View source for Gujarat

{{Short description|State in western India}}
{{About|the state in India| other uses|Gujrat (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox Indian state or territory
| name = Gujarat
| official_name = State of Gujarat
| type = State
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 280
| image_style              = 
| perrow                   = 1/2/2/2/2/2
| caption_align = center
| image1   = Rani ki vav 02.jpg
| caption1 = [[Rani ki Vav]]
| image2   = Statue of Unity - View from the other bank of Narmada.jpg
| caption2 = [[Statue of Unity]]
| image3   = Somanath mandir (cropped).jpg
| caption3 = [[Somnath temple|Somnath Temple]]
| image4   = Dwarakadheesh Temple, 2014.jpg
| caption4 = [[Dwarkadhish Temple]]
| image5   = Safed Rann, Kutch.jpg
| caption5 = [[Great Rann of Kutch|The Great Rann of Kutch]]
| image6   = Dattatreya Temple of Girnar.JPG
| caption6 = [[Girnar|Mount Girnar]]
| image7   = Garba playing.jpg
| caption7 = [[Navaratri]]
| image8   = Gir lion-Gir forest,junagadh,gujarat,india.jpeg
| caption8 = [[Gir National Park|Sasan Gir]]
| image9 = LakshmiVilas Palace.jpg
| caption9 = [[Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara|Lakshmi Vilas Palace]]
| image10  = Surya mandhir.jpg|250px
| caption10 = [[Modhera Sun Temple]]
| image11  = Sabarmati riverside.jpg|250px
| caption11 = [[Sabarmati Riverfront]]
| image_alt =}}
| image_seal = Government Of Gujarat Seal In All Languages.svg
| seal_size = 100
| etymology = "Land of the [[Gurjar]]s"
| nickname = "Jewel of Western India"
| motto = [[Satyameva Jayate]] ([[Sanskrit]])<br>"Truth alone triumphs"{{force singular}}
| anthem = [[Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat]] ([[Gujarati language|Gujarati]])<br>"Victory to Proud Gujarat"<ref name="DeshGujarat2011">{{Cite web |date=7 May 2011 |title=Newest version of Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat song launched(Video) |url=http://deshgujarat.com/2011/05/07/newest-version-of-jay-jay-garvi-gujarat-song-launchedvideo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113115131/http://deshgujarat.com/2011/05/07/newest-version-of-jay-jay-garvi-gujarat-song-launchedvideo/ |archive-date=13 November 2016 |access-date=12 November 2016 |website=Desh Gujarat}}</ref>
| image_map = IN-GJ.svg
| coordinates = {{Coord|23.220|N|72.655|E|region:IN-GJ_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| region = West India
| before_was = [[Bombay State]]
| formation_date3 = formation
| formation_date4 = 1 May 1960
| capital = Gandhinagar
| largestcity = Ahmedabad
| metro = Ahmedabad
| districts = [[List of districts of Gujarat|34]]
| Governor = [[Acharya Devvrat]]
| Chief_Minister = [[Bhupendrabhai Patel]]
| party = [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]
| Deputy_CM = [[Harsh Sanghavi]] ([[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]])
| judiciary = [[Gujarat High Court]]
| legislature_type = Unicameral
| assembly = [[Gujarat Legislative Assembly]]
| assembly_seats = 182 seats
| rajya_sabha_seats = 11 seats
| lok_sabha_seats = 26 seats
| area_total_km2 = 196024
| area_rank = 5th
| length_km = 590
| width_km = 500
| elevation_m = 
| elevation_max_m = 1,145
| elevation_max_point = [[Girnar]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=DGFASLI REPORT |url=http://dgfasli.nic.in/publication/reports/gujarat/Chapter2.htm |access-date=24 March 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820085038/http://dgfasli.nic.in/publication/reports/gujarat/Chapter2.htm }}</ref>
| elevation_min_m = 0
| elevation_min_point = [[Arabian Sea]]
| population_total = {{Increase}} 60,439,692
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank = 9th
| population_urban = 42.6%
| population_rural = 57.4%
| population_density = 308
| population_demonym = [[Gujarati people|Gujarati]]<ref name="langoff">{{Cite web |date=16 July 2014 |title=50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2016 |access-date=6 November 2016 |page=118}}</ref>
| 0fficial_Langs = {{hlist|[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]|[[Hindi]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4501/1/officiallanguages.pdf |title=The Gujarat Official Languages Act, 1960 |publisher=indiacode.nic.in |year=1961 |access-date=21 December 2022 |archive-date=21 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221090052/https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4501/1/officiallanguages.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Benedikter2009">{{Cite book |last=Benedikter |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89 |title=Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-643-10231-7 |page=89 |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425230812/https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89 |archive-date=25 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| official_script = {{hlist|[[Gujarati script]]|[[Devanagari script]]}}
| GDP_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|title= Gujarat budget analysis 2025–26|url=https://prsindia.org/budgets/states/gujarat-budget-analysis-2025-26}}</ref>
| GDP_total = {{Increase}}{{INRConvert|2672072|c|=r}}
| GDP_year = 2024–2025
| GDP_rank = 4th
| GDP_per_capita = {{IncreaseNeutral}}{{INRConvert|336875|lk=r}}
| GDP_per_capita_rank = 11th
| HDI = {{Increase}} 0.646 {{color|#fc0|Medium}}<ref>{{cite web |title=India: Subnational HDI |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/IND/ |website=Global Data Labs |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref>
| HDI_year = 2022
| HDI_rank = 25th
| literacy = 84.6%<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/AnnualReport_PLFS2023-24L2.pdf |title=Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (July 2023 – June 2024) |date=23 September 2024 |publisher=National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India |pages=A-10 |chapter=Appendix-A: Detailed tables, Table (7): Literacy rate (in per cent) of persons of different age groups for each State/UT (persons, age-group (years): 7 & above, rural+urban (column 6))}}</ref>
| literacy_year = 2024
| literacy_rank = 20th
| sex_ratio = 919[[female|♀]]/1000 [[male|♂]]<ref name="pc-census2011">{{Cite web |title=Census 2011 (Final Data) – Demographic details, Literate Population (Total, Rural & Urban) |url=http://planningcommission.gov.in/data/datatable/data_2312/DatabookDec2014%20307.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127163347/http://planningcommission.gov.in/data/datatable/data_2312/DatabookDec2014%20307.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2018 |access-date=3 October 2018 |website=planningcommission.gov.in |publisher=Planning Commission, Government of India}}</ref>
| sexratio_year = 2011
| sexratio_rank = 16th
| iso_code = IN-GJ
| registration_plate = GJ
| website = gujaratindia.gov.in
| footnotes = {{note|cap|†}}The state of Bombay was divided into two states i.e. Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Bombay (Reorganisation) Act 1960.
| foundation_day = Gujarat Day
| mammal = [[Asiatic lion]]<ref name="ToI2016">{{Cite web |date=14 January 2016 |title=Gujarat forgets state bird, tree and flower |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarat-forgets-state-bird-tree-and-flower/articleshow/29893945.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227222448/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarat-forgets-state-bird-tree-and-flower/articleshow/29893945.cms |archive-date=27 December 2016 |access-date=14 July 2017 |website=The Times of India}}</ref>
| bird = [[Greater flamingo]]
| flower = [[Tagetes|Marigold]]<ref name="ToI2016" />
| tree = [[Banyan]]<ref name="ToI2016" />
| fruit = [[Mango]]<ref name="Nri Gujarati News">{{Cite web |title=Which is State Fruit of Gujarat India – Mango (Keri) |url=http://www.nrigujarati.co.in/Topic/3631/1/which-is-state-fruit-of-gujarat-india-mango-keri-verities-photos-types-of-mango-images.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031530/http://www.nrigujarati.co.in/Topic/3631/1/which-is-state-fruit-of-gujarat-india-mango-keri-verities-photos-types-of-mango-images.html |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=14 July 2017 |website=Nri Gujarati News}}</ref>
| fish = [[Blackspotted croaker]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nair |first=Avinash |date=21 November 2023 |title='Ghol' declared state fish of Gujarat at Global Fisheries Conference, Ahmedabad |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/ghol-declared-state-fish-gujarat-global-fisheries-conference-9036238/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121203230/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/ghol-declared-state-fish-gujarat-global-fisheries-conference-9036238/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image_highway = SH IN-GJ.png
| SH_numbers = [[List of state highways in Gujarat|GJ SH1 – GJ SH173]]
}}

'''Gujarat''' ({{Indic Transl|gu|Gujarāt|ˈɡudʒəɾaːt|Gujarat.ogg}}) is a [[States of India|state]] along the [[Western India|western coast]] of [[India]]. Its coastline of about {{cvt|2340|km|mi}} is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the [[Kathiawar]] peninsula. Gujarat is the [[List of states and union territories of India by area|fifth-largest Indian state by area]], covering some {{cvt|196024|km2|mi2}}; and the [[List of states and union territories of India by population|ninth-most populous state]], with a population of 60.4&nbsp;million in 2011. It is bordered by [[Rajasthan]] to the northeast, [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]] to the south, [[Maharashtra]] to the southeast, [[Madhya Pradesh]] to the east, and the [[Arabian Sea]] and the [[Pakistan]]i province of [[Sindh]] to the west. Gujarat's capital city is [[Gandhinagar]], while its largest city is [[Ahmedabad]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarat Population 2018 |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/territories/gujarat-population/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015346/http://worldpopulationreview.com/territories/gujarat-population/ |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=24 January 2018 |website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref> The [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]] are indigenous to the state, and their language, [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], is the state's official language.

The state [[List of Indus Valley civilisation sites#List of Indus Valley sites discovered|encompasses 23 sites]] of the ancient [[Indus Valley civilisation]] (more than any other state). The most important sites are [[Lothal]] (the world's first dry dock), [[Dholavira]] (the fifth largest site), and [[Gola Dhoro]] (where five uncommon seals were found). Lothal is believed to have been one of the world's first [[Historical ports|seaports]].<ref name="kulke">{{Cite book |last1=Kulke |first1=Professor of Asian History Hermann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC |title=A History of India |last2=Kulke |first2=Hermann |last3=Rothermund |first3=Dietmar |date=2004 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-0-415-32920-0 |pages=26–27 |language=en |access-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923072146/https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC |archive-date=23 September 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gujarat Sultanate|Gujarat's]] coastal cities, chiefly [[Bharuch]] and [[Khambhat]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Baṭṭūṭa |first1=Ibn |title=The Rehla of Ibn Battuta (India, Maldive Islands and Ceylon) |last2=Husain |first2=Mahdi |publisher=Oriental Institute |year=1976 |location=Baroda |page=172}}</ref> served as ports and trading centres in the [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] and [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] empires and during the succession of royal [[Saka]] dynasties in the [[Western Satraps]] era.<ref name="Hinduism and modernity">{{Cite book |last=David Smith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x-aRSuypah8C&pg=PA62 |title=Hinduism and modernity |date=2003 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0-631-20862-4 |location=Oxford |page=62 |quote=Surat was then the place of embarkation of pilgrims to Mecca; known as Bab al-Makkah or the Gate of Mecca, it was almost a sacred place for the Muslims of India. It was the main city for foreign imports, where many merchants had their bases, and all the European trading companies were established. Its population was more than 100,000.}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJtRAQAAIAAJ |title=The journal of Asian studies, Volume 35, Issues 1–2 |year=1975 |quote=For a pious emperor, Surat had more than economic and political importance; it was the port from which the hajj (pilgrimage) ships left Mughal India for the Red Sea. The port was variously known as Bab-al-Makkah, the Bab-ul-Hajj, the Dar-al-Hajj, and the Bandar-i-Mubarak. |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=lJtRAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Along with [[Bihar]], [[Mizoram]] and [[Nagaland]], Gujarat is one of four Indian states to [[Alcohol prohibition in India|prohibit the sale of alcohol]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 April 2016 |title=States with total and phase-wise prohibition of alcohol in India |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/bihar-liquor-ban-states-having-total-prohibition-gujarat-kerala/ |access-date=2 August 2021 |website=The Indian Express |language=en |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605154304/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/bihar-liquor-ban-states-having-total-prohibition-gujarat-kerala/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Gir Forest National Park]] in Gujarat is home to the only wild population of the [[Asiatic lion]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Aeshita |last2=Borad |first2=C.K. |date=1 October 2004 |title=Integrated approach towards conservation of Gir National Park: the last refuge of Asiatic Lions, India |journal=Biodiversity & Conservation |language=en |volume=13 |issue=11 |pages=2165–2182 |doi=10.1023/B:BIOC.0000040009.75090.8c |bibcode=2004BiCon..13.2165M |issn=1572-9710 |s2cid=35893400 }}</ref>

The [[economy of Gujarat]] is the [[List of Indian states and union territories by GDP|fifth-largest in India]], with a [[List of Indian states and union territories by GDP|gross state domestic product (GSDP)]] of {{INRConvert|16.55|t|lk=r|year=2021}} and has the country's [[List of Indian states and union territories by GDP per capita|10th-highest GSDP per capita]] of {{INRConvert|215|k}}.<ref name="Gujarat_GSDP">{{cite web|url=https://financedepartment.gujarat.gov.in/Documents/Bud-Eng_1096_2022-3-3_683.pdf|title=Socio-Economic Review 2021–2022|work=[[Government of Gujarat]]|page=30|access-date=11 February 2022}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Gujarat has the [[List of Indian states and union territories by exports|highest exports of all states]], accounting for around one-third of national exports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NIRYAT |url=https://niryat.gov.in/india#?start_date=202204&end_date=202303&default_table=default&sort_table=export_achieved-sort-desc |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=niryat.gov.in |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118005123/https://niryat.gov.in/india#?start_date=202204&end_date=202303&default_table=default&sort_table=export_achieved-sort-desc |url-status=live }}</ref> It ranks [[List of Indian states and territories by Human Development Index|21st among Indian states and union territories in human development index]].<ref name="snhdi-gdl">{{Cite web |title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database |url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923120638/https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |archive-date=23 September 2018 |access-date=25 September 2018 |website=Global Data Lab |publisher=Institute for Management Research, Radboud University}}</ref> The world's largest data center will also be built in Jamnagar, Gujarat, by [[Reliance Industries]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 2025 |title=Mukesh Ambani to build world's largest data centre in Jamnagar |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/electronics/mukesh-ambani-to-build-worlds-largest-data-centre-in-jamnagar/articleshow/117503440.cms?from=mdr |access-date=16 July 2025 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> Gujarat is regarded as one of the most industrialised states and has a low [[List of states and union territories of India by unemployment rate|unemployment rate]].<ref name="Gujarat_info1">
* {{Cite web |title=Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017–18) |url=http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/Annual%20Report%2C%20PLFS%202017-18_31052019.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704192359/http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/Annual%20Report%2C%20PLFS%202017-18_31052019.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2019 |access-date=3 May 2019 |publisher=[[Ministry of Labour and Employment (India)|Ministry of Labour and Employment]] |page=212}}
* {{Cite web |last=M Saraswathy |date=5 February 2020 |title=Electronic appliance makers eye Gujarat as new manufacturing hub |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/electronic-appliance-makers-eye-gujarat-as-new-manufacturing-hub-4909051.html |access-date=4 March 2017 |publisher=[[CNBC TV18]] |archive-date=5 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205094701/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/electronic-appliance-makers-eye-gujarat-as-new-manufacturing-hub-4909051.html |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Pradeep Udhas |title=Accelerating growth in Gujarat |url=http://www.in.kpmg.com/pdf/Gujarat.pdf |access-date=4 July 2020 |publisher=[[KPMG]] |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223130/http://www.in.kpmg.com/pdf/Gujarat.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Tomar |first1=Anita |last2=Oza |first2=Heena |date=September 2015 |title=Green supply chain management practices implementation and effect on organizational performance of ISO14001 certified manufacturing companies of India |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337562800 |journal=Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Management & Technology |publisher=Abhinav Publication |volume=4 |issue=9 |page=21 |issn=2320-0073 |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> The state has one of the lowest crime rates in India, with Ahmedabad being crowned as one of the safest cities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gujarat: Police Commissioner hails Ahmedabad's rank as India's safest city |website=India Tribune |date=12 August 2025 |url=https://www.indiatribune.com/public/index.php/gujarat-police-commissioner-hails-ahmedabads-rank-as-indias-safest-city |access-date=27 September 2025}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Gujarat is derived from the [[Gurjaras]], who ruled Gujarat in the 8th and 9th centuries CE.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8yFaNRcYcsC |title=Gujarat, Part 1 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-7991-104-4 |quote=The Gurjars of Chitrakuta and Gurjars of lta were mentioned in Rashtrakuta inscriptions |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154406/https://books.google.com/books?id=d8yFaNRcYcsC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gujarat Government |title=Gujarat state official site |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/history-1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203081044/http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/history-1.htm |archive-date=3 February 2010 |access-date=21 January 2010 |quote=The State took its name from the Gurjara, the land of the [[Gujjar]], who ruled the area during the 700s and 800s.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QhuAAAAMAAJ |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People:The classical age |last2=Bhāratīya Itihāsa Samiti |publisher=G. Allen & Unwin |year=1954 |page=64 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414152820/https://books.google.com/books?id=8QhuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gujarat |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Gujarat |access-date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019053624/https://www.britannica.com/place/Gujarat |archive-date=19 October 2016 |quote=Gujarat draws its name from the Gurjara, who ruled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries CE. |url-status=live}}</ref> Parts of modern [[Rajasthan]] and Gujarat were known as ''Gurjarat'' or ''Gurjarabhumi'' for centuries before the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] period.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age |last2=Achut Dattatrya Pusalker |last3=A. K. Majumdar |last4=Dilip Kumar Ghose |last5=Vishvanath Govind Dighe |last6=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=1977 |page=153}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Gujarat}}

=== Ancient history ===
Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which was spread across modern-day northern India and Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 October 2017 |title=Devdutt Pattanaik explores Gujarat through the ages and finds, in its archaeology, its myths and legends, its cultures and histories, a microcosm of the multilayered country he loves |url=https://www.cntraveller.in/story/india-via-gujarat/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027131256/https://www.cntraveller.in/story/india-via-gujarat/ |archive-date=27 October 2017 |access-date=27 October 2017}}</ref> It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the [[Indus Valley,]] such as [[Lothal]], [[Dholavira]] and [[Gola Dhoro]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 October 2017 |title=Where does history begin? |url=https://www.cntraveller.in/story/india-via-gujarat/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027131256/https://www.cntraveller.in/story/india-via-gujarat/ |archive-date=27 October 2017 |access-date=27 October 2017}}</ref> The ancient city of Lothal was where India's first port was established.<ref name=kulke /> The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation. The most recent discovery was [[Gola Dhoro]]. Altogether, about fifty Indus Valley settlement ruins have been discovered in Gujarat.<ref name="mapsofindia.com">{{Cite web |title=History of Gujarat |url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/gujarat/history/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526165223/http://www.mapsofindia.com/gujarat/history/ |archive-date=26 May 2010 |access-date=16 July 2010 |publisher=Mapsofindia.com}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| align             = center
| title             = [[Indus Valley civilisation]]
| image1            = DHOLAVIRA SITE (24).jpg
| caption1          = [[Dholavira]], one of the largest cities of Indus Valley civilisation, with [[stepwell]] steps to reach the water level in artificially constructed reservoirs<ref name="news">{{Cite journal |author=Shuichi Takezawa |journal=Journal of Architecture and Building Science |volume=117 |issue=1492 |date=August 2002 |page=24 |url=http://news-sv.aij.or.jp/jabs/s1/jabs0208-019.pdf |title=Stepwells – Cosmology of Subterranean Architecture as seen in Adalaj |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720175341/http://news-sv.aij.or.jp/jabs/s1/jabs0208-019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image2            = The drainage system at Lothal 2.JPG
| caption2          = Archaeological remains of washroom drainage system at [[Lothal]]
}}

The ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by the commercial activities of its inhabitants. There is clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with [[Egypt]], [[Bahrain]] and [[Sumer]] in the [[Persian Gulf]] during the time period of 1000 to 750 BCE.<ref name="mapsofindia.com" /><ref>S. R. Rao (1985). Lothal. Archaeological Survey of India. p. 11.</ref> There was a succession of various polities such as the [[Mauryan dynasty]], [[Satavahana dynasty]], [[Gupta Empire]], [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] Empire, as well as regional ones such as the [[Western Satraps]], the [[Kingdom of Valabhi]], the Kingdom of Gujarat, the [[Sultanate of Gujarat]] and finally the [[Kingdom of Baroda]].

