Gujarat is a state in western India. It has a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million.Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India.
The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Mahatma Gandhi, considered India's "father of the nation", was a Gujarati who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India. The state has the fastest growing economy in India. It is also one of the most industrialized states of India.
Modern-day Gujarat is derived from Gurjaratra that is the land protected or ruled by the Gurjars, or from Gurjar-Rashtra, the Gujjar nation.
Gujarat borders with Pakistan's province of Sindh to the north-west, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, the state of Rajasthan to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and by Maharashtra, Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south. Historically, the North was known as Anarta, the Kathiawad peninsula, "Saurastra", and the South as "Lata".
The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has the longest coast line. Narmada is the biggest river of Gujarat followed by Tapi, although Sabarmati covers the longest area in the state. Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada river. Narmada is one of the major rivers of peninsular India. It is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west – the others being the Tapi River and the Mahi River.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is the new upcoming city in the state of Gujarat to provide high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, district cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband), so that finance and tech firms can relocate their operations there from Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon where infrastructure is either very bad or very expensive.
About 89.1% of the population of Gujarat are Hindu. Muslims account for 9.1%, Jain 1.0% and Sikh 0.1% of the population. Amongst Hindus, the deity of Krishna is famously worshiped in His form of Shrinathji throughout Gujarat.
Gujarat has some of the largest businesses in India. Major agricultural produce of the state include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol. Reliance Industries operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar, which is the world's largest grass-roots refineries. The world's largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang. India’s only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at Dahej, developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd. Gujarat has two of the three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in the country. Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas-based thermal electricity generation. The state owned Wide Area Network is the largest IP -based ICT network in Asia Pacific Region and second largest in the world. There are more than 900,000 internet users and all villages are connected with broadband internet.
Gujarat's major cities include Ahmedabad, Surat,Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. In year 2010,Forbes list of world's fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3. Surat is also one of the fastest growing city in India. Vadodara being the cultural city of Gujarat is fastly growing area wise and is industrialized to a large extent. It is the number 4th city in India in growing fastly. Major resources produced by the state include cotton, groundnut, dates, sugarcane, and petrochemical products. The state is rich in calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite,limestone, agate, feldspar and quartz sand, and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas. General Motors manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara, Tata manufactures Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj. Surat, a city by the Gulf of Khambhat, is a hub of the global diamond trade. Gujarat is only state with surplus electricity. Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 States.
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language evolved from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is native to the Indian state of Gujarat, and is its chief language, as well as of the adjacent union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Marathi is spoken by a large number of people in Vadodara and Surat. Apart from this, English, Marwari Sindhi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Oriya,Malayalam, etc. is also spoken by a lower proportion.
Gujarat is home to Gujarati people. Gujarat is also the home of Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel, who preached the unity between all religions and became a worldwide figure for peaceful struggle against tyranny.
The Rass-Garba is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people. The folk costume of this dance is Chaniya Choli for women and Kedia for men. Makar Sankranti is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites. In Gujarat, from December through to Makar Sankranti, people start enjoying kite flying. Surat is espcially known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge. Apart from Navratri, Diwali, Holi, Tazia and others are also celebrated.
Gujarat consists of people following Hinduism, Islam,Jainism,Buddhism,Christianity and Zoroastrianism, making it a religiously diverse state.Hinduism is major religion of the state, as 89.09% population of the state is Hindu. Major part of Hindu population follows Swaminarayan Hinduism and Vaishnavism.Muslims are the biggest minority in the state. Gujarat is where jains have large population outside Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The zoroastrians, also known in India as Parsi and Irani are believed to have migrated to Gujarat to maintain their traditions.
Gujarat is also known for many national level institutions. The Space Applications Centre(SAC) is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad, India, under the aegis of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, a renowned scientist, industrialist, and visionary Gujarati, played an important role in it. He also founded Physical Research Laboratory, a research institute encompasses Astrophysics, Solar System, and cosmic radiation. He also envisioned Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country.
Gujarat has 4 National parks and 21 sanctuaries. Gujarat is the only home of Asiatic Lions and outside Africa, Gujarat is the only present natural habitat of lions. Gir Forest National Park in the south-west part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, leopards are also found in state. They are spread across large plains of Saurashtra and mountains of South Gujarat. Gujarat has some of major mountain-ranges of India, including Aravalli, Sahyadri,Vindhya and Saputara. Apart from this Gir hills, Barda, Jessore, Chotila etc. are situated in different parts of the Gujarat. Girnar is the tallest peak of Gujarat. Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major food crops produced are rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, Tur, and gram. Gujarat has an agricultural economy. Animal husbandry and dairying have played a vital role in the rural economy of Gujarat. Dairy farming, primarily concerned with milk production, functions on a cooperative basis and has more than a million members. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India. Amul milk co-operative federation is well known all over India, and it is Asia's biggest dairy. Religious sites are major part of tourism in Gujarat.Somnath is the first among twelve Jyotirlingas, and has been mentioned in Rigveda.The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Satrunjaya, Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara Jain community. The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival is a festival celebrated at Kutch during Mahashivratri.
