto rickshaws are common mode of transport in Gujarat The Government of Gujarat is promoting bicycles to reduce pollution by the way of initiative taken by free cycle rides for commuters Education and researchMain article Education in Gujarat See also List of institutions of higher education in Gujarat The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board GSHSEB are in charge of the schools run by the Government of Gujarat However most of the private schools in Gujarat are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education CBSE and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations CISCE board Gujarat has 13 state universities and four agricultural universities Institutes for Engineering and Research in the area include IIT Gandhinagar Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara IIITV Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management IITRAM Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology DA IICT also in Gandhinagar Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology SVNIT and P P Savani University in Surat Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University PDPU in Gandhinagar Nirma University in Ahmedabad M S University in Vadodara Marwadi Education Foundation s Group of Institutions MEFGI in Rajkot and Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya BVM in Vallabh Vidyanagar a suburb in Anand district Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad MICA is an institute for mass communication In addition Institute of Rural Management Anand IRMA is one of the leading sectoral institution in rural management IRMA is a unique institution in the sense that it provides professional education to train managers for rural management It is the only one of its kind in all Asia The National Institute of Design and development NID in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research Centre for Environmental Planning amp Technology University popularly known as CEPT is one of the best planning and architectural school not in India but across the world providing various technical and professional courses In the emerging area of legal education a premier institution Gujarat National Law University was founded in the capital city Gandhinagar which started imparting education in 2004 and is ranked in top institutions in the country Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering LDCE is also one of the top engineering college of the state The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Vadodara is a premier university of Gujarat It is one of the oldest universities of Gujarat and provides education in Faculty of Fine Arts Engineering Arts Journalism Education Law Social Work Medicine Science and Performing Arts Originally known as the Baroda College of Science established 1881 it became a university in 1949 after the independence of the country and later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III the former ruler of Baroda State Gujarat University Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya Sardar Patel University Ahmedabad University Saurashtra University Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Dharmsinh Desai University and Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University are also among reputed universities affiliating many reputed colleges nbsp Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad nbsp The Gujarat National Law University Gandhinagar nbsp Campus at Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology Gandhinagar nbsp The clock tower in Gujarat University Ahmedabad nbsp Kala Bhavan Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Research nbsp Rocket model at Science City Ahmedabad The Space Applications Centre SAC is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad India under the aegis of the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO Vikram Sarabhai a renowned scientist industrialist and visionary Gujarati played an important role in it He also founded Physical Research Laboratory a research institute encompasses Astrophysics Solar System and cosmic radiation He also envisioned Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat s commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country 228 229 Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute has been established under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Government of India at Bhavnagar It was inaugurated by Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India on 10 April 1954 with a view to carry out research on marine salt and salt from inland lakes and sub soil brine It is working on reverse osmosis electro membrane process salt and marine