The early history of Gujarat includes the imperial grandeur of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] who conquered a number of earlier states in what is now Gujarat. Pushyagupta, a [[Vaishya]], was appointed the governor of [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] by the Mauryan regime. He ruled Girinagar (modern-day [[Junagadh]]) (322 BCE to 294 BCE) and built a dam on the Sudarshan lake. Emperor [[Ashoka|Ashoka the Great]], the grandson of [[Chandragupta Maurya]], not only ordered his edicts engraved in the rock at Junagadh, but also asked Governor Tusherpha to cut canals from the lake where an earlier Indian governor had built a dam. Between the decline of Mauryan power and Saurashtra coming under the sway of the [[Samprati]] Mauryas of [[Ujjain]], there was an [[Indo-Greek]] defeat in Gujarat of [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]]. In 16th century manuscripts, there is an apocryphal story of a merchant of King [[Gondophares]] landing in Gujarat with [[Apostle Thomas]]. The incident of the cup-bearer torn apart by a lion might indicate that the port city described is in Gujarat.<ref>The Acts of Judas Thomas, M.R. James, Tr. by M.R. James, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.</ref><ref>Medlycott, A. E. [http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/chap4/chapter4a.htm India and the Apostle Thomas] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034342/http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/chap4/chapter4a.htm |date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>

For nearly 300 years from the start of the 1st century CE, [[Saka]] rulers played a prominent part in Gujarat's history. The weather-beaten rock at [[Junagadh]] gives a glimpse of the ruler [[Rudradaman I]] (100 CE) of the Saka satraps known as [[Western Satraps]], or Kshatraps. Mahakshatrap [[Rudradaman I]] founded the [[Kardamaka]] dynasty which ruled from [[Anupa]] on the banks of the [[Narmada]] up to the [[Aparanta]] region bordering Punjab. In Gujarat, several battles were fought between the Indian dynasties such as the [[Satavahana dynasty]] and the Western Satraps. The greatest and the mightiest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty was [[Gautamiputra Satakarni]] who defeated the Western Satraps and conquered some parts of Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.<ref>Trade And Trade Routes In Ancient India, von Moti Chandra, page: 99</ref>

[[File:Gujuras of Sindh Circa AD 570-712.jpg|thumb|Coin of the Gujuras of [[Sindh]], [[Chavda dynasty]], {{circa|570|lk=no}}–712 CE. Crowned [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]]-style bust right / Fire altar with ribbons and attendants; star and crescent flanking flames.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNG: eAuction 343. INDIA, Post-Gupta (Gujura Confederacy). Gujuras of Sindh. Circa AD 570–712. AR Drachm (25&nbsp;mm, 3.84 g, 9h). |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=277200 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811103733/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=277200 |archive-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=15 July 2017 |publisher=cngcoins.com}}</ref>]]

The Kshatrapa dynasty was replaced by the [[Gupta Empire]] with the conquest of Gujarat by [[Chandragupta Vikramaditya]]. Vikramaditya's successor [[Skandagupta]] left an inscription (450 CE) on a rock at Junagadh which gives details of the governor's repairs to the embankment surrounding Sudarshan lake after it was damaged by floods. The [[Anarta]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] regions were both parts of the Gupta empire. Towards the middle of the 5th century, the Gupta empire went into decline. Senapati Bhatarka, the general of the Guptas, took advantage of the situation and in 470 set up the [[Kingdom of Valabhi]]. He shifted his capital from Giringer to [[Valabhi]], near [[Bhavnagar]], on Saurashtra's east coast. The [[Maitraka]]s of Vallabhi became very powerful with their rule prevailing over large parts of Gujarat and adjoining [[Malwa]]. A university was set up by the Maitrakas, which came to be known far and wide for its scholastic pursuits and was compared with the noted [[Nalanda University]]. It was during the rule of Dhruvasena Maitrak that Chinese philosopher-traveler [[Xuanzang]]/ [[I Tsing]] visited in 640 along the [[Silk Road]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mote |first=Sally Hovey Wriggins; with a foreword by Frederick W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwQLAAAAYAAJ |title=Xuanzang: a Buddhist pilgrim on the Silk Road |date=1996 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-8133-2801-0 |location=Boulder, Colo. |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=RwQLAAAAYAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gujarat was known to the [[ancient Greeks]] and was familiar with other Western centres of civilisation through the end of the European [[Middle Ages]]. The oldest written record of Gujarat's 2,000-year maritime history is documented in a Greek book titled ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea|The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Vashi |first=Ashish |title=Saga of Barygaza |date=21 October 2010 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Saga-of-Barygaza/articleshow/6782964.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121042919/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-21/ahmedabad/28239734_1_bharuch-port-book |quote="The book describes an episode of a foreigner bringing costly gifts for kings, saying, "And for the King there are very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem, fine wines, thin clothing of the finest weaves, and the choicest ointments." |access-date=19 August 2014 |archive-date=21 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=William H. Schoff |title=The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century |url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/periplus/periplus.html |year=1912 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224165507/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/periplus/periplus.html |place=New York |format=digitalized |quote=As a sign of these places to those approaching from the sea there are serpents, very large and black; for at the other places on this coast and around Barygaza, they are smaller, and in color bright green, running into gold&nbsp;... Now the whole country of India has very many rivers, and very great ebb and flow of the tides; increasing at the new moon, and at the full moon for three days, and falling off during the intervening days of the moon. But about Barygaza it is much greater, so that the bottom is suddenly seen, and now parts of the dry land are sea, and now it is dry where ships were sailing just before; and the rivers, under the inrush of the flood tide, when the whole force of the sea is directed against them, are driven upwards more strongly against their natural current, for many stadia. |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-date=24 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Medieval history ===
In the early 8th century, the [[Arabs]] of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] established an empire in the name of the rising religion of [[Islam]], which stretched from [[Spain]] in the west to [[Afghanistan]] and modern-day [[Pakistan]] in the east. Al-Junaid, the successor of [[Muhammad ibn Qasim|Qasim]], finally subdued the Hindu resistance within [[Sindh]] and established a secure base. The Arab rulers tried to expand their empire southeast, which culminated in the [[Caliphate campaigns in India]] fought in 730; they were defeated and expelled west of the [[Indus]] river, probably by a coalition of the Indian rulers [[Nagabhata I]] of the [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] dynasty, [[Vikramaditya II]] of the [[Chalukya]] dynasty and [[Bappa Rawal]] of the [[Guhila dynasty]]. After this victory, the Arab invaders were driven out of Gujarat. General [[Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin|Pulakeshin]], a Chalukya prince of [[Lata (region)|Lata]], received the title ''Avanijanashraya'' (refuge of the people of the earth) and honorific of "Repeller of the unrepellable" by the Chalukya emperor [[Vikramaditya II]] for his victory at the battle at [[Navsari]], where the Arab troops suffered a crushing defeat.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blankinship |first=Khalid Yahya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNGq6sU-xbgC&pg=PA187 |title=The end of the jihād state: the reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7914-1828-4 |location=Albany |page=189 |quote=The Syrian troops became increasingly reluctant to serve on the ill-omened Indian front, which seemed, after so many failures, to be well on its way to becoming the worst front. |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=pNGq6sU-xbgC&pg=PA187 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late 8th century, the Kannauj Triangle period started. The three major Indian dynasties – the northwestern Indian Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, the southern Indian [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] and the eastern Indian [[Pala Empire]] {{ndash}} dominated India from the 8th to 10th centuries. During this period the northern part of Gujarat was ruled by the northern Indian Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty and the southern part of Gujarat was ruled by the southern Indian [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]].<ref name="ReferenceC">Ancient India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar p. 366</ref> However, the earliest epigraphical records of the Gurjars of [[Bharuch|Broach]] attest that the royal bloodline of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of [[Gurjaras of Lata|Dadda I, II and III]] (650–750) ruled south Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manjulal Ranchholdlal Majmudar |title=Historical and cultural chronology of Gujarat, Volume 1 |publisher=Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda |year=1960 |page=147}}</ref> Southern Gujarat was ruled by the Indian [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] until it was captured by the Indian ruler [[Tailapa II]] of the [[Western Chalukya Empire]].<ref name="Gajrani 32">History, Religion and Culture of India, by S. Gajrani p.32</ref>

[[Zoroastrians in Iran|Zoroastrians]] from [[Greater Iran]] migrated to the western borders of India (Gujarat and [[Sindh]]) during the 8th or 10th century,<ref name="Hodivala 1920 88">{{harvnb|Hodivala|1920|p=88}}</ref> to avoid [[Persecution of Zoroastrians|persecution]] by Muslim invaders who were in the process of conquering Iran. The descendants of those Zoroastrian refugees came to be known as the [[Parsi]].<ref name="boy148">{{harvnb|Boyce|2001|p=148}}</ref><ref name="khan17">{{harvnb|Khanbaghi|2006|p=17}}</ref><ref name="jack">{{harvnb|Jackson|1906|p=27}}</ref><ref name="bleek212">{{harvnb|Bleeker|Widengren|1971|p=212}}</ref>

Subsequently, [[Lata (region)|Lāṭa]] in southern Gujarat was ruled by the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] until it was captured by the [[Western Chalukyas|Western Chalukya]] ruler [[Tailapa II]].<ref name="Gajrani 32" /><ref name="Wink1991">{{Cite book |last=André Wink |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC&pg=PA283 |title=Al- Hind: The slave kings and the Islamic conquest. 2 |publisher=BRILL |year=1991 |isbn=978-90-04-09509-0 |page=283 |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC&pg=PA283 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Chaulukya dynasty<ref name="horace_glossary_punjab_nwfp">{{Cite book |last1=Rose |first1=Horace Arthur |title=Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province |last2=Ibbetson |publisher=Asian Educational Services |year=1990 |isbn=978-81-206-0505-3 |page=300}}</ref> ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat from 960 to 1243. Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade, and their capital at [[Anhilwara]] ([[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]]) was one of the largest cities in India, with a population estimated at 100,000 in the year 1000. After 1243, the Solankis lost control of Gujarat to their feudatories, of whom the [[Vaghela dynasty|Vaghela]] chiefs of [[Dholka]] came to rule the Kingdom of Gujarat. In 1292, the Vaghelas became tributaries of the [[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri|Yadava]] dynasty of [[Daulatabad, Maharashtra|Devagiri]] in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]]. Karandev of the [[Vaghela dynasty]] was the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat. He was defeated and overthrown by the superior forces of [[Alauddin Khalji]] from Delhi in 1297. With his defeat, Gujarat became part of the [[Delhi Sultanate]], and the Rajput hold over Gujarat would never be restored.

Fragments of printed cotton from Gujarat have been discovered in Egypt, providing evidence for medieval trade in the western Indian Ocean.<ref name=Barnes2017/> These fragments represent the Indian cotton traded in Egypt during the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]], [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] periods, from the tenth to sixteenth centuries. Similar cotton was also traded as far east as Indonesia.<ref name="Barnes2017">{{Cite journal |last=Barnes |first=Ruth |year=2017 |title=Indian Cotton for Cairo: The Royal Ontario Museum's Gujarati Textiles and the Early Western Indian Ocean Trade |journal=Textile History |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=15–30 |doi=10.1080/00404969.2017.1294814 |issn=0040-4969 |s2cid=194752057}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| caption_align     = center
| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = Sun Temple Panorama.jpg
| caption1          = [[Sun Temple, Modhera|Sun Temple of Modhera]], with [[stepwell]] surrounding the ''[[Temple tank|kunda]]'' (tank), was built by [[Bhima I]], King of Gujarat in 1026. It is one of the finest examples of [[History of stepwells in Gujarat|stepwell architecture of Gujarat]].
| image2            = Rani ki vav1.jpg
| caption2          = [[Rani ki Vav]], 11th century
| image3            = Tarangaji Jain temple.jpg
| caption3          = [[Taranga Jain temple]] constructed by [[Kumarapala (Chaulukya dynasty)|Kumarapala]] (1143–1172)
}}

=== Muslim rule ===
[[File:Sindh campaigns 711-715 CE.png|thumb|300px|right|Muhammad ibn Qasim's conquest of Sindh (711–715 CE).<br/>
{{legend|yellow|Desert areas ([[Registan Desert]] and [[Thar Desert]])}}
{{legend|#FFD700|[[Zunbils]]}}
{{legend|#DEB887|[[Kingdom of Sindh]] (c. 632–712 CE)}}
{{legend|#7FFF00|[[Kingdom of Valabhi]] (c. 475 – c. 776 CE)}}]]

==== Islamic conquests (1197–1614) ====
[[File:Farrukh Beg. Akbar's Triumphal Entry into Surat. Akbarnama, 1590-95, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.jpg|thumb|The [[Mughal Emperor]] Akbar triumphantly enters [[Surat]].]]

After the [[Ghoris]] had assumed a position of Muslim supremacy over North India, [[Qutbuddin Aibak]] attempted to conquer Gujarat and annexe it to his empire in 1197, but failed in his ambitions.<ref name="Handbuch der Orientalistik">{{Cite book |last=Schimmel |first=Annemarie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYImm1TnemwC&pg=PA65 |title=Handbuch der Orientalistik |date=1980 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-06117-0 |location=Leiden |page=65}}</ref> An independent Muslim community continued to flourish in Gujarat for the next hundred years, championed by Arab merchants settling along the western coast. From 1297 to 1300, [[Alauddin Khalji]], the Turko-Afghan [[Sultanate of Delhi|Sultan of Delhi]], destroyed the Hindu metropolis of [[Anhilwara]] and incorporated Gujarat into the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. After [[Timur]] sacked [[Delhi]] at the end of the 14th century, weakening the Sultanate, Gujarat's Muslim [[Khatri]] governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar ([[Muzaffar Shah I]]) asserted his independence, and his son, Sultan [[Ahmed Shah of Gujarat|Ahmed Shah]] (ruled 1411–1442), established [[Ahmedabad]] as the capital. [[Khambhat]] eclipsed Bharuch as Gujarat's most important trade port. Gujarat's relations with [[Egypt]], which was then the premier Arab power in the Middle East, remained friendly over the next century and the [[Egyptian people|Egyptian]] scholar, ''Badruddin-ad-Damamimi'', spent several years in Gujarat in the shade of the Sultan before proceeding to the [[Bahmani Sultanate]] on the Deccan Plateau.<ref name="wink143">{{Cite book |last=Wink |first=André |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C&pg=PA143 |title=Indo-Islamic society: 14th – 15th centuries |date=1990 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-13561-1 |page=143 |language=en |quote=Zafar Khan Muzaffar, the first independent ruler of Gujarat was not a foreign muslim but a Khatri convert, of a low subdivision called Tank, originally from Southern Punjab. |access-date=18 November 2021 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118142817/https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C&pg=PA143 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Muhammed Ibrahim Dar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6gBAAAAMAAJ |title=Literary and Cultural Activities in Gujarat Under the Khaljis and Sultanate |date=1952 |publisher=Bazm-i-Ishaʻat, Ismail Yusuf College |page=51 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=m6gBAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Shah e Alam]], a famous Sufi saint of the [[Chishti]] order who was the descendant of Makhdoom [[Jahaniyan Jahangasht]] from [[Bukhara]], soon arrived in a group that included Arab theologian ''Ibn Suwaid'', several [[Sayyid]] Sufi members of the [[Abu Bakr al-Aydarus|Aydarus family]] of [[Tarim, Yemen|Tarim]] in [[Yemen]],<ref name="Sufiorders">J. Spencer Trimingham, John O. Voll, ''The Sufi Orders in Islam'', pg 73</ref> Iberian court interpreter ''Ali al-Andalusi'' from [[Granada]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Subrahmanyam |first2=Muzaffar |last2=Alam |first1=Sanjay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mmLOKuzT-IC&pg=PA41 |title=Writing the Mughal world: studies on culture and politics |date=2012 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-15811-4 |location=New York |page=41}}</ref> and the Arab jurist ''Bahraq'' from [[Hadramaut]] who was appointed a tutor of the prince.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richard Maxwell Eaton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2F9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |title=The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India |date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press, 2015 |isbn=978-1-4008-6815-5 |page=127}}</ref> Among the illustrious names who arrived during the reign of [[Mahmud Begada]] was the philosopher ''Haibatullah Shah Mir'' from [[Shiraz]], and the scholar intellectual ''Abu Fazl Ghazaruni'' from [[Persia]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Achyut Yagnik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivMAUx6Hdl8C&pg=PT57 |title=Ahmedabad: From Royal city to Megacity |date=2 February 2011 |publisher=Penguin UK, 2011 |isbn=978-81-8475-473-5 |access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mansooruddin Quraishi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20UDAAAAMAAJ |title=Muslim education and learning in Gujarat, 1297–1758 |publisher=Faculty of Education and Psychology, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda |year=1972 |page=47 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=20UDAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> who tutored and adopted [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]], author of the ''[[Akbarnama]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alvi Azra |title=Socio Religious Outlook of Abul Fazl |publisher=Vanguard Books |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-210-40543-7 |location=Lahore Pakistan |page=6}}</ref> Later, a close alliance between the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Turkish people|Turks]] and Gujarati sultans to effectively safeguard [[Jeddah]] and the [[Red Sea]] trade from Portuguese [[imperialism]], encouraged the existence of powerful [[Rumi]] elites within the kingdom who took the post of [[viziers]] in Gujarat keen to maintain ties with the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman state]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Giancarlo Casale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xf3h3Z1YQtIC&pg=PA104 |title=The Ottoman Age of Exploration |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-979879-7 |page=104}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ali Anooshahr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTN8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |title=The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam: A Comparative Study of the Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-04134-3 |page=43 |quote=Nevertheless, there were indeed people in India, specifically in Gujarat, who by about 1486 knew the Ottomans as the primary Ghazi sultans of western domains of the abode of Islam, and had tried to elevate their own standing by posing as comrade ghazis fighting irreligion in the east.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKmXcBCKEcAC&pg=PA7 |title=India's naval traditions: the role of Kunhali Marakkars |date=1997 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |isbn=978-81-7211-083-3 |editor-last=Kurup |editor-first=K.K.N. |location=New Delhi |page=7 |quote=Gujarati merchants had very long-standing relations with the Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions. Aden, Ormuz, and Mecca were frequently visited by them. They took gold, quicksilver, vermilion, copper, rose-water, camlets, scarlet-in-grain, coloured woollen cloth, glass beads and weapons which were brought by merchants from Cairo to Aden. The above mentioned items were collected by merchants from Italy, Greece, and Damascus. Horses from various parts of Arabia and Persia, especially from Ormuz, were brought by the Gujarati merchants to India.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Arthur Percival Newton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-08AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA23 |title=The Cambridge History of the British Empire |date=1936 |publisher=CUP Archive |page=23 |quote=The annual pilgrimages of Indian Muslim to Mecca, whose route lay through Gujarat (which was called the Gate of Mecca) had been for some years interrupted by the domination of the Arabian Sea by the Portuguese and also by the disorder prevailing in Gujarat. |access-date=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ho |first=Engseng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMcZU0VHdG0C&pg=PA122 |title=The graves of Tarim genealogy and mobility across the Indian Ocean |date=2006 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-93869-4 |location=Berkeley |page=122 |quote=From the other direction, the enhanced security of the Hejaz provided not only profits for Gujarati merchants but succor for Gujarat's Muslim sultans. In times of insecurity, Gujarati sultans would send their families and treasures to the Hejaz for safekeeping&nbsp;... the sultanate indeed fell, in 1573, and the triumphant emperor Akbar, retained his services giving him charge of pious endowments in Gujarat dedicated to Mecca and Medina.}}</ref>

[[Humayun]] also briefly occupied the province in 1536, but fled due to the threat [[Bahadur Shah of Gujarat|Bahadur Shah]], the Gujarat king, imposed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=A.V. Williams |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/Jackson3/chapter09.html |title=Chapter 9 – The Ebb of the Tide – Humayun – 1530–1556 A.D. |page=228 |access-date=30 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003111225/http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/Jackson3/chapter09.html |archive-date=3 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Sultanate of Gujarat]] remained independent until 1572, when the Mughal emperor [[Akbar]] conquered it and annexed it to the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4 |pages=115–116}}</ref>

The [[Surat]] port (the only Indian port facing west) then became the principal port of India during Mughal rule, gaining widespread international repute. The city of Surat, famous for its exports of silk and [[diamonds]], had reached a par with contemporary [[Venice]] and [[Beijing]], great mercantile cities of Europe and Asia,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Poros |first=Maritsa V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_tm_n7uSXT8C&pg=PT30 |title=Modern migrations: Gujarati Indian networks in New York and London |date=2011 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-7222-8 |location=Stanford, Calif. |quote=Indeed, Fernand Braudel likened Surat to some of the great mercantile cities of Europe and Asia, such as Venice and Beijing&nbsp;... Godinho estimated that Surat's population was more than 100, 000, with people from all over the world residing in the city or frequenting it for business. He even claimed that it surpasses our "Evora in grandeur"}}</ref> and earned the distinguished title, ''Bab al-Makkah'' (Gate of Mecca).<ref name="Hinduism and modernity" /><ref name="books.google.com" />

Drawn by the religious renaissance taking place under Akbar, [[Mohammed Ghaus]] moved to Gujarat and established spiritual centers for the [[Shattari]] Sufi order from Iran, founding the [[Ek Toda Mosque]] and producing such devotees as [[Wajihuddin Alvi]] of Ahmedabad whose many successors moved to [[Bijapur]] during the height of the [[Adil Shahi dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richard Maxwell Eaton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2F9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |title=The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4008-6815-5 |page=60}}</ref> At the same time, Zoroastrian high priest [[Azar Kayvan]] who was a native of [[Fars province|Fars]], immigrated to Gujarat founding the Zoroastrian school of [[Illuminationism|illuminationists]] which attracted key Shi'ite Muslim admirers of the [[Safavid]] philosophical revival from [[Isfahan]].

