Amazing Facts about Gujarat

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Dear Friends,

How amazingly unique Gujarat is! Read these amazing facts about Gujarat.

• Gujarat state was formed on 1^st May, 1960.
• Gandhinagar, near Ahmedabad, is the capital city of Gujarat. Gandhinagar is adjudged the Greenest Capital city in India.
• Mahatma Gandhi (the Father of the Nation) and Sardar Patel (the Iron Man of India), the great leaders of Indian freedom movement, belonged to Gujarat. Jamshedji Tata, the father of Indian industry, had family roots in Gujarat. The well-known modern industrialist of India, Dhirubhai Ambani, hailed from Gujarat.
• Gujarat lies in the western region of India. Pakistan lies on the west of Gujarat. Thus, Gujarat has a common international border with Pakistan.
• Areawise, Gujarat is the seventh largest state in India. Gujarat is the 10^th among the most populous states in India. Gujarat accounts for 5% of the population of India.
• With an area of nearly 2 lakh square km, Gujarat is double the size of Austria, Hungary or Portugal – the countries of Europe. Gujarat is nearly as big as the state of Nebraska or South Dakota in America (USA).
• With the population of nearly 60 million people, Gujarat is nearly as populated as France or Italy in Europe. The population of Gujarat is about six times that of Georgia, the American president Barack Obama’s home state in the US.
• Gujarat shares common borders with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; all these three states are the largest states of India.
• When India won its independence in 1947, Gujarat was a part of the state of Bombay (Brihad Mumbai Rajya). Few may know that Saurashtra was a separate, independent state at that time. In 1960, the Bombay state was bifurcated into two states- Maharashtra and Gujarat. Thus, Gujarat state was formed on 1^st of May 1960 and Saurashtra was merged into Gujarat. Ahmedabad was made the capital of Gujarat. Later on, Gandhinagar, the new capital city was developed some 30 km from Ahmedabad city. Around 1970, .Gandhinagar became fully functional as the capital of Gujarat.
• Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot are the largest cities of Gujarat. Ahmedabad and Surat are among the ten most populated cities in India. Surat and Ahmedabad are among the fastest growing cities in India.
• Gujarat is the only state to have twelve functional, operating airports.
• Four out of five richest Indians have family roots in Gujarat. ( in terms of net worth values, as per a Forbes report 2013)
• Gujarat accounts for nearly one-fourth of India’s total banking business.
• Gujarat ranks high among all the states of India in the fields of petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
• Gujarat, the last abode of the Asiatic lions, enjoys the lion’s share in the production of milk, salt and soda ash!
• Gujarat has more than 18000 villages. Almost all of them have electricity supply. More than 95% of them have all-season road connectivity.
• Gujarat is the only state in India which boasts of surplus in generation of electricity. Gujarat is a top ranked state in the use of renewable energy resources.
• Gujarat is known for its political stability and social security. Gujarat has one of the lowest crime rates in India. Labour unrest is not heard of in Gujarat.
• Gujarat is a center of attraction for the commerce and industry.
• Gujarat is paradise for the tourists. Gujarat has plenty of picnic spots, excursion centres and places of tourist attractions with historical, religious or geographical importance. Tourism in Gujarat has tremendous potential. Gujarat tourism can contribute significantly to Indian tourism.
• Sixteen sites in India have been selected as the ‘Biosphere Reserves’ as per the UNESCO programme. Kutch from Gujarat is one of them.
• Gir forest ( Gir Lion National Sanctuary or Sasan Gir National Park) near Junagadh in Gujarat is the abode of Asiatic Lions. Lions are found only in Asia and Africa in the world. Now in India, the Gir forest (Gujarat) is the last and only place where Asiatic lions are found.
• Sabarmati, Narmada, Tapi and Mahi are the main rivers of Gujarat.
• Hinduism and Islam are the major religions. Followers of Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism and Zorostrian are also found in large numbers in Gujarat.

Aren’t these facts about Gujarat amazing?

With best wishes,

GujTourist11.