Gujarat

I

Introduction

Gujarat, state in western India, bordered on the north-east by Rajasthan State, on the east by Madhya Pradesh State, on the south-east by Maharashtra State, on the south and south-west by the Arabian Sea, and on the north-west by Pakistan. It was formed under the Bombay Reorganization Act (1960) from the predominantly Gujarati-speaking northern and western portions of Bombay State; the remaining southern and eastern portions became Maharashtra. The union territory of Daman and Diu is located in the state and comprises two districts separated by the Gulf of Khambhāt. Daman forms a coastal enclave on the eastern shore of the gulf and Diu, on the western side of the gulf, comprises the island of Diu and a small coastal area on the south-eastern coast of Kathiawar (or Saurashtra) Peninsula in western Gujarat. The union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is located in the south of the state, on the border with Maharashtra. Gujarat has an area of 196,024 sq km (75,685 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

Characterized by a varied topography, Gujarat has a fertile plain in the south cut by several rivers, low hills in the west, and broad mudflats of the Rann of Kachchh in the north that adjoin the Thar (Great Indian) Desert. The principal rivers of the state empty into the Gulf of Khambāt, an inlet of the Arabian Sea, including the Narmada, which empties into the gulf near the town of Bharūch, and the Tapti, which flows through the port city of Surat. Further north is the Gulf of Kachchh, which is located between the Kachchh and Kathiawar peninsulas. A 200-km (124-mi) stretch of the gulf’s southern coastline, including islands and coral reefs, has been designated as a national marine park. Covering an area of around 1,265 sq km (488 sq mi) in the Kathiawar Peninsula is Gir National Park and Lion Sanctuary, which was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1965 and as a national park in 1974. This conservation area, one of the largest protected forests in India, provides a habitat for a variety of rare and endangered species, including the Asiatic lion, the Indian chousingha (four-horned antelope), the nilgai (Indian antelope), numerous reptiles, and more than 200 species of birds.

The climate of Gujarat is also varied. The north-western part of the state is dry, with less than 500 mm (20 in) of rain a year. In the more temperate central part of the state, the annual rainfall is more than 700 mm (28 in). In the southern part of Gujarat, rainfall averages 2,000 mm (79 in) a year. In the winter temperatures average between 12° and 27° C (between 54° and 81° F), although freezing levels have been recorded in the state. In the summer temperatures average between 25° and 43° C (77° and 109° F) and have been known to reach as high as 48° C (118° F).

III

Population

The population of Gujarat is 50,596,992 (2001). The majority of the population lives in small, rural villages, although about one third lives in urban areas—the average population density is 258 people per sq km (668 per sq mi).

Ahmadabad (population, 2001, 4,519,278) is the largest city in Gujarat, and was the state capital until 1970; it is also an important industrial and commercial centre. Gandhinagar (1991, 123,359), on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, is now the capital of Gujarat. Other important cities are Bhavnagar (2001, 517,578), Surat (2001, 2,811,466), and Vadodara (2001, 1,492,398). Rajkot (2001, 1,002,160), Bhavnagar, and Jamnagar (2001, 558,462) were once capitals of princely states.

Gujarat comprises several different ethnic groups, including the Bhil and the Kol. The Gujarati language belongs to the Indo-Aryan family and derives from Sanskrit through Prakrit (a vernacular dialect) and Apabhramsa (a Middle Indo-Aryan language). The state’s official languages are Gujarati and Hindi. More than 70 per cent of the population is Hindu; there are also significant numbers of Muslims, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists.

IV

Education and Culture

Primary and secondary education is free and higher education is free for girls. Several universities are located in Gujarat, including Bhavnagar University (founded in 1978) in Bhavnagar, Gujarat University (1950) in Ahmadabad, Sardar Patel University (1955) in Kheda, and Saurashtra University (1967) in Rajkot.

The historic town and port of Porbandar was the birthplace of Mohandas Gandhi in 1869, and Rajkot was where he spent his early years when his father was diwan (chief minister) to the Raja of Saurashtra. Just 6 km (4 mi) from the centre of Ahmadabad, at Sabarmati is Gandhi’s ashram. Vadodara was the capital of the Gaekwar princely state, while Surat on the coast was where Parsis settled after being driven from Persia—as well as being the site of the first British factory in India in 1612. Palitane in Kathiawar is an important Jain pilgrimage site. The city of Gandhinagar is India’s second planned city and was designed by Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier in the early 1960s.

Gujarat has nearly 1,600 km (994 mi) of coastline, and no part of the state is more than 160 km (99 mi) from the sea. Gujarat’s ports are important centres of trade and embarkation for Muslim pilgrims bound for Mecca. European colonial powers established factories and trading houses around the coast from the late 15th century onwards. From the mid-19th century many Gujaratis went to East Africa. The extensive Gujarati diaspora has scattered widely and especially to Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.