Early 14th-century [[Maghrebi]] adventurer, [[Ibn Batuta]], who famously visited India with his entourage, recalls in his memoirs about Cambay, one of the great emporia of the Indian Ocean that indeed:

{{blockquote| [[Cambay]] is one of the most beautiful cities as regards the artistic architecture of its houses and the construction of its mosques. The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants, who continually build their beautiful houses and wonderful mosques – an achievement in which they endeavor to surpass each other.}}

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Many of these "foreign merchants" were transient visitors, men of [[South Arabia]]n and [[Persian Gulf]] ports, who migrated in and out of Cambay with the rhythm of the monsoons. But others were men with Arab or Persian patronyms whose families had settled in the town generations, even centuries earlier, intermarrying with Gujarati women, and assimilating everyday customs of the Hindu hinterland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Ross E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF2spo9BKacC&pg=PA218 |title=The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century |publisher=University of California Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-520-05771-5 |location=Berkeley |page=218 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF2spo9BKacC&pg=PA218 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Age of Discovery]] heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long-distance travel in search of alternative [[trade routes]] to "[[Indies|the East Indies]]", moved by the trade of [[gold]], [[silver]] and [[spices]]. In 1497, Portuguese explorer [[Vasco da Gama]] is said to have discovered the [[Discovery of the sea route to India|Europe-to-India]] sea route which changed the course of history, thanks to [[Kutchi people|Kutchi]] sailor Kanji Malam, who showed him the route from the East African coasts of [[Mozambique]] sailing onwards to [[Calicut]] off the [[Malabar coast]] in India.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2010 |title=Gujarati showed Vasco 'da' way |work=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarati-showed-Vasco-da-way/articleshow/6674395.cms |url-status=live |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001090714/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-10-03/ahmedabad/28223775_1_gama-vasco-da-gujarati |archive-date=1 October 2013 |quote=Historians have differed over the identity of the sailor, calling him a Christian, a Muslim and a Gujarati. According to another account, he was the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid. Some historians suggest Majid could not have been near the vicinity at the time. German author Justus says it was Malam who accompanied Vasco&nbsp;... Italian researcher Sinthia Salvadori too has concluded that it was Malam who showed Gama the way to India. Salvadori has made this observation in her 'We Came In Dhows', an account written after interacting with people in Gujarat.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=N. Subrahmanian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbgBAAAAMAAJ |title=Homage to a Historian: A Festschrift |last2=Tamil̲an̲pan̲ |last3=S. Jeyapragasam |publisher=Dr. N. Subrahmanian 60th Birthday Celebration Committee |year=1976 |page=62 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=CbgBAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Darwis Khudori |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6zZAAAAMAAJ |title=Rethinking solidarity in global society: the challenge of globalisation for social and solidarity movements: 50 years after Bandung Asian-African Conference 1955 |publisher=Strategic Information and Research Development Centre |year=2007 |isbn=978-983-3782-13-0 |location=Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia |page=35 |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=R6zZAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Later, the Gujarat Sultanate allied with the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] and [[Mamluks|Egyptian Mamluks]] naval fleets led by governor-generals [[Malik Ayyaz]] and [[Amir Husain Al-Kurdi]], vanquished the Portuguese in the 1508 [[Battle of Chaul]] resulting in the first Portuguese defeat at sea in the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peter Padfield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACI-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Tide of Empires: 1481–1654 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-7100-0150-4 |page=62 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102052018/https://books.google.com/books?id=ACI-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA62 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

To 16th-century European observers, Gujarat was a fabulously wealthy country. The customs revenue of Gujarat alone in the early 1570s was nearly three times the total revenue of the whole [[Portuguese empire]] in Asia in 1586–87, when it was at its height.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearson |first=M. N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVPn43u846AC&pg=PA108 |title=Merchants and rulers in Gujarat: the response to the Portuguese in the sixteenth century |publisher=University of California Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-520-02809-8 |edition=illustrated |location=Berkeley |page=109 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712204153/https://books.google.com/books?id=yVPn43u846AC&pg=PA108 |url-status=live }}</ref> Indeed, when the British arrived on the coast of Gujarat, houses in [[Surat]] already had windows of [[Venetian glass]] imported from [[Constantinople]] through the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goody |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXsaTLDG5HcC&pg=PA113 |title=The East in the West |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-55673-6 |edition=1998 Repr. |location=Cambridge |page=113 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=xXsaTLDG5HcC&pg=PA113 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1514, the Portuguese explorer [[Duarte Barbosa]] described the cosmopolitan atmosphere of [[Rander]] known otherwise as ''City of Mosques'' in Surat province, which gained the fame and reputation of illustrious Islamic scholars, Sufi-saints, merchants and intellectuals from all over the world:<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rQBAAAAYAAJ |title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Gujarát Surat and Broach Volume 2, Part 1 of Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Bombay (India: State) |date=30 April 2007 |publisher=Printed at the Government Central Press |page=299 |format=Digitized |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=-rQBAAAAYAAJ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote| Ranel (Rander) is a good town of the [[Moors]], built of very pretty houses and squares. It is a rich and agreeable place&nbsp;... the Moors of the town trade with [[Malacca]], [[Bengal]], Tawasery (Tannasserim), [[Pegu]], [[Martaban]], and [[Sumatra]] in all sort of spices, drugs, silks, musk, benzoin and porcelain. They possess very large and fine ships and those who wish Chinese articles will find them there very completely. The Moors of this place are white and well dressed and very rich they have pretty wives, and in the furniture of these houses have china vases of many kinds, kept in glass cupboards well arranged. Their women are not secluded like other Moors, but go about the city in the day time, attending to their business with their faces uncovered as in other parts.}}

The conquest of the Kingdom of Gujarat marked a significant event of Akbar's reign. Being the major trade gateway and departure harbour of pilgrim ships to Mecca, it gave the Mughal Empire free access to the Arabian sea and control over the rich commerce that passed through its ports. The territory and income of the empire were vastly increased.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tsukasa Mizushima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2OeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Hinterlands and Commodities: Place, Space, Time and the Political Economic Development of Asia over the Long Eighteenth Century European Expansion and Indigenous Response |last2=George Bryan Souza |last3=Dennis O. Flynn |date=2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-28390-9 |page=88 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712204224/https://books.google.com/books?id=L2OeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== The Sultanate of Gujarat and the merchants ====
[[File:Pundole Agiary Udvada.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A [[Zoroastrian]] [[Agiary]] in [[Udvada]], Gujarat<!-- please don't name it, could be confused with the Iranshah -->]]

For the best part of two centuries, the independent [[Khatri]] [[Sultanate of Gujarat]] was the cynosure of its neighbours on account of its wealth and prosperity, which had long made the Gujarati merchant a familiar figure in the ports of the Indian Ocean.<ref name="wink143" /><ref name="Mehta1991">{{Cite book |last=Mehta |first=Makrand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lz3gNDMbWEC&pg=PA21 |title=Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs in Historical Perspective |date=11 January 1991 |publisher=Academic Foundation |isbn=978-81-7188-017-1 |page=1 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154259/https://books.google.com/books?id=9lz3gNDMbWEC&pg=PA21 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gujaratis, including Hindus and Muslims as well as the enterprising [[Parsi]] class of [[Zoroastrians]], had been specialising in the organisation of overseas trade for many centuries, and had moved into various branches of commerce such as [[commodity trade]], [[brokerage]], [[money-changing]], [[money-lending]] and [[banking]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Haider |first1=Irfan Habib with contributions from Najaf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K8kO4J3mXUAC&pg=PA171 |title=Economic history of medieval India, 1200–1500 |last2=Khan |first2=Iqtidar Alam |last3=Moosvi |first3=Shireen |last4=Prasad |first4=Pushpa |date=2011 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=978-81-317-2791-1 |location=New Delhi |page=171 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=K8kO4J3mXUAC&pg=PA171 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By the 17th century, [[Arab (Gujarat)|Chavuse]] and [[Baghdadi Jews]] had assimilated into the social world of the Surat province, later on their descendants would give rise to the [[David Sassoon (treasurer)|Sassoons]] of Bombay and the [[Ezra Mir|Ezras]] of Calcutta, and other influential Indian-Jewish figures who went on to play a philanthropical role in the commercial development of 19th-century British Crown Colony of [[Shanghai]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lentin |first=Sifra Samuel |title=India's Jewish heritage: ritual, art, & life-cycle |date=2002 |editor-last=Weil |editor-first=Shelve |location=Mumbai |pages=22–35 |language=en |chapter=The Jewish presence in Bombay}}</ref> Spearheaded by [[Khoja]], [[Mustaali|Bohra]], [[Bhatia caste|Bhatiya]] [[shahbandar]]s and Moorish [[nakhuda]]s who dominated sea navigation and shipping, Gujarat's transactions with the outside world had created the legacy of an international transoceanic empire which had a vast commercial network of permanent agents stationed at all the great port cities across the [[Indian Ocean]]. These networks extended to the [[Philippines]] in the east, [[East Africa]] in the west, and via maritime and the inland caravan route to [[Russia]] in the north.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwJD2WBNtNMC&pg=PA28 |title=The South Asian Diaspora: Transnational Networks and Changing Identities |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-134-10595-3 |editor-last=Rajesh Rai |page=1 |access-date=19 October 2015 |editor-last2=Peter Reeves |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=bwJD2WBNtNMC&pg=PA28 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Tomé Pires]], a Portuguese official at [[Malacca City|Malacca]], wrote of conditions during the reigns of Mahmud I and Mozaffar II:

{{blockquote|"[[Cambay]] stretches out two arms; with her right arm she reaches toward [[Aden]] and with the other towards Malacca"<ref>Pires, I, p.&nbsp;41</ref>}}

He also described Gujarat's active trade with [[Goa]], the [[Deccan Plateau]] and the [[Malabar region|Malabar]]. His contemporary, [[Duarte Barbosa]], describing Gujarat's maritime trade, recorded the import of horses from the Middle East and elephants from Malabar, and lists exports which included muslins, chintzes and silks, carnelian, ginger and other spices, aromatics, opium, indigo and other substances for dyeing, cereals and legumes.<ref>Barbosa, I, pp.&nbsp;108–58</ref> [[Persia]] was the destination for many of these commodities, and they were partly paid for in [[horses]] and [[pearls]] taken from [[Hormuz Island|Hormuz]].<ref>Barbosa, I, p.&nbsp;82</ref> The latter item, in particular, led Sultan [[Sikandar Lodi]] of [[Delhi]], according to Ali-Muhammad Khan, author of the Mirat-i-Ahmadi, to complain that the

{{blockquote|support of the throne of Delhi is wheat and barley but the foundation of the realm of Gujarat is coral and pearls<ref>apud Bayley, p.&nbsp;20</ref>}}

Hence, the sultans of Gujarat possessed ample means to sustain lavish patronage of religion and the arts, to build madrasas and ḵānaqāhs, and to provide douceurs for the literati, mainly poets and historians, whose presence and praise enhanced the fame of the dynasty.<ref name="iranicaonline.org">[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gujarat GUJARAT – Encyclopædia Iranica] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117040036/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gujarat |date=17 November 2012 }}. Iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 28 July 2013.</ref>

[[File:Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad 01.jpg|thumb|[[Jama Mosque, Ahmedabad|Jama Masjid]], Ahmedabad]]

Even at the time of [[Tomé Pires]]' travel to the [[East Indies]] in the early 16th century, Gujarati merchants had earned an international reputation for their commercial acumen and this encouraged the visit of merchants from [[Cairo]], [[Armenia]], [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]], [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], [[Shiraz]], [[Turkestan]] and [[Gilan Province|Guilans]] from Aden and Hormuz.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Freeman-Grenville |first1=G.S.P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fKoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA250 |title=Historical atlas of Islam |last2=Munro-Hay |first2=Stuart Christopher |date=2002 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-1417-5 |edition=Rev. and expanded |location=New York [u.a.] |page=250 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=3fKoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA250 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Pires noted in his ''Suma Orientale'':<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwJD2WBNtNMC&pg=PA28 |title=The South Asian Diaspora: Transnational Networks and Changing Identities |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-134-10595-3 |editor-last=Rajesh Rai |page=31 |access-date=19 October 2015 |editor-last2=Peter Reeves |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=bwJD2WBNtNMC&pg=PA28 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote| These [people] are [like] Italians in their knowledge of and dealings in merchandise&nbsp;... they are men who understand merchandise; they are so properly steeped in the sound and harmony of it, that the ''Gujaratees'' say that any offence connected with merchandise is pardonable. There are ''Gujaratees'' settled everywhere. They work some for some and others for others. They are diligent, quick men in trade. They do their accounts with fingers like ours and with our very writings.}}

==== Gujarat in the Mughal Empire ====
[[File:Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Portrait of Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]]]

Gujarat was one of the twelve original [[subah]]s (imperial top-level provinces) established by [[Mughal Emperor]] (''Badshah'') [[Akbar]], with a seat at Ahmedabad, bordering on [[Thatta]] (Sindh), [[Ajmer]], [[Malwa]] and later Ahmadnagar subahs.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

[[Aurangzeb]], the sixth Mughal Emperor, was born in [[Dahod]], Gujarat. He was the third son and sixth child of [[Shah Jahan]] and [[Mumtaz Mahal]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jacobsen |first1=Knut A. |title=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions |date=29 November 2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62206-9 |page=190 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNgDEAAAQBAJ&dq=Aurangzeb+born+Dahod&pg=PA190}}</ref> At the time of his birth, his father, Shah Jahan, was then the Subahdar (governor) of Gujarat, and his grandfather, [[Jehangir]], was the Mughal Emperor. Before he became emperor, Aurangzeb was made Subahdar of Gujarat subah as part of his training and was stationed at Ahmedabad.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Aurangzeb had great love for his place of birth. In 1704, he wrote a letter to his eldest son, [[Muhammad Azam Shah]], asking him to be kind and considerate to the people of Dahod as it was his birthplace. Muhammad Azam was then the Subedar (governor) of Gujarat.<ref name="DNA_May2012"/>

In his letter, Aurangzeb wrote:<ref name="DNA_May2012">{{Cite news |last=Vashi |first=Ashish |date=1 May 2012 |title=Aurangzeb loved Dahod till the end |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1682952/report-aurangzeb-loved-dahod-till-the-end |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927142458/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1682952/report-aurangzeb-loved-dahod-till-the-end |archive-date=27 September 2013 |work=Daily News and Analysis |access-date=4 October 2013 |quote=Eminent historian Manekshah Commissariat has quoted from this letter in his book 'A History of Gujarat: Mughal period, from 1573 to 1758'.}}</ref>

{{blockquote| My son of exalted rank, the town of Dahod, one of the dependencies of Gujarat, is the birthplace of this sinner. Please consider a regard for the inhabitants of that town as incumbent on you.}}

=== Maratha Empire ===

When the cracks had started to develop in the edifice of the [[Mughal Empire]] in the mid-17th century, the [[Maratha Confederacy|Marathas]] were consolidating their power in the west, [[Chatrapati Shivaji]], the great Maratha ruler, attacked Surat in southern Gujarat twice first in 1664 and again in 1672.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Aakar |date=6 April 2012 |title=Blame the British Raj on bankers – Livemint |url=http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/zgaDxyMuIrH3QWHElwkX3M/Blame-the-British-Raj-on-bankers.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807152732/http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/zgaDxyMuIrH3QWHElwkX3M/Blame-the-British-Raj-on-bankers.html |archive-date=7 August 2017 |access-date=7 August 2017 |website=livemint.com |publisher=Livemint}}</ref> These attacks marked the entry of the Marathas into Gujarat. However, before the Maratha had made inroads into Gujarat, the Europeans had made their presence felt, led by the Portuguese, and followed by the Dutch and the English.

The [[Peshwa]]s had established sovereignty over parts of Gujarat and collected taxes and tributes through their representatives. [[Damaji Rao Gaekwad]] and [[Kadam (clan)|Kadam]] Bande divided the Peshwa territory between them,<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/60443/8/08_chapter%204.pdf |title=MULTIPLE AUTHORITIES – DISPUTED SOVEREIGNTY |access-date=7 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807152712/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/60443/8/08_chapter%204.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> with Damaji establishing the sway of [[Gaekwad dynasty|Gaekwad]] over Gujarat and making [[Baroda]] (present day [[Vadodara]] in southern Gujarat) his capital. The ensuing internecine war among the Marathas was fully exploited by the British, who interfered in the affairs of both Gaekwads and the Peshwas.

In [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], as elsewhere, the Marathas were met with resistance.<ref name="cpc">{{Cite book |last1=Behera |first1=Deepak Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R--XMUsk7sIC&pg=PA198 |title=The concept of tribal society |last2=Pfeffer |first2=Georg |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-7022-983-4 |page=198}}</ref> The decline of the [[Mughal Empire]] helped form larger peripheral states in Saurashtra, including [[Junagadh State|Junagadh]], [[Nawanagar State|Jamnagar]], [[Bhavnagar State|Bhavnagar]] and a few others, which largely resisted the Maratha incursions.<ref name=cpc />

=== European colonialism (1614–1947) ===
[[File:Portuguese possessions in the Province of North.jpg|thumb|Territory ceded by the [[Gujarat Sultanate|Sultanate of Gujarat]] to Portugal in 1534 according to the [[Treaty of Bassein (1534)|Treaty of Bassein]].]]

In the 1600s, the Dutch, French, English and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] all established bases along the western coast of the region. Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat, and after the [[Battle of Diu]], acquired several enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including [[Daman and Diu]] as well as [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli]]. These enclaves were administered by [[Portuguese India]] under a single union territory for over 450 years, only to be later incorporated into the [[Republic of India]] on 19 December 1961 by military conquest.

The [[British East India Company]] established a [[Factory (trading post)|factory]] in [[Surat]] in 1614 following the commercial treaty made with Mughal Emperor Nuruddin Salim [[Jahangir]], which formed their first base in India, but it was eclipsed by [[Mumbai|Bombay]] after the English received it from Portugal in 1668 as part of the marriage treaty of [[Charles II of England]] and [[Catherine of Braganza]], daughter of [[King John IV of Portugal]]. The state was an early point of contact with the west, and the first British commercial [[Outpost (military)|outpost]] in India was in Gujarat.<ref name="wingsbirds.com">[http://wingsbirds.com/tours/india-west-gujarat-rann-kutch/ WINGS Birding Tours to India: the West – Gujarat and the Rann of Kutch – Itinerary] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730052857/http://wingsbirds.com/tours/india-west-gujarat-rann-kutch/ |date=30 July 2013 }}. Wingsbirds.com (14 December 2011). Retrieved 28 July 2013.</ref>

17th-century French explorer [[François Pyrard de Laval]], who is remembered for his 10-year sojourn in South Asia, bears witness in his account that the Gujaratis were always prepared to learn workmanship from the Portuguese, and in turn imparted skills to the Portuguese:<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rai |first1=Rajesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zb_X3L96AfgC&pg=PA31 |title=The South Asian diaspora transnational networks and changing identities |last2=Reeves, Peter |publisher=Routledge |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-203-89235-0 |location=London |page=31 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304110046/https://books.google.com/books?id=zb_X3L96AfgC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote| I have never seen men of wit so fine and polished as are these Indians: they have nothing barbarous or savage about them, as we are apt to suppose. They are unwilling indeed to adopt the manners and customs of the ''Portuguese''; yet do they regularly learn their manufactures and workmanship, being all very curious and desirous of learning. In fact, the ''Portuguese'' take and learn more from them than they from the ''Portuguese''.}}

Later in the 17th century, Gujarat came under control of the Hindu [[Maratha Empire]] that arose, defeating the Muslim Mughals who had dominated the politics of India. Most notably, from 1705 to 1716, [[Senapati]] [[Khanderao Dabhade]] led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda. [[Pilaji Gaekwad]], first ruler of [[Gaekwad dynasty]], established the control over Baroda and other parts of Gujarat.

The [[British East India Company]] wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] in 1802–1803. Many local rulers, notably the Maratha Gaekwad Maharajas of Baroda ([[Vadodara]]), made a separate peace with the British and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule.

An epidemic in 1812 killed half the population of Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Petersen |first1=Eskild |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPEjDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=Infectious Diseases: A Geographic Guide |last2=Chen |first2=Lin Hwei |last3=Schlagenhauf-Lawlor |first3=Patricia |date=14 February 2017 |isbn=978-1-119-08573-7 |page=8 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903073809/https://books.google.com/books?id=VPEjDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |archive-date=3 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gujarat was placed under the political authority of the [[Bombay Presidency]], with the exception of [[Baroda State]], which had a direct relationship with the [[Governor-General of India]]. From 1818 to 1947, most of present-day 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 district|Ahmedabad]], Broach ([[Bharuch district|Bharuch]]), Kaira ([[Kheda district|Kheda]]), [[Panchmahal district|Panchmahal]] and [[Surat district|Surat]], were governed directly by British officials. In 1819, [[Swaminarayan|Sahajanand Swami]] established the first [[Swaminarayan Temple, Ahmedabad|Swaminarayan Mandir]] in [[Kalupur]], [[Ahmedabad]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Baroda-gujarat.png|Princely states of Gujarat in 1924
File:Bombay Prov north 1909.jpg|Bombay Presidency in 1909, northern portion
File:Gandhi at Dandi 5 April 1930.jpg|[[Mahatma Gandhi]] picking salt at [[Dandi Beach|Dandi beach]], [[South Gujarat]], ending the [[Salt satyagraha]] on 5 April 1930
File:Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday, Ahmedabad.jpg|Foundational Swaminarayan Mandir, est. 1819
</gallery>

=== Post-independence (1947–present) ===
[[File:Bombay 1956-1960.svg|thumb|300px|Gujarat in Bombay state]]
[[File:Gujarat-High-Court.jpg|thumb|[[Gujarat High Court]] in Ahmedabad]]
[[File:Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station.jpg|thumb|[[Gandhinagar Capital railway station]]]]

Initially there was confusion over whether Junagadh would join India or Pakistan. This was resolved in 1947 with a [[plebiscite]] for full union with India following the next year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/five-states-that-refused-to-join-india-after-independence/ |title=Five states that refused to join India after Independence |date=August 2017 |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113171155/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/five-states-that-refused-to-join-india-after-independence/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After [[Independence of India|Indian independence]] and the [[partition of India]] in 1947, the new Indian government grouped the former princely states of Gujarat into three larger units; [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], which included the former princely states on the [[Kathiawad]] peninsula, [[Kutch]], and [[Bombay state]], which included the former British districts of Bombay Presidency together with most of [[Baroda State]] and the other former princely states of eastern Gujarat. Bombay state was enlarged to include Kutch, Saurashtra (Kathiawar) and parts of [[Hyderabad state]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] in central India. The new state had a mostly Gujarati-speaking north and a Marathi-speaking south. Agitation by Gujarati nationalists, the [[Mahagujarat Movement]], and Marathi nationalists, the [[Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti|Samyukta Maharashtra]], for their own states led to the split of [[Bombay state]] on linguistic lines; on 1 May 1960, it became the new states of Gujarat and [[Maharashtra]]. In [[1969 Gujarat riots|1969 riots]], at least 660 died and properties worth millions were destroyed.<ref name="Yasmeen2007">{{Cite book |last=Peer |first=Yasmeen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0J4T6Rt-90C&pg=PA103 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528094126/http://books.google.com/books?id=y0J4T6Rt-90C&pg=PA103 |title=Communal Violence in Gujarat: Rethinking the Role of Communalism and Institutionalised Injustices in India |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-549-51753-5 |pages=103–104 |access-date=6 February 2013 |archive-date=28 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="LaurentChris2012">{{Cite book |last1=Gayer |first1=Lauren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EpGLmAEACAAJ&pg=PA53 |title=Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation |last2=Jaffrelot |first2=Christophe |date=30 May 2012 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-70308-6 |pages=53–60 }}</ref>

The first capital of Gujarat was [[Ahmedabad]]. The capital of Gujarat was moved to [[Gandhinagar]] in 1970. ''[[Nav Nirman]] Andolan'' was a socio-political movement of 1974. It was a students' and [[middle class]] people's movement against economic crisis and corruption in public life. This was the first and last successful agitation after the Independence of India that ousted an elected government.<ref name="it">{{Cite magazine |last=Shah |first=Ghanshyam |date=20 December 2007 |title=Pulse of the people |magazine=India Today |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Pulse+of+the+people/1/2727.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917002911/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Pulse+of+the+people/1/2727.html |archive-date=17 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="avk">{{Cite book |last=Krishna |first=Ananth V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8v7Vr2iQUHkC&pg=PA120 |title=India Since Independence: Making Sense Of Indian Politics |publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2011 |isbn=978-81-317-3465-0 |page=117 |access-date=19 October 2015 }}</ref><ref name="bs">{{Cite news |last=Dhar |first=P. N. |year=2000 |title=Excerpted from 'Indira Gandhi, the "emergency", and Indian democracy' published in ''Business Standard'' |work=Business Standard India |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://business-standard.com/india/news/the-nav-nirman-movement/80363/ |access-date=23 November 2012 |isbn=978-0-19-564899-7 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809043300/https://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/the-nav-nirman-movement-100021901024_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gujarat has emerged as an important industrial hub in India. In Western India [[Surat]] was among the strongest industrial clusters in the 1970s. Between 1971 and 1981 [[diamond cutting]] was established as industry in Surat. At the same time the production of [[artificial silk]] and a substantial [[petrochemical industry]] became a fixture in Surat.<ref>{{Cite book|title= Dispossession and Resistance in India: The River and the Rage | author1= Alf Gunvald Nilsen  |publisher=  Taylor & Francis |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-136-99432-6 | pages=24}}</ref>

The [[Morvi dam failure]], in 1979, resulted in the death of thousands of people and large economic loss.<ref name="expi">{{Cite news |date=25 July 2012 |title=Book on 1979 Morbi dam disaster rubbishes 'Act of God' theory |publisher=The Indian Express |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/book-on-1979-morbi-dam-disaster-rubbishes-act-of-god-theory/979087/0 |url-status=live |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617040543/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/book-on-1979-morbi-dam-disaster-rubbishes-act-of-god-theory/979087/0 |archive-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> In the 1980s, a [[Reservation in India|reservation policy]] was introduced in the country, which led to anti-reservation protests in 1981 and 1985. The protests witnessed violent clashes between people belonging to various [[Indian caste system|castes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yagnik |first=Achyut |date=May 2002 |title=The pathology of Gujarat |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2002/513/513%20achyut%20yagnik.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322112252/http://www.india-seminar.com/2002/513/513%20achyut%20yagnik.htm |archive-date=22 March 2006 |access-date=10 May 2006 |publisher=Seminar Publications |location=New Delhi}}</ref>

The [[2001 Gujarat earthquake]] was located about 9&nbsp;km south-southwest of the village of [[Chobari]] in the [[Bhachau]] taluka of [[Kutch]] District. This magnitude 7.7 shock killed around 20,000 people (including at least 18 in South-eastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Earthquakes |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2001/2001_01_26.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101003339/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2001/2001_01_26.php |archive-date=1 November 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Earthquake.usgs.gov}}</ref>

In February 2002, the [[Godhra train burning]] led to statewide [[2002 Gujarat violence|riots]], resulting in the deaths of 1,044 people – 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus, and hundreds missing still unaccounted for.<ref name="Riots toll">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4536199.stm BBC News. 11 May 2005] , These figures were reported to the Rajya Sabha by the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal in May 2005</ref> The [[Swaminarayan Akshardham (Gandhinagar)|Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gandhinagar]] was [[Akshardham Temple attack|attacked]] by two terrorists in September 2002, killing 32 people and injuring more than 80 others. [[National Security Guard]]s intervened to end the siege killing both terrorists.<ref name="akshar">{{Cite news |last=Dasgupta, Manas |date=1 June 2010 |title=Death sentence for Akshardham temple attack convicts upheld |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/death-sentence-for-akshardham-temple-attack-convicts-upheld/article443455.ece |url-status=live |access-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203214449/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/death-sentence-for-akshardham-temple-attack-convicts-upheld/article443455.ece |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> On 26 July 2008 a [[2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts|series of seventeen bomb blasts]] rocked Ahmedabad, killing and injuring several people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 July 2008 |title=17 bomb blasts rock Ahmedabad, 15 dead |publisher=CNN-IBN |url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080628002847/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/index.html |archive-date=28 June 2008}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Gujarat}}

{{See also|Climate of Gujarat|List of rivers of Gujarat}}
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Gujarat borders the [[Tharparkar District|Tharparkar]], [[Badin District|Badin]] and [[Thatta District|Thatta]] districts of [[Pakistan]]'s [[Sindh]] province to the northwest, is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, the state of [[Rajasthan]] to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and by Maharashtra, the [[Union Territory]] of [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]] to the south. Historically, the north was known as [[Anarta]], the Kathiawar peninsula, "Saurastra", and the south as "Lata".<ref>P. Page xvii ''Historical and Cultural Chronology of Gujarat'' edited by Manjulal Ranchholdlal Majmudar</ref> Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna.<ref>P. 391 ''The Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism'' by Benjamin Walker</ref> The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. The capital, Gandhinagar is a [[planned city]]. Gujarat has an area of {{cvt|75686|sqmi|km2}} with the longest coastline (24% of Indian sea coast) {{cvt|1600|km}}, dotted with 41 ports: one major, 11 intermediate and 29 minor.

