Visit Gujarat – The Jewel of Western Part of India

Garba, Somnath temple, Mahatma Gandhi, and Ambani family. These aren’t in any order but these are a few things that come to mind when someone mentions Gujarat. Gujarat has played a very important role in the social and economic history of India. Currently, Gujarat has some of the largest corporations in India. The world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano is manufactured in Gujarat. Today Gujarat Tourism is emerging as a key player in not just the development of the state but also of the entire nation. In this blog, I will write about the historical and current significance of the state.

Geography

The largest city in Gujarat is Ahmedabad. The capital is Gandhinagar. They are covered in 196077 sq. km.

History

The history of Gujarat encompasses the Indus Valley civilization.

Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar which is part of present-day Gujarat. His first few revolts were started in Gujarat. The famous salt march, where he marched 388 km started in Gujarat. Some historians argue for the importance of the influence of the culture of Gujarat in shaping Mahatma Gandhi’s methods. The idea of vegetarianism is ingrained in the culture of Gujarat. Mahatma Gandhi’s early publications, Hind Swaraj, were published in Gujarati. He also wrote his autobiography, the story of my experiment with truth, in Gujarati.

Current Influence

Gujarat is one of the most industrialized states in India. It’s per capita GDP is above the national average. Its largest city was ranked by Forbes as number 3 for the world’s fastest-growing cities. Gujarat has limestone reserves in abundance making cement industries thrive. Major crops produced are wheat, oil seeds, cotton, mango, banana, onion, and brinjal. Gujarat produces about 98% of India’s required amount of soda ash and gives the country about 78% of its national requirement of salt.

Gujarat has also made a big advancement in other industrial sectors like engineering, textile, petrochemical, and biotechnology. Gujarat is the only state in India with surplus electricity. It has electricity in all villages and cities 24×7. Gujarat counts for more than 35% of Indian Chemicals production.