West India

Gujarat  *

 

    Gujarat occupies the northern extremity of India’s western seaboard. It comprises of three geographical regions - the peninsular hilly land mass known as Saurashtra, barren and rocky Kutch in the north east, and the mainland extending from the Rann and the Aravali mountain ranges to river Daman Ganga.

 

    Gujarat ranks first in the country in production of cotton and groundnut, and second in the production of tobacco. Cotton crop and oilseeds have provided a good foundation for the textile and soap industry. The chief food crops are paddy, wheat and bajra.

Gujarat is irrigated by the rivers Narmada, Tapti and Sabarmati. Gujarat became a state on May 1, 1960 when the state of Bombay was reorganized to separate the Gujarati speaking areas.

 

    The White (Dairy) Revolution started in Gujarat and spread from there to many other parts of the land. Gujarat is a major salt producing state and its output contributes 60 per cent of the national figure.

 

    By the beginning of the decade of the 90s Gujarat ranked second after Maharashtra in percentage share of gross value of output. Gujarat is a major producer of inorganic chemicals such as soda ash and caustic soda. It also is a major centre for chemical fertilizers. It has the largest petro-chemical complex in the country. Exploration and production of oil and natural gas has continued apace at Ankaleshwar, Cambay and Kalol. The ancient port town of Bharoch has been rejuvenated with the establishment of a state-of-the-art fertilizer factory.

 

    Gujarat has many firsts to its credit - it built the first express way in the land between Ahmedabad and Vadodara, it enjoys first position in the national bio-gas project.

 

    Gujarat has four national parks and eleven sanctuaries. The sanctuary at Gir is the world’s last habitat of the Asiatic Lion. These are major tourist attractions. The exquisitely carved Jain temples at Palitana perched atop a hill command a breathtaking view. Somnath and Dwaraka by the sea are important Hindu shrines.

 

    The Dandiya Ras and Garba are the colourful folk dance forms of this region.