Gujarat
Area: 196,024 km²
Capital: Gandhinagar
Population: 63.8 million
Gujarat has a vast variety of cultures as it was ruled by a variety of powers (ca. 300 BCE – 1947), such as Chandragupta Maurya, Guptas, Pratiharas, Allaudin Khilji, Mughal Empire – Akbar and his predecessor, Maratha Empire and European colonies.
At the time of Indian independence, Gujarat was part of two different states: Baroda state and Bombay state. Around 1950, they both merged in Bombay state. On 1 May 1960, Bombay state dissolved and reorganized and Gujarati speaking area in North of Bombay state became Gujarat and Marathi speaking area partitioned into Maharashtra.
Gujarat shares its border with Pakistan in the North and Arabian Sea in the southwest direction. Neighbor states are Rajasthan in the northeast, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the south.
Agriculture
Gujrat is the main producer of cotton, groundnuts, and sugarcane in India. Other crops which are produced in Gujarat are rice, wheat, tobacco, corn, cumin, and mangoes.
Gujarat is also the largest producer of dairy products. Amul is a well-known brand in India, which is the biggest dairy plant in Asia.
Agriculture makes up 20% of Gujarat’s GDP.
Industries
The main industries of Gujarat include Gems & jewelry, Diamond, pharmaceuticals, textile, vegetable oil, soda ash, handicrafts & artifacts, and chemicals. Gujrat is also one of the top 5 states in generating electricity. The world’s largest Alang ship recycling yard located in Gujarat near Bhavnagar on the Gulf of Khambhat.
Surat – Diamond hub, my birthplace, is known for its diamond industry. 90 % of the world’s diamonds are shaped and polished there.
Famous personalities
There are many notable people from Gujrat who are well-known in India as well as in the whole world. I feel proud being Gujarati and shade some light on the work of honored people from my home state.
Mahatma Gandhi – Father of the Nation
(Porbandar, 2 October 1869 – New Delhi, 30 January 1948)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi studied law from London and worked in India and South Africa before became a freedom fighter. He was a prominent part of the Indian independence movement. He led the Dandi march/ Salt Satyagraha against Salt taxes applied by British Raj, which drew worldwide attention to the movement.
Sardar Patel – Lokhandi Purush (Man made from Iron / strong Man)
(Nadiad, 31 October 1875 – Mumbai, 15 December 1950)
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was a successful Lawyer and started working with Gandhi as he was impressed by his work and joined him in the Indian Independence Movement. He was the man who stopped more than 550 princely states to divide into tiny nations and make India one united country.
Morarji Desai – 4th Prime Minister of India
(Valsad, 29 Feb 1896 – Mumbai, 10 April 1995)
After finishing his education at the University, he joined civil services and left it to join the Indian Independence struggle alongside Gandhi. He served as the 4th Prime Minister of India and played a crucial role in Indian Nuclear Program.
Narsinh Mehta – Famous Poet and saint
Narsinh Mehta was a famous poet-saint in the 15th Century of Gujarat. Being god Krishna’s devotee from an early age, he wrote more than 20000 Kirtans (Songs) for Shri Krishna. He wrote the famous Bhajan “Vaishnav Jan To”, which was the favorite Bhajan of Mahatma Gandhi.
Jamsetji Tata – Founder of Tata Group
(Navsari, 3 March 1839 – Bad Nauheim, Germany, 19 May 1904)
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was the man who founded the TATA group, which has now many branches in several fields worldwide. Iron and steel plant was set up by him in a village named “Sakchi”. It grew into town because of business and got own railway station “Tatanagar” and now this village exists within the city of Jamshedpur, named after Jamsetji in his honor.
Dhirubhai Ambani – Founder of Reliance Industries
(Chorwad, Junagadh district, 28 December 1932 – Mumbai, 6 July 2002)
Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was a founder of the Reliance industries. At a very young age, he went to Aden (Yemen) in search of opportunity and worked there for few years. After coming back to India, he started a spice trading company. In 1966, he set up a textile mill in Naroda, Gujarat under name of Reliance Textile Industries Limited. Reliance Hazira was set up in 1991 for petrochemical manufacturing.
Narendra Modi – Current Prime Minister of India
(Vadnagar, Mehsana district, 17 September 1950)
Narendra Damodardas Modi is the Indian Prime Minister serving his 2nd term. At a young age, he helped his father and brother to run a tea stall. He was also a member of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). In 1985, he joined Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). For almost 13 years (2001-2014) he was Chief Minister of Gujrat. Since 2014 he is the Prime Minister of India.
Vikram Sarabhai – Father of Indian Space Program
(Ahmadabad, 12 August 1919 – Trivandrum, 30 December 1971)
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was a Physicist, who initiated Space Program in India. He started a project for the fabrication and launch of the first Indian satellite “Aryabhata”, which was put in orbit in 1975. Indian Space research organization (ISRO) was founded by him, one of his remarkable creations.
…. and many more in different fields, movie industry, politics, …
Zaverchand Meghani, Amit Shah, Azim Premji, Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kalyan Ji Anand Ji
Famous cricketers from Gujarat:
Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ajay Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Munaf Patel, Nayan Mongia, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara
Read this blog in Gujarati