Gujarat

Modern Indian state, located on the
Arabian Sea at the border with
Pakistan. Gujarat is one of the socalled linguistic states formed after
Indian independence to unite government people with a common language and culture (in this case,
Gujarati). It was formed in 1960 by
splitting what was Bombay into the
present states of Gujarat and
Maharashtra. Gujarat’s presence by
the sea has given the area a long history as a trading center, beginning as
the port of Lothal in the Indus Valley
civilization, one of the earliest, highly
developed urban cultures.
Most of the Indians who migrated
to Kenya, Uganda, and other parts of
East Africa are Gujaratis; substantial
numbers of Gujaratis have migrated to
the United Kingdom and the United
States, especially New York City.
Gujarat is also famous as the birthplace of Mohandas Gandhi. The
Sabarmati Ashram near the city of
Ahmedabad in Gujarat was his home
base during much of the struggle for
independence. Gujarat is also famous
for several prominent holy places:
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Gujarat
Dwaraka, which is the site of
Krishna’s mythical kingdom, as well as
the location of the Sharada math of
the Dashanami Sanyasis religious
community; Somnath, which is one of
the twelve sites where Shiva,
in his first manifestation as the
jyotirlinga, came to earth; and
Girnar, which is famous as a dwellingplace for ascetics. For general
information about Gujarat and all
the regions of India, an accessible
reference is Christine Nivin et al.,
India. 8th ed., Lonely Planet, 1998.