chemicals analytical science marine biotechnology and other related fields The Gujarat National Law University situated at Gandhinagar is the 5th Best Law School currently in India Gujarat Science City 230 is a government initiative to draw more students towards education in science which hosts India s first IMAX 3D theatre an energy park a hall of science an amphitheatre and dancing musical fountains among others Institute of Management under Nirma University is constantly ranked among the top MBA colleges in India International Institute of Management and Technical Studies affiliated with Gujarat Knowledge Society European Association for Distance Learning Association of Indian Management Schools and Ahmedabad Textile Industry s Research Association has performed globally for its higher education certification courses for working professionals IIMT STUDIES also launched GET SET GO programme in 2013 in affiliation with Gujarat Technological University and Gujarat Knowledge Society Department of Technical Education Government of Gujarat 231 232 233 234 235 B K School of Business Management is ranked sixth in financial management K S School of Business Management is also an MBA college in Gujarat University providing a five year integrated MBA course Shanti Business School in Ahmedabad is a business school offering a post graduate diploma in management through a corporate citizenship initiative The Institute of Seismological Research ISR was established by the Science and Technology Department Government of Gujarat in 2003 and is registered as a society ISR campus is at Raisan Gandhinagar on the banks of Sabarmati river Aims and objectives include assigning optimum seismic factors for buildings in different regions and long term assessment of potential The ISR is the only institute in India fully dedicated to seismological research and is planned to be developed into a premier international institute in few years time Notable peopleSee also List of people from Gujarat Notable people of Gujarat nbsp Mahatma Gandhi nbsp Vallabhbhai Patel nbsp Jamsetji Tata nbsp Vikram Sarabhai nbsp Narendra Modi Incumbent PM Of India Gautam Adani founder and chairman of Adani Group from Ahmedabad Gujarat Lal Krishna Advani ex president of BJP and Deputy Prime Minister of India 1999 2004 Dhirubhai Ambani founder of Reliance Industries from Chorvad Gujarat 236 Jasprit Bumrah Indian bowler who plays for Indian National Cricket team all formats from Ahmedabad Morarji Desai 4th Prime Minister of India 1977 1979 from Valsad Urvashi Dholakia Television amp Bollywood actress Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi Architect Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Dadudan Gadhvi Kavi DadBapu poet singer and lyricist of Gujarati Cinema Padmashri title given in 2021 Mahatma Gandhi spearheaded the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule Gujarati 237 Ravindra Jadeja Indian all rounder amp part of the Indian U 19 cricket team from Navagam Ghed Sanjeev Kumar a Versatility Bollywood actor Born in Surat Shri Gopinathji Maharaj family founder Narendra Modi 14th and current Prime Minister of India from Vadnagar Gujarat 238 Asha Parekh influential actress in Hindi cinema she was born in Ahmedabad Urjit Patel former Governor of Reserve Bank of India from Kheda district Gujarat Vallabhbhai Patel Independent India s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister from Karamsad Falguni Pathak a female singer and performing artist born amp brought up in Vadodara who currently resides in Mumbai Azim Premji software magnate and chairman of Wipro Limited ethnically Gujarati 239 Cheteshwar Pujara Indian batter who plays fior Indian National Cricket Test team from Rajkot Shrimad Rajchandra poet philosopher and reformer best known as the spiritual guru of Mahatma Gandhi 240 Paresh Rawal Indian film actor and politician of Gujarati origin born in Mumbai Vikram Sarabhai father of the Indian space programme from Ahmedabad 241 Dayananda Saraswati is an Indian philosopher social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj Born in Tankara Amit Shah 31st and Current Home Minister of India former Minister of State Government of Gujarat born in Mumbai 242 Jamsetji Tata pioneer industrialist founder of the Tata Group from a Parsi family of Navsari 243 Shyamji Krishna Varma an Indian revolutionary fighter an Indian patriot lawyer and journalist From KutchSister states nbsp New Jersey United States September 2019 244 nbsp Delaware United States September 2019 245 nbsp California United States 246 nbsp Hyōgo Prefecture Japan November 2019 247 248 nbsp Guangdong China 2014 249 250 nbsp Astrakhan Oblast Russia 251 252 See also nbsp