title: Vulva

text: Surgery (with or without removal of regional lymph nodes) is usually the primary treatment modality. Typically, a wide-local excision is performed, in which the tumor is excised including a safety-margin of healthy tissue to ensure its entire removal, which is confirmed by a pathologist. In more advanced disease, a (partial) vulvectomy may need to be performed in order to remove some or all of the vulva. Advanced-stage melanomas can be treated with checkpoint inhibitors.


title: Vulva

text: Labial fusion, also called "labial adhesion", is the fusion of the labia minora. This affects a number of young girls and is not considered unduly problematic. The condition can usually be treated using creams, or it may right itself with the release of hormones at the onset of puberty.


title: Vulva

text: Vulvodynia is chronic pain in the vulvar region. There is no single identifiable cause. A subtype of this is vulvar vestibulitis but since this is not thought to be an inflammatory condition it is more usually referred to as "vestibulodynia". Vulvar vestibulitis usually affects pre-menopausal women.


title: Vulva

text: A number of skin disorders such as lichen sclerosus, and lichen simplex chronicus can affect the vulva. Crohn's disease of the vulva is an uncommon form of metastatic Crohn's disease which manifests as a skin condition showing as hypertrophic lesions or vulvar abscesses. Papillary hidradenomas are nodules that can ulcerate and are mostly found on the skin of the labia or of the interlabial folds. Another more complex ulcerative condition is hidradenitis suppurativa which is characterised by painful cysts that can ulcerate, and recur, and can become chronic lasting for many years. Chronic cases can develop into squamous cell carcinomas. An asymptomatic skin disorder of the vulval vestibule is vestibular papillomatosis which is characterised by fine, pink projections from either the epithelium of the vulva or from the labia minora. Dermatoscopy can distinguish this condition from genital warts. A subtype of psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, is inverse psoriasis in which red patches can appear in the skin folds of the labia.


title: Vulva

text: During childbirth, the vagina and vulva must stretch to accommodate the baby's head (approximately ). This can result in tears known as perineal tears in the vaginal opening, and other structures within the perineum. An episiotomy (a pre-emptive surgical cutting of the perineum) is sometimes performed to facilitate delivery and limit tearing. A tear takes longer to heal than an incision. Tears and incisions may be repaired using sutures that may be layered. Among the methods of hair removal evaluated for pre-surgeries, pubic hair shaving known as "prepping", was seen to increase the risk of surgical site infections. No advantages have been demonstrated in the routine shaving of pubic hair prior to childbirth.


title: Vulva

text: Genitoplasties are plastic surgeries that can be carried out to repair, restore or alter vulvar tissues, particularly following damage caused by injury or cancer treatment. These procedures include vaginoplasty which can also be performed as a cosmetic surgery. Other cosmetic surgeries to change the appearance of external structures include labiaplasties. Some of these procedures, vaginoplasties and labiaplasties, are also carried out as sex reassignment surgeries.


title: Vulva

text: The use of cosmetic surgeries has been criticized by clinicians. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women be informed of the risks of these surgeries. They refer to the lack of data relevant to their safety and effectiveness and to the potential associated risks such as infection, altered sensation, dyspareunia, adhesions, and scarring. There is also a percentage of people seeking cosmetic surgery who may be suffering from body dysmorphic disorder and surgery in these cases can be counterproductive.


title: Vulva

text: In some cultural practices, particularly in the African Khoikhoi and Rwanda cultures, the labia minora are purposefully stretched by repeated pulling on them and sometimes by attaching weights. Labia stretching is a recognised, familial cultural practice in parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. This is a desired and encouraged practice by the women (starting at puberty) in order to promote better sexual satisfaction for both parties. The achieved extensions can hang down below the labia majora for up to seven inches. Children in the African diaspora practise this too, so it occurs within immigrant communities in, for example, Britain, where a BBC report labelled it a hidden form of child abuse The girls are subject to familial and social pressure to conform.


title: Vulva

text: In some cultures, including modern Western culture, women have shaved or otherwise removed the hair from part or all of the vulva. When high-cut swimsuits became fashionable, women who wished to wear them would remove the hair on either side of their pubic triangles, to avoid exhibiting pubic hair. Other women prefer to retain their vulva hair. The removal of hair from the vulva is a fairly recent phenomenon in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, usually in the form of bikini waxing or Brazilian waxing, but has been prevalent in many Eastern European and Middle Eastern cultures for centuries, usually due to the idea that it may be more hygienic, or originating in prostitution and pornography. Hair removal may include all, most, or some of the hair. French waxing leaves a small amount of hair on either side of the labia or a strip directly above and in line with the pudendal cleft called a "landing strip". Islam teaching includes Muslim hygienical jurisprudence a practice of which is the removal of pubic hair.


title: Vulva

text: Several forms of genital piercings can be made in the vulva, and include the Christina piercing, the Nefertiti piercing, the fourchette piercing, and labia piercings. Piercings are usually performed for aesthetic purposes, but some forms like the clitoral hood piercing might also enhance pleasure during sex. Though they are common in traditional cultures, intimate piercings are a fairly recent trend in Western society. Other forms of permanent modifications of the vulva for cultural, decorative or aesthetic reasons are genital tattoos or scarification (so-called "hanabira").