The [[Narmada River|Narmada]] is the largest river in Gujarat followed by the [[Tapti River|Tapi]]. The [[Sabarmati River|Sabarmati]] has the longest course through the state.
The Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada, one of the major rivers of [[peninsular India]] where it is one of only three major rivers that run from east to west &ndash; the others being the Tapi and the [[Mahi River|Mahi]]. It is about {{cvt|1312|km}} long. Several riverfront embankments have been built on the Sabarmati River.

The eastern borders have fringes of low mountains of India, the [[Aravalli Range|Aravalli]], [[Western Ghats|Sahyadri (Western Ghats)]], [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Saputara]]. Apart from this the Gir hills, Barda, Jessore and [[Chotila]] together make up a large minority of Gujarat. [[Girnar]] is the tallest peak and [[Saputara]] is the only hill-station (hilltop resort) in the state.

=== Rann of Kutch ===
{{Main|Rann of Kutch}}

Rann (રણ) is Gujarati for desert. The Rann of Kutch is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert in the [[Thar Desert]] biogeographic region between the Pakistani province of [[Sindh]] and the rest of the state of Gujarat; it commences {{cvt|8|km}} from the village of Kharaghoda, Surendranagar District.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Mount Kiro.jpg|Mount Karo, [[Kutch]]
File:Cracked earth in the Rann of Kutch.jpg|Cracked earth in the [[Rann of Kutch]]
File:Kutch White Rann Tents (8335851293).jpg|The colourful Rann Utsav Festival is held annually in the [[Rann of Kutch]].
File:People in the Twilight.jpg|People enjoying Raan Utsav at [[Dhordo]], [[Kutch]]
File:Kutch Adventures India.jpg|Camel ride in the [[Rann of Kutch]]
File:Greater Flamingo at Kutch.jpg|[[Greater Flamingo]] at the [[Rann of Kutch]]
</gallery>

=== Flora and fauna ===
{{Main|Fauna of Gujarat|List of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Gujarat, India}}

==== Prehistoric fauna ====
[[File:Dinosaurs Park.jpg|thumb|Indroda [[Dinosaur]] and Fossil Park, [[Gandhinagar]]]]

In the early 1980s, palaeontologists found [[dinosaur egg]] hatcheries and [[fossil]]s of at least 13 species in [[Balasinor]].<ref name="bbc_jurassic"/> The most important find was that of a carnivorous [[Abelisauridae|abelisaurid]] dinosaur named ''[[Rajasaurus|Rajasurus narmadensis]]'' which lived in the [[Late Cretaceous]] period.<ref name="bbc_jurassic">{{cite news |title=The wonders of India's Jurassic Park |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8671676.stm |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=BBC |date=11 May 2010 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510111635/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8671676.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Smithsonian"/> A notable discovery in the village of Dholi Dungri was that of ''[[Sanajeh indicus]]'', a primitive [[Madtsoiidae|madtsoiid]] snake that likely preyed on [[sauropod]] dinosaur hatchlings and embryos.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite news |last1=Dixit |first1=Neha |date=21 January 2016 |last2=Mehta |first2=Vishal |title=Meet India's Dinosaur Princess |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/balasinor-dinosaur-fossil-park-raiyoli-gujarat-india-princess-aaliya-sultana-babi-180957798/ |work=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |access-date=2 January 2024 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102120728/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/balasinor-dinosaur-fossil-park-raiyoli-gujarat-india-princess-aaliya-sultana-babi-180957798/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Jeffrey A. |last2=Mohabey |first2=Dhananjay M. |last3=Peters |first3=Shanan E. |last4=Head |first4=Jason J. |title=Predation upon Hatchling Dinosaurs by a New Snake from the Late Cretaceous of India |journal=PLOS Biology |date=2 March 2010 |volume=8 |issue=3 |article-number=e1000322 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000322 |doi-access=free |pmid=20209142 |pmc=2830453 |issn=1544-9173}}</ref>

==== Extant species ====
As of 2023, Gujarat has {{formatnum:15016.64}} km² of forest cover, which is about {{formatnum:7.65}}% of its geographical area. The total recorded forest area in the state is {{formatnum:21870.35}} km² ({{formatnum:11.14}}%).<ref name="TOI2025Forest">
{{Cite news|title = Tree cover outside forest area grew by 241 sq km in Gujarat|work = The Times of India|date = 6 May 2025|url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/tree-cover-outside-forest-area-grew-by-241-sq-km-in-gujarat/articleshow/122327156.cms|access-date = 28 September 2025
}}</ref> Among the districts, [[The Dangs]] has the largest area under forest cover. Gujarat has four national parks and 21 sanctuaries. It is the only home of Asiatic lions and, outside [[Africa]], is the only present natural habitat of lions.<ref name="Singh2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Singh, H. S. |last2=Gibson, L. |year=2011 |title=A conservation success story in the otherwise dire megafauna extinction crisis: The Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') of Gir forest |url=http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/cons-lab/documents/Singh_Gibson_Biol_Cons_2011.pdf |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=5 |pages=1753–1757 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.009 |bibcode=2011BCons.144.1753S |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808105532/http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/cons-lab/documents/Singh_Gibson_Biol_Cons_2011.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=18 July 2017 | issn=0006-3207}}</ref> [[Gir Forest National Park]] in the southwest part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, [[Indian leopard]]s are also found in the state. They are spread across the large plains of Saurashtra and the mountains of South Gujarat. Other National Parks include [[Vansda National Park]], [[Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar]] and [[Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch|Narara Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutchh, Jamnagar]]. Wildlife sanctuaries include [[Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary]], [[Porbandar Bird Sanctuary]], [[Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Kutch Bustard Sanctuary]], [[Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary]], [[Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary]], Anjal, [[Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary|Balaram-Ambaji]], [[Barda Wildlife Sanctuary|Barda]], [[Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary|Jambughoda]], [[Khavda]], Paniya, [[Purna Wildlife Sanctuary|Purna]], Rampura, [[Ratan Mahal Wildlife Sanctuary|Ratan Mahal]], and Surpaneshwar.

In February 2019, a [[Bengal tiger]] claimed to be from [[Ratapani Tiger Reserve|Ratapani]] in Madhya Pradesh was spotted in the area of [[Lunavada]] in [[Mahisagar district]], in the eastern part of the state,<ref name="HT 02-2019">{{Cite news |date=18 February 2019 |title=Like humans, animals too have a right to migrate |work=The [[Hindustan Times]] |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/like-humans-animals-too-have-a-right-to-migrate/story-61db8VDgKftuIkBtPNO6eL.html |url-status=live |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227174147/https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/like-humans-animals-too-have-a-right-to-migrate/story-61db8VDgKftuIkBtPNO6eL.html |archive-date=27 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="DTE 02-2019">{{Cite news |last=Ghai |first=Rajat |date=12 February 2019 |title=Camera trap proves Gujarat now has tiger |work=[[Down To Earth (magazine)|Down To Earth]] |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/camera-trap-proves-gujarat-now-has-tiger-63216 |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212203213/https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/camera-trap-proves-gujarat-now-has-tiger-63216 |archive-date=12 February 2019}}</ref> before being found dead later that month, likely from starvation.<ref name="TOI 03-2019">{{Cite news |last=Kaushik |first=Himashu |date=9 March 2019 |title=Tiger that trekked from MP to Gujarat died of starvation: Post-mortem report |work=The [[Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68327799.cms |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-date=28 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228102726/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68327799.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Asiatic Lioness with around 30 days old cub.jpg|An [[Asiatic lion]] family, which inhabits in and around the [[Gir National Park]]
File:Greater Flamingo, Jamnagar, Rangilo Gujarati 01.jpg|[[flamingo|Greater flamingos]] at the [[Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary]]
File:Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena).jpg|[[Striped hyena]] at the [[Gir National Park]]
</gallery>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Gujarati people}}

{{Historical populations
| source = [[Census of India]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census of India Website: Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html |access-date=10 December 2019 |website=censusindia.gov.in |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808131957/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| 1901 | 9094748
| 1911 | 9803587
| 1921 | 10174989
| 1931 | 11489828
| 1941 | 13701551
| 1951 | 16263000
| 1961 | 20633000
| 1971 | 26697000
| 1981 | 34086000
| 1991 | 41310000
| 2001 | 50671000
| 2011 | 60383628
}}

The population of Gujarat was 60,439,692 (31,491,260 males and 28,948,432 females) according to the 2011 census data.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarat Profile |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/censusinfodashboard/stock/profiles/en/IND024_Gujarat.pdf |access-date=16 March 2020 |website=censusindia.gov.in |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919152632/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/censusinfodashboard/stock/profiles/en/IND024_Gujarat.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The population density is {{convert|308|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|persons&nbsp;|persons}}, lower than other Indian states. As per the census of 2011, the state has a sex ratio of 918 females for every 1000 males, one of the lowest (ranked 24) among the 29 states in India.

While Gujarati speakers constitute a majority of Gujarat's population, the metropolitan areas of Ahmedabad, [[Vadodara]] and [[Surat]] are cosmopolitan, with numerous other ethnic and language groups. [[Marwari people|Marwaris]] compose large minorities of economic migrants; smaller communities of people from the other states of India have also migrated to Gujarat for employment. [[Luso-Indian]]s, [[Anglo-Indian]]s, [[Jew]]s and [[Parsi]]s also live in the areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taraporevala |first=Sooni |title=Parsis – the Zoroastrians of India |url=http://www.the-south-asian.com/april2001/Parsis-Arrival%20in%20India.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725090319/http://www.the-south-asian.com/april2001/Parsis-Arrival%20in%20India.htm |archive-date=25 July 2017 |access-date=7 August 2017 |website=the-south-asian.com}}</ref> [[Sindhi people|Sindhi]] presence is traditionally important here following the [[Partition of India]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Indian Institute of Sindhology |url=http://www.sindhology.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218103548/http://sindhology.org/ |archive-date=18 December 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Sindhology.org}}</ref> The [[Koli people|Koli]] forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the state.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Rajneesh |date=13 December 2017 |title=गुजरात: बनिये का दिमाग़ और मियांभाई की बहादुरी |language=hi |work=BBC News हिंदी |url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-42334430 |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119163651/https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-42334430 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=Ghanshyam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=koli+thakor&pg=PA297 |title=Caste and Democratic Politics in India |date=2004 |publisher=Permanent Black |isbn=978-81-7824-095-4 |language=en |access-date=13 February 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414105622/https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=koli+thakor&pg=PA297 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gujarat ranked fifth in the Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2025, with a score of 50.5.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gupta |first=Cherry |date=28 January 2025 |title=India's top 10 best-performing states in the Fiscal Health Index 2025 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/top-10-listing/indias-top-10-best-performing-states-in-the-fiscal-health-index-2025-9801341/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Gujarat (2011)<ref name="census2011" /><!--PLEASE DON'T ALTER THIS PIE CHART OR ITS SOURCES. The Census of India has "officially recognised" six religions in India: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Rest of all the religions are placed in "Others" category and those not following any religion are placed under "Not stated". "CIA FACTBOOK" source data is based on 2011 Census of India but it is under-detailed since it places BUDDHISM, JAINISM, OTHER RELIGIONS and NOT STATED all under one category of "OTHERS". So, it is not a very dependable source and must not be used here. The present sources are apt and reliable enough to be used as one is published by official site of Census of India.-->
|label1 = [[Hinduism]]
|value1 = 88.57
|color1 = DarkOrange 
|label2 = [[Islam]]
|value2 = 9.67
|color2 = Green
|label3 = [[Jainism]]
|value3 = 0.96
|color3 = Brown
|label4 = [[Christianity]]
|value4 = 0.52
|color4 = Blue
|label5 = [[Sikhism]]
|value5 = 0.1
|color5 = DarkKhaki
|label6 = [[Buddhism]]
|value6 = 0.05
|color6 = Gold
|label7 = Others
|value7 = 0.03
|color7 = Grey
|label8 = Not stated
|value8 = 0.1
|color8 = Black
}}

According to 2011 census, the religious makeup in Gujarat was 88.57% [[Hindu]], 9.67% [[Muslim]], 0.96% [[Jain]], 0.52% [[Christians|Christian]], 0.10% [[Sikh]], 0.05% [[Buddhist]] and 0.03% others. Around 0.1% [[Irreligion|did not state any religion]].<ref name="census2011">{{Cite web |title=Population by religion community – 2011 |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=25 August 2015 |website=Census of India, 2011 |publisher=The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}}</ref> Hinduism is the majority religion, and is over 93% in rural areas. [[Gujarati Muslims|Muslims]] are the biggest minority in the state accounting for 9.7% of the population. Gujarat has the third-largest population of [[Jain]]s in India, following [[Maharashtra]] and [[Rajasthan]], almost all of whom live in urban areas like Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Surat.<ref name="Religion">{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Table C-01 Population by Religion: Gujarat |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11373/download/14486/DDW24C-01%20MDDS.XLS |website=censusindia.gov.in |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]] |access-date=30 January 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110075348/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11373/download/14486/DDW24C-01%20MDDS.XLS |url-status=live }}</ref><gallery mode="packed" heights="100">
File:Sheth Hutheesinh Temple.jpg|[[Hutheesing Jain Temple|Hutheesing Temple]], [[Ahmedabad]]
File:Palitana.jpg|[[Palitana temples|Shatrunjaya Mahatirth]], [[Palitana]]
File:Rani Sipri's Mosque at Ahmedabad. Gujarat - India.jpg|[[Rani Sipri's Mosque]], [[Historic City of Ahmadabad|Old Ahmedabad]] 
File:Gurudwara Govinddham.JPG|Gurudwara Govinddham, Ahmedabad
File:Ahmedabad Synagogue.jpg|[[Magen Abraham Synagogue|Magen Abraham]] Jewish Synagogue, Ahmedabad
</gallery>

=== Language ===

[[File:Language Map of Gujarat (2011 Census).svg|left|thumb|Languages spoken by district<br/>
'''Gujarati'''
{{legend|#ffc4b8|40–50%}}
{{legend|#ff9985|50–60%}}
{{legend|#ff6f52|60–70%}}
{{legend|#ff441f|70–80%}}
{{legend|#eb2700|80–90%}}
{{legend|#cc2200|90–100%}}
'''Bhil languages'''
{{legend|#b78ad1|50–60%}}
]]

[[File:Gujarati Script Sample.svg|thumb|right|[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] written in [[Gujarati alphabet|Gujarati script]]]]
{{Pie chart
| caption = Languages of Gujarat (2011)
| thumb = right
| label1 = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| value1 = 85.97
| color1 = light purple
| label2 = [[Hindi]]
| value2 = 7.06
| color2 = orange
| label3 = [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
| value3 = 1.96
| color3 = limegreen
| label4 = [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| value4 = 1.52
| color4 = red
| label5 = [[Bhili language|Bhili]]
| value5 = 1.37
| color5 = indianred
| label6 = [[Urdu language|Urdu]]
| value6 = 0.79
| color6 = green
| label7 = [[Odia language|Odia]]
| value7 = 0.30
| color7 = brown
| label8 = [[Khandeshi language|Khandeshi]]
| value8 = 0.25
| color8 = coral
| label9 = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| value9 = 0.13
| color9 = pink
| label10 = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| value10 = 0.12
| color10 = steelblue
| label11 = Others
| value11 = 0.52
| color11 = grey
}}

[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] is the official language of the state of Gujarat. An [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]], it is spoken natively by 86% of the state's population, or 52&nbsp;million people (as of 2011). Hindi is the second-most frequently spoken language in the state, being spoken by more than 6% of the population. Marathi also is spoken in urban areas.<ref name="language">{{cite web |title=Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Gujarat |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10212/download/13324/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-2700.XLSX |website=censusindia.gov.in |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]] |access-date=30 January 2023 |archive-date=18 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718113847/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10212/download/13324/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-2700.XLSX |url-status=live }}</ref>

People from the Kutch region of Gujarat also speak in the [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]] mother tongue and, to a great extent, understand [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] as well. [[Memoni]] is the mother tongue of Kathiawar and Sindhi Memons, most whom are Muslims.

Almost 88% of the [[Gujarati Muslims]] speak Gujarati as their mother tongue and the remaining 12% speak [[Urdu]]. A sizeable proportion of Gujarati Muslims are bilingual in the two languages.

In rural areas among the tribals, various Bhil dialects are spoken by approximately 1.37% of the population. In the northeast part of the state [[Bhili language|Bhili]] is spoken, in the central part of the state [[Bhili language|Bhili]], [[Bhilali language|Bhilali]], and [[Vasavi language|Vasava]] are spoken, while in the southeast part of the state [[Dhanki language|Dangi]], [[Varli language|Varli]], [[Chodri language|Chodri]], and [[Dhodia-Kukna language|Dhodia]] (which are related to Marathi) are spoken.

