Gujarat

This article is for the Indian state. For the district in Pakistan see Gujrat District. For the city in Pakistan see Gujrat

Gujarat Gujarat ગુજરાત
state
• Rank	7th
Population	50,596,992
• Rank	10th
Website	www.gujaratindia.com

Gujarat (Gujarati: ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt, IPA: ) is a state in the Republic of India. With 19.8% of the country's total industrial output, it is the most industrialized state in India. Gujarat borders Pakistan, and the states of Rajasthan to the north-east, Madhya Pradesh to the east, Maharashtra and the Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south. The international border with Pakistan is to the north-west. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. Its capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city and is located near Ahmedabad, the commercial center of Gujarat.

History

Main article: History of Gujarat

Migration and Hindu Kingdoms

The name of the state is derived from Gujarāta (Gurjar Rāshtra), which means Gurjar nation. Gurjars were an old clan that was present even during the Mahabharata period, according to another theory, they are one of the Central Asian tribes that migrated to India beginning from around the first century BC. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch, served as ports and trading centres for the Maurya and Gupta empires. After the collapse of the Gupta empire in the sixth century, Gujarat flourished as an independent Hindu kingdom. The Maitraka dynasty, descended from a Gupta general, ruled from the sixth to the eighth centuries from their capital at Vallabhi, although they were ruled briefly by Harsha during the seventh century. In 775 the first Parsi (Zoroastrian) refugees arrived in Gujarat from Iran. The Arab rulers of Sind sacked Vallabhi in 770, bringing the Maitraka dynasty to an end. A branch of the Pratihara clan ruled Gujarat after the eighth century. From the ninth century until the invasion by the Muslim rulers of Delhi in the late thirteenth century, it was ruled by the Solanki dynasty.

1297 AD – 1850 AD

In 1297 to 1298 Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, destroyed Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate. After Timur's sacking of Delhi at the end of the fourteenth century weakened the Sultanate, Gujarat's Muslim governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar asserted his independence, and his son, Sultan Ahmed Shah (ruled 1411 to 1442), restructured Ahmedabad as the capital. Cambay eclipsed Bharuch as Gujarat's most important trade port. The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1576, when the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire. It remained a province of the Mughal empire until the Marathas sacked eastern and central Gujarat in the eighteenth century; Western Gujarat (Kathiawar and Kutch) were divided among numerous local rulers.

Bombay Presidency in 1909, northern portion

Bombay Presidency in 1909, southern portion

1614 AD - 1947 AD

Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat, acquiring several enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including Daman and Diu as well as Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The British East India Company established a factory in Surat in 1614, which formed their first base in India, but it was eclipsed by Bombay after the British acquired it from Portugal in 1668. The Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Many local rulers, notably the Maratha Gaekwads of Baroda (Vadodara), made a separate peace with the British, and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule. 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 dozens of princely states, but several districts in central and southern Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Broach (Bharuch), Kaira, Panch Mahals, and Surat, were ruled directly by British officials.

Indian independence movement

Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, K.M. Munshi, Narhari Parikh, Mahadev Desai, Mohanlal Pandya, Bhulabhai Desai and Ravi Shankar Vyas all hailed from Gujarat. In addition, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, father was from an area which later became Gujarat. Gujarat was also the site of some of the most popular revolts, including the Satyagrahas in Kheda, Bardoli, Borsad and the Salt Satyagraha.

See also: Freedom fighters from Gujarat

Post independence

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 Kathiawar 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. In 1956, Bombay state was enlarged to include Kutch, Saurashtra, 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 Marathi nationalists for their own state led to the split of Bombay state on linguistic lines; on 1 May 1960, it became the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The first capital of Gujarat was Ahmedabad; the capital was moved to Gandhinagar in 1970.

2001 Gujarat earthquake

Main article: 2001 Gujarat Earthquake

Gujarat was hit by a devastating earthquake on January 26, 2001 at 8:46, which claimed 10,000 lives, injured another 30,000 people and severely affected the lives of forty million people in the region.

2002 Gujarat Violence

Main article: 2002 Gujarat Violence

In the morning of February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati Express - carrying cadres of the Hindu right from Ayodhya, where they had gone to express their vigorous support for building a temple at a legally and politically disputed site - was torched by a Muslim mob near Godhra railway station in Gujarat. The 16th century Mughal-built Babri mosque once stood at this site; Hindu militants razed it in December 1992 on grounds that a temple pre-existed the mosque.

A retaliatory bloodbath followed in many parts of the state. Hindu mobs torched Muslim homes and businesses, killed Muslim men, women and children, and erased mosques and graves. Over 100,000 Muslims were pushed into the state’s ramshackle refugee camps, where basic amenities were minimal and living conditions abysmal. Fundamentalist Hindus as well as the governing BJP party has been blamed for planning attacks on Muslims in Gujarat.

The Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar was attacked on September 25, 2002 when two heavily armed Muslim terrorists. By the end of the attack, 29 people were killed and another 79 wounded. Apart from the 25 people killed in the first assault, 1 state police officer and 1 commando also died in the action. One more seriously injured commando Surjan Singh Bhandari died after about 2 years of being in coma fighting death. In the series Ex Home Minister Haren Pandya was assassinated in the wee hours of March 2003. (Sapovadia 13:40, 15 November 2007 (UTC))

Geography

Geography of Gujarat. Courtesy: NASA Earth Observatory

Gujarat is the westernmost state of India. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and southwest, and Pakistan to the north. The state of Rajasthan is to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and Maharashtra and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south and southeast of Gujarat.

Climate and natural features

The relief is low in the most parts of the state and involves diverse climate conditions.The winters are mild, pleasant, and dry with average daytime temperatures around 83 °F(29 °C) and nights around 53 °F(12 °C) with 100 percent sunny days and clear nights. The summers are extremely hot and dry with day temperatures around 105 °F(41 °C) and at night no lower than 85 °F(29 °C) with sunshine. The time just before the monsoon the temperature are similar to above but now there is high humidity which makes the air feel hotter. Relief comes when the monsoon season starts around in mid June. The day temperatures are lower to around 95 °F(35 °C) but humidity is very high and nights are around 80 °F(27 °C). Most of the rainfall occurs in this season. There is sometimes too much rain which cause severe floods. Sun is a rare sight during the monsoon season. Though mostly dry, it is desertic in the north-west, and wet in the southern districts due to heavy monsoon season.

Demographics

The population of the Gujarat State is about 50,671,017 as per the 2001 census data. The density of population is only 258 persons per sq. km. compares favourable with the other states of the country.

Its official and primary language is Gujarati. About 89.1% of the population of Gujarat are Hindu. Muslims account for 9.1%, Jain 1.0% and Sikh 0.1% of the population. Most of the Gujarati Hindu are strict vegetarians. Amongst Hindus the deity of Krishna is famously worshipped in His form of Shrinathji throughout Gujarat. Gujarat is the birthplace of Gandhi. Gujarat is also the birthplace of the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism.

It should be noted that 91% of the Hindus speak Gujarati while the rest speak Hindi, Marathi and other languages. Almost 88% of the Muslims speak Gujarati while the rest speak Urdu. Almost all of the Jains speak Gujarati. Parsi Zoroastrians also speak Gujarati as their native language.

Besides Gujarati the Kutchi dialect is widely spoken in the Kutch District.

People

Gujarat is home to number of groups that settled from outside including Huns, Sakas, Muslims (Turks, Persians, Arabs, Pashtuns). Gujarat is divided mostly along Hindu caste lines. The largest Hindu caste is Koli or Koli Patel which makes up 20% of the population. The second largest Hindu caste is Patidar or Kanbi which makes up roughly 15% of the population. Other major Hindu caste groups are Brahmin, Vaishnava, Suthar,Luhar,Kadiya,Kumbhar,Adivasi, Rajput, Vaniya, Anavil, Harijan, Lohana, and number of other small sub-castes. The two largest Hindu caste, Koli and Kanbi, are distributed throughout Gujarat while other are found only in certain areas of Gujarat. e.g. Anavil are mainly found in South Gujarat while Lohanas are found in Saurashtra region.

The Meghwals are masters of weaving cotton and wool as also embroidery and appliqué work.

The Ahirs came with Lord Krishna from Gokul in Uttar Pradesh. Most of the communities of Ahirs began with selling ghee and milk and are now spread all over the state.

The Rabaris are a nomadic tribe always wandering with their herds. The origin of this tribe has been traced back to Sind and Afghanistan though many aspects of this tribe still remain a puzzle for anthropologists. They have been classified into three distinct groups, namely Vagadia, Dhabaria, and Kachhi. Women of this tribe engage themselves in making elaborate embroidery pieces while the men spend their time tending to their camels and sheep.

Moreover Gujarat being a heavily industrialized state of India, attracts lots of outsiders from various parts of India.

Economy

Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Gujarat at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year	Gross state domestic product
1980	270
1985	139,880
1990	279,960
1995	718,860
2000	700

Gujarat is one of the most prosperous states of the country, having a per-capita GDP 20 times India's average. If it was a nation it would have been 67th richest nation above many European and Asian economies like Ukraine. Gujarat controls some of the largest businesses in India. According to the data published by Punjab and Maharashtra, at Rs. 15,800. Major Agricultural produce of the state include cotton, peanuts, dates, sugar cane, milk & milk products. Industrial products include cement, and petrol.

