Kutch is an Ancient land. It has an important historical age. It is known as Kutch due to its Geographical Characteristics and due to its turtle-like land shape. Its this name has reference in ancient literatures. Mallinathi, in his Bhashya Sanjivani on Amarkosh, has explained it as damp region or fallow low land. The reference of it on this name is in the notes on this region of the foreign travellers visited this country in the old times and in Rock Inscriptions, in Scripted Copper Plates and in ancient writings and manuscripts. Before the rise of the Christian era, the region between Sindh and Saurashtra has been described as Aabhir and the name has reference in Mahabharata also. The Greek visitor and army commander also, during the second century Before Christ, referred to this region as Aabiria or Aabir by corrupting the original name Aabhir. Up to third or fourth century A. D. and thereafter also it has been referred by both the names of Kutch and Aabhir.
Introduction
According to Hindu epics, Lord Krishna and his elder brother Balarama evacuated Mathura and established themselves at Kushasthali, now known as Dwarka and started what is known as the Yadava dynasty. Dwarka subsequently became one of the four seats (mathas) set up by Shri Adi Shankaracharya.
The Parsees when they fled from Iran in the eighth century first landed at Sanjan on the shores of Gujarat with the holy flame, which still burns in Udwada in Valsad. The Muslim influence left its lasting imprints on the local art and architecture and it became to be known as the Indo-Saracenic style.
In Gujarat, Portuguese were the earliest Europeans who settled in Diu, a small island off the southern coast of Saurashtra. After that came, the British, who set up warehouses in Surat in 1612.
Gujarat was a part of the erstwhile Mumbai state during the British Rule. But in 1960, the 'Gujarati' population decided to secede from that union, which resulted in the formation of two new states, namely Gujarat and Maharashtra. The new State of Gujarat came into existence on May 01, 1960 because of this bifurcation.
Gujarat is the birthplace for many who played an important role in shaping modern India. Prominent among them are Shri Dadabhoy Navroji, the grand old man of the freedom fight, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the architect of a united India and Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation. These men carried the torch of national freedom and integration infusing the qualities of tolerance, brotherhood, non-violence and patriotism amongst Indians.
Gujarat gets its name from "Gujjar Rashtra", the land of the Gujjars, a migrant tribe who came to India in the wake of the invading Huns in 5th century. The history of Gujarat dates back to 2000 BC. It is also believed that Lord Krishna left Mathura to settle on the west coast of Saurashtra at Dwarka.
The state saw various kingdoms like Mauryas, Guptas, Pratiharas etc, but it was under the regime of Chalukyas (Solanki) Gujarat witnessed progress and prosperity. In spite of the plundering of Mahmud of Ghazni, the Chalukyan kings were able to maintain general prosperity and well being of the state. After this glorious respite, Gujarat faced troubled times under the Muslims, Marathas and the British rules.
The Present state of Gujarat was formed in 1st May 1960, as a result of Bombay Reorganization act, 1960. The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Pakistan and Rajasthan in the north and north-east respectively, Madhya Pradesh in the south east and Maharashtra in south.
The state has witnessed all-round progress in all fields. It has been recognized as one of the leading industrial states in the country. There are 1500 large and medium, 1,84,119 small scale industrial units registered as on March 1996. The principal industries are textiles, chemicals, and petro-chemicals, complex of IPCL and Gujarat Oil refinery located near Vadodara. Gujarat is also the main producer of tobacco, cotton and groundnut in the country.
Gujarat with its immense tourism has unending list of tourist destinations, right from Ahmedabad- the Manchester of India, Gandhiji's Sabarmati Ashram, spectacular peninsula of Saurashtra, the historic Jain Temple of Palitana, Sasangiri the last natural habitat of majestic Asiatic lions, the coastal towns of Porbandar and Dwarka the semi-inland of Kutch etc, the list is unending. The history of Gujarat that can be measured by time dates hack to the last stages of the fourth century B.C. The history of human culture prior to that period begins with the Stone Age. The references of Gujarat and Saurashtra are found in Mahabharata, 'Arthashastra' of Chanakya, Deval Smriti and Buddha stories written during the 1st century A.D. Clear references to Saurashtra in the stone inscriptions at Girnar, of Maha Kshatrap Rudradama of 150 A.D, of the remains and reminiscences of the people living at Rozdi (Shrinathgadh) near Gondal in Saurashtra of 1850 B.C. and different strata of cultural life found at various places prove that the culture of Gujarat is at least no less than 4,000 years old!
An effort to concise the history of Gujarat from Shri Krishna to Muslim period.
The dark ages ruled after the death of lord Krishna and no accurate information has been made available about the huge leap of 3000 years till we reach Ashoka, the great. 3000 years slide away into oblivion and we came to the Emperor Ashoka, whose tales tell the stone inscriptions at the foot of Girnar. Chandragupta Maurya had a sovereign rule from Patliputra in Magadha in 319 B.C. Saurashtra and Gujarat were also part of his expanding Kingdom. The autonomy of the Kings Bindusaar and Ashoka remained a glorious facet of the Maurya rule. Ashoka was a war loving king and his main ambition in life was to capture as many territories and kingdoms as possible. Cruelty, treachery and violence of battles, on his way to Kalinga, however, aroused in him the fear of God and the love to human beings. This divine transformation gave him the title of Priyadarshi. Ashoka had several stuti stambhs, singing the praises of God and establishing sermons and religious dictums for the reformation of the people and for reinstating the faith of his subjects. The stone inscriptions at the foothills of Girnar preach the eternal message of non-violence, peace and love towards human beings as propagated by Lord Buddha. The seal of that pillar has been sacred for Indians for centuries and now presides over our conscious patriotism in the form of our National Emblem – The Ashoka Chakra.
The poet Nanhalal had described the 4m tall and 8m round stone at Girnar as 'Shailakan' (the molecule of a stone) in his famous poem 'At the foot of Girnar' (Girnar ne charne).
The inscriptions sing praises of three great Indian emperors: Ashoka, Kshatrap and Skadagupta. These monarchs ruled between 234-237 B.C., 150 A.D. and 456 A.D. respectively. The inscriptions of Ashoka are in the Prakrit language and the rest are in Sanskrit. The Brahmi script, the mother of Devnagari, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil scripts was used during those times.
History of Gujarat
KUTCH