The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Mahatma Gandhi, considered India's "father of the nation", was a Gujarati who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India. The state has the fastest growing economy in India. It is also one of the most industrialized states of India.
Modern-day Gujarat is derived from Gurjaratra that is the land protected or ruled by the Gurjars, or from Gurjar-Rashtra, the Gujjar nation.
Gujarat borders with Pakistan's province of Sindh to the north-west, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, the state of Rajasthan to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and by Maharashtra, Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south. Historically, the North was known as Anarta, the Kathiawad peninsula, "Saurastra", and the South as "Lata".
The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has the longest coast line. Narmada is the biggest river of Gujarat followed by Tapi, although Sabarmati covers the longest area in the state. Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada river. Narmada is one of the major rivers of peninsular India. It is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west – the others being the Tapi River and the Mahi River.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is the new upcoming city in the state of Gujarat to provide high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, district cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband), so that finance and tech firms can relocate their operations there from Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon where infrastructure is either very bad or very expensive.
About 89.1% of the population of Gujarat are Hindu. Muslims account for 9.1%, Jain 1.0% and Sikh 0.1% of the population. Amongst Hindus, the deity of Krishna is famously worshiped in His form of Shrinathji throughout Gujarat.
Gujarat has some of the largest businesses in India. Major agricultural produce of the state include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol. Reliance Industries operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar, which is the world's largest grass-roots refineries. The world's largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang. India’s only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at Dahej, developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd. Gujarat has two of the three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in the country. Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas-based thermal electricity generation. The state owned Wide Area Network is the largest IP -based ICT network in Asia Pacific Region and second largest in the world. There are more than 900,000 internet users and all villages are connected with broadband internet.
Gujarat's major cities include Ahmedabad, Surat,Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. In year 2010,Forbes list of world's fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3. Surat is also one of the fastest growing city in India. Vadodara being the cultural city of Gujarat is fastly growing area wise and is industrialized to a large extent. It is the number 4th city in India in growing fastly. Major resources produced by the state include cotton, groundnut, dates, sugarcane, and petrochemical products. The state is rich in calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite,limestone, agate, feldspar and quartz sand, and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas. General Motors manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara, Tata manufactures Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj. Surat, a city by the Gulf of Khambhat, is a hub of the global diamond trade. Gujarat is only state with surplus electricity. Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 States.
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language evolved from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is native to the Indian state of Gujarat, and is its chief language, as well as of the adjacent union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Marathi is spoken by a large number of people in Vadodara and Surat. Apart from this, English, Marwari Sindhi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Oriya,Malayalam, etc. is also spoken by a lower proportion.
Gujarat is home to Gujarati people. Gujarat is also the home of Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel, who preached the unity between all religions and became a worldwide figure for peaceful struggle against tyranny.
The Rass-Garba is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people. The folk costume of this dance is Chaniya Choli for women and Kedia for men. Makar Sankranti is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites. In Gujarat, from December through to Makar Sankranti, people start enjoying kite flying. Surat is espcially known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge. Apart from Navratri, Diwali, Holi, Tazia and others are also celebrated.
Gujarat consists of people following Hinduism, Islam,Jainism,Buddhism,Christianity and Zoroastrianism, making it a religiously diverse state.Hinduism is major religion of the state, as 89.09% population of the state is Hindu. Major part of Hindu population follows Swaminarayan Hinduism and Vaishnavism.Muslims are the biggest minority in the state. Gujarat is where jains have large population outside Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The zoroastrians, also known in India as Parsi and Irani are believed to have migrated to Gujarat to maintain their traditions.
Gujarat is also known for many national level institutions. The Space Applications Centre(SAC) is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad, India, under the aegis of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, a renowned scientist, industrialist, and visionary Gujarati, played an important role in it. He also founded Physical Research Laboratory, a research institute encompasses Astrophysics, Solar System, and cosmic radiation. He also envisioned Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country.
Gujarat has 4 National parks and 21 sanctuaries. Gujarat is the only home of Asiatic Lions and outside Africa, Gujarat is the only present natural habitat of lions. Gir Forest National Park in the south-west part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, leopards are also found in state. They are spread across large plains of Saurashtra and mountains of South Gujarat. Gujarat has some of major mountain-ranges of India, including Aravalli, Sahyadri,Vindhya and Saputara. Apart from this Gir hills, Barda, Jessore, Chotila etc. are situated in different parts of the Gujarat. Girnar is the tallest peak of Gujarat. Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major food crops produced are rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, Tur, and gram. Gujarat has an agricultural economy. Animal husbandry and dairying have played a vital role in the rural economy of Gujarat. Dairy farming, primarily concerned with milk production, functions on a cooperative basis and has more than a million members. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India. Amul milk co-operative federation is well known all over India, and it is Asia's biggest dairy. Religious sites are major part of tourism in Gujarat.Somnath is the first among twelve Jyotirlingas, and has been mentioned in Rigveda.The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Satrunjaya, Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara Jain community. The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival is a festival celebrated at Kutch during Mahashivratri.