Gujarat holds many records in India for economic development:

• 20% of India's Industrial Output
• 10 of its Mineral Production
• 20% of its exports
• 25% of its textile production
• 40% of India's pharmaceutical products
• 47% petrochemical production
• Largest Sea sore, 1600 km.

The worlds largest ship breaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang. Reliance Petroleum Limited, one of the group companies of Reliance Industries Limited founded by Dhirubhai Ambani operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar which is the world's largest grass roots refineries.The company has also planned another SEZ(special economic zone), in Jamnagar.

Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas-based thermal electricity generation with national market share of over 8% and second nationwide in nuclear electricity generation with national market share of over 1%.

Over 20% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat.

See also: List of conglomerates in Gujarat

As per RBI report, in year 2006-07, 26% out of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat. (Sapovadia 13:40, 15 November 2007 (UTC))

Industrial growth and advantage

• During the period 1960-90, Gujarat established itself as a leader in various industrial sectors - Textiles, Engineering, Chemicals,Petrochemicals, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Dairy, Cement & Ceramics, Gems & Jewellery, etc.
• Post-liberalization period saw Gujarat's State Domestic Product (SDP) rising at an average growth rate of 14% per annum in real terms (from 1994 -2002).
• Gujarat achieved as much as 35% of augmentation in its power generation capacity during the period 1995-96 and 2000-01. The producers (IPPs) have contributed significantly in this addition. As a matter of fact Gujarat is one of the first few states in India to have encouraged private sector investment and are already in operation. In addition the liquid cargo (Chemicals) handling port at Dahej is also set up in joint sector and made operational.
• In an investor's summit entitled Vibrant Gujarat arranged between January 10 2007 to January 13 2007, at Science City, Ahmedabad, the state government signed 104 Memoranda of Understandings for Special Economic Zones totalling worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore. . However, most of the investment was from domestic industry.

Amul

Anand,Gujarat is the birthplace of the Amul milk co-operative federation. Started by Tribhovandas Patel and ably led for many years after him by Verghese Kurien this movement has served as a model for other co-operative movements throughout India.

Government and politics

Districts of Gujarat

Main article: Politics of Gujarat

Further information: Districts of Gujarat and Chief Ministers of Gujarat

On 1960-05-01, Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of former State of Bombay. These districts were further subdivided later on. There are 25 administrative districts in the state (as of 2006).

Gujarat is governed by a Legislative Assembly of 182 members. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one of 182 constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for scheduled castes and 26 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 Assembly, and to address the House 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.

After gaining independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress party (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 Congress Party eroded, but it continued to hold government until 1995. In the 1995 Assembly Polls, the Congress lost to the BJP and Keshubhai Patel came to power. His Government lasted only 2 years. The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by Shankersinh Vagheland has won most of the subsequent polls. In 2001, following the loss of 2 assembly seats in by-elections, Keshubhai Patel resigned and yielded power to Narendra Modi. The BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election, and Narendra Modi has since served as Chief Minister of the state. On 1st June, 2007, Narendra Modi became the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Revenues of government

This is a chart of trend of own tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Gujarat assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year	Own tax revenues
2000	104,818
2005	138,964

This is a chart of trend of own non-tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Gujarat assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Education

Gujarat has 13 universities and 4 agricultural universities. Gujarat also has an Indian Institute of Management, at Ahmedabad and a National Institute of Technology at Surat. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay is going to start a new campus in Gujarat in the near future.

Universities

• Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
• Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad
• Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar
• Anand Agricultural University, Anand
• Saurashtra University, Rajkot
• Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda
• Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan
• Gujarat University, Ahmedabad
• Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad
• Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar
• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad
• Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar
• Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh
• Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari
• Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University: Gujrat Agricultural University, Palanpur
• South Gujarat University, Surat
• Ganpat University, Mehsana
• Kachchh University, Kachchh
• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad
• Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat

Engineering institutes

L.D. College of Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology (SVIT)-Vasad, Dharmsinh Desai Institute of Technology (DDIT)[2] Nirma Institute of Technology, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Charotar Institute Of Technology (Changa), Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology,Surat,M.S university, Vadodara, Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya, Vallabh Vidyanagar are among the premier engineering institutes of west India. Gujarat also has a National Institute of Technology in Surat.

The Institute for Plasma Research is an autonomous Physics research institute located in the capital city Gandhinagar and is involved in the research of various aspects of plasma science including basic plasma physics, research on magnetically confined hot plasmas and plasma technologies for industrial applications. The Ahmedabad Textile and Industries’ Research Association is also located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Other institutes

Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute has been established under Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Govt. 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.