India portal Cuttanee Navnirman Andolan Outline of Gujarat Dharasana SatyagrahaCitations Newest version of Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat song launched Video Desh Gujarat 7 May 2011 Archived from the original on 13 November 2016 Retrieved 12 November 2016 DGFASLI REPORT Archived from the original on 20 August 2017 Retrieved 24 March 2023 50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India PDF 16 July 2014 p 118 Archived from the original PDF on 8 July 2016 Retrieved 6 November 2016 The Gujarat Official Languages Act 1960 PDF indiacode nic in 1961 Archived PDF from the original on 21 December 2022 Retrieved 21 December 2022 Benedikter Thomas 2009 Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India LIT Verlag Munster p 89 ISBN 978 3 643 10231 7 Archived from the original on 25 April 2016 Retrieved 13 June 2018 a b Socio Economic Review 2021 2022 PDF Government of Gujarat p 30 Retrieved 11 February 2022 permanent dead link Human Development Indices 5 0 Archived from the original on 17 February 2022 Retrieved 17 February 2022 Household Social Consumption on Education in India PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2 November 2020 Retrieved 17 February 2022 Census 2011 Final Data Demographic details Literate Population Total Rural amp Urban PDF planningcommission gov in Planning Commission Government of India Archived from the original PDF on 27 January 2018 Retrieved 3 October 2018 a b c Gujarat forgets state bird tree and flower The Times of India 14 January 2016 Archived from the original on 27 December 2016 Retrieved 14 July 2017 Nair Avinash 21 November 2023 Ghol declared state fish of Gujarat at Global Fisheries Conference Ahmedabad The Indian Express Archived from the original on 21 November 2023 Retrieved 21 November 2023 Which is State Fruit of Gujarat India Mango Keri Nri Gujarati News Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 14 July 2017 Gujarat Population 2018 worldpopulationreview com Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 Retrieved 24 January 2018 a b Kulke Professor of Asian History Hermann Kulke Hermann Rothermund Dietmar 2004 A History of India Psychology Press pp 26 27 ISBN 978 0 415 32920 0 Archived from the original on 23 September 2021 Retrieved 2 August 2021 Baṭṭuṭa Ibn Husain Mahdi 1976 The Rehla of Ibn Battuta India Maldive Islands and Ceylon Baroda Oriental Institute p 172 a b David Smith 2003 Hinduism and modernity Oxford Blackwell p 62 ISBN 978 0 631 20862 4 Surat was then the place of embarkation of pilgrims to Mecca known as Bab al Makkah or the Gate of Mecca it was almost a sacred place for the Muslims of India More to the point it was the main city for foreign imports where many merchants had their bases and all the European trading companies were established Its population was more than 100 000 a b The journal of Asian studies Volume 35 Issues 1 2 1975 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 22 December 2016 For a pious emperor Surat had more than economic and political importance it was the port from which the hajj pilgrimage ships left Mughal India for the Red Sea The port was variously known as Bab al Makkah the Bab ul Hajj the Dar al Hajj and the Bandar i Mubarak States with total and phase wise prohibition of alcohol in India The Indian Express 6 April 2016 Archived from the original on 5 June 2021 Retrieved 2 August 2021 Mukherjee Aeshita Borad C K 1 October 2004 Integrated approach towards conservation of Gir National Park the last refuge of Asiatic Lions India Biodiversity amp Conservation 13 11 2165 2182 Bibcode 2004BiCon 13 2165M doi 10 1023 B BIOC 0000040009 75090 8c ISSN 1572 9710 S2CID 35893400 Archived from the original on 25 September 2022 Retrieved 2 August 2021 NIRYAT niryat gov in Archived from the original on 18 January 2024 Retrieved 7 February 2024 Sub national HDI Area Database Global Data Lab Institute for Management Research Radboud University Archived from the original on 23 September 2018 Retrieved 25 September 2018 Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017 18 PDF Ministry of Labour and Employment p 212 Archived from the original PDF on 4 July 2019 Retrieved 3 May 2019 M Saraswathy 5 February 2020 Electronic appliance makers eye Gujarat as new manufacturing hub CNBC TV18 Archived from the original on 5 February 2020 Retrieved 4 March 2017 Pradeep Udhas Accelerating growth in Gujarat PDF KPMG Archived PDF from the original on 23 September 2020 Retrieved 4 July 2020 Tomar Anita Oza Heena September 2015 Green supply chain management practices implementation and effect on organizational performance of ISO14001 certified manufacturing companies of India Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Management amp Technology 4 9 Abhinav Publication 21 ISSN 2320 0073 Retrieved 5 July 2020 Parwez S 2016 A Comparative Study of Gujarat and Kerala Developmental Experiences International Journal of Rural Management 12 2 104 124 doi 10 1177 0973005216660908 Christophe Jaffrelot 2015 What Gujarat Model Growth without Development and with Socio Political Polarisation South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies 38 4 820 838 doi 10 1080 00856401 2015 1087456 KALAIYARASAN A A Comparison of Developmental Outcomes in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu Economic and Political Weekly vol 49 no 15 2014 pp 55 63 JSTOR JSTOR 24479122 Accessed 29 December 2022 Simpson E 2006 The State of Gujarat and the Men without Souls Critique of Anthropology 26 3 331 348 doi 10 1177 0308275X06066581 SUD N 2008 Secularism and the Gujarat State 1960 2005 Modern Asian Studies 42 6 1251 1281 doi 10 1017 S0026749X07002934 Subramaniam M 2014 Resisting gendered religious nationalism The case of religious based violence in Gujarat India Gendered Perspectives on Conflict and Violence Part B Advances in Gender Research Vol 18B Emerald Group Publishing Limited Bingley pp 73 98 doi 10 1108 S1529 21262014000018B007 Ahmad Riaz Gujarat Violence Meaning and Implications Economic and Political Weekly vol 37 no 20 2002 pp 1870 73 JSTOR JSTOR 4412121 Accessed 29 December 2022 Gujarat Part 1 Popular Prakashan 2003 ISBN 978 81 7991 104 4 Archived from the original on 14 April 2021 Retrieved 8 August 2020 The Gurjars of Chitrakuta and Gurjars of lta were mentioned in Rashtrakuta inscriptions Gujarat Government Gujarat state official site Archived from the original on 3 February 2010 Retrieved 21 January 2010 The State took its name from the Gurjara the land of the Gujjar who ruled the area during the 700s and 800s Ramesh Chandra Majumdar Bharatiya Itihasa Samiti 1954 The History and Culture of the Indian People The classical age G Allen amp Unwin p 64 Archived from the original on 14 April 2021 Retrieved 8 August 2020 Gujarat Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on 19 October 2016 Retrieved 27 October 2016 Gujarat draws its name from the Gurjara who ruled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries CE Ramesh Chandra Majumdar Achut Dattatrya Pusalker A K Majumdar Dilip Kumar Ghose Vishvanath Govind Dighe Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1977 The History and Culture of the Indian People The classical age Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan p 153 Devdutt Pattanaik explores Gujarat through the ages and finds in its archaeology its myths and legends its cultures and histories a microcosm of the multilayered country he loves 18 October 2017 Archived from the original on 27 October 2017 Retrieved 27 October 2017 Where does history begin 18 October 2017 Archived from the original on 27 October 2017 Retrieved 27 October 2017 a b History of Gujarat Mapsofindia com Archived from the original on 26 May 2010 Retrieved 16 July 2010 Shuichi Takezawa August 2002 Stepwells Cosmology of Subterranean Architecture as seen in Adalaj PDF Journal of Architecture and Building Science 117 1492 24 Archived PDF from the original on 20 July 2011 Retrieved 18 November 2009 S R Rao 1985 Lothal Archaeological Survey of India p 11 The Acts of Judas Thomas M R James Tr by M R James Oxford Clarendon Press 1924 Medlycott A E India and the Apostle Thomas Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Trade And Trade Routes In Ancient India von Moti Chandra page 99 CNG eAuction 343 INDIA Post Gupta Gujura Confederacy Gujuras of Sindh Circa AD 570 712 AR Drachm 25 mm 3 84 g 9h cngcoins com Archived from the original on 11 August 2017 Retrieved 15 July 2017 Mote Sally Hovey Wriggins with a foreword by Frederick W 1996 Xuanzang a Buddhist pilgrim on the Silk Road Boulder Colo Westview Press ISBN 978 0 8133 2801 0 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 22 December 2016 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Vashi Ashish 21 October 2010 Saga of Barygaza The Times of India archived from the original on 21 January 2012 retrieved 19 August 2014 The book describes an episode of a foreigner bringing costly gifts for kings saying And for the King there are very costly vessels of silver singing boys beautiful maidens for the harem fine wines thin clothing of the finest weaves and the choicest ointments William H Schoff 1912 The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century digitalized New York archived from the original on 24 February 2011 retrieved 1 October 2013 As a sign of these places to those approaching from the sea there are serpents very large