History of Gujarat

जो अपने इतिहास को भूल जाता हे उनकी भूगोल बदल जाती हे l the wisely said proverb said by our ancestors has been proven right in the case of Gujarat’s history. The contemporary name – Gujarat has been derived from Sanskrit word ‘Gujar-Rashtra’ – which means a land of Gurjars; previously the several parts of Rajasthan & Gujarat were combinedly known as Gurjaratra or Gurjarbhumi for several centuries. Gujarat has been eminent since centuries in terms of business, ports, cultural diversities, the folk life style, architecture, etc. In the ancient times also Gujarat state has congregated the fame of its rich ethnicity that a number of foreign voyagers have visited Gujarat and made notes in their historical volumes about their affluent experience of Gujarat & its mores during their visits.

It is difficult to say the exact time span when Gujarat was ascertained but it has its root older than the Mahabharat era. Lord Shri Krishna had the deep relation with Gujarat as he has chosen Dwarika as his “Maya-nagari”. Gujarat has been ruled by many dynasties like the mauryas, the Scythians, the guptas, the solankis and the mughals, etc at the various passages of time. The actual roots of the civilization in Gujarat dates 3000 to 5000 BC, with the emerging civilization of Harappa, lothal & Dholavira in the Kutch district.

Gujarat’s coastal cities, mainly Bharuch, Surat, etc served as ports and trading centres in the Nanda, Maurya, Satavahana and Gupta empires & Western Kshatrapas period. After the plunge of the Gupta empire in the 6th century, Gujarat flourished as an independent Hindu/Buddhist state. The Maitraka dynasty, descended from a Gupta general, ruled from the 6th to the 8th centuries from their capital at Vallabhi, although they were ruled briefly by Harsha during the 7th century. The Arab rulers from Sindh sacked Vallabhi in 770, brought the Maitraka dynasty to an end. The Gurjara-Pratihara Empire ruled Gujarat then after from the 8th to 10th centuries. As well as, for some periods the region came under the control of Rashtrakuta Empire and Pala Empire.

During the 10th century, the indigenous Solanki reign came to power. Under the Solanki reign, Gujarat reached to its greatest extent. The Solankis are considered to be descended from the ancient Chalukya reign. The Solanki reign ruled Gujarat 13th century.

During 1297 to 1300, Allauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, smashed Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate. After Timur’s sacking of Delhi at the end of the 14th century weakened the Sultanate, Gujarat’s Rajput Muslim governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar asserted his independence, and his son, Sultan Ahmed Shah (approx ruled between 1411 to 1442), modernized Ahmedabad as the capital. The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1576, when the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire. The Surat port became the prominent and main port of India during Mughal rule. Gujarat remained a province of the Mughal empire until the Marathas occupied eastern and central Gujarat in the 18th century; Western Gujarat (Kathiawar and Kutch) were divided among numerous local rulers.

Later in the 18th century, Gujarat came under control of the Maratha Empire who dominated the politics of India. The 1st ruler Pilaji Gaikwad, ascertained the control over Baroda and much of Gujarat. Post Battle of Panipat in 1761, all Maratha generals treated themselves as an sovereign government while keeping the nominal authority of the Peshwas of Pune and Satara.

The British East India Company wrested control of almost all of Gujarat from the Marathas during the 2nd Anglo-Maratha battle. Many regional rulers, mainly the Maratha Gaikwads from Baroda (Vadodara), initiated for a separate peace with the British and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule. Gujarat was put under the political authority of the Bombay Presidency, excluding Baroda state, which was having a direct relationship with the Governor-General of India. From 1818 to 1947, most of contemporary Gujarat, including Kathiawar, Kutch, and northern and eastern Gujarat were divided into hundreds of princely states, but several districts in central and southern Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Kheda, Panchmahal, and Surat, were ruled directly by British rulers. Sections of the western coast of India including parts of current Gujarat and Maharashtra were a part of the Bombay Presidency. After independence of India in 1947, the demand for linguistic states came up. Mahagujarat Movement (Mahagujarat Andolan), a political movement began in 1956 demanding the creation of the state of Gujarat for Gujarati-speaking people from the bilingual Bombay state. Gujarat was born by splitting the Bombay state on 1 May 1960 on basis of linguistic lines. This also resulted in formation of the Marathi-speaking Maharashtra state.