title: Vulva

text: Female genital surgery includes laser resurfacing of the labia to remove wrinkles, labiaplasty (reducing the size of the labia) and vaginoplasty. In September 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a committee opinion on these and other female genital surgeries, including "vaginal rejuvenation", "designer vaginoplasty", "revirgination", and "G-spot amplification". This opinion states that the safety of these procedures has not been documented. The ACOG and the ISSVD recommend that women seeking these surgeries need to be informed about the lack of data supporting these procedures and the potential associated risks such as infection, altered sensation, dyspareunia, adhesions, and scarring.


title: Vulva

text: With the growing popularity of female cosmetic genital surgeries, the practice increasingly draws criticism from an opposition movement of cyberfeminist activist groups and platforms, called the labia pride movement. The major point of contention is that heavy advertising for these procedures, in combination with a lack of public education, fosters body insecurities in women with larger labia in spite of the fact that there is normal and pronounced individual variation in the size of labia. The preference for smaller labia is a matter of a fashion fad and is without clinical or functional significance.


title: Vulva

text: The most prevalent form of non-consensual genital alteration is that of female genital mutilation. This mostly involves the partial or complete removal of genital organs. Female genital mutilation is carried out in thirty countries in Africa and Asia with more than 200 million girls being affected, and some women (as of 2018). Nearly all of the procedures are carried out on young girls. The practices are also carried out globally among migrants from these areas. Female genital mutilation is claimed to be mostly carried out for cultural traditional reasons.


title: Vulva

text: The word "vulva" is Latin for "womb". It derives from the 1540s in referring to the womb and female sexual organs, from the earlier "volvere" meaning to turn, roll or revolve, with further derivatives such as used in volvox, and volvulus (twisted bowel). The naming of the female (and male) genitals as , meaning parts to be ashamed of, dates from the mid-17th century. The naming influenced the general perception of the vulva and this is shown in depicted gynaecological procedures. The examiner shown in the "Obstetrical examination" dated 1822, is adopting the compromise procedure where the woman's genitals cannot be seen.


title: Vulva

text: There are many sexual slang terms used for the vulva. Cunt, a medieval word for the vulva and once the standard term, has become a vulgarism, and in other uses one of the strongest offensive and abusive swearwords in English-speaking cultures. The word has been replaced in normal usage by a few euphemisms including pussy (vulgar slang) and fanny (UK) which used to be a common pet name. In the UK these terms have other non-sexual meanings that lend themselves to "double entendres", such as pussy which is used as a term of endearment for a pet cat – pussy cat. In North American informal use the term pussy can also refer to a weak or effeminate man, and fanny is a term used for the buttocks. Other slang terms are muff, snatch, twat, and crotch. Vagina is often used as a synonym for vulva even though it is a separate part of the anatomy.


title: Vulva

text: Some cultures have long celebrated and even worshipped the vulva. During the Uruk period ( 4000–3100 BC), the ancient Sumerians regarded the vulva as sacred and a vast number of Sumerian poems praising the vulva of Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and fertility, have survived. In Sumerian religion, the goddess Nin-imma is the divine personification of female genitalia. Vaginal fluid is always described in Sumerian texts as tasting "sweet" and, in a Sumerian bridal hymn, a young maiden rejoices that her vulva has grown hair. Clay models of vulvas were discovered in the temple of Inanna at Ashur.


title: Vulva

text: Some major Hindu traditions such as Shaktism, a goddess-centred tradition, revere the vulva and vagina under the name yoni. The goddess as Devi is worshipped as the supreme deity. The yoni is a representation of the female deity and is found in many temples as a focus for prayer and offerings. It is also represented symbolically as a mudra in spiritual practices, including yoga.


title: Vulva

text: Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are found in ancient and medieval European contexts. They are displayed on many churches, but their origin and significance is debatable. A main line of thinking is that they were used to ward off evil spirits. Another view is that the sheela na gig was a divine assistant in childbirth. Starr Goode explores the image and possible meanings of the Sheela na gig and Baubo images in particular, but writes also about the recurring image worldwide. Through hundreds of photographs, she demonstrates that the image of a female displaying her vulva is not specific to European religious art or architecture, but that similar images are found in the visual arts and in mythical narratives of goddesses and heroines parting their thighs to reveal what she calls, "sacred powers." Her theory is that "the image is so rooted in our psyches that it seems as if the icon is the original cosmological center of the human imagination."


title: Vulva

text: " ("Origin of the world") painted by Gustave Courbet in 1866 was an early Realist painting of a vulva that only became exhibited many years later. The painting was commissioned by Ottoman diplomat Halil Şerif Paşa. The woman used as the model for the painting was probably Halil's lover Constance Quéniaux. However another potential model is Marie-Anne Detourbay, who was also a lover of Halil Şerif Pasha.


title: Vulva

text: Japanese sculptor and manga artist Megumi Igarashi has focused much of her work on painting and modelling vulvas and vulva-themed works. She has used molds to create dioramas – three-dimensional models of her vulva with the hope of demystifying the female genitals.


title: Vulva

text: An art installation called "The Dinner Party" by feminist artist, Judy Chicago, portrays a symbolic history of famous women. The dinner plates each depict an elaborate vulval form and they are arranged in a triangular vulva shape. Another installation was made by British artist Jamie McCartney who used the casts of four hundred vulvas to create "The Great Wall of Vagina" in 2011. The vagina casts are life-size. Explanations written by the project's sexual health adviser accompany these. The purpose of the artist was to "address some of the stigmas and misconceptions that are commonplace".


title: Kiara Advani

text: Alia Advani (born 31 July 1991), known professionally as Kiara Advani (), is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu language films. After making her acting debut in the comedy film "Fugly" (2014), she played MS Dhoni's wife in the sports biopic "" (2016). She gained praise for playing a sexually unsatisfied wife in the Netflix anthology film "Lust Stories" (2018) and played the leading lady in the political thriller "Bharat Ane Nenu" (2018).


