Selected  State  >> Gujarat

Gujarat is a state in northwestern India, on the border with Pakistan.  The state takes its name from the Gujarat, who ruled the area during the 700's and 800's.    
Agriculture is the principal economic activity but there is substantial industry, particularly around the textile city of Ahmedabad.  The state is rich in minerals and, along with Assam, is the country's major petroleum producer.  
 

People & Government Economy
Transportation & Communication Land
Climate History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People and Government                                          

People. The majority of the population speak Gujarati. Gujarati developed from Sanskrit and other ancient languages. Maritime contacts with Arabia, England, the Netherlands, Persia, and Portugal introduced many words from the languages of those countries.    

Hinduism is the main religion, with minorities of Christians, Jains, Muslims, and Parsees.  The state has always had a policy of religious tolerance toward its people.  The main traditional, local tribes are the Bhil, the Bhangi, the Dhubla, the Koli, and the Naikda.  The folk culture of the region derives from the mythology of Lord Krishna as told in the Puranas (one of Hinduism's sacred texts).  The architecture of Gujarat is famous for its fine detail.  The region has a long tradition of handicrafts, such as bandhani (tie-dyed cloth), jari (gold and silver embroidery), patola (a beautifully patterned silk for which the thread is tye-died before being woven), perfumes,& woodcarving 

Government.  Gujarat is a federal state with a governor, appointed by the president of India, as its head.  A council of ministers, under the chief minister, advises the governor.  The legislative assembly is an elected body.  Gandhinagar, on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, is the state capital.    
Gujarat has 26 elected members in the Lok Sabha (lower house) and 11 nominated representatives in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of the Indian national parliament.    

The state has 19 administrative districts.  Each district has a district collector who collects revenue and is also the general administrator and district magistrate.  The highest judicial authority in the state is the High Court.  Each city and district has its own judges and civil courts.    

The panchayat raj (local council) system extends to all and involves the populace in government and administration.  The scheme comprises a gram panchayat (village council) for each village or group of adjacent villages, or a nagar panchayat (town council) for urban areas of 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants.  These are grouped into taluka panchayats (county councils), which in turn form district panchayats.  The people elect representatives to all these bodies.

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Economy                                                                                   

Agriculture.  Two-thirds of the population work in agriculture, and cultivate about half of the land area.  The main crops are bajra (millet) and wheat.  Rice is grown in the wetter parts or where irrigation is possible.  Maize is also grown.    

Gujarat produces more than one-third of India's cotton and peanut crops.  It also grows tobacco, contributing one-sixth of the national output.  Cotton and peanuts provide a foundation for important textile, edible oil, and soap industries.  Other important cash crops are bananas, cumin, mangoes, and sugar cane.  Cash crops slightly exceed food crops in value and make an important contribution to the regional economy.    

With its long coastline, Gujarat enjoys good fishing waters.  Pomfret, a favourite in restaurants throughout India, is caught there.  Other specialities include Bombay duck, prawns, and tuna.    

Manufacturing.  The textile industry has traditionally formed the industrial base of Gujarat.  However, in the 1970's and 1980's, manufacturing grew rapidly.  An expanding petrochemical industry developed around Koyali oil refinery.  The  pharmaceutical industry, which is centred around Vadodara (Baroda), Ahmadabad, and Atul (Valsad), produces one-third of the national total.  The battery, cement, industrial machinery, and vegetable oil manufacturers are also major contributors to the regional economy.  An electronics estate at Gandhinagar produces components for India's increasingly sophisticated consumer market.  

The dairy industry has developed rapidly.  There are 15 milk processing plants in the state, with a production capacity of more than 3 million litres per day.  The state government gives financial support and organizational advice to new cooperatives.  To support milk production, there are more than 10 factories processing 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons of cattlefeed per day.  There has been a steady growth in smallscale industry, and by the late 1980's Gujarat had over 90,000 smallscale units.   Embroidery, leather work, and hand block printing have been important village industries for hundreds of years.  Gujarat is particularly well known for its bandhani work.  Silk and gold brocade is produced in Surat, and inlay work, especially on wood, is also popular.  Ahmadabad is a major centre of metalwork, especially brass and copper.  It also produces fine jewellery. 

There is a thermal power station using coal, natural gas, and oil at Dhuvaran.  Power from the Tarapur nuclear station in Maharashtra supplements the locally installed power generation of 3,600 megawatts.  More than 18,000 villages have supplies of electricity.    
Gujarat is rich in agate, bauxite, calcite, feldspar, gypsum, lignite, limestone, manganese, and quartz sand.  The production of oil and natural gas at Ankalesvar, Khambhat, and Kalol makes Gujarat one of India's leading petroleum- producing states.  Koyali has an oil refinery.  Soda ash and salt production account for 90 per cent and 66 per cent respectively of the national total. 

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Transportation and Communication

Gujarat has more than 50,000 kilometres of roads, including 1,500 kilometres of national highway.  The broad gauge railway also connects Gujarat with centres in north and west India.    
The main airport is at Ahmadabad, which has flights to Bombay, Jaipur, and Delhi.  There are other airports at Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar, Rajkot, and Vadodara.  These provide air services both within the state and with other states.    
Kandla is the major international shipping port, and is supported by 39 intermediate and minor ports.

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Land                                                                                

Location and Description. Gujarat has boundaries with Rajasthan to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the east, Maharashtra to the south, the Arabian Sea to the west, and Pakistan to the northwest.  It has nearly 1,600 kilometres of coastline.  No part of the state is more than about 200 kilometres from the sea.    

