Gujarat

Gujarat, the state of North-West India, is one of the fastest developing states in India. This state shares an international border with Pakistan west at Sindh province, where the Arabian Sea is coastline. Further, in Indian states, Gujarat shares borders with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Gujarat had a significant contribution to the independence movement as well as Indian Business Empire. Top leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel are from Gujarat, where business tycoons like Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries, Ajim Premji, founder of Wipro limited, and one of the pioneer industrialists Jamestji Tata, founder of Tata Group, belong to this state.

History of Gujarat

This state has a fascinating history. Major sites of the famous ancient Indus Valley Civilisation lies in Gujarat, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed as world’s oldest seaport.

History pages of the ancient period of Gujarat do not exist. The earliest history known is about Chandragupta Maurya conquering the parts of this region around 322 BC to 294 BC. He deputed Pushyamitra was then ruling the region of Junagadh. 

Gujarat gets its name from the Gurjara (supposedly a subtribe of the Huns). They ruled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries CE. The state molded its present form in 1960 when the former Bombay state was divided between Gujarat and Maharashtra on the basis of language.

Languages Spoken

Gujarati is the most spoken language in Gujarat. Almost 88% of the population prefers to speak Gujarati, and the rest 12% believed to speak Urdu. Few tribal languages like Bhili and Gamit are also spoken in few tribes.

Geography of Gujarat

Gujarat is rich in its fauna. There is a total of 4 national parks and 21 sanctuaries in this state, giving shelters to animals and birds. In addition, this state is the home of Asiatic lions famously known as Babbar Sher, and the only place outside Africa as the natural habitat of lions. Gir Forest National Park is the largest shelter of Lions across the Asia Pacific region.

Moreover, Gujarat has famous mountain regions like Aravalli, Saputara, Vindhya, and Sahyadri (Western Ghats). Sabarmati is the biggest river in this state; there are 37 rivers that serve this state water for agriculture and living. Rann of Kutch is also a famous place here, which is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert located in the Thar Desert.

Transportation in the State

This state has seventeen airports, out of which Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad is the international one.

Gujarat very well connects to Indian railways. It comes under the Western Railways Zone of Indian Railways, which connects New Delhi – Mumbai. Further, Vadodara is the busiest Railway Station of this state and the fourth busiest across India. Other famous railway stations are Surat, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot Railway Station.

The state has the longest sea coast of around 1600 km in India, where Kandla port is one of the largest ports serving Western India. There are other important ports like Port of Porbandar, Port of Pipavav, Port of Magdalla, Port of Navlakhi, and other privately owned ports like Port Of Mundra. This state has a total number of 41 ports.

Moreover, there is a total of 13 National Highways comes in the Gujarat region, which covers 3,245 km of roadways, along with 19761 km of State Highways.

Education in Gujarat

Gujarat is one of the leading states in India in the education sector. Further, there are several universities lies in this state. Several high-level education institutes and research centers make this state very much avant-garde in education.

Along with these top-level institutions, there are more than 10 universities like Gujarat University, Nirma University, Sardar Patel University, etc., serving the Indian education system in the state.

Culture of the State

Gujarat is rich in its culture and cuisine. Handicraft work of Bhuj and embroidery of the state is world-famous. Famous dance style; Garba is also from here.

Further, Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian and very much delicious in taste. Dhokla, Fafda, Thepla are few famous Gujarati dishes. The best part of this cuisine is, it is distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time.

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Tourism of Gujarat

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited leads the Tourism of Gujarat. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations across India. In addition, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism. If you are in Gujarat; don’t forget to visit these cities:

Come and feel ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki.'