Apart from this, English, [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Kannada]], [[Malayalam]], [[Marwari language|Marwari]], [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and others are spoken by a considerable number of economic migrants from other states of India who are seeking employment.<ref name="CensusLang2011">{{Cite web |title=C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Gujarat |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10203/download/13315/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-2400.XLSX |access-date=6 July 2022 |website=censusindia.gov.in |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706185603/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10203/download/13315/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-2400.XLSX |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under the ''[[three-language formula]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2016 |title=52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525141614/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=15 February 2018 |website=nclm.nic.in |publisher=[[Ministry of Minority Affairs]] |page=96}}</ref> the languages taught in schools are:

'''First language''': Gujarati/Hindi/English

'''Second language''': Gujarati/English

'''Third language''': Hindi

== Divisions ==

[[File:Gujarat Map by Regions.jpg|thumb|Gujarat map by Divisions & Regions.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Divisions
!Headquarters
!Districts
|-
|''[[North Gujarat]]''
|[[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]]
|7
|-
|''[[Central Gujarat]]''
|[[Ahmedabad]]
|8
|-
|''[[South Gujarat]]''
|[[Surat]]
|7
|-
|''[[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra – Kutch]]''
|[[Rajkot]]
|12
|-
|}

== Governance and administration ==
{{Main|Politics of Gujarat|Government of Gujarat|Gujarat Legislative Assembly|Districts of Gujarat|Cities of Gujarat|Talukas of Gujarat}}

{{See also|Chief Ministers of Gujarat}}

{{Wide image|SACHIVALAY PANORAMA.jpg|1200px|{{center|[[Gandhinagar]], the capital of Gujarat State. The picture shown above is of the Legislative Assembly and seat of Gujarat government.}}}}
{{Administrative structure of Gujarat}}
Gujarat has 34 districts and 250 talukas.<ref name="Internetof-7-new-districts-and-22 Archive 2016">{{cite web|title=Village Map – Revenue Department |via=Internet Archive |date=25 March 2016 |url=https://revenuedepartment.gujarat.gov.in/village-map |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325222236/https://revenuedepartment.gujarat.gov.in/village-map |archive-date=25 March 2016 }}</ref><ref name="HighBeam Research 2013">{{cite web | title=State Govt Announces 23 New Talukas | via=HighBeam Research| date=10 September 2013 | url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3066956611.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206082747/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3066956611.html | archive-date=6 February 2016 | access-date=5 January 2016}}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Ahmedabad District|Ahmedabad]]
*[[Surat District|Surat]]
*[[Bharuch District|Bharuch]]
*[[Dang District, India|Dang]]
*[[Navsari District|Navsari]]
*[[Tapi District|Tapi]]
*[[Valsad District|Valsad]]
*[[Narmada District|Narmada]]
*[[Vadodara District|Vadodara]]
*[[Anand District|Anand]]
*[[Chhota Udaipur District|Chhota Udaipur]]
*[[Dahod District|Dahod]]
*[[Kheda District|Kheda]]
*[[Mahisagar District|Mahisagar]]
*[[Panchmahal District|Panchmahal]]
*[[Gandhinagar District|Gandhinagar]]
*[[Aravalli District|Aravalli]]
*[[Banaskantha District|Banaskantha]]
*[[Mehsana District|Mehsana]]
*[[Patan District|Patan]]
*[[Sabarkantha District|Sabarkantha]]
*[[Rajkot District|Rajkot]]
*[[Jamnagar District|Jamnagar]]
*[[Amreli District|Amreli]]
*[[Bhavnagar District|Bhavnagar]]
*[[Botad District|Botad]]
*[[Devbhoomi Dwarka District|Devbhoomi Dwarka]]
*[[Gir Somnath District|Gir Somnath]]
*[[Junagadh District|Junagadh]]
*[[Morbi District|Morbi]]
*[[Porbandar District|Porbandar]]
*[[Surendranagar District|Surendranagar]]
*[[Kachchh district|Kachchh]]
*[[Vav-Tharad district|Vav-Tharad]]
{{Div col end}}

{{Largest cities
| country     = Gujarat
| stat_ref    = As of the [[List of cities in Gujarat|2011 Census]]
| list_by_pop = List of cities in Gujarat
| div_name    = District
| div_link    = List of districts of Gujarat{{!}}District

| city_1 = Ahmedabad
| div_1  = Ahmedabad district{{!}}Ahmedabad
| pop_1  = 6,357,693
| city_2 = Surat
| div_2  = Surat district{{!}}Surat
| pop_2  = 5,935,000
| city_3 = Vadodara
| div_3  = Vadodara district{{!}}Vadodara
| pop_3  = 4,065,771
| city_4 = Rajkot
| div_4  = Rajkot district{{!}}Rajkot
| pop_4  = 1,390,640
| city_5 = Bhavnagar
| div_5  = Bhavnagar district{{!}}Bhavnagar
| pop_5  = 605,882

| city_6 = Jamnagar
| div_6  = Jamnagar district{{!}}Jamnagar
| pop_6  = 479,920

| city_7 = Junagadh
| div_7  = Junagadh district{{!}}Junagadh
| pop_7  = 319,462

| city_8 = Gandhinagar
| div_8  = Gandhinagar district{{!}}Gandhinagar
| pop_8  = 292,167

| city_9 = Gandhidham
| div_9  = Kutch district{{!}}Kutch
| pop_9  = 248,705

| city_10 = Nadiad
| div_10  = Kheda district{{!}}Kheda
| pop_10  = 225,071

| city_11 = Morbi
| div_11  = Morbi district{{!}}Morbi
| pop_11  = 210,451

| city_12 = Anand, Gujarat{{!}}Anand
| div_12  = Anand district{{!}}Anand
| pop_12  = 209,410

| city_13 = Mehsana
| div_13  = Mehsana district{{!}}Mehsana
| pop_13  = 190,753

| city_14 = Surendranagar Dudhrej
| div_14  = Surendranagar district{{!}}Surendranagar
| pop_14  = 177,851

| city_15 = Veraval
| div_15  = Gir Somnath district{{!}}Gir Somnath
| pop_15  = 171,121

| city_16 = Navsari
| div_16  = Navsari district{{!}}Navsari
| pop_16  = 171,109

| city_17 = Bharuch
| div_17  = Bharuch district{{!}}Bharuch
| pop_17  = 169,007

| city_18 = Vapi
| div_18  = Valsad district{{!}}Valsad
| pop_18  = 163,630

| city_19 = Porbandar
| div_19  = Porbandar district{{!}}Porbandar
| pop_19  = 152,760

| city_20 = Bhuj
| div_20  = Kutch district{{!}}Kutch
| pop_20  = 148,834
}}

Gujarat is governed by a [[Gujarat Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]] of 182 members. Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one of 182 constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for [[Scheduled Castes and Tribes|scheduled castes]] and 27 for [[scheduled tribe]]s. The term of office for a member of the Legislative Assembly is five years. The Legislative Assembly elects a speaker who presides over the meetings of the legislature. A governor is appointed by the [[President of India]], and is to address the state legislature after every general election and the commencement of each year's first session of the Legislative Assembly. The leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature (Chief Minister) or his or her designee acts as the Leader of the Legislative Assembly. The administration of the state is led by the Chief Minister.
[[File:Maganbhai Ninama, a Class IV Karma Yogi in Secretariat belonging to Adivasi community inaugurated Swarnim Sankul 2 (12534098875).jpg|thumb|right|Swarnim Sankul 2, Office of Gujarat Government]]

After the [[independence of India]] in 1947, the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) ruled the [[Bombay State]] (which included present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra). Congress continued to govern Gujarat after the state's creation in 1960.

During and after India's [[The Emergency (India)|State of Emergency of 1975–1977]], public support for the INC eroded, but it continued to hold government until 1995 with the brief rule of nine months by [[Janata Morcha]]. In the 1995 Assembly elections, the Congress lost to the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) led by [[Keshubhai Patel]] who became the Chief Minister. His government lasted only two years. The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by [[Shankersinh Vaghela]]. BJP again won election in 1998 with clear majority. In 2001, following the loss of two assembly seats in by-elections, Keshubhai Patel resigned and yielded power to [[Narendra Modi]]. BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election, and Narendra Modi remained as Chief Minister. On 1 June 2007, Narendra Modi became the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 July 2016 |title=Raman Singh breaks Modi's record to be longest serving BJP CM |work=Hindustan Times |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/raman-singh-breaks-modi-s-record-to-be-longest-serving-bjp-cm/story-5bakVFEDVU9MrSQIlDCYdK.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514064535/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/raman-singh-breaks-modi-s-record-to-be-longest-serving-bjp-cm/story-5bakVFEDVU9MrSQIlDCYdK.html |archive-date=14 May 2017 |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Yahoo |url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/070606/43/6gpdc.html |access-date=7 February 2016}}{{dead link|fix-attempted=yes|date=February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Narendra Modi to complete 12 years as Gujarat's chief minister tomorrow |work=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-to-complete-12-years-as-Gujarats-chief-minister-tomorrow/articleshow/23610694.cms |url-status=live |access-date=29 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110050753/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-to-complete-12-years-as-Gujarats-chief-minister-tomorrow/articleshow/23610694.cms |archive-date=10 January 2017}}</ref> BJP retained the power in subsequent elections in 2007 and 2012 and Narendra Modi continued as the chief minister. After Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India in 2014, [[Anandiben Patel]] became the first female chief minister of the state. [[Vijay Rupani]] took over as chief minister and Nitin Patel as deputy chief minister on 7 August 2016 after [[Anandiben Patel]] resigned earlier on 3 August. [[Bhupendrabhai Patel]] became chief minister in September 2021 after the resignation of Vijay Rupani.

The incumbent chief secretary of Gujarat is Raj Kumar<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Chief Secretary |url=https://gad.gujarat.gov.in/chief-secretary.htm#:~:text=Shri%20Raj%20Kumar%2C%20IAS%20has,January%2C%202023%20(AN). |website=Gad.gujarat.gov.in |access-date=21 April 2023 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421085204/https://gad.gujarat.gov.in/chief-secretary.htm#:~:text=Shri%20Raj%20Kumar%2C%20IAS%20has,January%2C%202023%20(AN). }}</ref> and director general of police (DGP) is Vikas Sahay.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Vikas Sahay appointed as Gujarat DGP |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/vikas-sahay-appointed-as-dgp/articleshow/98349969.cms |website=Times of India|date=2 March 2023 }}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Gujarat}}

[[File:Adani Mundra Port Kutch Gujarat.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mundra Port]], Kutch]]

Gujarat is the most industrialised state in India and has the highest industrial output when compared to other states in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://m.rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=22109 |date=15 November 2023|access-date=13 March 2024 |title=Handbook of Statistics on Indian States|website=Reserve Bank of India}}</ref> It has the highest exports of any Indian state, accounting for 30.7% of all Indian exports in 2024–2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soupramanien |first=Sindhu Hariharan & Avantika |date=29 April 2025 |title=Telangana and Tamil Nadu clock highest growth in exports in FY25 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/data-stories/data-focus/southern-states-grow-their-share-as-indias-export-basket-diversifies/article69503849.ece |access-date=28 May 2025 |website=BusinessLine |language=en}}</ref> It leads in diverse industrial sectors such as chemicals, petrochemicals, dairy, drugs and pharmaceuticals, cement and ceramics, gems and jewellery, textiles and engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GSDP of Gujarat, Economic Growth Presentation and Reports {{!}} IBEF |url=https://www.ibef.org/states/gujarat-presentation |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=India Brand Equity Foundation}}</ref> It has the highest electricity production capacity<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 March 2023 |title=Gujarat pips Maharashtra in power generation capacity: Report |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/gujarat-no-1-in-installed-power-capacity/articleshow/98886266.cms |access-date=3 January 2024 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> and maritime port cargo volume<ref>{{Cite web |title=India: cargo traffic volume at ports by state 2022 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/692571/cargo-traffic-volume-at-ports-by-state-india/ |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=Statista}}</ref> among all states in India.
Major agricultural produce of the state includes cotton, [[peanut|groundnuts]] (peanuts), [[Date (fruit)|dates]], [[sugar cane]], milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and [[gasoline|petrol]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 December 2008 |title=Reliance commissions worlds biggest refinery |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/reliance-commissions-worlds-biggest-refiner/402999/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516044443/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/reliance-commissions-worlds-biggest-refiner/402999 |archive-date=16 May 2013 |access-date=20 December 2014 |website=The Indian Express}}</ref>
Gujarat is ranked number one in the [[pharmaceutical industry in India]], with a 33% share in drug manufacturing and 28% share in drug exports. The state has 130 USFDA certified drug manufacturing facilities. Ahmedabad and Vadodara are considered as pharmaceutical hubs, as there are many big and small pharmaceutical companies established in these cities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 March 2021 |title=Despite Covid-19, fresh investments flowing into Gujarat's Pharma Sector |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/despite-covid-19-fresh-investments-flowing-into-gujarats-pharma-sector/articleshow/81488146.cms |access-date=3 May 2021 |work=[[The Times of India]] |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503094424/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/despite-covid-19-fresh-investments-flowing-into-gujarats-pharma-sector/articleshow/81488146.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gujarat has the longest coastline in India (1600&nbsp;km), and its ports (both private and public sector) handle around 40% of India's ocean cargo, with [[Mundra Port]] located in [[Gulf of Kutch]] being the largest port of India by cargo handled (144 million tons) due to its favourable location on the westernmost part of India and closeness to global shipping lanes. Gujarat also contributes around 20% share in India's industrial production and merchandise exports. According to a 2009 report on [[economic freedom]] by the [[Cato Institute]], Gujarat is the most free state in India (the second one being [[Tamil Nadu]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive Summary |url=http://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-india/ExecutiveSummary.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924142234/http://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-india/ExecutiveSummary.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2013 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Cato.org}}</ref> [[Reliance Industries]] operates the oil refinery at [[Jamnagar]], which is the world's largest grass-roots refinery at a single location. The world's largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at [[Alang]]. India's only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at [[Dahej]], developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd. Gujarat has two of the three liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the country (Dahej and Hazira). Two more LNG terminals are proposed, at [[Pipavav]] and [[Mundra]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}


According to most recent data, Gujarat is considered the fourth richest state in India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=GUpta |first=Cherry |date=21 February 2025 |title=Top 10 richest states in India by GDSP and GDP per capita, as of 2024 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/top-10-listing/top-10-richest-states-in-india-by-gdsp-and-gdp-per-capita-as-of-2024-9601172/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref>

Gujarat has 85% village connectivity with all‐weather roads.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uday Mahurkar |date=11 September 2006 |title=Gujarat – Physical fitness |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-ranks-best-when-it-comes-to-quality-of-roads/1/182220.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006074907/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-ranks-best-when-it-comes-to-quality-of-roads/1/182220.html |archive-date=6 October 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |website=India Today}}</ref> Nearly 100% of Gujarat's 18,000 villages have been connected to the electrical grid for 24-hour power to households and eight hours of power to farms, through the [[Jyotigram Yojana]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 October 2013 |title=Claim Check: Narendra Modi on Gujarat's Jyotigram Yojana |work=livemint.com |url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/NjBbkbKEVhIAYnW3iB7qtN/Claim-Check-Narendra-Modi-on-Gujarats-Jyotigram-Yojana.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202015558/http://www.livemint.com/Politics/NjBbkbKEVhIAYnW3iB7qtN/Claim-Check-Narendra-Modi-on-Gujarats-Jyotigram-Yojana.html |archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> {{As of|2015}}, Gujarat ranks [[States of India by installed power capacity|first nationwide]] in gas-based thermal electricity generation with a national market share of over 8%, and second nationwide in nuclear electricity generation with national market share of over 1%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive summary of month of November 2015 |url=http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/installedcapacity/2015/installed_capacity-11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051607/http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/installedcapacity/2015/installed_capacity-11.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=22 January 2017 |website=cea.nic.in |publisher=Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Government of India}}</ref>

The state registered 12.8% agricultural growth in the last five years against the national average of 2%.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 November 2010 |title=Gujarat Brand |work=Business Standard |agency=Press Trust of India |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/modi-woos-investors-in-state-markets-brand-gujarat/415381/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012155436/http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/modi-woos-investors-in-state-markets-brand-gujarat/415381/ |archive-date=12 October 2012}}</ref>

Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97%. Over 20% of the ''S&P CNX 500'' conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of S&P CNX 500 conglomerates |url=https://www.nseindia.com/products-services/indices-nifty500-index |website=NSE India |access-date=4 May 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504103917/https://www.nseindia.com/products-services/indices-nifty500-index |url-status=live }}</ref> As per RBI report{{which|date=June 2022}}, in year 2006–07, 26% of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

According to a 2012 survey report of the Chandigarh Labour Bureau, Gujarat had the lowest unemployment rate of 1% against the national average of 3.8%.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 July 2012 |title=Survey says Gujarat has lowest unemployment; Narendra Modi is 'delighted' |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/survey-says-gujarat-has-lowest-unemployment-narendra-modi-is-delighted-242173?pfrom=home-otherstories |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713222924/http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/survey-says-gujarat-has-lowest-unemployment-narendra-modi-is-delighted-242173?pfrom=home-otherstories |archive-date=13 July 2012}}</ref>

[[Legatum Institute]]'s Global Prosperity Index 2012 recognised Gujarat as one of the two highest-scoring among all states of India on matters of social capital.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index |url=https://www.prosperity.com/download_file/view_inline/2837 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624103332/http://www.prosperity.com/download_file/view_inline/2837 |archive-date=24 June 2017 |access-date=29 April 2019 |publisher=Legatum Institute |page=20 |format=PDF}}</ref> The state ranks 15th alongside Germany in a list of 142 nations worldwide: higher than several developed nations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DNA India: Latest News Headlines, Breaking News & Live Updates on Politics, Business, Sports, Bollywood at Daily News & Analysis |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-in-list-of-top-15-prosperous-states-globally_175965 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141220155532/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-in-list-of-top-15-prosperous-states-globally_175965 |archive-date=20 December 2014 |access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>

=== Infrastructure ===
[[File:Tallest Building in Gujarat Gift One.jpg|thumb|Tallest building in Gujarat: [[Gujarat International Finance Tec-City|GIFT One]]]]

The tallest tower in Gujarat, GIFT One was inaugurated on 10 January 2013. One other tower called GIFT Two has been finished and more towers are planned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 January 2009 |title=India's tallest proposed building Diamond Tower showcased (video) |url=http://deshgujarat.com/2009/01/22/indias-tallest-proposed-building-diamond-tower-showcasedvideo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006113234/http://deshgujarat.com/2009/01/22/indias-tallest-proposed-building-diamond-tower-showcasedvideo/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |access-date=30 September 2014 |publisher=Deshgujarat.com}}</ref>

=== Industrial growth ===
Gujarat's major cities include Ahmedabad, [[Surat]], [[Vadodara]], [[Rajkot]], [[Jamnagar]] and [[Bhavnagar]]. In 2010, ''[[Forbes]]''{{'}} list of the world's fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3 after [[Chengdu]] and [[Chongqing]] from China.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kotkin |first=Joel |title=In pictures- The Next Decade's fastest growing cities |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/10/07/cities-china-chicago-opinions-columnists-joel-kotkin_slide_4.html |url-status=live |access-date=10 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014101651/http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/07/cities-china-chicago-opinions-columnists-joel-kotkin_slide_4.html |archive-date=14 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="07 October 2010">{{Cite news |title=In Pictures: The Next Decade's Fastest-Growing Cities |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/10/07/cities-china-chicago-opinions-columnists-joel-kotkin_slide_4.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014101651/http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/07/cities-china-chicago-opinions-columnists-joel-kotkin_slide_4.html |archive-date=14 October 2010}}</ref> The state is rich in [[calcite]], [[gypsum]], [[manganese]], [[lignite]], [[bauxite]], [[limestone]], [[agate]], [[feldspar]], and [[quartz sand]], and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas. Jamnagar is the hub for manufacturing [[brass]] parts. Gujarat produces about 98% of India's required amount of soda ash, and gives the country about 78% of the national requirement of salt. It is one of India's most prosperous states, having a per-capita GDP significantly above India's average.[[Mehsana]], [[Kalol (Panchmahal)|Kalol]], Khambhat, and [[Ankleshwar]] are today known for their oil and natural gas production. Dhuvaran has a thermal power station, which uses coal, oil, and gas. Also, on the Gulf of Khambhat, {{cvt|50|km|mi}} southeast of Bhavnagar, is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard (the world's largest). [[MG Motor India]] manufactures its cars at Halol near [[Vadodara]], The world's least expensive car, the [[Tata Nano]], was manufactured in [[Sanand]] near Ahmedabad. [[Surat]], a city by the [[Gulf of Khambhat]], is a hub of the global diamond trade. In 2003, 92% of the world's diamonds were cut and polished in Surat.<ref name="time.com">{{Cite magazine |last=Adiga |first=Aravind |date=12 April 2004 |title=Uncommon Brilliance |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501040419-610100,00.html |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729170654/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501040419-610100,00.html |archive-date=29 July 2010 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> The diamond industry employs 500,000 people in Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lum |first=Kathryn |date=16 October 2014 |title=The rise and rise of Belgium's Indian diamond dynasties |publisher=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |url=http://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-belgiums-indian-diamond-dynasties-32332 |url-status=live |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054721/http://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-belgiums-indian-diamond-dynasties-32332 |archive-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>

At an investor's summit entitled "Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit", arranged between 11 and 13 January 2015, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, the state government signed 21000 Memoranda of Understanding for Special Economic Zones worth a total of {{Indian Rupee}} 2.5&nbsp;million crores ([[Long and short scales|short scale]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title='Vibrant Gujarat' signs 21000 MoUs worth Rs 25 lakh cr |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-01-12/news/57982792_1_lakh-crore-mous-narendra-modi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115190330/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-01-12/news/57982792_1_lakh-crore-mous-narendra-modi |archive-date=15 January 2015 |access-date=20 December 2014 |website=The Economic Times Line}}</ref> However, most of the investment was from domestic industry.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Vibrant Gujarat sees one foreign investor, the Business Standard |url=http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=3&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=271739&tab=r |access-date=30 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108232701/http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=3&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=271739&tab=r |archive-date=8 January 2009}}</ref> In the fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit held at Science City, Ahmedabad, in January 2009, there were 600 foreign delegates. In all, 8668 MOUs worth {{Indian Rupee}} 12500&nbsp;billion were signed, estimated to create 2.5&nbsp;million new job opportunities in the state.<ref name="in.rediff.com">{{Cite web |date=10 March 2008 |title=Gujarat aims at 15% industrial growth: Rediff.com Business |url=http://in.rediff.com/money/2008/mar/10guj.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622031757/http://in.rediff.com/money/2008/mar/10guj.htm |archive-date=22 June 2011 |access-date=16 July 2010 |website=Rediff.com}}</ref> In 2011, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit MOUs worth {{Indian Rupee}} 21&nbsp;trillion ({{USD}} 463&nbsp;billion) were signed.

