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Information on Gujarat

The climate of Gujarat is moist in the southern districts and dry in the northern region. Due to the Arabian sea and the Gulf of Cambay Gujarat's climate is pleasant and healthy.

The seasons can be divided into: the winter season from November to February, the hot season from March to May, the south-west monsoon season from June to September and the intervening month of October.

The people of Gujarat also known as Gujarat trace their lineage from the people originally known as Gurjars. They are believed to have come to India with the Huns and while passing through Punjab, settled in Gujarat.

The Kutchis are those who were the natives of the peninsula of Kutch. They have their own dialects. The Kutchis are both Hindus and Muslims and a large number of them have migrated from Sindh.

The Jadeja Rajputs, the Lohanas and even the Muslims many of whom are 'Maldharis' ,the cattle-breeders, have all come from Sindh consequent upon their defeat at the hands of some kings or as a result of some religious persecution.

Rabaris' are a community of cattle-breeders who have migrated from Sindh and Marwar and claim a Rajput ancestry. The Rabaris stand out prominently by their features and dress. They lead a nomadic life.

Gujarat stands the first in the production of cotton, groundnut, salt and milk in India. It stands second in the production of tobacco and third in pharmaceuticals. Gujarat also boasts the country's largest petro-chemical complex in the country.

Gujarat is steeped in tradition,where festivals abound. On 14 January, every year Ahmedabad hosts an international kite festival on Makar Sankranti. A three-day extravaganza takes place towards the end of August every year at Tarnetar,176 km from Ahmedabad. According to myth, the brave Arjuna won the hand of the fair Draupadi here.

And the most-eagerly awaited festival is Navaratri consisting of nine nights of festivity when the entire state resounds with the beat of the dhol,cymbals,flute and the thrilling wail of the shehnai. Every street and village square comes alive with men and women, young and old,dancing the raas garba from late night to the wee hours of the morning.

Gujarat gets its name from the people called Gurjars who rose to prominence in the sixth century A.D. But nobody is sure about where the Gurjars came from. According to some historians they were foreigners who came with the Central Asian invaders called Huns. Others say they were a hill tribe of Rajasthan that grew in power after the destruction of Huns had destroyed or dispersed the ruling class.

Downfall of the once mighty Gupta empire led them to take control of the regions of Punjab, Marwar and Broach. At the end of the 9th century they were succeeded by the Solankis or Chalukyas.

Gujarat power on the western coast facilitated trade with the Arabs and others contributing to its prosperity down the ages. But invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni sacked Somnath in 1025 A.D. Later in 1297 Gujarat passed into the hands of Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi. After that a long period of Muslim rule followed. Ahmad Shah became the first independent ruler of Gujarat founded Ahmedabad in 1411. In the 1570's the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Gujarat. In the mid-1700's it was overrun by the Marathas.

In 1612 the British made Surat as their base and later went on to establish an empire in the country. However after the India's independence the present-day boundaries of Gujarat were drawn in 1960 when the former princely states of Saurashtra were constituted into a new state.