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Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the , southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state.
Literally translated, Junagadh means "Old Fort". It was a part of Saurashtra state and later Bombay state. In 1960, in consequence of the Maha Gujarat movement, it became part of the newly formed Gujarat state.
Within of Uparkot Fort is an inscription with fourteen Edicts of Ashoka on a large boulder. The inscriptions are in Brahmi script in a language similar to Pali and date from 250 BCE. On the same rock there is a later inscription in Sanskrit, which was added around 150 CE by Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I, the Saka (Scythian) ruler of Malwa, and a member of the Western Kshatrapas dynasty, and which has been described as "the earliest known Sanskrit inscription of any extent".Meaning, that is not very short. Quoted from D.D. Kosambi in Another inscription dates from about 450 CE and refers to Skandagupta, the last Gupta emperor. Old rock-cut Buddhist caves in this area, dating from well before 500 CE, have stone carvings and floral work. There are also the Khapra Kodia Caves north of the fort, and the Bava Pyara Caves south of the fort. The Bava Pyara caves contain artworks of both Buddhism and Jainism.
The Maitraka dynasty ruled Gujarat from 475 to 767 CE. The founder of the dynasty, General Bhatarka, military governor of Saurashtra peninsula under the Gupta Empire, established himself as the independent ruler of Gujarat around the last quarter of the 5th century.
In 1350, Junagadh was conquered by Muhammad bin Tughluq with the help and forces of Koli people chieftain Jesaji (Jesing) from Ra Khengar.
After the end of the rule of the Chaulukyas and their successors, the Vaghela dynasty, in Gujarat, the Chudasamas ruled independently, or as vassals of successor states, the Delhi Sultanate and the Gujarat Sultanate. Mandalika I was the first Chudasama ruler known from inscriptions, and during his reign, Gujarat was invaded by the Khalji dynasty of Delhi. The last king of the dynasty, Mandalika III, was defeated and forcibly converted to Islam in 1472 by Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada, who annexed the state.
The Uparkot Fort of Junagadh was occupied by the Chudasamas during the reign of Graharipu. It is said to have been later rebuilt by Navaghana, who had transferred his capital from Vamanasthali to Junagadh. He is also credited with construction of the Navghan Kuvo and Adi Kadi Vav in the fort. His descendant Khengara is attributed with building a stepwell, Ra Khengar Vav, on the way to Vanthali from Junagadh.
Under the Gujarat Sultanate, Junagadh was governed by an official, styled (commander), appointed directly by Ahmedabad. This official collected the tribute and revenue of the crown domain. The first thanadar was Tatar Khan, an adopted son of the Sultan and after him Mirza Khalil, the eldest son of the Sultan who afterwards succeeded him under the title of Sultan Muzaffar. Prince Khalil during his tenure of office founded the village called Khalilpur. The Sultan also installed Bhupatsingh, the son of the last Chudasama king, Mandalika III, in Junagadh as a (feudal lord). The jagir allotted to Bhupatsingh was the Sil Bagasra Chovisi; and his descendants were known as Raizada. They continued to rule there. Bhupatsingh was succeeded by his son Khengar.
After the accession of Sultan Muzafar, and indeed during the latter part of Sultan Mahmud's reign, the seat of government was moved from Junagadh to Diu owing to the importance of that island as a naval station and to check the ravages of the Portuguese. Tatarkhan Ghori was left at Junagadh by Malik Eiaz who himself resided at Diu. After the disgrace and death of Malik Eiaz, Tatarkhan Ghori became independent at Junagadh; and after the death of Sultan Bahadur, the Ghori family reigned independently at Junagadh, though still owing a nominal allegiance to the successive Sultans at Ahmadabad. This state of affairs continued until the first conquest of Gujarat by the Mughal emperor Akbar, when Aminkhan Ghori had succeeded his father Tatarkhan at Junagadh.
When the Portuguese India took over the ports of Diu and Daman in the 16th century, a fifteen-foot cannon, made in Egypt in 1531, was abandoned by a Ottoman Empire admiral opposing the Portuguese forces at Diu, which is now at Uparkot Fort.
During these disturbances Amin Khan Ghori and his son Daulat Khan Ghori espoused the cause of Muzafar, as did the Jam and Loma Khuman of Kherdi. The exact date of Amin Khan Ghori's death is not known but it was about 1589–90. Raizada Khengar also warmly espoused Mnzafar's side. After the siege and capture of Junagadh in 1591–92 by Naurang Khan, Syad Kasim, and Gnjar Khan; Khengar was dismissed to his estate of Sil Bagasra, and the Raizada ceased to rule at Junagadh. Daulat Khan Ghori died of his wounds during the siege, and henceforth Junagadh became the seat of the imperial faujdars (garrison commanders) of Sorath in subordination to the imperial viceroy at Ahmedabad.