Land features.  Gujarat is a land of great physical contrasts.  Kutch, in the northwest, is an arid region.  It is bounded to the south by the Gulf of Kutch and to the north and east by the saline wastes of the Rann of Kutch and the Little Rann.  The Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh covering 20,000 square kilometres.  During the slight monsoon rains, the Rann floods, isolating Kutch from the rest of India . The hot, dry summer months bring troublesome dust storms to Kutch.    
Further south, the Kathiawar or Saurashtra Peninsula lies between the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Cambay.  This arid peninsula is about 430 kilometres long and 320 kilometres wide.  The land rises from the coast to low shrub-covered hills at the centre.  The towns lie on the coast and in small pockets of fertile land.  There are only two major rivers, the Sabarmati and the Mahi.  Many of the watercourses are seasonal.  The underlying rocks produce poor soils but good building stone.  Porbandar is known for its quarries.   Northeastern Gujarat is a continuation of central Kutch, with small plains and low hills.  The railway line from Bombay to Delhi runs through these hills, which surround Ahmadabad.   In the central region around Vadodara, the soils are more fertile.  The Narmada River has deposited large quantities of alluvium (soil and silt), producing good agricultural land.  The districts of Broach and Surat lie to the south of Vadodara.  The Tapti River flows through Surat.  These two districts have rich soils and produce excellent cotton crops.  The forested Western Ghats (mountains) extend into southeast Gujarat.

Plants and Animals.  Vegetation changes according to latitude and altitude.  In areas with less than 60 centimetres of rain a year, there is scrub forest with acacia, babul, caper, jujube, and the toothbrush tree.  Deciduous trees grow where local rainfall reaches 100 centimetres.  Species there include axle wood, bakligum, butea gum, catechu, and teak.  The densest concentrations are in Saurashtra and the south and east.  Heavier rainfall produces commercially valuable timbers, such as heartleaf adina, Malabar simal, vengai padauk, and woolly tomentosa.  The east coast produces paper reed, used for papermaking since ancient times.    

The last Asiatic lions live in Sasan Gir National Park.  The Little Rann of Kutch has the only surviving wild asses in India.    
There is a rich birdlife.  Peacocks are 
common throughout the state.  Migratory birds from north Europe arrive in Gujarat during the winter.  At Lake Sal Narovar bird sanctuary, near Ahmadabad, nearly 150 species arrive during the year, including bustard, cormorant, ibis, pelican, and sarus crane.  The Rann of Kutch is the only Indian nesting ground of the large flamingo.    

Rivers and Lakes:  The major river of Gujarat is the Narmada, which flows through the southern part of the state and enters the Gulf of Cambay.  Farmers use its waters for irrigation.  The smaller Tapti River runs to the south of the Narmada.  Also in this southern region of Gujarat are numerous short, minor rivers which flow off the Western Ghats.  The Sabarmati and Mahi rivers flow into the Gulf of Cambay.  Some seasonal rivers flow into the Little Rann of Kutch where they dry up.

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Climate                                                                               

The rainfall in the north and west is very low.  The whole of Saurashtra receives less than 50 centimetres a year.  At Ahmadabad, rainfall averages 70 centimetres per year, 88 per cent of this falling during the monsoon months of June to September.  The daily winter maximum temperature is 27 °C, and the minimum 12 °C (although sub-zero cold snaps have been recorded).  In summer, the daily maximum temperature can reach 48 °C, though 42 to 43 °C is more common.  The summer minimum temperature is 25 °C. Rainfall is higher in the central region, and the range of temperature is narrower.  The highlands in the south receive about 200 centimetres of rain during the monsoons.  

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History                                                                             

Early empires: Archaeologists have found Stone Age settlements around the Sabarmati and Mahi rivers in the south and east of the state.  The settlements probably date from the time of the Indus Valley civilization.  There were also Harappan centres at Lothal, Rampur, Amri, Lakhabaval, and Rozdi .    
Rock inscriptions in the Girnar Hills show that the Maurya Emperor Asoka extended his domain into Gujarat in about 250 B.C. .  After the fall of the Maurya Empire, the Sakas or Scythians controlled the region from A.D. 130 to 390.  Under Rudradaman, their empire contained Malwa (in Madhya Pradesh), Saurashtra, Kutch, and Rajasthan.  During the 300's and 400's, the area formed part of the Gupta Empire, which was succeeded by the Maitraka dynasty.  During the 900's, the Solanki dynasty came to power.  Under the Solanki, Gujarat reached its greatest extent.  There then followed a long period of Muslim rule.  Ahmed I, the first independent Muslim ruler of Gujarat, founded Ahmadabad in 1411.   
The Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Malwa and Gujarat in the 1570's.  The region remained under Mughal rule for nearly 200 years, until the Marathas overran the state in the mid-1700's.

The coming of the Europeans.  The Dutch, English, French, and Portuguese all established bases along the coast of the region in the 1600's.  The British East India Company set up its first headquarters in India at Surat in 1612.  It later moved to Bombay.  As British maritime supremacy developed, all but the British and the Portuguese at Daman and Diu withdrew.  
The state came under the control of the British East India Company in 1818.  After the Indian Revolt of 1857, the British government ruled directly, dividing the area into a number of princely states.   
Until independence, the region of Kathiawad was divided into 86 states, many of them tiny.  Even the largest, Junagadh, only had an area of 9,000 square kilometres.    

Independence and Partition: On Indian independence in 1947, all of Gujarat except Saurashtra and Kutch became part of Bombay state.  On May 1, 1960, the government split Bombay state into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.  All Gujarati-speaking areas were brought together as the present state of Gujarat.    
Since partition, India and Pakistan have disputed possession of parts of the Rann of Kutch.  In 1965, the dispute became an armed conflict.  In 1968, an international tribunal decided that 90 per cent of the state should remain with India and 10 per cent should pass to Pakistan.

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