Gujarat is a state with surplus electricity.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 July 2014 |title=How Gujarat became a power surplus State |work=Business Line |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/how-gujarat-became-a-power-surplus-state/article6105053.ece |access-date=16 February 2016}}</ref> The [[Kakrapar Atomic Power Station]] is a nuclear power station run by NPCIL that lies in the proximity of the city of Surat. According to the official sources, against demand of 40,793&nbsp;million units during the nine months since April 2010, Gujarat produced 43,848&nbsp;million units. Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 states: Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 March 2011 |title=Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 states |work=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarat-sold-surplus-power-to-12-states/articleshow/7650494.cms |url-status=live |access-date=20 December 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708120149/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-08/ahmedabad/28667798_1_surplus-power-industrial-units-uninterrupted-power-supply |archive-date=8 July 2012}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Nano.jpg|Shown here is the [[Tata Nano]], the world's least expensive car.<ref name="forbes.com">{{Cite news |last=Robyn Meredith |date=16 April 2007 |title=The Next People's Car |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/home/free_forbes/2007/0416/070.html |url-status=live |access-date=17 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118032004/http://www.forbes.com/home/free_forbes/2007/0416/070.html |archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref> The [[Tata Nano]] was manufactured in [[Sanand]], Gujarat.
File:GauravPath1.jpg|[[Surat]] is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
File:Alang Ship Breaking - panoramio.jpg|[[Alang]] shipbreaking yard
</gallery>

=== Energy ===
{{see also|Solar power in Gujarat}}
[[File:Astonfield 11.5MW Solar Plant Gujarat.jpg|thumb|Astonfield's 11.5 MW solar plant in Gujarat]]

As of May 2024, the peak power requirement of state is 25,088 MW.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/states-peak-power-demand-grew-by-66-in-9-years/articleshow/110606882.cms | title=State's peak power demand grew by 66% in 9 years | newspaper=The Times of India | date=June 2024 }}</ref> As of March 2024, total installed power generation capacity is 52,945.13 MW. Of this 23,643.41 MW belongs to thermal power generation capacity while 27,461.72 MW (51.87%) belongs to renewable energy generation capacity including 1990 MW [[Hydropower]]. The rest 1840 MW is nuclear power generation capacity.<ref>{{cite web|title=  Western region installed capacity|url=https://npp.gov.in/public-reports/cea/monthly/installcap/2024/MAR/capacity2-Western-2024-03.pdf|website=National Power Portal|access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref> The renewable energy installed capacity includes 11,823 MW wind power and 14,182 MW solar power totalling 26,005 MW, as of June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramesh |first=M. |date=16 June 2024 |title=Gujarat plans ₹96,000 crore transmission infrastructure push |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/gujarat-plans-96000-crore-transmission-infrastructure-push/article68297114.ece |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=www.thehindubusinessline.com |language=en}}</ref> Total rooftop solar power installation capacity of state is 3455.90 MW, as of April 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 5 States In Rooftop Solar In India – Saur Energy International |url=https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-blog/top-5-states-in-rooftop-solar-in-india |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=www.saurenergy.com|date=24 April 2024 }}</ref>

=== Agriculture ===
[[File:SherdiImage6.JPG|thumb|right|Traditional farming]]
The total geographical area of Gujarat is 19,602,400 hectares, of which crops take up 10,630,700 hectares.{{Verify source|date=July 2013}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agriculture and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat: Information, Statistics |url=http://agri.gujarat.gov.in/informations/statistics.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208034720/http://agri.gujarat.gov.in/informations/statistics.htm |archive-date=8 February 2013 |access-date=24 February 2013 |publisher=Agriculture and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat}}</ref> The three main sources of growth in Gujarat's agriculture are from cotton production, the rapid growth of high-value foods such as livestock, fruits and vegetables, and from wheat production, which saw an annual average growth rate of 28% between 2000 and 2008 (According to the [[International Food Policy Research Institute]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarat State Portal |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/initiatives/initiatives.htm?enc=TEnmkal8rLd9cWRBUEX85lswwfZZ+o8b+w+YfQPy7dU93tk/rntr0H+OnwOK0bubU/5kzexyi+JTm2rA12QenK3wnOMJgYTOqvtfZeqRdaaFE5dh5rbDG2NUzRJa12on+xN1tLzJGwcCVbF2GvgkPA== |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102042740/http://www.gujaratindia.com/initiatives/initiatives.htm?enc=TEnmkal8rLd9cWRBUEX85lswwfZZ+o8b+w+YfQPy7dU93tk%2Frntr0H+OnwOK0bubU%2F5kzexyi+JTm2rA12QenK3wnOMJgYTOqvtfZeqRdaaFE5dh5rbDG2NUzRJa12on+xN1tLzJGwcCVbF2GvgkPA%3D%3D |archive-date=2 January 2013 |access-date=20 February 2013 |publisher=Government of Gujarat}}</ref> Other major produce includes bajra, groundnut, cotton, rice, maize, wheat, mustard, sesame, pigeon pea, green gram, sugarcane, mango, banana, sapota, lime, guava, tomato, potato, onion, cumin, garlic, isabgul and fennel. Whilst, in recent times, Gujarat has seen a high average annual growth of 9% in the agricultural sector, the rest of India has an annual growth rate of around 3%. This success was lauded by former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam.<ref>{{Cite news |year=2012 |title=Gujarat's agriculture turnaround an eye opener for the entire nation: Dr. Kalam |work=IBTL for CNBC |url=http://www.ibtl.in/video/6413/gujarats-agriculture-turnaround-an-eye-opener-for-the-entire-nation-dr-kalam/ |access-date=20 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214033503/http://www.ibtl.in/video/6413/gujarats-agriculture-turnaround-an-eye-opener-for-the-entire-nation-dr-kalam |archive-date=14 February 2013}}</ref>

The strengths of Gujarat's agricultural success have been attributed to diversified crops and cropping patters; climatic diversity (8 climatic zones for agriculture); the existence of 4 agricultural universities in the state, which promote research in agricultural efficiency and sustainability;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pattanayak |first=Debi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQYICqUZJ8UC&pg=PA15 |title=Multilingualism in India |publisher=Multilingual Matters Ltd. |year=1990 |isbn=978-1-85359-072-6 |location=USA |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414155116/https://books.google.com/books?id=aQYICqUZJ8UC&pg=PA15 |url-status=live }}</ref> co-operatives; adoption of hi-tech agriculture such as tissue culture, green houses and shed-net houses; agriculture export zones; strong marketing infrastructure, which includes cold storage, processing units, logistic hubs and consultancy facilities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Modi |first=Narendra |title=Agricultural Exhibition and Conference |url=http://www2.kenes.com/agritech-asia/about/Pages/About_Gujarat.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629005930/http://www2.kenes.com/agritech-asia/about/Pages/About_Gujarat.aspx |archive-date=29 June 2013 |access-date=20 February 2013 |publisher=Agritech Asia}}</ref>

Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major food crops produced are rice, wheat, ''jowar, bajra'', maize, ''tur'', and ''gram''. The state has an agricultural economy; the total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total land area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Gujarat State Agriculture Marketing Board |url=http://agri.gujarat.gov.in/gujarati/boards_corporations/gs-agri-mark-board/agri_profile.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204125421/http://agri.gujarat.gov.in/gujarati/boards_corporations/gs-agri-mark-board/agri_profile.htm |archive-date=4 February 2011 |access-date=16 July 2010 |publisher=Agri.gujarat.gov.in}}</ref>

Animal husbandry and dairying have played vital roles in the rural economy of Gujarat. Dairy farming, primarily concerned with milk production, functions on a co-operative basis and has more than a million members. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India. The [[Amul]] milk co-operative federation is well known all over India, and it is Asia's biggest dairy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 September 2006 |title=Amul to become world's largest liquid milk brand-Food-Cons. Products-News By Industry-News |work=The Economic Times |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Cons-Products/Food/Amul-to-become-worlds-largest-liquid-milk-brand/articleshow/1988793.cms |url-status=live |access-date=16 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518071424/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Cons-Products/Food/Amul-to-become-worlds-largest-liquid-milk-brand/articleshow/1988793.cms |archive-date=18 May 2014}}</ref> Among the livestock raised are, buffaloes and other cattle, sheep, and goats. As per the results of livestock census 1997, there were 20.97&nbsp;million head of livestock in Gujarat State. In the estimates of the survey of major livestock products, during the year 2002–03, Gujarat produced 6.09&nbsp;million tonnes of milk, 385&nbsp;million eggs and 2.71&nbsp;million kg of wool. Gujarat also contributes inputs to the textiles, oil, and soap industries.

The adoption of cooperatives in Gujarat is widely attributed to much of the success in the agricultural sector, particularly sugar and dairy [[cooperative]]s. Cooperative farming has been a component of India's strategy for agricultural development since 1951. Whilethe success of these was mixed throughout the country, their positive impact on the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been the most significant. In 1995 alone, the two states had more registered co-operatives than any other region in the country. Out of these, the agricultural cooperatives have received much attention. Many have focused on subsidies and credit to farmers and rather than collective gathering, they have focused on facilitating collective processing and marketing of produce. However, whilethey have led to increased productivity, their effect on equity in the region has been questioned, because membership in agricultural co-operatives has tended to favour landowners whilelimiting the entry of landless agricultural labourers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ebrahim |first=Alnoor |year=2000 |title=Agricultural cooperatives in Gujarat, India: Agents of equity or differentiation? |journal=Development in Practice |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=178–188 |doi=10.1080/09614520050010214 |s2cid=154497407}}</ref> An example of co-operative success in Gujarat can be illustrated through dairy co-operatives, with the particular example of [[Amul]] (Anand Milk Union Limited).
[[File:Amul Plant at Anand.jpg|thumb|right|Amul plant at [[Anand, Gujarat|Anand]]]]

Amul was formed as a dairy cooperative in 1946,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bellur |first1=Venkatakrishna |last2=Saraswathi P. Singh |last3=Radharao Chaganti |last4=Rajeswararao Chaganti |year=1990 |title=The white revolution—How Amul brought milk to India |journal=Long Range Planning |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=71–79 |doi=10.1016/0024-6301(90)90104-C}}</ref> in the city of Anand, Gujarat. The cooperative, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.
(GCMMF), is jointly owned by around 2.6&nbsp;million milk producers in Gujarat. Amul has been seen as one of the best examples of cooperative achievement and success in a developing economy and the Amul pattern of growth has been taken as a model for rural development, particularly in the agricultural sector of developing economies. The company stirred the White Revolution of India (also known as [[Operation Flood]]), the world's biggest dairy development program, and made the milk-deficient nation of India the largest milk producer in the world, in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 December 2011 |title=India largest milk producing nation in 2010–11: NDDB |work=Hindustan Times |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Ahmedabad/India-largest-milk-producing-nation-in-2010-11-NDDB/Article1-785018.aspx |access-date=23 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426131554/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Ahmedabad/India-largest-milk-producing-nation-in-2010-11-NDDB/Article1-785018.aspx |archive-date=26 April 2013}}</ref> The "Amul Model" aims to stop the exploitation by middlemen and encourage freedom of movement since the farmers are in control of procurement, processing and packaging of the milk and milk products.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Amul Model |url=http://www.amul.com/m/about-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306085945/http://www.amul.com/m/about-us |archive-date=6 March 2013 |access-date=23 February 2013 |publisher=Amul}}</ref> The company is worth 2.5&nbsp;billion US dollars ({{as of|2012|lc=y}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=News Release: Taste of India Continues to Commemorate its Producers |url=http://www.amul.com/files/pdf/ENGLISH-AGM-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202224507/http://www.amul.com/files/pdf/ENGLISH-AGM-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2013 |access-date=23 February 2013 |publisher=GCMMF}}</ref>

70% of Gujarat's area is classified as semi-arid to arid climatically, thus the demand on water from various economic activities puts a strain on the supply.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Suran |first=B |date=10 June 2012 |title=Is Agriculture in Gujarat on a Different Growth Trajectory? |journal=Social Science Research Network |publisher=National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) |ssrn=2080876}}</ref> Of the total gross irrigated area, 16–17% is irrigated by government-owned canals and 83–84% by privately owned tube wells and other wells extracting groundwater, which is the predominant source of irrigation and water supply to the agricultural areas. As a result, Gujarat has faced problems with [[overdrafting|groundwater depletion]], especially after demand for water increased in the 1960s. As access to electricity in rural areas increased, submersible electric pumps became more popular in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the Gujarat Electricity Board switched to flat tariff rates linked to the horsepower of pumps, which increased tubewell irrigation again and decreased the use of electric pumps. By the 1990s, groundwater abstraction rates exceeded groundwater recharge rate in many districts, while only 37.5% of all districts has "safe" recharge rates. Groundwater maintenance and preventing unnecessary loss of the available water supplies is now an issue faced by the state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gulati |first=Ashok |url=http://www.gujaratcmfellowship.org/document/Agriculture/Agriculture%20Performance%20in%20Gujarat%20since%202000_IWMI%20&%20IFPRI%20Report-_May%202009.pdf |title=Agriculture performance in Gujarat since 2000 |publisher=International Water Management Institute & International Food Policy Research Institute |year=2009 |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221231/http://www.gujaratcmfellowship.org/document/Agriculture/Agriculture%20Performance%20in%20Gujarat%20since%202000_IWMI%20%26%20IFPRI%20Report-_May%202009.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> The Sardar Sarovar Project, a debated dam project in the Narmada valley consisting of a network of canals, has significantly increased irrigation in the region. However, its impact on communities who were displaced is still a contested issue. In 2012 Gujarat began an experiment to reduce water loss due to evaporation in canals and to increase sustainability in the area, by constructing solar panels over the canals. In a one megawatt (MW) solar power project set up at Chandrasan, Gujarat uses solar panels fixed over a 750-metre stretch of an irrigation canal. Unlike many solar power projects, this one does not take up large amounts of land since the panels are constructed over the canals, and not on additional land. This results in lower upfront costs since land does not need to be acquired, cleared or modified to set up the panels. The Chandrasan project is projected to save 9&nbsp;million litres of water per year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=D.C. |date=June 2012 |title=India Launches Solar Power Project |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |volume=10 |issue=5 |page=230 |doi=10.1890/i1540-9295-10-5-228 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The Government of Gujarat, to improve [[soil management]] and introduce farmers to new technology, started on a project which involved giving every farmer a Soil Health Card. This acts like a ration card, providing permanent identification for the status of cultivated land, as well as farmers' names, account numbers, survey numbers, [[soil fertility]] status and general fertiliser dose. Samples of land from each village are taken and analysed by the [[Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers|Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Corporation]], State Fertiliser Corporation and [[Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited|Indian Farmers Fertilisers Co-operative]]. 1,200,000 [[soil test]] data from the villages was collected as of 2008, from farmer's field villages have gone into a database. Assistance and advice for this project was given by local agricultural universities and crop and soil-specific data was added to the database. This allows the soil test data to be interpreted and recommendations or adjustments made in terms of fertiliser requirements, which are also added to the database.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Attri |first=S.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmqIGTngveIC&pg=PA266 |title=Challenges and Opportunities in Agrometeorology |publisher=Springer |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-642-19360-6 |location=Heidelberg |page=265 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414105621/https://books.google.com/books?id=tmqIGTngveIC&pg=PA266 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Gujarat}}

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Gujarati literature}}

[[File:Hemachandra JCNJ.jpg|thumb|200px|Idol of Hemchandra Acharya at a Jain temple in [[New Jersey]], regarded as the father of Gujarati language.]]
The city of [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]] was renowned for its collection of ancient Jain manuscripts and as a royal capital of Jain learning,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kudalk |first1=J. S. |title=The Jain Manuscript-Bhandars at Patan a Final Word on Their Search |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=1920 |volume=3 |pages=35–52 |jstor=44526773 }}</ref> which has drawn the admiration of many scholars. [[British people|British]] [[Indologist]] and [[Sanskrit|Sanskritist]] Peter Peterson described the collection as follows:  

{{blockquote|''I know of no town in India and only a few in the world which can boast of so great a store documents of venerable antiquity. They would be the pride and jealously guarded treasure of any University Library in Europe.''<ref>{{cite web |title=Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference — General President's Address by A. N. Upadhye (1969)  |url=https://archive.org/details/xtgk_proceedings-and-transactions-of-the-all-india-oriental-confeence-ed-by-a.-s.-alt/page/19/mode/2up |publisher=Gurukul Kangri University |date=1969 |page=19 |access-date=25 September 2025}}</ref>}}

The history of [[Gujarati literature]] may be traced back to 1000 CE. Well-known laureates of Gujarati literature include [[Hemchandracharya]], [[Narsinh Mehta]], [[Mirabai]], [[Akho]], [[Premanand Bhatt]], [[Shamal Bhatt]], [[Dayaram]], [[Dalpatram]], [[Narmad]], [[Govardhanram Tripathi]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[K. M. Munshi]], [[Umashankar Joshi]], [[Suresh Joshi]], [[Swaminarayan]], [[Pannalal Patel]] and [[Rajendra Shah (author)|Rajendra Shah]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarati Writers in India, Gujarati Novelists of India, Gujarati Poets |url=http://www.culturopedia.com/Literature/gujarati_gems.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502000438/http://www.culturopedia.com/Literature/gujarati_gems.html |archive-date=2 May 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Culturopedia.com}}</ref>

[[Kavi Kant]], [[Zaverchand Meghani]] and [[Kalapi]] are famous Gujarati poets.{{cn|date=September 2025}}


[[Gujarat Vidhya Sabha]], [[Gujarat Sahitya Sabha]], and [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature.
[[Saraswatichandra (novel)|Saraswatichandra]] is a landmark novel by [[Govardhanram Tripathi]]. Writers like Aanand Shankar Dhruv, Ashvini Bhatt, [[Balwantray Thakore]], Bhaven Kachhi, [[Bhagwatikumar Sharma]], [[Chandrakant Bakshi]], [[Gunvant Shah]], Harindra Dave, Harkisan Mehta, Jay Vasavada, Jyotindra Dave, Kanti Bhatt, Kavi Nanalal, Khabardar, [[Tribhuvandas Luhar|Sundaram]], Makarand Dave, Ramesh Parekh, Suresh Dalal, Tarak Mehta, Vinod Bhatt, Dhruv Bhatt and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

[[File:Shrimad Rajchandra and Ambalal.jpg|200px|thumb|Depiction of Shrimad Rajchandra writing ''Atmasiddhi'' in single sitting of 1.5 hrs, one of the longest Gujarati poems based on [[Jain philosophy]].]]
A notable contribution to Gujarati literature came from the [[Bhagwan Swaminarayan|Swaminarayan]] paramhanso, like [[Brahmanand Swami]], Premanand, with prose like [[Vachanamrut]] and poetry in the form of [[bhajans]].<ref name="Williams">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Raymond |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPkexi2EhAIC |title=Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-65422-7 |pages=187–190 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414154258/https://books.google.com/books?id=tPkexi2EhAIC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Shrimad Rajchandra Vachnamrut and Shri [[Atma Siddhi]] Shastra, written in 19th century by Jain philosopher and poet [[Shrimad Rajchandra]] (Mahatma Gandhi's guru) are very well known.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shrimad Rajchandra |url=https://archive.org/details/shrimadvachanamrutweb |title=Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019221956/https://archive.org/details/shrimadvachanamrutweb |archive-date=19 October 2017 |url-status=live |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Atma Siddhi |url=http://www.rajsaubhag.org/atmasiddhi/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214202803/http://www.rajsaubhag.org/atmasiddhi/ |archive-date=14 February 2018 |access-date=14 February 2018 |website=Shree Raj Saubhag}}</ref>

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to [[Bhavai]]. Bhavai is a [[Folk music|folk]] musical performance of stage plays. [[Ketan Mehta]] and [[Sanjay Leela Bhansali]] explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as ''[[Bhavni Bhavai]]'', ''[[Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India]]'' and ''[[Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam]]''. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.{{cn|date=September 2025}}


Mumbai theatre veteran, [[Alyque Padamsee]], best known in the English-speaking world for playing [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] in Sir [[Richard Attenborough]]'s ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'', was from a traditional Gujarati-Kutchi family from Kathiawar.<ref name="Padamsee1999">{{Cite book |last1=Padamsee |first1=Alyque |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWsdGDA2j8EC&pg=PA63 |title=A Double Life: My Exciting Years in Theatre and Advertising |last2=Prabhu |first2=Arun |date=11 January 2007 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-024071-9 |page=1 |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414105640/https://books.google.com/books?id=oWsdGDA2j8EC&pg=PA63 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Gujarati cuisine}}

[[File:Gujarati Dish.jpg|thumb|Gujarati thali]]

Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati ''[[thali]]'' consists of ''[[roti|rotli]]'' or ''[[bhakri|bhakhari]] or thepala or rotlo'', ''[[dal]]'' or ''[[kadhi]]'', ''[[khichdi]]'', Bhat and ''[[Curry|shak]]''. [[South Asian pickle#India|Athanu (Indian pickle)]] and ''[[chhundo]]'' are used as [[condiment]]s. The four major regions of Gujarat all bring their own styles to Gujarati food. Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time. In the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra region]], ''[[chass|chhash]]'' (buttermilk) is believed to be a must-have in their daily food.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

=== Cinema ===
{{Main|Gujarati cinema}}

The [[Gujarati film industry]] dates back to 1932, when the first Gujarati film, ''[[Narsinh Mehta (1932 film)|Narsinh Mehta]]'', was released.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2009 |title=Narsinh Mehta |url=http://gujaratirocks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57:narsinh-mehta&catid=34:gujarati-films&Itemid=29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512105953/http://gujaratirocks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57:narsinh-mehta&catid=34:gujarati-films&Itemid=29 |archive-date=12 May 2012 |access-date=12 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=4 May 2007 |title=NEWS: Limping at 75 |url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=15692 |magazine=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]]}}{{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 April 2007 |title='Dhollywood' at 75 finds few takers in urban Gujarat |work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]] |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/printer/news/104966/ |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-date=2 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602081522/https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/news-and-the-ugly-truth/1080794/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After flourishing through the 1960s to 1980s, the industry saw a decline. The industry is revived in recent times. The film industry has produced more than one thousand films since its inception.<ref name="Thou2011">{{Cite web |date=29 July 2011 |title=Golly! Gujarati films cross 1k mark |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Golly-Gujarati-films-cross-1k-mark/articleshow/9401332.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018215219/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Golly-Gujarati-films-cross-1k-mark/articleshow/9401332.cms |archive-date=18 October 2015 |access-date=15 July 2015 |website=The Times of India}}</ref> The Government of Gujarat announced a 100% entertainment [[tax exemption]] for Gujarati films in 2005<ref name="Roy 2005">{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Mithun |date=3 May 2005 |title=Crisis-hit Gujarati film industry gets 100% tax rebate |work=Business Standard India |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/crisis-hit-gujarati-film-industry-gets-100-tax-rebate-105050301103_1.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714025118/http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/crisis-hit-gujarati-film-industry-gets-100-tax-rebate-105050301103_1.html |archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> and a policy of incentives in 2016.<ref name="polic2016">{{Cite web |last=DeshGujarat |date=2 February 2016 |title=Gujarat govt announces new policy for incentives to Gujarati films |url=http://deshgujarat.com/2016/02/02/gujarat-govt-announces-new-policy-for-incentives-to-gujarati-films/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204040324/http://deshgujarat.com/2016/02/02/gujarat-govt-announces-new-policy-for-incentives-to-gujarati-films/ |archive-date=4 February 2016 |access-date=4 February 2016 |website=DeshGujarat}}</ref>

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of Gujarat}}

Gujarati folk music, known as ''Sugam Sangeet'', is a hereditary profession of the [[Barot (caste)|Barot]] community. [[Gadhvi]] and [[Charan]] communities have contributed heavily in modern times. The omnipresent instruments in Gujarati folk music include wind instruments, such as {{transliteration|gu|turi}}, {{transliteration|gu|bungal}}, and {{transliteration|gu|pava}}, [[string instrument]]s, such as the {{transliteration|gu|ravan hattho}}, {{transliteration|gu|ektaro}}, and {{transliteration|gu|jantar}} and percussion instruments, such as the {{transliteration|gu|manjira}} and {{transliteration|gu|zanz}} pot drum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dance & Music |url=http://www.nri.gujarat.gov.in/gujarat-dances.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213195733/http://www.nri.gujarat.gov.in/gujarat-dances.htm |archive-date=13 February 2012 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=NRI Division [[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref>

=== Festivals ===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Navratri Garba.jpg|[[Garba (dance)|Garba]] during Navaratri in [[Ahmedabad]]
File:Navratri garba at Ambaji temple.jpg|Navratri Garba at [[Ambaji temple]]
File:Dandiya Raas.jpg|Tourists playing [[Dandiya Raas]]
File:International Kite Festival,India.JPG|[[International Kite Festival in Gujarat – Uttarayan|International Kite Festival]], Ahmedabad
</gallery>

The folk traditions of Gujarat include {{transliteration|gu|[[bhavai]]}} and {{transliteration|gu|[[Dandiya Raas|raas]]-[[Garba (dance)|garba]]}}. ''Bhavai'' is a folk theatre; it is partly entertainment and partly ritual, and is dedicated to [[Durga|Amba]]. The {{transliteration|gu|raas-garba}} is a folk dance done as a celebration of [[Navratri]] by Gujarati people. The [[folk costume]] of this dance is ''[[Gagra choli|chaniya choli]]'' for women and {{transliteration|gu|kedia}} for men. Different styles and steps of {{transliteration|gu|garba}} include {{transliteration|gu|dodhiyu}}, simple five, simple seven, {{transliteration|gu|popatiyu}}, {{transliteration|gu|trikoniya}} (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), {{transliteration|gu|lehree}}, {{transliteration|gu|tran taali}}, butterfly, {{transliteration|gu|hudo}}, two claps and many more. {{transliteration|gu|Sheri garba}} is one of the oldest form of garba where all the women wear red patola sari and sing along while dancing. It is a very graceful form of garba.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Navratri |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/navratri.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725085151/http://gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/navratri.htm |archive-date=25 July 2012 |access-date=12 February 2012 |publisher=[[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref>

''[[Makar Sankranti]]'' is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites. In Gujarat, from December through to ''Makar Sankranti'', people start enjoying kite flying. ''[[Undhiyu]]'', a special dish made of various vegetables, is a must-have of Gujarati people on ''Makar Sankranti''. Surat is especially well known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kite Festival |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/kite-festival.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103200212/http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/kite-festival.htm |archive-date=3 January 2012 |access-date=12 February 2012 |publisher=[[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref>

Apart from Navratri and Makar Sankranti (Uttarayana), [[Diwali]], [[Holi]], [[Janmashtami]], [[Raksha Bandhan]], [[Vijayadashami|Dusshera]], [[Rama Navami]], [[Mahavir Jayanti|Mahavir Janma Kalyanak]], [[Muslim holidays|Eid]], [[Chup Tazia|Tazia]], [[Paryushan]], [[Bhavnath fair]], and others are also celebrated.