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani received wider attention for starring in the romantic drama "Kabir Singh" and the comedy "Good Newwz", two of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2019. She won the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. This success continued with her roles in the 2021 film "Shershaah", for which she was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and the 2022 films "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" and "Jugjugg Jeeyo".


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani was born to Jagdeep Advani, a Sindhi Hindu businessman and Genevieve Jaffrey, a teacher whose father was a Muslim from Lucknow and whose mother was a Christian of Scottish, Irish, Portuguese, and Spanish ancestry. She is related to several celebrities through her maternal family. Actors Ashok Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey are her step-great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani attended the Cathedral and John Connon School, and later attended Jai Hind College where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Born as Alia Advani, she changed her first name to Kiara prior to the release of her first film, "Fugly", in 2014. Her choice of the name was inspired from Priyanka Chopra's character Kiara in the film "Anjaana Anjaani" (2010). She has stated that it was Salman Khan's suggestion to change her name, as Alia Bhatt was already an established actress.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani began her acting career with the Hindi ensemble comedy film "Fugly" (2014). Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Kiara Advani catches you completely unaware" and has the "combination of looks and talent". Mehul S Thakkar of "Deccan Chronicle" found her "very striking" and said that she "shows a lot of promise". "Fugly" underperformed at the box office. Two years later, Advani appeared in the sports drama "" (2016), a biopic of cricketer MS Dhoni who served as the former captain of Indian cricket team. She had a supporting role opposite Sushant Singh Rajput (who essayed Dhoni), as the real-life character of his wife, hotel manager Sakshi Rawat. "M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story" was a major commercial success with global revenues of over .


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani then starred in Abbas–Mustan's action thriller "Machine" (2017). It failed at the box office. She next collaborated with filmmaker Karan Johar, for their first of many films, in the Netflix anthological film "Lust Stories" (2018), where she starred opposite Vicky Kaushal as his sexually dissatisfied wife. Writing for "NDTV", Raja Sen found her to be "positively lovely" in it. She also featured with Shahid Kapoor in the music video "Urvashi", sung by Yo Yo Honey Singh.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani expanded to Telugu cinema in 2018, appearing with Mahesh Babu in the action film "Bharat Ane Nenu" from Koratala Siva, about a student who unexpectedly becomes the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Janani K of "India Today" opined that she "shines in her brief role" but added that her character was "more of an eye-candy who doesn't add any purpose to the story". The film grossed worldwide, making it one of Telugu cinema's highest grossers. She, however, failed to replicate this success with her second Telugu film, "Vinaya Vidheya Rama", co-starring Ram Charan. In a scathing review for "The Hindu", Sangeetha Devi Dundoo wrote, "It isn't Kiara Advani's fault that she looks lost in the melee." In the same year, she had a guest appearance in Abhishek Varman's ensemble period film "Kalank", produced by Johar.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani received wider attention later in 2019 for Sandeep Reddy Vanga's romantic drama "Kabir Singh", starring Shahid Kapoor. The film had a worldwide gross of over becoming her highest-grossing release, but critics panned it due to its depiction of misogyny and toxic masculinity. Rajeev Masand bemoaned that her passive character "offers the actress little to work with". She then starred in the comedy "Good Newwz" alongside Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, about two couples tryst with in vitro fertilization. Namrata Joshi opined, "Dosanjh and Advani are all about the amplification of the boisterous, kitschy Punjabi stereotype but they play it with an infectious cheer." Both "Kabir Singh" and "Good Newwz" grossed over each domestically, ranking among the year's highest-grossing films. She won the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Good Newwz".


title: Kiara Advani

text: In 2020, Advani starred in Johar's production "Guilty", a Netflix film about sexual assault. Ektaa Malik of "The Indian Express" believed that she had been "reduced to the 'tortured-artistic-creative' types" She then played the wife of Akshay Kumar's character in Raghava Lawrence's horror comedy "Laxmii", in which Kumar's character gets possessed by a transgender ghost. "Laxmii" was released digitally on Disney+ Hotstar owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and met with negative reviews. Even so, it attained a strong viewership on the platform. In her final release of 2020, Advani starred in the unremarkable romantic comedy "Indoo Ki Jawani" (2020).


