Gujarat

Gujarat is located in the northwest of the Hindustan Peninsula, geologically - on the Hindustan Plate . It borders with Pakistan (in the north-west), the states of Rajasthan (in the north-east), Madhya Pradesh (in the east) and Maharashtra (in the south), as well as with the allied territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli . In the west, the state is washed by the Arabian Sea , the coastline is about 1600 km. Most of Gujarat is concentrated on the Kathiyavar Peninsula. The main rivers are Narmada , Tapti and Sabarmati .

As of 2009, only 7.46% of the state is covered by forests. The largest forests are concentrated in Dang County. Despite this, the state has four national parks, one of which, the Girsky Forest , is the last habitat of the Asiatic lion . Other national parks: Vansda , Velavadar and Kach Bay Marine Park. There are also several nature reserves.

The Gujarat dynasty of Solanka ruled the lands of the modern state from 960 to 1243. Gujarat was an important center of trade in the Indian Ocean, and its capital, the city of Patan, was one of the largest cities in India at that time with a population of about 100 thousand people (in 1000). The famous Gujarati temple of Somnath was destroyed in 1026 by Mahmoud Ghaznevi .

After 1243, the Solanks lost control of the territory of Gujarat; during this period, the Waghel dynasty from the city of Dholka began to stand out especially. In 1292, the Waghels merged with the Yadav dynasty, which ruled in Daulatabad . Despite the short reign of the Waghels (76 years), two rulers of the dynasty: Virdhaval and Vishaldev achieved success in the prosperity and stability of the region. During this period, many temples were built. Ruler Karandev was the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat, he was defeated in the battle with Alauddin Khilji, who came from Delhi in 1297. This defeat was the beginning of a long Muslim rule and the loss of the Rajput dynasties of control over these lands.

Before finally settling here in 1298, Muslims only had occasional contacts with this part of India, they came here mainly as seafarers and merchants. The justification of two small settlements, missionary activity and subsequent conquests served as the beginning of Muslim rule in Gujarat, which lasted almost 400 years, before the conquest of these territories by the Marathas in the first half of the 18th century. At the beginning of the 15th century , the independent Gujarati Sultanate was founded.

The first Europeans to settle in these places were the Portuguese, who acquired several enclaves on the coast, including Daman and Diu , Dadra and Nagar Haveli . The British East India Company established a plant in Surat in 1614, but with the acquisition of Bombay in 1668, it lost its significance. The leader of the Marathas, Shivaji, attacked the city between 1664 and 1679 and robbed him 3 times. This was the beginning of the rule of the Marathas in Gujarat. The British East India Company was only able to take control of most of Gujarat at the beginning of the 19th century during the Second Anglo-Marath War (1803-1805). Many local rulers made a separate peace with the British, recognizing British sovereignty in exchange for local government. Gujarat became part of the Bombay presidency , with the exception of the Baroda region. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the modern state was divided into several hundred small self-governing principalities, only some areas were directly subordinate to the British.

Gujarat played an important role in the struggle for the independence of India. Many prominent figures in the struggle, including Mahatma Gandhi , come from Gujarat. At the time of the country's independence in 1947, Gujarat was part of the state of Bombay. On May 1, 1960, Bombay was divided by language into 2 states: Gujarati-speaking Gujarat (in the north) and Marathi-speaking Maharashtra (in the south). The original capital of Gujarat was the city of Ahmedabad, but in 1970 the capital was moved to Gandinagar.

On January 26, 2001, Gujarat was hit by a major earthquake . An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred at 8:46 local time and lasted more than 2 minutes, the epicenter was in Kach district. These events claimed the lives of about 20 thousand people, more than 160 thousand were injured, more than 600 thousand were left homeless. ^[one]

During the formation of the state from northern Bombay in 1960, it was divided into 17 counties. Over time, several additional constituencies were formed, and now their number is 26.

According to the 2011 census, the state population was 60,383,628. The population density is 308.04 people / km², which is relatively small compared to other states of the country. About 88.6% of the population of Gujarat are Hindus , 9.7% profess Islam , 1% profess Jainism , 0.5% Christianity , about 0.1% Sikhism and 0.05% Buddhism .