=== Diffusion of culture ===

Due to close proximity to the Arabian Sea, Gujarat has developed a mercantile ethos which maintained a cultural tradition of [[seafaring]], long-distance trade, and overseas contacts with the outside world since ancient times, and the diffusion of culture through Gujarati [[diaspora]] was a logical outcome of such a tradition. During the pre-modern period, various European sources have observed that these merchants formed diaspora communities outside of Gujarat, and in many parts of the world, such as the [[Persian Gulf]], Middle East, [[Horn of Africa]], Hong Kong, [[Indonesia]], and [[Philippines]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rai |first1=Rajesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zb_X3L96AfgC&pg=PA41 |title=The South Asian Diaspora: Transnational networks and changing identities |last2=Reeves |first2=Peter |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-203-89235-0 |editor-last=Rajesh Rai, Peter Reeves |page=41 |quote=The Gujarati merchant diaspora can still be found in the littoral cities of West Asia and Africa on the one hand and in Southeast Asia on the other. |access-date=8 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153225/https://books.google.com/books?id=zb_X3L96AfgC&pg=PA41 |url-status=live }}</ref> long before the internal rise of the [[Maratha]] dynasty, and the [[British Raj]] colonial occupation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2012 |title=Even British were envious of Gujaratis |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Even-British-were-envious-of-Gujaratis/articleshow/17575976.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928112046/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-11/vadodara/35748553_1_gujaratis-maritime-history-subcontinent |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=25 September 2013 |website=[[The Times of India]] |quote="Most people perceive that British dominated everything in the 19th century when the Indian sub-continent was under their control. But Gujarati merchants, especially those from Kutch, dominated the economy all along the East African coast. So while British were ruling, Gujaratis were making all the money," said Pearson." As financers, they (Gujarati merchants) had agents to collect tax, they had money to provide loans, they dominated the merchandise business and they were also into slavery business at [[Nairobi]], [[Mombasa]], [[Zanzibar]] on the East African coast and to some extent their influence was also on the South African region," he said. "In fact, the dominance of Gujarati merchants on economy was to such an extent that at one point of time the British even complained about it. They, however, couldn't make any difference as most of them were either administrators or soldiers," said Pearson}}</ref>

Early 1st-century Western historians such as [[Strabo]] and [[Dio Cassius]] are testament to Gujarati people's role in the spread of Buddhism in the Mediterranean, when it was recorded that the ''[[Shramana|sramana]]'' monk [[Zarmanochegas]] (Ζαρμανοχηγὰς) of [[Barygaza]] met [[Nicholas of Damascus]] in [[Antioch]] while Augustus ruled the Roman Empire, and shortly thereafter proceeded to [[Athens]] where died by [[self-immolation|setting himself on fire]] to demonstrate his faith.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strabo, Geography, NOTICE. |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&layout=&loc=15.1.73 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004061428/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&layout=&loc=15.1.73 |archive-date=4 October 2008 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cassius Dio – Book 54 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.html |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925090709/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54%2A.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A tomb to the ''sramana'', was still visible in the time of [[Plutarch]],<ref>Plutarch. 'Life of Alexander' in The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. (trans John Dryden and revised Arthur Hugh Clough) The Modern Library (Random House Inc). New York. p.850</ref> which bore the mention "ΖΑΡΜΑΝΟΧΗΓΑΣ ΙΝΔΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΒΑΡΓΟΣΗΣ" ("The ''sramana'' master from Barygaza in India").<ref>Elledge CD. Life After Death in Early Judaism. Mohr Siebeck Tilbringen 2006 {{ISBN|3-16-148875-X}} pp. 122–125</ref>

The progenitor of the [[Sinhala language]] is believed to have been [[Prince Vijaya]], son of King Simhabahu, who ruled Simhapura (modern-day Sihor near Bhavnagar).<ref>P. 25 ''Historical and cultural chronology of Gujarat, Volume 1'' by Manjulal Ranchholdlal Majmudar</ref> Prince Vijaya was banished by his father for his lawlessness and set forth with a band of adventurers. This tradition was followed by other Gujaratis. For example, in the [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]] frescoes, a Gujarati prince is shown entering [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name="ReferenceB">P. 4 ''Shyamji Krishna Varma, the unknown patriot'' by Ganeshi Lal Verma, India. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Publications Division</ref>

Many Indians migrated to [[Indonesia]] and the [[Philippines]], most of them Gujaratis. King Aji Saka, who is said to have come to Java in Indonesia in year 1 of the Saka calendar, is believed by some to have been a king of Gujarat.<ref name="ReferenceA">P. 67 ''An era of peace'' By Krishna Chandra Sagar</ref> The first Indian settlements in the [[Philippines]] and Java Island of Indonesia are believed to have been established with the coming of Prince Dhruvavijaya of Gujarat, with 5000 traders.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Some stories propose a Brahmin named Tritresta was the first to bring Gujarati migrants with him to Java, so some scholars equate him with Aji Saka.<ref>P. 158 ''Foreign Influence on Ancient India'' By Krishna Chandra Sagar</ref> A Gujarati ship has been depicted in a sculpture at Borabudur, [[Java]].<ref name="ReferenceB" />

== Tourism ==
{{Main|Tourism in Gujarat}}

[[File:Saputara, Gujarat, India - panoramio (5).jpg|thumb|[[Saputara]] – a hill station in Gujarat]]

Gujarat's natural environment includes the [[Great Rann of Kutch]] and the hills of [[Saputara]], and it is the sole home of pure Asiatic lions in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 January 2010 |title=Amitabh Bachchan offers to become brand ambassador of Gujarat |work=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Amitabh-Bachchan-offers-to-become-brand-ambassador-of-Gujarat/articleshow/5418507.cms |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419042844/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-07/india/28113940_1_brand-ambassador-harivansh-rai-bachchan-amitabh-bachchan |archive-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> During the reigns of the sultans, Hindu craftsmanship blended with [[Islamic architecture]], giving rise to the [[Indo-Saracenic]] style. Many structures in the state are built in this fashion. It is also the birthplace of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]], figures of [[Indian independence movement|India's Independence]] movement. [[Amitabh Bachchan]] is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TAAI award for Gujarat Tourism |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/TAAI-award-for-Gujarat-Tourism/article20373068.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026035058/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article2735467.ece?homepage=true |archive-date=26 October 2012 |access-date=10 December 2019 |website=@businessline}}</ref>
[[File:Statue of Unity in 2018.jpg|thumb|[[Statue of Unity]] facing the [[Sardar Sarovar Dam]] on the river [[Narmada]] in Kevadiya colony]]

=== Museums and memorials ===
Gujarat has a variety of museums on different genres that are run by the state's Department of Museums located at the principal state museum, [[Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery]] in [[Vadodara]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contact us |url=http://sycd.gov.in/museum/mus_contact_us.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103165553/http://sycd.gov.in/museum/mus_contact_us.htm |archive-date=3 November 2011 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=[[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref> which is also the location of the [[Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum]]. The [[Kirti Mandir, Porbandar]], [[Sabarmati Ashram]], and [[Kaba Gandhi No Delo]] are museums related to Mahatma Gandhi, the former being the place of his birth and the latter two where he lived in his lifetime. Kaba Gandhi No Delo in [[Rajkot]] exhibits part of a rare collection of photographs relating to the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Sabarmati Ashram is the place where Gandhi initiated the [[Dandi March]]. On 12 March 1930 he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gandhi |first=Mohandas |title=Gandhi Ashram Official Website |url=http://www.gandhiashram.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=41 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205221519/http://www.gandhiashram.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=41 |archive-date=5 December 2011}}</ref>

The Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum is housed within [[Lakshmi Vilas Palace]], the residence of the erstwhile [[Maharaja]]s, located in [[Vadodara]].

The [[Calico Museum of Textiles]] is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ahmedabad.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pancholi |first=Preksha |date=25 April 2023 |title=Museums of the World: The Calico Museum of Textiles |url=https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/travel-and-architecture/a9943-museums-of-the-world-the-calico-museum-of-textiles/ |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=RTF {{!}} Rethinking The Future |language=en-US}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The Lakhota Museum at Jamnagar is a palace transformed into museum, which was residence of the Jadeja Rajputs. The collection of the museum includes artefacts spanning from 9th to 18th centuries, pottery from medieval villages nearby and the skeleton of a whale.

Other well-known museums in the state include the [[Kutch Museum]] in [[Bhuj]], which is the oldest museum in Gujarat founded in 1877, the [[Watson Museum]] of human history and culture in [[Rajkot]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watson Museum |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/gujarat/rajkot/sights/other/watson-museum-library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220115535/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/gujarat/rajkot/sights/other/watson-museum-library |archive-date=20 February 2012 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]}}</ref> [[Gujarat Science City]] and [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial]] in Ahmedabad. In October 2018, the world's tallest statue commemorating the independence leader Sardar Patel was unveiled. At 182 metres tall the [[Statue of Unity]] is the newest tourist attraction with over 30,000 visitors every day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statue of Unity – Project Features, Progress & Major Facts |url=http://www.statueofunity.in/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091552/http://www.statueofunity.in/ |archive-date=27 March 2019 |access-date=26 March 2019 |website=statueofunity.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2018 |title=Statue of Unity now getting 30k daily visitors: Guj officials |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/statue-of-unity-now-getting-30k-daily-visitors-guj-officials/articleshow/66920618.cms |url-status=live |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327151106/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/statue-of-unity-now-getting-30k-daily-visitors-guj-officials/articleshow/66920618.cms |archive-date=27 March 2019}}</ref>

=== Religious sites ===
Religious sites play a major part in the tourism of Gujarat. [[Somnath]] is the first of the twelve [[Jyotirlinga]]s, and is mentioned in the [[Rigveda]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} The [[Dwarkadhish Temple]], [[Radha Damodar Temple, Junagadh]] and [[Dakor]] are holy pilgrimage sites with temples dedicated to [[Krishna]]. The [[Sun Temple, Modhera]] is a ticketed monument, handled by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sun Temple, Modhera |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_gujarat_suntemple.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416092518/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_gujarat_suntemple.asp |archive-date=16 April 2012 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]]}}</ref> Other religious sites in state include [[Ambaji]], [[Dakor]], [[Shamlaji]], [[Chotila]], [[Becharaji]], [[Mahudi]], [[Shankheshwar]] etc. The [[Palitana temples|Shatrunjaya Mahatirth]] of [[Jainism]] on Mount [[Shatrunjaya]], [[Palitana]] are considered the holiest of all [[Tirtha (Jainism)|pilgrimage places]] by the [[Svetambara]] and [[Digambara]] [[Jain community]].<ref>{{Cite web |title="Murtipujakas, Jainism", ''Encyclopedia of World Religions'' (PHILTAR), University of Cambria |url=http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/jainism/murti.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013131021/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/jainism/murti.html |archive-date=13 October 2007 |access-date=30 September 2014 |publisher=Philtar.ucsm.ac.uk}}</ref> Palitana is the world's only mountain with more than 900 temples.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 April 2013 |title=World's only mountain that has more than 900 temples |url=http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/JM-world---s-only-mountain-that-has-more-than-900-temples-4225137-PHO.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121080531/http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/JM-world---s-only-mountain-that-has-more-than-900-temples-4225137-PHO.html |archive-date=21 November 2013 |access-date=6 February 2018}}</ref> [[Girnar|Girnar Mahatirth]] is another major pilgrimage destination for Jains.<ref>https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.53162/page/n386/mode/1up</ref><ref name="Ginas">{{Cite web |title=Jaina Sutras, Part I (SBE22): Lives of the Ginas: Life of Arishtanemi |url=https://sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/sbe2287.htm |access-date=22 September 2024 |website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Fairs ===
[[File:Tarnetar01.jpg|thumb|right|Tarnetar Fair, [[Tarnetar]] ]]
[[File:Tarnetar Fair 09.jpg|thumb|A man in traditional costumes during [[Tarnetar]] fair]]

A five-day festival is held during [[Maha Shivaratri]] at the fort of [[Girnar]], Junagadh, known as the Bhavanth Mahadev Fair (Gujarati: ભવનાથ નો મેળો). The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival (Gujarati: કચ્છ or રણ ઉત્સવ) is a festival celebrated at Kutch during [[Mahashivratri]]. The ''Modhra Dance Festival'' is a festival for classical dance, arranged by the [[Government of Gujarat]]'s Cultural Department, to promote tourism in state and to keep traditions and culture alive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modhra Dance Festival |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/modhera-festival.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302202810/http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/modhera-festival.htm |archive-date=2 March 2012 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=[[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref>

The Ambaji Fair is held in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad (around August–September) at Ambaji, during a time which is particularly suitable for farmers, when the busy monsoon season is about to end. The Bhadrapad fair is held at Ambaji which is in the Danta Taluka of Banaskantha district, near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. The walk from the bus station to the temple is less than one kilometre, under a roofed walkway. Direct buses are available from many places, including Mount Abu (45&nbsp;km away), Palanpur (65&nbsp;km away), Ahmedabad and Idar.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
The Bhadrapad fair is held in the centre of the Ambaji village just outside the temple premises. The village is visited by the largest number of sanghas (pilgrim groups) during the fair. Many of them go there on foot, which is particularly enriching as it happens immediately after the monsoon, when the landscape is rich with greenery, streams are full of sparkling water and the air is fresh. About 1.5&nbsp;million devotees are known to attend this fair each year from all over the world. Not only Hindus, but some devout Jains and Parsis also attend the functions, while some Muslims attend the fair for trade.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The [[Tarnetar]] Fair is held during the first week of ''Bhadrapad'', (September–October according to [[Gregorian calendar]]), and mostly serves as a place to find a suitable bride for tribal people from Gujarat. The region is believed to be the place where [[Arjuna]] took up the difficult task of piercing the eye of a fish, rotating at the end of a pole, by looking at its reflection in the pond water, to marry [[Draupadi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tarnetar Fair |url=http://www.gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/tarnetar-mela.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018082543/http://gujaratindia.com/about-gujarat/tarnetar-mela.htm |archive-date=18 October 2011 |access-date=14 February 2012 |publisher=[[Government of Gujarat]]}}</ref>
Other fairs in Gujarat include Dang Durbar, Shamlaji Fair, Chitra Vichitra Fair, Dhrang Fair and Vautha Fair.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The Government of Gujarat has [[Alcohol laws of India|banned alcohol]] since 1960.<ref name="articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com">{{Cite web |title=Narendra Modi justifies gutkha ban in Gujarat |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-02/news/34218094_1_gutkha-ban-gujarat-chief-minister-prohibition-policy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006174131/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-02/news/34218094_1_gutkha-ban-gujarat-chief-minister-prohibition-policy |archive-date=6 October 2014 |access-date=30 September 2014 |website=The Economic Times}}</ref> In 2024, the Gujarat police seized around 82 lakh bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor, amounting to ₹144 crore.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 2025 |title=In dry Gujarat, a liquor bottle seized every 4 seconds |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/in-dry-gujarat-a-liquor-bottle-seized-every-4-seconds/articleshow/118696390.cms |access-date=7 March 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Gujarat government collected the ''Best State Award'' for 'Citizen Security' by IBN7 Diamond States on 24 December 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=STATE PROFILE |url=http://gujaratindia.com/state-profile/awards.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206120740/http://gujaratindia.com/state-profile/awards.htm |archive-date=6 February 2015 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Gujaratindia.com}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Statue of Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram.jpg|Statue of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in [[Sabarmati Ashram]], [[Ahmedabad]]
File:Somnath-current.jpg|[[Somnath Temple]], [[Veraval]]
File:Dwarkadheesh temple.jpg|[[Dwarkadhish Temple]], [[Dwarka]]
File:Damodar Kund - Junagadh - Gujarat - DSC001.jpg|[[Radha Damodar Temple, Junagadh]]
File:Vadnagar Torana.JPG|Kirti Toran, [[Vadnagar]]
File:Akshardham Gandhinagar Gujarat.jpg|[[Akshardham (Gandhinagar)|Akshardham]], [[Gandhinagar]]
File:Jama masjid in Champaner.JPG|[[Jama Mosque, Champaner]]
File:Lakhota Lake Museum.JPG|Lakhota Museum, [[Jamnagar]]
File:Sun Temple, Modhera 06.jpg|[[Sun Temple, Modhera]]
File:Laxmi Vilas Palace - Vadodara.jpg|[[Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara|Laxmi Vilas Palace]], [[Vadodara]]
File:Vijay Vilas - 2009.JPG|[[Vijay Vilas Palace]], [[Mandvi]], [[Kutch]]
File:Bahauddin Maqbara by Kshitij.jpg|[[Mahabat Maqbara]], [[Junagadh]]
File:Kutch Bhadreshwar Jain Temple.jpg|[[Vasai Jain Temple]], [[Kutch]]
File:Wankaner-palace.png|[[Ranjit Vilas Palace (Wankaner)|Ranjit Vilas Palace]], [[Wankaner]]
File:Mandvi Beach.jpg|[[Mandvi]] Beach, [[Kutch]]
</gallery>

== Transport ==
=== Air ===
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{{main|List of airports in Gujarat}}
{{Map/Airports in Gujarat}}
There are four international airports ([[Ahmedabad Airport|Ahmedabad]], [[Surat Airport|Surat]], [[Rajkot International Airport|Rajkot Int'l]], [[Vadodara Airport|Vadodara]]), eight domestic airports ([[Bhavnagar Airport|Bhavnagar]], [[Bhuj Airport|Bhuj]], [[Jamnagar Airport|Jamnagar]], [[Kandla Airport|Kandla]], [[Porbandar Airport|Porbandar]], [[Rajkot Airport|Rajkot]], [[Amreli Airport|Amreli]], [[Keshod Airport|Keshod]]), two private airports ([[Mundra Airport|Mundra]], [[Mithapur]]) and three military bases ([[Bhuj Rudra Mata Air Force Base|Bhuj]], [[Jamnagar Airport|Jamnagar]], [[Naliya Air Force Station|Naliya]]) in Gujarat. Three more airports ([[Dholera International Airport|Dholera]], [[Ankleshwar Airport|Ankleshwar]], [[Deesa Airport|Deesa]]) are under construction. There are two infrequently used airports situated at [[Mandvi]] and [[Mehsana Airport|Mehsana]]; the latter serving as a flying school. Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL) has been established by the Government of Gujarat to foster development of aviation infrastructure in the state.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Gujarat {{!}} Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited |url=https://gujsail.gujarat.gov.in/gujarat.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521063246/https://gujsail.gujarat.gov.in/gujarat.htm |archive-date=21 May 2019 |access-date=21 May 2019 |website=gujsail.gujarat.gov.in}}</ref>

These airports are operated and owned by either the [[Airports Authority of India]], [[Indian Air Force]], Government of Gujarat or private companies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Airports {{!}} Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited |url=https://gujsail.gujarat.gov.in/airports.htm |access-date=21 May 2019 |website=gujsail.gujarat.gov.in}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="GCAP">{{Cite web |title=Gujarat Civil Aviation Policy 2010 |url=http://cadgog.org/images/civil-aviation-policy-of-gujarat.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818221315/http://cadgog.org/images/civil-aviation-policy-of-gujarat.pdf |archive-date=18 August 2013 |access-date=19 April 2012 |publisher=Government of Gujarat}}</ref>

=== Rail ===
{{Main|:Category:Railway stations in Gujarat|l1 = Railway stations in Gujarat|:Indian Railways}}

{{Further|Pune – Mumbai – Ahmedabad High-Speed Passenger Corridor }}
Gujarat comes under the [[Western Railway Zone]] of the [[Indian Railways]]. [[Ahmedabad Junction railway station|Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station]] is the most important, centrally located and biggest railway station in Gujarat which connects to all important cities of Gujarat and India. [[Vadodara Junction railway station|Vadodara Junction Railway Station]] is the busiest railway station junction in Gujarat and the fifth busiest railway station in India. [[Surat railway station|Surat Railway Station]], [[Rajkot Junction railway station|Rajkot Junction Railway Station]], and [[Sabarmati Junction railway station|Sabarmati Junction Railway Station]] are the other busy and well connected railway stations in the state. Other important railway stations are [[Mahesana Junction railway station|Mahesana Junction]], [[Palanpur Junction railway station|Palanpur Junction]], [[Bhavnagar Terminus railway station|Bhavnagar Terminus]], [[Nadiad Junction railway station|Nadiad Junction]], [[Valsad railway station|Valsad Railway Station]], [[Bharuch Junction railway station|Bharuch Junction]], [[Gandhidham Junction railway station|Gandhidham Junction]], [[Anand Junction railway station|Anand Junction]], [[Godhra Junction railway station|Godhra Junction Railway Station]], etc.

Indian Railways is planning a dedicated rail freight route Delhi–Mumbai passing through the state of Gujarat.

[[High-speed rail in India|India's first high speed rail line]] is set to run from [[Ahmedabad]], the largest city in Gujarat to [[Mumbai]], the [[Financial centre|financial hub]] of India, with a top speed of 320&nbsp;km/h (200&nbsp;mph).

