Gujarat is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about 1,600 km (990 mi) is the longest in the country,most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area,covering some 196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi);and the ninth-most populous state,with a population of 60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast,Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south,Maharashtra to the southeast,Madhya Pradesh to the east,and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar,while its largest city is Ahmedabad. The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language,Gujarati,is the state's official language.
Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat,India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. It is known for the Santram Mandir,the Mai Mandir,It is the birthplace of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Kathiawar is a peninsula,near the far north of India's west coast,of about 61,000 km2 (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast,it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low,fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months,thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century.
Kutch district,officially spelled Kachchh is a district of Gujarat state in western India,with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2,it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than the entire area of other Indian states like Haryana (44,212 km2) and Kerala (38,863 km2),as well as the country of Estonia (45,335 km2). The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 talukas,939 villages and 6 municipalities. The Kutch district is home to the Kutchi people who speak the Kutchi language.
Junagadh is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills,355 kilometres (221 mi) southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar,it is the seventh largest city in the state. It is dominated by the Chudasama clan of Rajputs since ancient times.
Rajkot is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad,Vadodara,and Surat,and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India,with a population of more than 2 million as of 2021. Rajkot is the 6th cleanest city of India,and it is the 22nd fastest-growing city in the world as of March 2021. The city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District,245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar,and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956,before its merger with Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State on 1 May 1960.
Vir Sanghvi is an Indian print and television journalist,author,columnist and talk show host. He has been a member of many professional,academic and government bodies including the National Integration Council. Currently,he is a member of the Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC),a body that regulates content on entertainment TV channels and Co-Founder/Lead Food Critic at EazyDiner. He is an opponent of the Hindutva ideology.
Palanpur is a city and a headquarters of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants.
Junagadh district is a district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Junagadh.
Valsad district is one of the 33 districts in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. It is bound by Navsari district to the north,Nashik district of Maharashtra state to the east,and Dadra and Nagar Haveli district of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD) union territory and the Palghar district of Maharashtra to the south. The Arabian Sea lies west of the district. The coastal Damaon enclave of DNHDD is bounded by Valsad district on the north,east,and south. The district's administrative capital is Valsad. The district's largest city is Vapi.
Jainism has had a notable following in Gujarat. According to the 2011 Census of India,around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain. There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as Palitana,Taranga,Sankheshwar,Idar.
Shrimad Rajchandra,also known as Param Krupalu Dev,was a Jain poet,mystic,philosopher,scholar,and reformer from India. Born in Vavaniya,a village near Morbi,he claimed to have attained recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed Avadhāna,a memory retention and recollection test that gained him popularity,but he later discouraged it in favour of his spiritual pursuits. He wrote much philosophical poetry including Atma Siddhi Shastra. He also wrote many letters and commentaries and translated some religious texts. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi.
Vasant Vasudeo Paranjpe was an Indian diplomat and an expert on China. In 1947,he came to China to study the Chinese language at Beijing University. He later worked in China,until 1957. He served as the interpreter when Nehru visited China and served as the interpreter between the Indian and Chinese delegations,translating directly between Jawaharlal Nehru and Mao Zedong in 1954. From 1974 to 1976,he was the ambassador of Addis Ababa. In 1977,he was made India's ambassador to South Korea. Presented credentials on February 6,1978 in Seoul.
The introduction of Jainism to the West is credited to a German scholar,Hermann Jacobi,who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe,the largest Jain populations are in Britain,with a population of about 25,000.
Kumarpal Balabhai Desai is an author,critic,editor,journalist,columnist and translator from Gujarat,India. He studied and later taught at the Gujarat University. He is associated with several social and Gujarati literary organisations such as Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He has written and edited more than hundred books including biographies and several works on Jainism. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.
Kutch Museum is a museum located opposite to the Hamirsar Lake in Bhuj,in the Kutch district of Gujarat,India. It is the oldest museum of Gujarat which was founded in 1877. It is located opposite Hamirsar Lake. The museum was earlier known as Fergusson Museum.
Nanji Kalidas Mehta,MBE was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist from Gujarat. He founded the Mehta Group in British East Africa,with its head office in India. Known as Sheth Nanjibhai. His son Mahendra Mehta,daughter in-law Sunayana Mehta and grandson Jay Mehta now own the Mehta Group.
Usha Chinoy (1929–2004) was an Indian educationist and musician from Rajkot,Gujarat.
Jayant Sukhlal Kothari was a Gujarati literary critic from India.
Girnar ropeway is a ropeway on Mount Girnar in Junagadh district,Gujarat,India. First proposed in 1983,the construction started only in September 2018 due to government approval delays and litigation. The construction and operation is managed by Usha Breco Limited. It was inaugurated on 24 October 2020.