and black for at the other places on this coast and around Barygaza they are smaller and in color bright green running into gold Now the whole country of India has very many rivers and very great ebb and flow of the tides increasing at the new moon and at the full moon for three days and falling off during the intervening days of the moon But about Barygaza it is much greater so that the bottom is suddenly seen and now parts of the dry land are sea and now it is dry where ships were sailing just before and the rivers under the inrush of the flood tide when the whole force of the sea is directed against them are driven upwards more strongly against their natural current for many stadia a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Blankinship Khalid Yahya 1994 The end of the jihad state the reign of Hisham ibn ʻAbd al Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads Albany State University of New York Press p 189 ISBN 978 0 7914 1828 4 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 19 October 2015 The Syrian troops became increasingly reluctant to serve on the ill omened Indian front which seemed after so many failures to be well on its way to becoming the worst front Ancient India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar p 366 Manjulal Ranchholdlal Majmudar 1960 Historical and cultural chronology of Gujarat Volume 1 Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda p 147 a b History Religion and Culture of India by S Gajrani p 32 Hodivala 1920 p 88 Boyce 2001 p 148 Khanbaghi 2006 p 17 Jackson 1906 p 27 Bleeker amp Widengren 1971 p 212 Andre Wink 1991 Al Hind The slave kings and the Islamic conquest 2 BRILL p 283 ISBN 978 90 04 09509 0 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 17 May 2018 Rose Horace Arthur Ibbetson 1990 Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province Asian Educational Services p 300 ISBN 978 81 206 0505 3 a b Barnes Ruth 2017 Indian Cotton for Cairo The Royal Ontario Museum s Gujarati Textiles and the Early Western Indian Ocean Trade Textile History 48 1 15 30 doi 10 1080 00404969 2017 1294814 ISSN 0040 4969 S2CID 194752057 Schimmel Annemarie 1980 Handbuch der Orientalistik Leiden Brill p 65 ISBN 978 90 04 06117 0 a b Wink Andre 1990 Indo Islamic society 14th 15th centuries BRILL p 143 ISBN 978 90 04 13561 1 Archived from the original on 18 November 2021 Retrieved 18 November 2021 Zafar Khan Muzaffar the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert of a low subdivision called Tank originally from Southern Punjab Muhammed Ibrahim Dar 1952 Literary and Cultural Activities in Gujarat Under the Khaljis and Sultanate Bazm i Ishaʻat Ismail Yusuf College p 51 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 22 December 2016 J Spencer Trimingham John O Voll The Sufi Orders in Islam pg 73 Subrahmanyam Sanjay Alam Muzaffar 2012 Writing the Mughal world studies on culture and politics New York Columbia University Press p 41 ISBN 978 0 231 15811 4 Richard Maxwell Eaton 8 March 2015 The Sufis of Bijapur 1300 1700 Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India Princeton University Press 2015 p 127 ISBN 978 1 4008 6815 5 Achyut Yagnik 2 February 2011 Ahmedabad From Royal city to Megacity Penguin UK 2011 ISBN 9788184754735 Retrieved 18 February 2015 Mansooruddin Quraishi 1972 Muslim education and learning in Gujarat 1297 1758 Faculty of Education and Psychology Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda p 47 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 22 December 2016 Alvi Azra 1985 Socio Religious Outlook of Abul Fazl Lahore Pakistan Vanguard Books p 6 ISBN 978 0 210 40543 7 Giancarlo Casale 2010 The Ottoman Age of Exploration Oxford University Press p 104 ISBN 978 0 19 979879 7 Ali Anooshahr 2008 The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam A Comparative Study of the Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods Routledge p 43 ISBN 978 1 134 04134 3 Nevertheless there were indeed people in India specifically in Gujarat who by about 1486 knew the Ottomans as the primary Ghazi sultans of western domains of the abode of Islam and had tried to elevate their own standing by posing as comrade ghazis fighting irreligion in the east Kurup K K N ed 1997 India s naval traditions the role of Kunhali Marakkars New Delhi Northern Book Centre p 7 ISBN 978 81 7211 083 3 Gujarati merchants had very long standing relations with the Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions Aden Ormuz and Mecca were frequently visited by them They took gold quicksilver vermilion copper rose water camlets scarlet in grain coloured woollen cloth glass beads and weapons which were brought by merchants from Cairo