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani next featured in the war film "Shershaah" (2021), based on the life of army officer Vikram Batra (played by Sidharth Malhotra), in which she played Batra's girlfriend. The film released digitally on Amazon Prime Video, on which it became the most-streamed Indian film. Anna M. M. Vetticad of "Firstpost" opined that Advani "sparkles" in her brief role. She received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.


title: Kiara Advani

text: The following year, she appeared with Kartik Aaryan and Tabu in the comedy horror film "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2". Shalini Langer of "The Indian Express" wrote that she "has little to do except pop up now and then". The film emerged as one of her most commercially successful, with worldwide earnings of over . Advani starred alongside an ensemble cast in "Jugjugg Jeeyo", a comedy-drama about divorce, in which Varun Dhawan and her played an unhappily married couple. Writing for "Hindustan Times", Monika Rawal Kukreja commended her "restrained performance" in it. It earned worldwide.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani will next star in the comic thriller "Govinda Naam Mera" with Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar, and in an untitled Telugu film directed by S. Shankar, co-starring Ram Charan. Advani will also reunite with Kartik Aaryan in the romantic drama "Satyaprem Ki Katha".


title: Kiara Advani

text: In 2019, Advani took part of the campaign as brand ambassador for Giordano handbags. In 2020, Advani collaborated with Myntra. In 2022, she took part with Mango in India in a campaign with endorse the brand's Spring-Summer-22 collection.


title: Kiara Advani

text: Advani ranked 30th in "GQ India"s listing of the 30 most influential young Indians. She is frequently featured in The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman"; she ranked sixth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million. 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 Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language, Gujarati, is the state's official language.


title: Gujarat

text: The state 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 5 uncommon seals were found). Lothal is believed to have been one of the world's first seaports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat, served as ports and trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires, and during the succession of royal Saka dynasties in the Western Satraps era.


title: Gujarat

text: Along with Bihar, Mizoram and Nagaland, Gujarat is one of four Indian states to prohibit the sale of alcohol. The Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is home to the only wild population of the Asiatic lion in the world.


title: Gujarat

text: The economy of Gujarat is the fourth-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and has the country's 10th-highest GSDP per capita of . Gujarat ranks 21st among Indian states and union territories in human development index. The state traditionally has low unemployment and is widely considered one of the most industrially developed states of India and a manufacturing hub.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat is derived from the Pratihara dynasty, who ruled Gujarat in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Parts of modern Rajasthan and Gujarat have been known as "Gurjarat" or "Gurjarabhumi" for centuries before the Mughal period.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley civilisation, which is centred primarily in modern Pakistan. It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley such as Lothal, Dholavira and Gola Dhoro. The ancient city of Lothal was where India's first port was established. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. There was a succession of various Indian empires such as the Mauryan Dynasty, Western Satraps, Satavahana dynasty, Gupta Empire, Chalukya dynasty, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire and Gurjara-Pratihara Empire, as well as the Maitrakas and then the Chaulukyas.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 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 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. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 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 what came to be known as the Maitraka state. He shifted his capital from Giringer to Valabhi, near Bhavnagar, on Saurashtra's east coast. The Maitrakas 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat was known to the ancient Greeks and was familiar with other Western centers 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 "The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century".


title: Gujarat

text: 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 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 Pulakeshin, a Chalukya prince of 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 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. However, the earliest epigraphical records of the Gurjars of Broach attest that the royal bloodline of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of Dadda I, II and III (650–750) ruled south Gujarat. Southern Gujarat was ruled by the Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Indian ruler Tailapa II of the Western Chalukya Empire.


title: Gujarat

text: Zoroastrians from Greater Iran migrated to the western borders of India (Gujarat and Sindh) during the 8th or 10th century, to avoid 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Subsequently, Lāṭa in southern Gujarat was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty until it was captured by the Western Chalukya ruler Tailapa II.


title: Gujarat

text: The Chaulukya dynasty ruled Gujarat from c. 960 to 1243. Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade, and their capital at Anhilwara (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 chiefs of Dholka came to dominate Gujarat. In 1292 the Vaghelas became tributaries of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri in the 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Fragments of printed cotton from Gujarat have been discovered in Egypt, providing evidence for medieval trade in the western Indian Ocean. These fragments represent the Indian cotton traded in Egypt during the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, from the tenth to sixteenth centuries. Similar cotton was also traded as far east as Indonesia.


title: Gujarat

text: After the Ghoris had assumed a position of Muslim supremacy over North India, Qutbuddin Aibak attempted to conquer Gujarat and annex it to his empire in 1197, but failed in his ambitions. 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 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 (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 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 Aydarus family of Tarim in Yemen, Iberian court interpreter "Ali al-Andalusi" from Granada, and the Arab jurist "Bahraq" from Hadramaut who was appointed a tutor of the prince. 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 who tutored and adopted Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, author of the "Akbarnama". Later, a close alliance between the Ottoman 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 state.


title: Gujarat

text: Humayun also briefly occupied the province in 1536, but fled due to the threat Bahadur Shah, the Gujarat king, imposed. The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1572, when the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, and earned the distinguished title, "Bab al-Makkah" (Gate of Mecca).


title: Gujarat

text: 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. At the same time, Zoroastrian high priest Azar Kayvan who was a native of Fars, immigrated to Gujarat founding the Zoroastrian school of illuminationists which attracted key Shi'ite Muslim admirers of the Safavid philosophical revival from Isfahan.


title: Gujarat

text: 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:


title: Gujarat

text: Many of these "foreign merchants" were transient visitors, men of South Arabian 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.


