GUJARAT

 

 

 

 

The State took its name from the Gujjars, who ruled the area during the 700’s and 800’s.

• Gujarat was formed in the year 1960; carved out of the 17 northern districts of Bombay state when that was split on a linguistic basis (Marathi-speaking).
• Gujarat is an industrially advanced state.
• The people of Gujarat are also known to be a successful business community.
• Stone Age settlements around Sabarmati and Mahi rivers indicate the same time as that of the Indus Valley Civilization while Harappan centres are also found at Lothal, Rampur, Amri and other places.

 

Capital	Gandhinagar
Date of Formation	1st May 1960
Largest city	Ahmedabad
State Boundaries	Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, UT of Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli
International boundary	Pakistan
Sea borders	Arabian Sea
State Animal	Asiatic Lion
State Bird	Greater Flamingo
State Tree	Mango
State Flower	Golgotha
Number of districts	33
Languages	Gujarati
Rivers	Luni, Sabarmati, Mahi, Narmada, Tapti, Banas, Saraswati, Damanganga
Festivals	Navratri, Kite festival, Kutch Utsav, Modhera dance festival
Eco System	Ranges from deserts, Scrublands, Grasslands, deciduous forests, Wetlands to mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries and gulfs
Mountain ranges	Garda hills Barda hills Gir range Rajpipla hills Chhota Udaipur hills Black hills Mandav hills
Physical	Coastal region Semi-arid Kachchh region towards west Kathiawar Peninsula (Saurashtra) Alluvial Plain
Climate	Wet in the southern districts Desertic in the north-west region Winter – 12 to 26 Celcius (November to Feburary) Summer – 29 to 42 Celcius (March to May) Monsoon- 27 to 35 Celcius (June to October)
Rann of Kutch	Seasonal Salt marsh located in Thar desert in Gujarat Two parts: Great Rann of Kutch and Little Rann of Kutch Mangrove & Desert vegetation
Arts and crafts	Bandhani or tie-and-dye fabric Woven Patola fabric Rich embroidery by Rabari tribals Soof embroidery
Dance, Drama  & Music forms	Dandiya Raas Garba dance Tippani Padhar Dance Bhavi Folk drama Hallisaka Dangi Nrita
Tourist places	Laxmi Vilas Palace (Baroda) Rani ki Vav Kevadia Colony (Sardar Sarovar Dam) Somnath Temple (Near veraval) Dawarakadheesh temple of Lord Krishna (Dwarka) Haji Pir Dargah (Kutch) Gir Forest National Park (Junagadh) Lothal (Ahmedabad) Dholavira (Kutch) Saputara hill station (Dang district) Kirti Mandir (Porbandar) Science Centre (Surat)
Major crops	Groundnuts, Cotton, Tobacco
Minerals	Bauxite, Salt
Oil & Petroleum	Shale Gas
Islands	Khadir, Pirotan, Nora, Bhaidar, Bet/Piram Bet, Shiyal Bet, Sadhu bet
Beaches	Ahmedpur Mandvi, Chorwad, Tithal, Somnath beach, Dwarka Beach
National Parks	Gir National Park (Lion, Leopard, Chital, Chausinga, Hyena, Sambar, Chinkara, Herpetofauna, Crocodiles and birds). Vansda National Park (Leopard, Hyena, Chital, Chausinga, Birds, Herpetofauna) Black Buck National Park (Blackbuck, Wolf, Houbara bustard, Harrieres, Lesser florican, Herpetoufaua) Marine National Park (Sponges, Corals, Jelly fish, Sea horse, Octopus, Oyster, Pearl oyster, Starfish, Lobster, Dolphi, Digong, Waterfowls)
Biosphere reserve	Great runn of Kuch biosphere reserve
Famous Personalities	Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Morarji Desai Narsinh Mehta Vikram Sarabhai Jamshedji Tata Uday Kotak Parnav Mistry Muhammad Ali Jinnah Swami Dayanand Saraswati
Cities Located at the banks of river	Surat – Tapi Ahmedabad – Sabarmati Gandhinagar – Sabarmati Baruch – Narmada
Multi-purpose projects	Sardar Sarovar Project – Narmada river Kakrapa Project – Tapi river Mahi Project – Mahi Project Ukai Project – Tapi river
Industries	Diamond cutting and polishing (Surat) Woolen Textile – Jamnagar
World Heritage Site	Rani-Ki-Vav, Patan Champaner-Pavagarh Archeological Park Historic city of Ahmedabad
Tribes	Barda, Bavacha, Charan, Dubla, Kathodi, Chodhara, Gamit
Institutes	Institute for Plasma research National Research centre for Groundnut IIM National institute of Design Physical research laboratory Central salt and marine chemicals research institute Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology

 

Forests & National Park in Gujarat

• Gujarat has 4 national parks and 21 Sanctuaries
• Asiatic Lions in Gir forest, Wild Ass in the Rann of Kutchh, Indian bustards in bird reserves, four horned Antelope and Black Buck are among many animals and birds protected in Gujarat
• The Whale Shark breed on the coasts of Gujarat
• Okha is a place where dugong is found
• Gulf of Kutchh is India’s first Marine National Park
• Dry deciduous forests Gir
• Majestic grasslands Velavadar
• Vast landscapes Little Rann of Kutch
• Wetland habitats Nalsarovar
• Marine ecosystems Pirotan Islands
• Rich moist deciduous forests Dense forests of the Dangs

 

Facts

• Gujarat is the 7th largest state in India in terms of area.
• Luni – mostly flows in Rajasthan and finaly ends into Rann of Kutch.
• Luni drains into Rann of Kutch.
• Sabarmati, Narmada, Tapi, Mahi are west flowing river and drains into Arabian Sea.
• Indian wildass sanctuary is located in little Rann of Kutch.
• Bauxite is found in Jamnagar district and is also exported.
• Gujarat is largest producer of salt and accounts for more than 60% of the total salt produced in the country.
• Shale Gas is found in the area of Cambay basin.
• Sadhu bet – Statue of unity. It is the statue of Sardar Patel.
• The Somnath temple of Gujarat, India, is believed to be the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.
• Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara is constructed since the Gaekwad, a prominent Maratha family.
• Akshardham is a modern 10-story Hindu temple with an elaborately carved sandstone facade & nightly water/laser show.
• Rani ki Vav is an intricately constructed stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of Saraswati River.
• Jama Mosque, Ahmedabad is the Iconic yellow-sandstone mosque built in 1424 by Sultan Ahmed Shah I, whose tomb lies nearby.
• Gujarat has the longest seashore compared to any other Indian state.
• India’s first port was established at the ancient city of Lothal.
• It is locally known as Jewel of the West.
• Gujarat has seventeen airports, which makes it the state with the highest number of operating airports in India.
• Gandhinagar is the greenest capital city in the whole of Asia.
• The world’s first pure vegetarian Subway and Domino’s outlet was opened in Ahmedabad.
• Gujarat is the only state in India to have a statewide gas grid of 2,200 km.
• The first all-vegetarian Pizza-Hut was opened in Ahmedabad.
• Gujarat is the only home of Asiatic Lions.
• Gujarat is the only present natural habitat of lions outside Africa.
• 100% of Gujarat’s 18,000 villages have electricity connection.
• Gujarat has the largest OFC network of more than 50,000 km.
• The British East India Company set its first footsteps in Surat in 1818.
• Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India.
• The world’s largest ship breaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang.
• More than 8 out of the 10 of the world’s diamonds are processed in the city Surat in Gujarat.
• Surat is considered as the hub of diamond business in the world after Antwerp, Belgium.
• Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT is a central business district between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. It is India’s first International Financial Services Centre.
• Surat – also known as Diamond city of India.
• AMUL (Anand Milk United Limited)-Founded in 1946 to stop the exploitation by middlemen in Anand.
• Verghese Kurien, who was entrusted the task of running the dairy from 1950, is also known as Father of White revolution.
• India’s first Bullet train project was launched between Ahmedabad & Mumbai with the help of Japan.
• It has largest coastline in India approx. 1600Km. amongst states of India.
• Dahej is chemical port.
• Largest district in the country is Kuchchh and it is also the western most district of India. Tidal Plant is situated in Kuchchh.
• Bhuj Solar Pond is first large scale solar pond in India.
• Black Hill (Kalo Dungar) is the highest point in Kachchh.
• Gujarat accounts for about 80% of the diamonds processed & 90% of the diamonds exported from India
• Mehsana, Kalol & Dholka – Oil resources are found here
• Gulf of khambat & Gulf of Kutch – have huge potentional of generating Tidal energy because of huge variation in tidal range.
• Gujarat also has huge potential for wind energy and solar power generation.

 

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Also read more about other Indian States 

• ANDHRA PRADESH
• ARUNACHAL PRADESH
• ASSAM
• BIHAR
• CHHATTISGARH
• GOA