to Aden The above mentioned items were collected by merchants from Italy Greece and Damascus Horses from various parts of Arabia and Persia especially from Ormuz were brought by the Gujarati merchants to India Arthur Percival Newton 1936 The Cambridge History of the British Empire CUP Archive p 23 Retrieved 24 February 2015 The annual pilgrimages of Indian Muslim to Mecca whose route lay through Gujarat which was called the Gate of Mecca had been for some years interrupted by the domination of the Arabian Sea by the Portuguese and also by the disorder prevailing in Gujarat Ho Engseng 2006 The graves of Tarim genealogy and mobility across the Indian Ocean Berkeley University of California Press p 122 ISBN 978 0 520 93869 4 From the other direction the enhanced security of the Hejaz provided not only profits for Gujarati merchants but succor for Gujarat s Muslim sultans In times of insecurity Gujarati sultans would send their families and treasures to the Hejaz for safekeeping the sultanate indeed fell in 1573 and the triumphant emperor Akbar retained his services giving him charge of pious endowments in Gujarat dedicated to Mecca and Medina A V Williams Chapter 9 The Ebb of the Tide Humayun 1530 1556 A D p 228 Archived from the original on 3 October 2013 Retrieved 30 September 2013 Sen Sailendra 2013 A Textbook of Medieval Indian History Primus Books pp 115 116 ISBN 978 93 80607 34 4 Poros Maritsa V 2011 Modern migrations Gujarati Indian networks in New York and London Stanford Calif Stanford University Press ISBN 978 0 8047 7222 8 Indeed Fernand Braudel likened Surat to some of the great mercantile cities of Europe and Asia such as Venice and Beijing Godinho estimated that Surat s population was more than 100 000 with people from all over the world residing in the city or frequenting it for business He even claimed that it surpasses our Evora in grandeur Richard Maxwell Eaton 2015 The Sufis of Bijapur 1300 1700 Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India Princeton University Press p 60 ISBN 9781400868155 Dunn Ross E 1986 The adventures of Ibn Battuta a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century Berkeley University of California Press p 218 ISBN 978 0 520 05771 5 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Gujarati showed Vasco da way The Times of India 3 October 2010 Archived from the original on 1 October 2013 Retrieved 1 October 2013 Historians have differed over the identity of the sailor calling him a Christian a Muslim and a Gujarati According to another account he was the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid Some historians suggest Majid could not have been near the vicinity at the time German author Justus says it was Malam who accompanied Vasco Italian researcher Sinthia Salvadori too has concluded that it was Malam who showed Gama the way to India Salvadori has made this observation in her We Came In Dhows an account written after interacting with people in Gujarat N Subrahmanian Tamil an pan S Jeyapragasam 1976 Homage to a Historian A Festschrift Dr N Subrahmanian 60th Birthday Celebration Committee p 62 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Darwis Khudori 2007 Rethinking solidarity in global society the challenge of globalisation for social and solidarity movements 50 years after Bandung Asian African Conference 1955 Petaling Jaya Selangor Malaysia Strategic Information and Research Development Centre p 35 ISBN 978 983 3782 13 0 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 1 October 2013 Peter Padfield 1979 Tide of Empires 1481 1654 Routledge amp Kegan Paul p 62 ISBN 978 0 7100 0150 4 Archived from the original on 2 January 2016 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Pearson M N 1976 Merchants and rulers in Gujarat the response to the Portuguese in the sixteenth century illustrated ed Berkeley University of California Press p 109 ISBN 978 0 520 02809 8 Archived from the original on 12 July 2020 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Goody Jack 1996 The East in the West 1998 Repr ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 113 ISBN 978 0 521 55673 6 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency Gujarat Surat and Broach Volume 2 Part 1 of Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency Bombay India State Digitized Printed at the Government Central Press 30 April 2007 p 299 Archived from the original on 4 March 2019 Retrieved 19 October 2015 Tsukasa Mizushima George Bryan Souza Dennis O Flynn 2014 Hinterlands and Commodities Place Space Time and the Political Economic Development of Asia over the Long Eighteenth Century European 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