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Gujarat Tours |
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Gujarat Hotels |
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History of
Gujarat |
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The history of
Gujarat that dates back to 3500 years can be known
from the archaeological findings at Lothal near
Dhandauka in Ahmedabad district and Razdi in
Saurashtra. The earliest stone age settlements in
Gujarat are situated on the margins of the South Asian
zone. Some of these settlements are located at Rojadi
near Rajkot and Adamgarh, near the Gujarat-Madhya
Pradesh border, Sabarmati and Mahi rivers in the
south. The Indus Valley and Harappa civilization has
been discovered at Lothal, Rangpur, Amri, Lakhabaval
and Rozdi. In 1954, these sites were discovered as one
of the most remarkable Indus Valley sites in India. It
seemed probably that they came by sea, occupying a
settlement that was |
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already well-established
before they colonized it. The main Harappan occupation
lasted from 2450 BC to 1900 BC, followed by a 300 year
period of decline. In 1988, an exciting new Harappa
civilization was discovered at Kuntasi, the head of the Gulf
of Kutch, 30 km from Morvi in Rajkot district. Kuntasi was a
port, and had a “factory” associated with it. It seems that
this site hold more clues to the Harappan religious beliefs
and practice. A copper ring and a spiral motif was
discovered at Kuntasi, which describes about the importance
of the site as a port for trade. The unusual double
fortification belongs to two separate periods, the first
from 2200 BC and the second from between 1900 and 1700 BC.
The Rock edicts in the Girnar Hills also indicated that the
Mauryan emperor Ashoka extended his domain into Gujarat. The
Sakas or Scynthias (130-390 AD) controlled it after the fall
of the Mauryan Empire and under Rudradaman, their empire
contained Malwa, Saurashtra, Kutch and Rajasthan. During the
4th and 5th centuries it formed part of the Gupta Empire
which was succeeded by the Maitraka dynasty. The
Gurjara-Pratiharas ruled during the 8th and 9th centuries
and were replaced by the Solanki dynasty, under whom Gujarat
extended its territorial area. This was later ruled by the
Vaghela dynasty before defeated by the Ala-ud-din Khalji,
and the Muslim rule followed after this. Ahmad I, the first
independent Muslim ruler of Gujarat founded Ahmedabad in
1411. |
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Gujarati
Provincial Architecture
The period from 1300 to 1550 saw a remarkable
flowering of Gujarati provincial architecture. The new
Muslim rulers made full use of the skills of Hindu and
Jain builders and craftsmen. The mosques and tombs
that were newly built obey strict Islamic principles
and also reflect the combination of Muslim political
power and Hindu and Jain architecture. The Mughal
emperor Humayun took Malwa and Gujarat in 1534-5 but
soon lost both. His son, Akbar, reclaimed both the
regions in a military operation and secured the region
of the Mughals for two centuries, terminated by the
Marathas in the mid 18th century. |
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Colonial Power
The Dutch, English, French and Portuguese established base
along the coast in the 17th century for trading purposes.
The British East India Company established his first
headquarters in India at Surat and Bombay. The British
maritime supremacy was established at all the places but the
Portuguese withdraw from Daman and Diu. The state came under
the control of the East India Company in 1818 and after the
1857 Mutiny. It was then divided into Gujarat province,
which had an area of 25,900 square km and later comprising
of numerous princely states. Until independence, Kathiawar
was one of the most highly fragmented regions of India, that
had 86 distinct political units in just over 55,000 sq km.
Junagadh, covered an area of less than 9000 square km. and a
population of under three quarters of million in 1947. |
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Recent Political
History
In 1947 after independence, Gujarat was incorporated
into Bombay state. In 1956 Saurashtra and Kutch were
added. On 1 May 1960, the state of Bombay was split
into present day Maharashtra and Gujarat states and in
1961 India forcibly annexed Daman and Diu. After
Partition, the possession of the Rann of Kutch was
disputed by India and Pakistan. In 1965 they fought
over it, and following the ceasefire on 1 July,
division of the area was referred to as an
international tribunal. In 1968 the |
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| tribunal recommended that
90% should remain with India and 10% pass the Pakistan. |
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