title: Gujarat

text: The Age of Discovery heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long-distance travel in search of alternative trade routes to "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 Europe-to-India sea route which changed the course of history, thanks to 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. Later, the Gujarat Sultanate allied with the Ottomans and 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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. 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:


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: By the 17th century, Chavuse and Baghdadi Jews had assimilated into the social world of the Surat province, later on their descendants would give rise to the Sassoons of Bombay and the 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. Spearheaded by Khoja, Bohra, Bhatiya shahbandars and Moorish nakhudas 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.


title: Gujarat

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


title: Gujarat

text: He also described Gujarat's active trade with Goa, the Deccan Plateau and the 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. Persia was the destination for many of these commodities, and they were partly paid for in horses and pearls taken from Hormuz. 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 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, Abyssinia, Khorasan, Shiraz, Turkestan and Guilans from Aden and Hormuz. Pires noted in his "Suma Orientale":


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat was one of the twelve original subahs (imperial top-level provinces) established by Mughal Emperor ("Badshah") Akbar, with seat at Ahmedabad, bordering on Thatta (Sindh), Ajmer, Malwa and later Ahmadnagar subahs.


title: Gujarat

text: Aurangzeb, who was better known by his imperial title Alamgir ("Conqueror of the World"), was born at Dahod, Gujarat, and was the sixth Mughal Emperor ruling with an iron fist over most of the Indian subcontinent. He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. 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. Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and was among the wealthiest of the Mughal rulers, with an annual yearly tribute of £38,624,680 (in 1690). During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he ruled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100–150 million subjects.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: When the cracks had started to develop in the edifice of the Mughal Empire in the mid-17th century, the 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. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: The Peshwas had established sovereignty over parts of Gujarat and collected taxes and tributes through their representatives. Damaji Rao Gaekwad and Kadam Bande divided the Peshwa territory between them, with Damaji establishing the sway of 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.


title: Gujarat

text: In Saurashtra, as elsewhere, the Marathas were met with resistance. The decline of the Mughal Empire helped form larger peripheral states in Saurashtra, including Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and a few others, which largely resisted the Maratha incursions.


title: Gujarat

text: In the 1600s, the Dutch, French, English and 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.


title: Gujarat

text: The British East India Company established a 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 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 in India was in Gujarat.


title: Gujarat

text: 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:


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, Broach (Bharuch), Kaira (Kheda), Panchmahal and Surat, were governed directly by British officials. In 1819, Sahajanand Swami established the World's First Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur, Ahmedabad.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: After 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, 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, 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 riots, at least 660 died and properties worth millions were destroyed.


title: Gujarat

text: The first capital of Gujarat was Ahmedabad; the capital 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.


title: Gujarat

text: The Morvi dam failure, in 1979, resulted in the death of thousands of people and large economic loss. In the 1980s, a 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 castes.


title: Gujarat

text: The 2001 Gujarat earthquake was located about 9 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.


title: Gujarat

text: In February 2002, the Godhra train burning led to statewide riots, resulting in the deaths of 1044 people – 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus, and hundreds missing still unaccounted for. Akshardham Temple was attacked by two terrorists in September 2002, killing 32 people and injuring more than 80 others. National Security Guards intervened to end the siege killing both terrorists. On 26 July 2008 a series of seventeen bomb blasts rocked the city, killing and injuring several people.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat borders the Tharparkar, Badin and 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". Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has an area of with the longest coastline (24% of Indian sea coast) , dotted with 41 ports: one major, 11 intermediate and 29 minor.


title: Gujarat

text: The Narmada is the largest river in Gujarat followed by the Tapi. The Sabarmati has the longest course through the state.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 – the others being the Tapi and the Mahi. It is about long. Several riverfront embankments have been built on the Sabarmati River.


title: Gujarat

text: The eastern borders have fringes of low mountains of India, the Aravalli, Sahyadri (Western Ghats), 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 from the village of Kharaghoda, Surendranagar District.


title: Gujarat

text: In the early 1980s, palaeontologists found dinosaur egg hatcheries and fossils of at least 13 species in Balasinor. The most important find was that of a carnivorous abelisaurid named "Rajasurus narmadensis" which lived in the Late Cretaceous period.


title: Gujarat

text: According to the "India State of Forest Report 2011", Gujarat has 9.7% of its total geographical area under forest cover. 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. Gir Forest National Park in the southwest part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, Indian leopards 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 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, Barda, Jambughoda, Khavda, Paniya, Purna, Rampura, Ratan Mahal, and Surpaneshwar.


title: Gujarat

text: In February 2019, a Bengal tiger claimed to be from Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh was spotted in the area of Lunavada in Mahisagar district, in the eastern part of the state, before being found dead later that month, likely from starvation.


title: Gujarat

text: The population of Gujarat was 60,439,692 (31,491,260 males and 28,948,432 females) according to the 2011 census data. The population density is 308 persons per square kilometer (797.6/sq mi), 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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-Indians, Anglo-Indians, Jews and Parsis also live in the areas. Sindhi presence is traditionally important here following the Partition of India in 1947. The Koli forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the state.


title: Gujarat

text: According to 2011 census, the religious makeup in Gujarat was 88.6% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, 1.0% Jain, 0.5% Christian, 0.1% Sikh, 0.05% Buddhist and 0.03% others. Around 0.1% did not state any religion. Hinduism is the major religion of the state, as 88.6% population of the state is Hindu. Muslims are the biggest minority in the state accounting for 9.7% of the population. Gujarat has the third-largest population of Jains in India, following Maharashtra and Rajasthan.