The most widely spoken language of the state is Gujarati , which is native to 84.48% of the population. Other languages ​​include: bhili (4.75%), Hindi (4.72%), Sindhi (1.89%), Marathi (1.51%), Urdu (1.09%), Konkani (0.38% ) Urdu is common among state Muslims. Marathi is spoken mainly in cities near the border with Maharashtra, in Surat and Vadodara.

Gujarati - the most common language of the state of Gujarat, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo - European language family. Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Gujarati evolved from Sanskrit; Along with Sindhi and Gypsy, Gujarati belongs to the most Western languages ​​of its group. More than 46 million people speak this language, making it the 26th most widely spoken language in the world. Gujarati was the mother tongue of the "father of India" - Mahatma Gandhi and the "father of Pakistan" - Muhammad Ali Jinn . Like many other languages ​​of India, Gujarati has its own alphabet , the main difference between which and Devanagari is the absence of a horizontal line to which letters are attached.

Gujarati literature has an almost thousand-year history. The most famous authors are: Acharya Hemachandra, Narsinh Mehta, Mirabai, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Ganhiji, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pannajalal Shahal Patel.

Bharatiya Janata Parti has been in power since 2001. Many party functionaries, including Chief Minister Narendra Modi , were accused of non-interference during anti-Muslim riots in which, according to various estimates, 1-3 thousand Muslims died (Muslims make up about 30% of the state’s population) . As a result, the party’s position in the state somewhat weakened - in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, it won 14 parliamentary seats from Gujarat versus 12 from the Indian National Congress , while in 1999 it won all 26.

List of Governors:

Agriculture

Gujarat is India's main producer of tobacco, cotton and peanuts. Among other crops, it is also worth highlighting rice, wheat, millet and corn. Sown area is almost half of the total state area. In addition, with its developed dairy farming, Gujarat is India's largest milk producer. As in most of India, since the 60s of the XX century, an important role in the state’s agriculture has been played by groundwater irrigation. However, in recent years, experts predict the depletion of water reserves, for many years observing a decrease in groundwater levels, which can lead to disastrous consequences.

There are 10 airports in Gujarat, all of which, with the exception of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport , accept only local flights. The railway station of the city of Vadodara is the busiest in the state and the fourth busiest in India, located on the main branch of Mumbai - Delhi. Other important railway stations are located in the cities: Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. State bus service is provided by GSRTC ( Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation ). Common public transport are also auto rickshaws.

State museums are managed by the Department of Museums, which is housed in the main Vadodara Museum ( Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery ). This museum was founded in 1894 and contains a rich collection of paintings, sculptures, objects of ethnography and ethnology. Other state museums include:

• The gandhi smarak sangrahalaya
• Calico museum of textiles
• The vadodara museum
• Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum
• The gandhi museum
• The Watson Museum et al.

Gujarati film industry - one of the largest among the regions of the country, originates in 1932 with the release of the film "Narsinh Mehta".

Among the attractions of the state, it is worth noting the temple of Dvarakadishi , located in the city of Dwarka , in the extreme west of the Kathiyavar peninsula. Dwarka is considered one of the holy cities of Hindus. Many Jaina temples are located in the city of Palitana , 51 km southwest of Bhavnagar . An interesting Shiva Somnath temple, and many other temple complexes of Gujarat. The state also has several historical sites of Indian civilization, such as the ruins of the cities of Lothal and Dholavira . The main state museum is located in the city of Vadodara and includes an art gallery.

State higher education institutions include:

• Gujarat University (Ahmedabad)
• Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University (Ahmedabad)
• Gujarat Technological University (Ahmedabad)
• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
• Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (Bhavnagar)
• Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (Surat)
• National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad)
• Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (Surat)
• Saurashtra University (Rajkot)
• Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University (Palanpur)
• Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (Gandhinagar) and others.

• Official portal of Gujarat Government

State history

• History of gujarat
• More information about history of Gujarat (unopened) (link unavailable) . Archived on May 19, 2006.
• List of rulers of Gujarat (unopened) (link not available) . Archived on June 29, 2007.

other information

• Gujarat Map (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived December 29, 2005.
• Directory of Cities and Towns in Gujarat
• An organization of minnesota gujaratis