{{cvt|60.06|km|mi}} long tracks of [[Ahmedabad Metro]], a [[rapid transit|metro rail system]] for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is currently operational. The construction started on 14 March 2015.<ref name="DeshGuj32015">{{Cite web |last=DeshGujarat |date=14 March 2015 |title=First 6&nbsp;km works of Ahmedabad Metro to complete by September 2016:CM |url=http://deshgujarat.com/2015/03/14/first-6-km-works-of-ahmedabad-metro-to-complete-by-september-2016cm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404045909/http://deshgujarat.com/2015/03/14/first-6-km-works-of-ahmedabad-metro-to-complete-by-september-2016cm/ |archive-date=4 April 2015 |access-date=12 April 2015 |website=DeshGujarat}}</ref><ref name="gujarat">{{Cite web |title=Gujarat plans 12 giant industrial hubs |url=http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/21/slide-show-1-gujarat-plans-12-giant-industrial-hubs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721034644/http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/21/slide-show-1-gujarat-plans-12-giant-industrial-hubs.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=25 October 2010 |website=Rediff.com}}</ref>

=== Sea ===
{{Map/Ports and harbours of Gujarat}}
Gujarat State has the longest sea coastline of 1214&nbsp;km in India.
[[Mundra Port]] is the largest port as well as the highest capacity port in India, and it is also the largest container port by volume in the country. It is India's first private port owned and operated by [[Adani Ports & SEZ]]. [[Kandla Port]], owned by the central government and operated by Deendayal Port Authority, is one of the largest and busiest ports serving Western India. It has the third-highest cargo capacity in India. Other important ports in Gujarat are the [[Port of Navlakhi]], [[Port of Magdalla]], [[Port Pipavav]], [[Jamnagar|Bedi Port]], Port of [[Porbandar]], Port of [[Veraval]] and the privately. The state also has [[Dahej–Ghogha Sea Connect]], a Ro-Ro ferry service.<ref>{{Citation |title=What is Gujarat's Ro-Ro ferry service? |date=22 October 2017 |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/what-is/what-is-gujarat-ro-ro-ferry-service-ghogha-dahej-4900767/ |work=[[The Indian Express]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022074819/http://indianexpress.com/article/what-is/what-is-gujarat-ro-ro-ferry-service-ghogha-dahej-4900767/ |access-date=22 October 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Further|List of ports and harbours of Gujarat}}

=== Road ===
{{Main|List of National Highways in India#Gujarat|l1 = List of National Highways in Gujarat|List of state highways in Gujarat}}

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[[Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation]] (GSRTC) is the primary body responsible for providing the bus services within the state of Gujarat and also with the neighbouring states. It is a public transport corporation providing bus services and public transit within Gujarat and to the other states in India. Apart from this, there are a number of services provided by GSRTC.
*Mofussil Services&nbsp;– connects major cities, smaller towns and villages within Gujarat.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=GSRTC Services |url=http://www.discoveredindia.com/gujarat/gujarat-state-road-transport-corporation/services.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503044915/http://www.discoveredindia.com/gujarat/gujarat-state-road-transport-corporation/services.htm |archive-date=3 May 2018}}</ref>
*Intercity Bus Services&nbsp;– connects major cities&nbsp;– Ahmedabad,Mehsana, Surat, Veraval, Vapi, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bharuch etc.<ref name=":0" />
*Interstate Bus Services&nbsp;– connects various cities of Gujarat with the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.<ref name=":0" />
*City Services&nbsp;– GSRTC provides city bus services at Surat, Vadodara, Vapi, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, within the state of Gujarat.<ref name=":0" />
*Parcel Services&nbsp;– service used for transporting goods.<ref name=":0" />

Apart from this, the GSRTC provides special bus services for festivals, industrial zones, schools, colleges and pilgrim places also buses are given on contract basis to the public for certain special occasions.<ref name=":0" />

*There are also city buses in cities like Ahmedabad ([[Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service|AMTS]] and [[Ahmedabad BRTS]]), Surat ([[Surat BRTS]]), Bhavnagar (BMC CITY BUS), Vadodara (Vinayak Logistics), Gandhinagar (VTCOS), Mehsana (Mehsana Muncipal Bus Service), Rajkot (RMTS and [[Rajkot BRTS]]), Anand (VTCOS), Bharuch (Gurukrupa) etc.
[[Auto rickshaw]]s are common mode of transport in Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat is promoting bicycles to reduce pollution by the way of initiative taken by free cycle rides for commuters.

== Education and research ==
{{Main|Education in Gujarat}}

{{See also|List of institutions of higher education in Gujarat}}

The [[Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board]] (GSHSEB) are in charge of the schools run by the Government of Gujarat. However, most of the private schools in Gujarat are affiliated to the [[Central Board of Secondary Education]] (CBSE) and [[Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations]] (CISCE) board. Gujarat has 30 state universities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University grant commissions |url=https://www.ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/university?type=LZ1FUMk6U2JWGNLvhWfVSA== |access-date=12 April 2025 |archive-date=26 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626131419/https://www.ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/university?type=LZ1FUMk6U2JWGNLvhWfVSA== }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Central board of seconday education |url=https://www.cbse.gov.in/cbsenew/cbse.html}}</ref>

=== Universities ===
The [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]], Vadodara, is a premier university of Gujarat. It is one of the oldest universities of Gujarat and provides education in [[Faculty of Fine Arts]], Engineering, Arts, Journalism, Education, Law, Social Work, Medicine, Science and Performing Arts. Originally known as the Baroda College of Science (established 1881), it became a university in 1949 after the independence of the country and later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the former ruler of Baroda State.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda |url=https://msubaroda.ac.in/}}</ref>

[[Gujarat National Law University]], founded in 2004, located in the capital city Gandhinagar, was ranked 3rd best law school in India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consortium of NLUs |url=https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/ |access-date=12 April 2025 |website=consortiumofnlus.ac.in}}</ref>

Institutes for Engineering and Research in the area include [[IIT Gandhinagar]],[[Gujarat Technological University]], [[Indian Institute of Information Technology, Vadodara|Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara (IIITV)]], [[Institute of Infrastructure, Technology, Research and Management|Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM)]], [[Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology]] ([[DA-IICT]]) also in Gandhinagar, [[Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology]] ([[SVNIT]]) and [[P P Savani University]] in Surat, [[Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University]] (PDPU) in Gandhinagar, [[Nirma University]] in Ahmedabad, M.S. University in Vadodara, Marwadi Education Foundation's Group of Institutions (MEFGI) in Rajkot and [[Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya]] (BVM) in Vallabh Vidyanagar (a suburb in Anand district).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Engineering Colleges in Gujarat {{!}} List of Engineering Colleges in Gujarat |url=https://targetstudy.com/colleges/engineering-colleges-in-gujarat.html#google_vignette |access-date=12 April 2025 |website=targetstudy.com}}</ref>

MICA, [[MICA (institute)|Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad]], is a residential institute dedicated to marketing and communication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About MICA |url=https://www.mica.ac.in/introduction/about-mica |website=MICA}}</ref>

[[Institute of Rural Management Anand]] (IRMA), a part of [["Tribhuvan" Sahkari University]], is one of the leading sectoral institution in rural management. IRMA is a unique institution in the sense that it provides professional education to train managers for rural management.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Knowing IRMA True learning at its core |url=https://irma.ac.in/about-irma/knowing-irma |access-date=12 April 2025 |website=Institute of Rural Management Anand |language=en-us}}</ref>

The [[National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad|National Institute of Design]] (NID) in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is a multi-disciplinary institution in the field of design education and research.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.nid.edu/about |access-date=12 April 2025 |website=www.nid.edu}}</ref> Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology University (CEPT) is a planning and architectural school providing various technical and professional courses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CEPT University |url=https://cept.ac.in/ |access-date=12 April 2025 |website=cept.ac.in}}</ref>

[[Gujarat University]], [[Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya]], [[Sardar Patel University]], [[Ahmedabad University]], [[Saurashtra University]], [[Veer Narmad South Gujarat University]], Dharmsinh Desai University and [[Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University]] are also among reputed universities, affiliating many reputed colleges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of State Universities |url=https://uap.gujarat.gov.in/Home/Contents/ListofStateUniversities |website=University action plan Government of Gujarat }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="134">
File:Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, panorama 2006.jpg|[[Indian Institute of Management]], [[Ahmedabad]]
File:Gujarat National Law University, Administrative Block.jpg|The [[Gujarat National Law University]], [[Gandhinagar]]
File:Daiict-campus.jpg|Campus at [[Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology]], [[Gandhinagar]]
File:Gujarat University Tower Building, 2006-2.jpg|The clock tower in [[Gujarat University]], Ahmedabad
File:Baroda Techo.jpg|Kala Bhavan, [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]], [[Vadodara]]
</gallery>

=== Research ===
[[File:Rocket at Science City, Ahmedabad.JPG|thumb|upright|Rocket model at Science City, Ahmedabad]]

The [[Space Applications Centre]] (SAC) is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad, India, under the aegis of the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO). [[Vikram Sarabhai]], a renowned scientist, industrialist, and visionary Gujarati, played an important role in it. He also founded [[Physical Research Laboratory]], a research institute encompasses Astrophysics, Solar System, and cosmic radiation. He also envisioned [[Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad]], one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |title=India's top 50 business schools |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/top-50-business-school.jpg |access-date=23 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201080409/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/top-50-business-school.jpg |archive-date=1 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top B-schools in India |url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/mccode/bestbschools/top_b_schools_in_India.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218202628/http://www.moneycontrol.com/mccode/bestbschools/top_b_schools_in_India.php |archive-date=18 February 2012 |access-date=23 February 2012 |publisher=CNBC-TV18}}</ref>

[[Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute]] has been established under [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] Government of India at Bhavnagar. It was inaugurated by Late Pandit [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the [[List of Prime Ministers of India|first]] [[Prime Minister of India]] on 10 April 1954, with a view to carry out research on marine salt, and salt from inland lakes and sub-soil brine. It is working on [[reverse osmosis]], electro membrane process, salt and marine chemicals, analytical science, marine biotechnology, and other related fields. The [[Gujarat National Law University]] situated at Gandhinagar is the 5th Best Law School currently in India.

[[Gujarat Science City]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 June 2010 |title=Gujarat Science City |url=http://www.scity.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726171222/http://www.scity.org/ |archive-date=26 July 2010 |access-date=16 July 2010 |publisher=Scity.org}}</ref> is a government initiative to draw more students towards education in science, which hosts India's first [[IMAX]] 3D theatre, an energy park, a hall of science, an [[amphitheatre]], and dancing [[musical fountain]]s among others. Institute of Management under Nirma University is constantly ranked among the top MBA colleges in India. [[International Institute of Management and Technical Studies]] affiliated with Gujarat Knowledge Society, [[European Association for Distance Learning]], Association of Indian Management Schools and [[Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association]] has performed globally for its [[higher education]] certification courses for working professionals. IIMT STUDIES also launched GET SET GO programme in 2013 in affiliation with [[Gujarat Technological University]] and Gujarat Knowledge Society, [[Department of Technical Education]]- [[Government of Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.gtu.ac.in/circulars/14May/13052014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802142737/http://www.gtu.ac.in/circulars/14May/13052014.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Gtu.ac.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarat Knowledge Society |url=http://gksgujarat.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217081456/http://gksgujarat.org/ |archive-date=17 December 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Gksgujarat.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=IIMT -International Institute of Management and Technical Studies-Distance Education Distance Learning Institute |url=http://iimtstudies.edu.in/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218123529/http://iimtstudies.edu.in/ |archive-date=18 December 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Iimtstudies.edu.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) |url=http://www.aims.org.in/cmspage.php?sid=UzI0NDQ= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224112241/http://www.aims.org.in/cmspage.php?sid=UzI0NDQ= |archive-date=24 December 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Aims.org.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=India |url=http://www.eadl.org/members/india/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102052018/http://www.eadl.org/members/india/ |archive-date=2 January 2016 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Eadl.org}}</ref> [[B.K. School of Business Management]] is ranked sixth in financial management. [[K. S. School of Business Management]] is also an MBA college in [[Gujarat University]] providing a five-year integrated MBA course. Shanti Business School in Ahmedabad is a business school offering a post-graduate diploma in management through a corporate citizenship initiative.

The Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) was established by the Science and Technology Department, Government of Gujarat, in 2003 and is registered as a society. ISR campus is at Raisan, Gandhinagar, on the banks of Sabarmati river. Aims and objectives include assigning optimum seismic factors for buildings in different regions and long-term assessment of potential. The ISR is the only institute in India fully dedicated to seismological research and is planned to be developed into a premier international institute in few years time.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

== Notable people ==
{{See also|List of people from Gujarat}}
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* [[Gautam Adani]], founder and chairman of [[Adani Group]]; from [[Ahmedabad]], Gujarat
* [[Lal Krishna Advani]], ex-president of [[BJP]] and Deputy Prime Minister of India (1999–2004)
* [[Dhirubhai Ambani]], founder of [[Reliance Industries]]; from [[Chorvad]], Gujarat<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 January 2020 |title=Dhirubhai Ambani – The founder of Reliance |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dhirubhai-Ambani |access-date=20 May 2020 |website=Britannica |language=en-US |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807102732/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dhirubhai-Ambani |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Jasprit Bumrah]], Indian bowler who plays for Indian National Cricket team (all formats), from [[Ahmedabad]].
* [[Morarji Desai]], 4th Prime Minister of India (1977–1979); from Valsad
* [[Urvashi Dholakia]], Television & Bollywood actress
* [[Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi]], Architect, Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate
* [[Dadudan Gadhvi]] (Kavi DadBapu), poet, singer and lyricist of [[Gujarati cinema|Gujarati Cinema]], [[Padma Shri|Padmashri]] title given in 2021
* [[Mahatma Gandhi]], spearheaded the [[Indian independence movement]] against [[British India|British colonial rule]]; Gujarati<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modern Gujarat |url=https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/gujarat/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024600/https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/gujarat/ |archive-date=5 April 2018 |access-date=4 April 2018 |publisher=Mapsofindia.com}}</ref>
* [[Ravindra Jadeja]], Indian all-rounder & part of the Indian U-19 cricket team, from [[Navagam Ghed]]
* [[Sanjeev Kumar]] a Versatility Bollywood actor, Born in [[Surat]]
* [[Shri Gopinathji Maharaj]], family founder
* [[Narendra Modi]], 14th and current [[Prime Minister of India]]; from [[Vadnagar]], Gujarat<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 May 2020 |title=narendra modi |url=https://www.narendramodi.in/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002045436/https://www.narendramodi.in/ |archive-date=2 October 2019 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=narendramodi.in}}</ref>
* [[Asha Parekh]] influential actress in Hindi cinema, she was born in Ahmedabad
* [[Urjit Patel]], former Governor of Reserve Bank of India; from [[Kheda district]], Gujarat
* [[Vallabhbhai Patel]], Independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister; from [[Karamsad]]
* [[Falguni Pathak]], a female singer and performing artist born & brought up in [[Vadodara]], who currently resides in Mumbai
* [[Azim Premji]], software magnate and chairman of [[Wipro Limited]]; ethnically Gujarati<ref>{{Cite news |last=Patel, Aakar |date=16 May 2016 |title=The Muslim businessmen of India |work=DNA |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_the-muslim-businessmen-of-india_1383602 |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203054158/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_the-muslim-businessmen-of-india_1383602 |archive-date=3 February 2013}}</ref>
* [[Cheteshwar Pujara]], Indian batter who plays fior Indian National Cricket Test team, from [[Rajkot]].
* [[Shrimad Rajchandra]], poet, philosopher and reformer best known as the spiritual guru of Mahatma Gandhi<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jathar, Dnyanesh |date=16 July 2016 |title=Indian who inspired Gandhi |work=The Week |url=http://www.theweek.in/theweek/statescan/mahatma-gandhis-mentor-shrimad-rajchandra.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217195207/http://www.theweek.in/theweek/statescan/mahatma-gandhis-mentor-shrimad-rajchandra.html |archive-date=17 February 2018}}</ref>
* [[Paresh Rawal]], Indian film actor and politician of Gujarati origin born in Mumbai
* [[Vikram Sarabhai]], "father of the Indian space programme"; from Ahmedabad<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=30 December 2013 |title=Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian Space Program passed away 45 years ago |url=https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/vikram-sarabhai-the-father-of-the-indian-space-program-passed-away-45-years-ago-3695105.html |magazine=First Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024557/https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/vikram-sarabhai-the-father-of-the-indian-space-program-passed-away-45-years-ago-3695105.html |archive-date=5 April 2018 |access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>
* [[Dayananda Saraswati]] is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, Born in [[Tankara]]
* [[Amit Shah]], 31st and [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Current Home Minister of India]], former [[Minister of State]], Government of Gujarat; born in [[Mumbai]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Balan |first=Premal |date=10 July 2014 |title=Amit Shah: An organisation man at helm |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/amit-shah-an-organisation-man-at-helm-114071000099_1.html |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115205507/https://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/amit-shah-an-organisation-man-at-helm-114071000099_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Jamsetji Tata]], pioneer industrialist, founder of the [[Tata Group]]; from a [[Parsi]] family of [[Navsari]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tata Steel |url=http://www.tatasteel100.com/people/index.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208061222/http://www.tatasteel100.com/people/index.asp |archive-date=8 December 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014 |publisher=Tatasteel100.com}}</ref>
* [[Shyamji Krishna Varma]], an Indian revolutionary fighter, an Indian patriot, lawyer and journalist From Kutch

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==Sister states==

* {{flag|New Jersey}}, United States (September 2019)<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 2019 |title=Gujarat, New Jersey ink sister state MoU |work=Business Standard India |agency=Press Trust of India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/gujarat-new-jersey-ink-sister-state-mou-119092100944_1.html |access-date=12 April 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413002227/https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/gujarat-new-jersey-ink-sister-state-mou-119092100944_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flag|Delaware}}, United States (September 2019)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gujarat Govt, Delaware State of America sign MoU for sister state |url=http://www.newsonair.com/Main-News-Details.aspx?title=Gujarat-Govt,-Delaware-State-of-America-sign-MoU-for-sister-state&id=371134 |access-date=12 April 2020 |website=newsonair.com |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712203325/http://www.newsonair.com/Main-News-Details.aspx?title=Gujarat-Govt,-Delaware-State-of-America-sign-MoU-for-sister-state&id=371134 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flag|California}}, United States<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4 {{!}} Senate Office of International Relations |url=https://soir.senate.ca.gov/scr42001 |access-date=13 April 2020 |website=soir.senate.ca.gov |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413002225/https://soir.senate.ca.gov/scr42001 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flag|Hyōgo Prefecture}}, Japan (November 2019)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan Information & Study Centre |url=https://www.japancentreatama.com/ |access-date=13 April 2020 |website=Japan Information and Study Centre |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413002229/https://www.japancentreatama.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Experts |first=Disha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_yzDwAAQBAJ&q=gujarat+sister+state+hyogo&pg=PA65 |title=Quarterly Current Affairs Vol. 3 – July to September 2019 for Competitive Exams |date=25 September 2019 |publisher=Disha Publications |isbn=978-93-89418-63-7 |language=en |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414110128/https://books.google.com/books?id=h_yzDwAAQBAJ&q=gujarat+sister+state+hyogo&pg=PA65 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|China}} [[Guangdong]], China (2014)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Panda |first=Jagannath P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zi8lDwAAQBAJ&q=gujarat+sister+state&pg=PA28 |title=India-China Relations: Politics of Resources, Identity and Authority in a Multipolar World Order |date=4 October 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-56381-5 |language=en |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414105711/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zi8lDwAAQBAJ&q=gujarat+sister+state&pg=PA28 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=IANS |date=7 June 2019 |title=Gujarat, Guangdong look to strengthen trade relations |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/gujarat-guangdong-look-to-strengthen-trade-relations-119060800006_1.html |access-date=12 April 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413002227/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/gujarat-guangdong-look-to-strengthen-trade-relations-119060800006_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flag|Astrakhan Oblast}}, Russia<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Upadhyay |first1=Dadan |last2=RIR |first2=specially for |date=9 December 2015 |title=Modi to reconnect in Russia with Astrakhan |url=https://www.rbth.com/economics/cooperation/2015/12/09/modi-to-reconnect-in-russia-with-astrakhan_548683 |access-date=12 April 2020 |website=rbth.com |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412234439/https://www.rbth.com/economics/cooperation/2015/12/09/modi-to-reconnect-in-russia-with-astrakhan_548683 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Upadhyay |first=Dadan |date=16 January 2017 |title=Russia, India turn to Gujarat to help increase trade turnover |url=https://www.rbth.com/economics/business/2017/01/16/russia-india-turn-to-gujarat-to-help-increase-trade-turnover_681841 |access-date=12 April 2020 |website=rbth.com |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413002227/https://www.rbth.com/economics/business/2017/01/16/russia-india-turn-to-gujarat-to-help-increase-trade-turnover_681841 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Cuttanee]]
* [[Dharasana Satyagraha]]
* [[Navnirman Andolan]]
* [[Outline of Gujarat]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited sources ==
* {{Cite book |last1=Bleeker |first1=Claas Jouco |year=1971 |title=Historia Religionum: Religions of the present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3rrQY1tzLQUC |volume=II |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-02598-1 |last2=Widengren |first2=Geo}}
* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=Mary |year=2001 |title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6gbxVfjtUEC |edition=2nd |place=New York |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |isbn=978-0-415-23902-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hodivala |first=Shahpurshah Hormasji |year=1920 |title=Studies in Parsi History |url=https://archive.org/details/studiesinparsihi00hodiuoft&printsec=frontcover |place=Bombay |publisher=Captain Print Works}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Abraham Valentine Williams |year=1906 |title=Persia Past and Present: A Book of Travel and Research, with More Than Two Hundred Illustrations and a Map |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9coAAAAYAAJ |publisher=The Macmillan Company}}
* {{Cite book |last=Khanbaghi |first=Aptin |year=2006 |title=The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iAbUEaXnfEC |edition=reprint |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-84511-056-7}}

== Further reading ==
* Yazdani, Kaveh (2017). ''India, Modernity and the Great Divergence: Mysore and Gujarat (17th to 19th C.)''. Leiden: Brill. xxxi + 669 pp. [http://eh.net/?s=gujarat Online review].

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Gujarat}}
; Government
* {{Official website}}
* [https://igod.gov.in/sg/GJ/categories Gujarat web directory]
* [https://www.gujarattourism.com/ Official tourism site 1] 
* [https://tourism.gujarat.gov.in/ Official tourism site 2]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}  
; General information  
* {{GovPubs|Gujarat}} 
* {{Britannica|249059|Gujarat}}   
* {{osmrelation-inline|1949080}}

{{Geographic location
| Centre    = Gujarat
| North     = [[Rajasthan]]
| Northeast = [[Rajasthan]]
| East      = [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| Southeast = [[Daman and Diu]]<br />[[Dadra and Nagar Haveli]]<br />[[Maharashtra]]
| South     = ''[[Arabian Sea]]''<br />[[Maharashtra]]
| Southwest = ''[[Arabian Sea]]''
| West      = ''[[Arabian Sea]]''
| Northwest = [[Sindh]], {{flagu|Pakistan}}
}}
{{Gujarat}}
{{States and territories of India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gujarat| ]]
[[Category:1960 establishments in India]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1960]]
[[Category:States and union territories of India]]