title: Gujarat

text: The Zoroastrians, also known in India as Parsi and Irani, migrated to Gujarat as refugees to escape adverse conditions and religious persecution from Islam in Persia in order to maintain their faith and traditions. They have also played an instrumental role in economic development, with several of the best-known business conglomerates of India run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families. There is a small Jewish community centred around Magen Abraham Synagogue.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarati is the official language of the state. It is spoken natively by 86% of the state's population, or 52 million people (as of 2011).


title: Gujarat

text: Other major languages, according to the 2001 census, are Bhili (4.8%), Hindi (4.7%, includes speakers of the Rajasthani varieties), Sindhi (1.9%, includes figures for Kutchi), Marathi (1.5%) and Urdu (1.1%).


title: Gujarat

text: People from the Kutch region of Gujarat also speak in the Kutchi mother tongue, and to a great extent appreciate Sindhi as well. Memoni is the mother tongue of Kathiawar and Sindhi Memons, most whom are Muslims.


title: Gujarat

text: Almost 88% of the Gujarati Muslims speak Gujarati as their mother tongue, whilst the other 12% speak Urdu. A sizeable proportion of Gujarati Muslims are bilingual in the two languages; Islamic academic institutions (Darul Uloom) place a high prestige on learning Urdu and Arabic, with students' memorising the Quran and "ahadith", and emphasising the oral and literary importance of mastering these languages as a compulsory rite of religion. Other native languages spoken in low proportions are Bhili and Gamit.


title: Gujarat

text: Apart from this, English, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marwari, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and others are spoken by a considerable number of economic migrants from other states of India seeking employment.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat is governed by a 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 27 for scheduled tribes. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: During and after India's 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. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: During the British Raj, Gujarati businesses served to play a major role to enrich the economy of Karachi and Mumbai. Major agricultural produce of the state includes cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 pharma companies established in these cities.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat has the longest coastline in India (1600 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 favorable location on the westernmost part of India and closeness to global shipping lanes.


title: Gujarat

text: 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). 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat has 85% village connectivity with all‐weather roads. 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. , Gujarat ranks 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%.


title: Gujarat

text: The state registered 12.8% agricultural growth in the last five years against the national average of 2%.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97%. Over 20% of the "S&P CNX 500" conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat. As per RBI report, in year 2006–07, 26% of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat.


title: Gujarat

text: 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%.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. The state ranks 15th alongside Germany in a list of 142 nations worldwide: higher than several developed nations.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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. 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, southeast of Bhavnagar, is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard (the world's largest). MG Motor India manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara, Tata Motors manufactures the Tata Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad, and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj. 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. The diamond industry employs 500,000 people in Gujarat.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 2.5 million crores (short scale). However, most of the investment was from domestic industry. 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 12500 billion were signed, estimated to create 2.5 million new job opportunities in the state. In 2011, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit MOUs worth 21 trillion ( 463 billion) were signed.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat is a state with surplus electricity. 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 million units during the nine months since April 2010, Gujarat produced 43,848 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.


title: Gujarat

text: As of April 2022, the peak power requirement of state is 20,277 MW. Total installed power generation capacity is 44,127.43 MW. Of this 25,688.66 MW belongs to thermal power generation capacity while 17,879.77 MW belongs to renewable energy generation capacity. The rest 559 MW is nuclear power generation capacity. The renewable energy installed capacity includes 9,209 MW wind power and 7,180 MW solar power, as of March 2022.


title: Gujarat

text: The total geographical area of Gujarat is 19,602,400 hectares, of which crops take up 10,630,700 hectares. 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). 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, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.


title: Gujarat

text: 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; 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. Among the livestock raised are, buffaloes and other cattle, sheep, and goats. As per the results of livestock census 1997, there were 20.97 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 million tonnes of milk, 385 million eggs and 2.71 million kg of wool. Gujarat also contributes inputs to the textiles, oil, and soap industries.


title: Gujarat

text: The adoption of cooperatives in Gujarat is widely attributed to much of the success in the agricultural sector, particularly sugar and dairy cooperatives. Cooperative farming has been a component of India's strategy for agricultural development since 1951. Whilst the 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, whilst they 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 whilst limiting the entry of landless agricultural labourers. 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).


title: Gujarat

text: Amul was formed as a dairy cooperative in 1946, in the city of Anand, Gujarat. The cooperative, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.


title: Gujarat

text: (GCMMF), is jointly owned by around 2.6 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. 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. The company is worth 2.5 billion US dollars ().