The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Junagadh was constructed on land presented by Jinabhai (Hemantsingh) Darbar of Panchala, and dedicated on 1 May 1828. Swaminarayan appointed Gunatitanand Swami as the first mahant (religious and administrative head of a temple), who served in this role and preached there for over 40 years.
On 15 September 1947, Nawab Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III of Junagadh – which, although located at the south-western end of Gujarat, had no common border with Pakistan – chose to accede to Pakistan, ignoring Mountbatten's views and arguing that Junagadh could access Pakistan by sea. The rulers of two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh — Mangrol and Babariawad — reacted by declaring their independence from Junagadh and acceding to India. In response, the nawab's forces militarily occupied the two states. Rulers of other neighbouring states reacted angrily, sent troops to the Junagadh frontier, and appealed to the government of India for assistance. A group of Junagadhis, led by Samaldas Gandhi, formed a government-in-exile, the Aarzi Hukumat ("temporary government").
India asserted that Junagadh was not contiguous to Pakistan and, believing that if Junagadh was permitted to accede to Pakistan communal tension already simmering in Gujarat would worsen, refused to accept the nawab's accession to Pakistan. The Indian government pointed out that the state was 96% Hindu, and called for a plebiscite to decide the question of accession. India blockade supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier, and occupied the principality of Mangrol and Babariawad, which had acceded to India.
Pakistan agreed to discuss a plebiscite, subject to the withdrawal of Indian troops, a condition India rejected. On 26 October, the nawab and his family fled to Pakistan following clashes between Junagadhi and Indian troops.
On 7 November, Junagadh's court, facing collapse, invited the government of India to take over the state's administration. The Dewan of Junagadh, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, decided to invite the Government of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr. Buch, the regional commissioner of Saurashtra in the government of India to this effect.
The government of India rejected the protests of Pakistan and accepted the invitation of the dewan to intervene. A plebiscite was conducted in February 1948, but it was not internationally monitored. Pakistan's claims were based on the logic of the Kashmir annexation, and not on the plebiscite, which went almost unanimously in favour of accession to India. Junagadh became a part of the Indian state of Saurashtra until 1 November 1956, when Saurashtra became part of Bombay state. In 1960, Bombay state was split into the linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, in which Junagadh was located.
In 2020, Pakistan's government has maintained and revived its territorial claim on Junagadh, along with Manavadar and Sir Creek in Gujarat, on its official political map.
| in 319 BC |
| in 185 BC |
| in 73–70 BC |
| 100–275 AD |
| 276–455 AD |
| 456–770 AD |
| 640 AD |
| 875–1472 AD |
| 1472–1572 AD |
| 1573–1730 AD |
| 1730–1949 |
Junagadh city has two rivers, the Sonrakh and the Kalwo, which is polluted from city sewers. The city has several lakes: Narsinh Mehta Sarovar, Damodarji, Sudarshan Lake, etc. Willingdon Dam, Hasnapur Dam, and Anandpur Weir are the main water sources for the city. Groundwater supply is widely available in the city, with wells throughout.
Junagadh's soil is similar to that of the rest of Junagadh district. It is deep- to medium-black coastal alluvium, due to its proximity to the sea, long shoreline, and nearby mountain ridge. Because of many fault lines in the vicinity, Junagadh is in a Seismology. Junagadh lies in a Seismic Zone III region, which means earthquakes up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter-scale may be expected.
2011 census, Junagadh municipality had a population of 319,462. The municipality had a sex ratio of 955 females per 1,000 males and 9% of the population were under six years old. The effective literacy rate was 88%; male literacy was 92.46% and female literacy was 83.38%.
Junagadh has relatively low to medium housing and land costs in comparison to cities like Rajkot. The city is rapidly expanding, and available land inside the city limits is now limited. Total area under slums is (14.5% of the total municipal area) and the total slum population accounts for around 25% of the total population.
The religions represented in Junagadh includes Hindus, Muslims, Jainism, Christians, and Buddhists. Among these Hindus are the majority and Muslims are the largest minority group. Jains and Christians are present in considerable numbers. Sikhs and Parsis are very few in number. There are Tibetan migrants who practice Buddhism. The main language group is Gujarati. Others are Hindi and Sindhi language. A small community of African origin, known as "Siddis", resides in and around the Gir Sanctuary, but some of them have moved to the city. There are around 8816 Siddi in the state and 65% of them reside in Junagadh. Swaminarayan Hinduism is also widely followed in the city. There are two Swaminarayan temples in the city: the old temple is managed by the Vadtal diocese and the new temple is managed by Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.
The politics of Junagadh city has always been closely contested between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). Other national parties are the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Communist Party of India, and the Nationalist Congress Party. Regional parties active in Junagadh are the Mahagujarat Janta Party, the Samata Party, and the Republic Party of India. Junagadh has 194,196 registered voters, of which 100,050 are male and 94,146 female.
