Facts about Gujarat

The state of Gujarat lies on the north-western coastal region of India. The state has very rich cultural history of thousands of years. A major portion of the ruins of Indus Valley Civilization were found here. The major facts and figures of Gujarat state is mentioned below. Hope that you will find it interesting!

Modern History: During the British rule the present territories of state of Gujarat used to be in two parts such

• territories under the direct rule of British, and
• The princely territories.

After independence, these territories were annexed with Bombay state. The Bombay state largely consisted of Gujarati and Marathi people. The leaders of both the Gujarati and Marathi community demanded their own state and the Bombay state was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra on May 01, 1960.

Name: In Ancient times, Gujarat was known as ‘Gurjar Rashtra”. The land was ruled by the Kshatriya gurjara community. Later on, it became Gujarat.

Polulation: Gujarat has population of 60.4 million people and ranked 10th among Indian states.

Land Area: The size of land area is 196,024 sq. km and is ranked 7th among states in Indian.

Language: Official language is Gujarati. The commonly spoken languages are Gujarati and Hindi. English is often used.

Religion: The majority of people are Hindus (around 91%). The other communities belong to Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism, amongst others.

Literacy:  The state has as literacy rate of around 80 percent.

Boundary:  Rajasthan is on the northern side of Gujarat. On the south lies the State of Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh surrounds Gujarat on its east. On the west of Gujarat lies the Arabian sea and parts of Pakistan.

City: Gandhinagar is the capital city is Gandhinagar. Gandhinagar is nearly 23 kms from Ahmedabad, which is the largest city in Gujarat. Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Rajkot, etc are other major cities. Surat is known for high quality works on Silk and Cotton textiles.

Natural resources: Bauxite, limestone, lignite, china clay, dolomite, marble, granite, oil, natural gas, etc are the major natural resources found in the state.

Economy: Gujarat is one of the fastest growing economies in India. Gujarat is an industrial hub and a favourite destination for investor and industrialists. Industries in Gujarat include textiles, dairy, petro-chemical, engineering, gems and jewellery, etc.

Employment: As per a survey, Gujarat has the lowest unemployment rate of 1 percent as against national average of 3.8 %.

Power and Electricity: The lonely state with surplus electricity is Gujarat and it has the largest solar plant in India. (2012)

Tourist attraction: The places of interest around Ahmedabad are Gandhi Ashram, Jama Masjid, Bhadra Fort, Hathisingh Jain Temple, etc. The places of interest around Vadodara are Nazarbaug palace, Kirti Mandir, Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Makarpura Palace, Pratap Vilas Palace and Vadodara Museum.

Connectivity: The road network is one of the finest in India. The state has some of the major ports of India. The railway network is one of the busiest in India. There are 17 airports in Gujarat.

Visit: The best period to visit Gujarat is between Octobers to March.