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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 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, whilst 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. 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. Recently, 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. 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 million litres of water per year.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 Fertiliser Corporation, State Fertiliser Corporation and 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat is home for the Gujarati people. Gujarat was also the home of Mahatma Gandhi, a worldwide figure known for his non-violent struggle against British rule, and Vallabhbhai Patel, a founding father of the Republic of India.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarati literature's history may be traced to 1000 CE. Well-known laureates of Gujarati literature are 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, Sundaram, Makarand Dave, Ramesh Parekh, Suresh Dalal, Tarak Mehta, Vinod Bhatt, Dhruv Bhatt and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.


title: Gujarat

text: A notable contribution to Gujarati literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Brahmanand Swami, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarati theatre owes a lot to Bhavai. Bhavai is a 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Mumbai theatre veteran, Alyque Padamsee, best known in the English-speaking world for playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sir Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi", was from a traditional Gujarati-Kutchi family from Kathiawar.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati "thali" consists of "rotli" or "bhakhari or thepala or rotlo", "dal" or "kadhi", "khichdi", Bhat and "shak". Athanu (Indian pickle) and "chhundo" are used as condiments. 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, "chhash" (buttermilk) is believed to be a must-have in their daily food.


title: Gujarat

text: The Gujarati film industry dates back to 1932, when the first Gujarati film, "Narsinh Mehta", was released. 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. The Government of Gujarat announced a 100% entertainment tax exemption for Gujarati films in 2005 and a policy of incentives in 2016.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarati folk music, known as "Sugam Sangeet", is a hereditary profession of the Barot community. Gadhvi and Charan communities have contributed heavily in modern times. The omnipresent instruments in Gujarati folk music include wind instruments, such as , , and , string instruments, such as the , , and and percussion instruments, such as the and pot drum.


title: Gujarat

text: The folk traditions of Gujarat include and . "Bhavai" is a folk theatre; it is partly entertainment and partly ritual, and is dedicated to Amba. The is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people. The folk costume of this dance is "chaniya choli" for women and for men. Different styles and steps of include , simple five, simple seven, , (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), , , butterfly, , two claps and many more. 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. "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.


title: Gujarat

text: Apart from Navratri and Uttarayana, Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Eid, Tazia, Paryushan and others are also celebrated.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. long before the internal rise of the Maratha Dynasty, and the British Raj colonial occupation.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 "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 he burnt himself to death in to demonstrate his faith. A tomb to the "sramana", was still visible in the time of Plutarch, which bore the mention "ΖΑΡΜΑΝΟΧΗΓΑΣ ΙΝΔΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΒΑΡΓΟΣΗΣ" ("The "sramana" master from Barygaza in India").


title: Gujarat

text: 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). 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 frescoes, a Gujarati prince is shown entering Sri Lanka.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. 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. 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. A Gujarati ship has been depicted in a sculpture at Borabudur, Java.


title: Gujarat

text: 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. During the historic 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, great iconic figures of India's Independence movement. Amitabh Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, 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.


title: Gujarat

text: The Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum is housed within Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the residence of the erstwhile Maharajas, located in Vadodara.


title: Gujarat

text: The Calico Museum of Textiles is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ahmedabad.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Religious sites play a major part in the tourism of Gujarat. Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, and is mentioned in the Rigveda. The Dwarakadheesh Temple, Radha Damodar Temple, Junagadh and Dakor are holy pilgrimage sites with temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. The Sun Temple, Modhera is a ticketed monument, handled by the Archaeological Survey of India. Other religious sites in state include Ambaji, Dakor, Shamlaji, Chotila, Becharaji, Mahudi, Shankheshwar etc. The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Shatrunjaya, Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara and Digambara Jain community. Palitana is the world's only mountain with more than 900 temples. The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and Jama Masjid are holy mosques for Gujarati Muslims.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 km away), Palanpur (65 km away), Ahmedabad and Idar. 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 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, whilst some Muslims attend the fair for trade.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Other fairs in Gujarat include Dang Durbar, Shamlaji Fair, Chitra Vichitra Fair, Dhrang Fair and Vautha Fair.


title: Gujarat

text: The Government of Gujarat has banned alcohol since 1960. Gujarat government collected the "Best State Award" for 'Citizen Security' by IBN7 Diamond States on 24 December 2012.


title: Gujarat

text: There are three international airports (Ahmedabad and Surat, Vadodara), nine domestic airports (Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Kandla, Porbandar, Rajkot, Amreli, Keshod), two private airports (Mundra, Mithapur) and three military bases (Bhuj, Jamnagar, Naliya) in Gujarat. Two more airports (Ankleshwar, Rajkot) are under construction. There are three disused airports situated at Deesa, Mandvi and Mehsana; the last 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.


title: Gujarat

text: These airports are operated and owned by either the Airports Authority of India, Indian Air Force, Government of Gujarat or private companies.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat comes under the Western Railway Zone of the Indian Railways. Ahmedabad Railway Station is the most important, centrally located and biggest railway station in Gujarat which connects to all important cities of Gujarat and India.Surat railway station and Vadodara Railway Station is also the busiest railway station in Gujarat and the ninth busiest railway station in India. Other important railway stations are Palanpur Junction, Bhavnagar Terminus, Rajkot Railway Station, Sabarmati Junction, Nadiad Junction, Valsad Railway Station, Bharuch Junction, Gandhidham Junction, Anand Junction, Godhra Railway Station, etc. Indian Railways is planning a dedicated rail freight route Delhi–Mumbai passing through the state.


title: Gujarat

text: The long tracks of the first phase of MEGA, a metro rail system for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is under construction. It is expected to complete by 2024. The construction started on 14 March 2015.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat State has the longest sea coast of 1214 km in India. Kandla Port is one of the largest ports serving Western India. Other important ports in Gujarat are the Port of Navlakhi, Port of Magdalla, Port Pipavav, Bedi Port, Port of Porbandar, Port of Veraval and the privately owned Mundra Port. The state also has Ro-Ro ferry service.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Auto rickshaws 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..