Junagadh has one state-assembly constituency. The BJP won this seat in the 2007 election, with 52.36% of the 118,888 votes cast, with the next largest vote being 26.32% for the INC candidate. Election for the state assembly is held every 5 years.
The Junagadh Municipal Corporation has 17 wards and total of 51 seats. In the 2009 municipal elections the INC won 26 seats, BJP 21 seats, BSP 3 seats and 1 went to an independent. While the majority of the seats went to the INC, the BJP candidates received more votes: 134,739, or 45.62% of the total, the INC receiving 120,533, 40.81%. The Mayor, Deputy Mayor has terms of 2 and a half years.
In January 2004, Junagadh city increased its area from to by annexing eight grampanchayats and one municipality. The newly acquired area has its own groundwater supply system of Tube well.
The city generates approximately of solid waste daily, which is within the recommended limit, of per capita, per day, for domestic waste. The waste is collected by deploying 400 wheel barrows (six containers) as per supreme court guidelines and Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) rule 2000. The municipal council has set up 800 community bins for solid waste collection. It covers 90% of city area. Junagadh's drainage system is long but it serves only 67% of the total area and 60% of the population.
The Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd. (P.G.V.C.L.), a state-run electricity company, provides electric power. Telecom service is provided mainly by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (B.S.N.L.); other service providers include Reliance and Tata Group. Cell-phone coverage is extensive and the main service providers are Vodafone Essar, B.S.N.L., Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, and Tata Docomo. B.S.N.L. also provides broadband service.
The city has a good network of street lights. There is a total of 12,545 Fluorescent lamp and 1523 central sodium . A Solar power project has been approved for Narsinh Mehta Sarovar.
Some of the large-scale industry present in Junagadh are Mother Dairy (popularly known as Junagadh Dairy in the region), Agro Marine Exports, Creative Castings Ltd., and Austin Engineering. With an investment of INR 4,000 crore (US$975.6million), JSW Power Co. had proposed to set up a coal-based power plant at Simar Village, in Junagadh, but due to difficulties in establishing a port there, it has been shifted to the port of Dahej. Under the new government policy of encouraging biotechnology, Junagadh has been identified as an agriculture biotechnology zone. This will boost the establishment of agro-biotech industries in the district.
Junagadh boasts of some of the best tourist destinations in the state, so tourism is considered to be a progressing sector. The state government has sanctioned the development of a Circuit Tourism project at Junagadh.
Schools in Junagadh are either municipal schools run by the municipal council or private schools run by trusts or individuals, which in some cases receive financial aid from the government. The schools are affiliated either with the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, the Central Board of Secondary Education, or the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. English and Gujarati are the predominant languages of instruction.
The city is home to Junagadh Agricultural University.
Junagadh's many ruling dynasties—such as Babi Nawabs, Vilabhis, Kshatraps, Mauryas, Chudasamas, Gujarat Sultans—and its religious groups have influenced the architectural syles of Junagadh.
The Junagadh Buddhist Cave Groups, with their intricately carved gateways, Chaitya halls, sculptured pillars, and sanctums are classic examples of rock-cut architecture. The Chudama Rajputs left specimens of their architectural style in Nabghan Kuvo and Adi Kadi Vav. Religious monuments such as the Jami Masjid remind us of Muslim architectural patterns. The Ashokan edicts is a classic example of old rock engraving styles. The Maqbaras and numerous age-old palaces in Junagadh tell the story of its rich historical and architectural past.
About east of Junagadh and west of the foot of Girnar Hill is an edict of Emperor Ashoka, inscribed on an uneven rock and dating from the 3rd century BC. The Ashokan edicts impart moral instructions on dharma, harmony, tolerance, and peace. The rock has a circumference of , a height of , and bears inscriptions in Brāhmī script etched with an iron pen.
The people of Junagadh celebrate both Western and Indian festivals. Diwali, Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Janmastami, Muharram, Navratri, Christmas, Good Friday, Vijayadashami, Muharram, and Ganesh Chaturthi are some of the popular festivals in the city.
The Shivaratri Mela is organized at the foot of Mount Girnar (Talati) in the month of Maha (9th day of the month of Maagha). The mela lasts for the next five days. About 500,000 people visit Junagadh on this occasion. The Girnar Parikrama is also organized annually. It starts in the month of Kartik and draws 1 to 1.5 million people. People walk the periphery of the Girnar Hills on foot (about ). Muharram is celebrated by Muslims. The sej, which belonged to the peers or gurus of the nawabs, has been taken out; and a fair has been organized. Apart from these religious and national festivals, Junagadh annually celebrates its accession to India on 9 November 1947 as the independence day of the city. 1 May is Gujarat day, to celebrate the formation of Gujarat state on 1 May 1960.
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