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the internationally reputed management research institute is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmadabad. Indian Institute of Management Ahmadabad is one of the best management institutes in the country [3]. B. K. School of Business Management is ranked 6th in terms of Financial Manaement [4]

Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat is one of the best engineering colleges in India. It is one of the 20 NITs created by the central govt. and is a deemed university. It has students from all over India and some foreign students as well

Gujarat Science City

Gujarat Science City [5], 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.

Main article: List of educational institutions of Gujarat

Tourism

Gujarat has a wealth of tourist spots. It has several temples, sunny beaches, the rann of kachchh, historic sites, beautiful cities, national parks, and sanctuaries.

Temples and religious sites

File:Temple4.jpg

The world's first Swaminarayan Temple was built in Ahmedabad by the instructions of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

• Dwarkanath Temple is situated at Dwarka and is one of the important temples dedicated to lord Krishna.It is on the tip of the Arabian Sea and is famous for being the legendary home of Lord Krishna, the eighth Avatara of Vishnu, hero of the Mahabharata epic. Ancient ruins of a city and temple complex found underwater suggest a historical basis for the legend. The Rann of Kutchch covers a large portion of western Gujarat, and is world-famous for its rare ecosystem, fossils, wildlife and terrain.

• Palitana Temples are a complex of Jain temples situated 51 km south west of Bhavnagar. There are 863 temples from base to the peak of the Shatrunjaya hill, where the Palitana temples are located.

• Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India is one of the twelve Jyotirlings (golden lingas)or symbols of the God Shiva. It is mentioned in the Rig Veda. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as 'the Shrine Eternal', as the temple has been destroyed six times, but was rebuilt on each occasion.

• Modhera Sun Temple is famous for its rare position as specifically and uniquely designed for the worship of the Sun, Lord Surya. While the main temple is beautifully and intricately designed with complex architecture, painting and sculptures, there is a central pond and surrounding it stand 108 small temples for each of the Sun God's 108 names.

• Shankheshwar Jain Temples are dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankar, Lord Parshvanath. It is believed that this idol bas revealed by Lord Krishna himself, by the teachings of Arisht Nemi the 22nd Tirthanakra. It is near Ahmedabad.

• Patan houses 84 magnificent Jain Temples built by Samrat Kumarpal, who was a staunch disciple of Hemchandracharya, a jain monk.

• Girnar is an epitome of communal harmony & amicable relations among jains & Hindus. This high-rising steep hill houses shrines of both major religions. One dedicated to Neminath or Arisht Nemi, the 22nd tirthankara, where he is believed to attain nirvana, and another dedicated to Guru Dattatreya,a Hindu deity.

National parks and sanctuaries

Main article: List of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Gujarat, India

Gujarat has 4 National parks and 21 sanctuaries which include: Nal Sarovar, Anjal, Balaram-Ambaji, Barda, Jambughoda, Jessore, Kachchh Desert, Khavda, Narayan Sarovar, Paniya, Purna, Rampura, Ratanmahal, and Surpaneshwar.

Gujarat is the only home of Asiatic Lions. Outside Africa, Gujarat is the only natural habitat of lions. Gir National Park in south-west part of the state covers only the part of lion's habitat. Besides lions, the other big cat can be found in the state are Panthers. Panthers are spread across large plains of Saurashtra and mountains of South Gujarat.

Historic sites

• Lothal is the site of the ancient ruins of the first Indian port, dating from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization.

• Dholavira, the ancient city, locally known as Kotada Timba, is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is located on the Khadir island in the Kutch district of Gujarat - the island is surrounded by water in the monsoon season. The site was occupied from about 2900 BC for about a millennium, declining slowly after about 2100, briefly abandoned and then reoccupied, finally by villagers among its ruins, until about 1450.

While the city of Ahmedabad is a large and fast-growing modern metropolis, it was also the home of the Indian Independence Movement, with the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi a standing legacy. Other major tourist sites include Palitana, Diu, Kutch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, and [[Rajkot[6]]] in the region of Saurashtra; and Champaner and Pavagarh in the Panchmahal district.

See also

• 2002 Gujarat violence
• List of people from Gujarat
• List of Maitraka rulers of Gujarat
• List of Solanki rulers of Gujarat
• List of Vaghela rulers of Gujarat
• List of Muzaffarid rulers of Gujarat
• Gujarati people
• Gujarat in Lok Sabha
• Dholavira
• Parsi

External links

• Gujarat Government
• Gujarat at Curlie
• Gujarati websites

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