title: Gujarat

text: 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 13 state universities and four agricultural universities.


title: Gujarat

text: Institutes for Engineering and Research in the area include IIT Gandhinagar, Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara (IIITV), 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).


title: Gujarat

text: In addition, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) 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. It is the only one of its kind in all Asia.


title: Gujarat

text: The National Institute of Design and development (NID) in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research. Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology University, popularly known as (CEPT) is one of the best planning and architectural school not in India, but across the world; providing various technical and professional courses.


title: Gujarat

text: In the emerging area of legal education, a premier institution Gujarat National Law University was founded in the capital city Gandhinagar which started imparting education in 2004 and is ranked in top institutions in the country.


title: Gujarat

text: Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering (LDCE) is also one of the top engineering college of the state.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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). Dr. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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 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.


title: Gujarat

text: Gujarat Science City, 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 fountains 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. 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.


title: Gujarat

text: 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, in a sprawling and picturesque area 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.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, based on her 2012 novel of the same name. Set in Missouri, the story is a postmodern mystery that follows the events surrounding Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck), who becomes the prime suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike). The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: "Gone Girl" premiered as the opening film at the 52nd New York Film Festival on September 26, 2014, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 3, 2014 by 20th Century Fox. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $369 million worldwide against a $61 million budget, to become Fincher's highest-grossing film.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Pike's performance was widely acclaimed by critics, and she received nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. Additional nominations included a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Fincher and Golden Globe Award, BAFTA, and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Flynn's adapted screenplay, which won at Critics' Choice.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: On their fifth wedding anniversary, writing teacher Nick Dunne returns home to find his wife, Amy, missing. Her disappearance receives press coverage, as Amy was the inspiration for her parents' popular "Amazing Amy" children's books. Detective Rhonda Boney finds poorly concealed evidence of a struggle in the house. The media suspect Nick due to his apathy towards Amy's disappearance.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: In the past, Amy revealed to Nick that "Amazing Amy" was a perfected version made up of the real Amy's failures. Their marriage disintegrated over time; both lost their jobs in the recession and moved from New York City to Nick's hometown of North Carthage, Missouri, to support his dying mother. Nick became distant with Amy, and began cheating on Amy with Andie, one of his students, while Amy became resentful towards Nick for making her move to Missouri.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Forensic analysis of the house uncovers cleaned bloodstains, indicating a murder. Boney discovers evidence of financial issues, spousal disputes, and Amy's recent propensity to acquire a gun. Medical reports indicate that Amy was pregnant, which Nick denies knowing of.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Amy and Nick had played treasure hunt games on every wedding anniversary. Amy, this year, had hidden items purchased with Nick's credit card in the shed, as well as a diary that shows Amy's growing dread and ending with the fear that Nick will kill her.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Amy drives to a campground in the Ozarks. Upon discovering Nick's affair, she had conceived a plan to frame him for her murder. She misrepresented the relationship between herself and Nick by falsifying accounts in a diary. Unbeknownst to Nick, she had befriended her neighbor to tell her stories about Nick's temper, and steal her urine to manipulate pregnancy results. She placed supporting evidence of Nick's guilt in the clue spots for the "treasure hunt" to let the police find them. She also splattered her own blood across the kitchen, and cleaned it haphazardly. She assumed that Nick would be executed for her murder, and planned to drown herself.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Nick deduces Amy's plan and convinces his twin sister, Margo, of his innocence. He flies to New York City and hires Tanner Bolt, a lawyer known for representing men accused of killing their wives. Nick also meets Amy's ex-boyfriend Tommy O'Hara, whom Amy had falsely accused of rape, by ostensible "rape wounds" on her vagina and evidence of O'Hara's semen. Nick approaches another ex-boyfriend, the wealthy Desi Collings, against whom Amy had filed a restraining order for stalking, but Desi turns him away.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: When Amy's campground neighbors rob her, she calls Desi for help, convincing him that she fled Nick's abuse. Desi agrees to hide her in his lake house. After Andie reveals their affair at a press conference, Nick appears on a talk show affirming his innocence and apologizes for his shortcomings as a spouse to lure Amy out of hiding. Boney believes she has enough evidence to arrest Nick for murder, but Bolt gets him out on bail. Amy realizes that Desi intends to keep her in the house to forcibly rekindle their relationship. Amy then uses Desi's surveillance cameras to help make it appear that he kidnapped and raped her, slits his throat while they have sex, and returns home to Nick covered in Desi's blood, clearing Nick of suspicion and framing Desi as the kidnapper after recounting a false account of their altercation to Boney.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: When Boney brings up the inconsistencies with Amy's account, she retorts by calling her incompetent. Amy tells Nick the truth and admits to Desi's murder, saying that him pleading for her to come back is the man she wants. Nick shares this with Boney, Bolt, and Margo, but there is no evidence of her guilt.


title: Gone Girl (film)

text: Nick intends to leave Amy, but she reveals that she is pregnant, having inseminated herself with Nick's sperm stored at a fertility clinic. Nick reacts violently to Amy's insistence that they should remain married but feels responsible for the child and decides to stay married, despite Margo's qualms. The couple then announces on television that they are expecting a child.