August 20, 2011.
Dear friends,
It gives us immense pleasure to welcome you all to Gujaratotsav 2011 event. Today, we are here because we are
proud of our rich heritage and being Gujarati. We all have a deep commitment to preserve and promote Gujarati
culture and values here in the USA. SFVGA has been in existence as a vibrant non-profit organization for past
couple of decades, serving and uniting the local Gujarati community.
In the first board meeting of 2011, our SFVGA board, decided to organize this event, celebrating 50 years of
Gujarat in San Fernando Valley. The focus is to refresh our memories and learn more about our own Glorious
history and off course today’s Vibrant Gujarat! Our SFVGA members have worked very hard for many days to
present this information in the form of a skit along with Audio-Video clips.
To make our celebration memorable, we are very happy to have renowned Gujarati singers Shri Ashitbhai Desai
and Smt. Hemanginiben Desai with us today. Their contribution to Gujarati Sugam Sangeet and Bhajans has
been extra ordinary. Shri Ashitbhai has won All India Radio’s Best Singer Award in 1969 at the age of 18.
We are very thankful for the great support of all our sponsors, reflective of their commitment to support our
culture through such authentic Gujarati event. We are also encouraged by the large presence of SFVGA
members and their friends from across the Southern California. Together, we have clearly expressed that
although we are living thousands of miles away from Gujarat, Gujarat lives within us!
Thank you.
Gujaratotsav 2011 Committee Members
Pranav Desai (Committee Chairperson)
Dinker Shah
Vijay Bhatt
Purnima Ahuja
Ameesh Pandya
Shanti Sheth
Jitendra Mehta
Roopa Maniar
Sudhir Banker
Rajni Thakkar
Dilip Bhatt
Surbhi Shah
Navendu Trivedi
Kirit Doshi
Gujaratotsav 2011
Rajesh Patel (Board Liaison member for committee)
Bindu Jogani (Board Liaison member for committee)
Page 1
GUJARAT: A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH THE AGES . . . . .
By MANDHATA CHAUHAN
PROLOGUE: Humans, being social animals, politics is inherent in their genes. Nations comprise of humans
and that is the reason, why nations behave like human-beings. Ultimate goal of politics is to gain power economic and/or military. Whenever a power vacuum occurs in a region, external forces would try to fill-in that
void. The situation would invariably lead to conflict. GUJARAT is no exception to this rule, it had its periods
of tranquil prosperity, often that was shattered by fierce clashes on the battlefields. If one believes strongly
enough in something, one must fight for it. Early Rajput princes adhered to the principles of warfare as
enunciated by the Vedas, which inculcated justice and fair play without deceit and surprise attacks, while
treating adversary as an equal. These rules were not respected by the invading armies. Owing to lack of
adequate transportation and communications in a vast country like India, different regions had developed their
own languages, cultures, politico-socio-economic philosophies independently of others. This evolution had kept
the people of various regions of India from thinking united, as one nation, which in turn, made it easy for the
outside powers to manipulate them. Although, the religions have been at the contention, for many wars in the
world, Indian religions have been remarkably tolerant of the other religions that came to India. Despite all those
wars, destruction and mayhem thru ages, GUJARAT remains to-day, a magnificent amalgam of a variety of
positive influences. This is abundantly evident as social impact of the historical events, in its culture, art, music,
dances, architecture, costumes and a vibrant economy humming along melodiously. This is our delightful
heritage.
ANCIENT ERA: Amongst archeologists it is an accepted belief that GUJARAT is a product of the Indus
Valley Civilization - of Mohenjo-Daro descent. Nevertheless, the recent excavations of Lothal and Dholavira,
are evidence enough for some archeologist to contend that GUJARAT was the cradle of Saraswati River
Civilization. Saraswati river ran parallel to the Indus river from the Himalayas (3000 BC), but, had dissipated
into the earth, as a consequence of massive earthquakes. Vedas have prolific references to the river, hence, it is
inferred that the Vedas originated on the banks of Saraswati.
Chandragupta Maurya (322- 294 BC) sprinkled the imperial grandeur into the glorious history of
GUJARAT, when he ordered building of the dams on the Sudarshan Lake and other water reservoirs in
Girinagar, (Junagadh). Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka, ordered building canals from the Sudarshan Lake to
irrigate the farmlands in the area, to which his rock edict reads as an eloquent witness, at Mount Girnar. This
was, perhaps, one of the oldest experiments in water conservation, in India. When the Gupta Empire started to
deteriorate, their Maitrika Commander (470 AD), established Maitrika state and moved his capital from
Girinagar to Vallbhipur (near Bhavnagar). Maitrika kingdom encompassed all of GUJARAT reaching all the
way to Malwa. Maitrika University rivaled the renowned Nalanda University, according to writings of the
Chinese traveler Hsuan-Tsang (640 AD).
Shiv-ism was the most popular religion in Middle East, in the pre-Islamic period. Three Goddesses most
worshiped, were represented as stone idols, Manat (Godess of Destiny), Lat and Uzza, as mentioned in Qur'an
(Satanic Verses). All three shrines were in the proximity of Mecca and Madina. In order to start a new religion,
worship of earlier deities was opposed by Prophet Mohammd (570-632). He ordered his son-in-law, Ali, to
destroy the shrines, which, he did, but idol of Manat, was secreted away to Kathiawad for safe-keeping.
(Somnath, Professor Romila Thapar, p.48). Hinduism, Shivism, Jainism, and Buddhism were already popular,
but, between 7th and 12th centuries, Bhakti movements, as a road to salvation grew. Swami Chakradhara
(1194) popularized Vaishnavites (worship of Vishnu). At this time Kabir, Meera, Narsinh Mehta, Chaitanya and
Surdas also came to the forefront (History Of Medieval India, Satish Chandra,p.186-196).
RAJPUT ERA: Chavdas were the vassal kings of the Maitrikas of Vallbhipur. Vanraj Chavda founded the new
capital of Anhilpur-Patan. Chavdas ruled Gurjar Desh for almost a century. Chalukyas (Solankis of
GUJARAT), who had originated in Rajputana, had migrated South to Karnataka, and ruled
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra, had now, conquered GUJARAT from the Chavdas. Mulraj Solanki (942
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AD), had adopted the Gupta pattern of administration in GUJARAT, Saurashtra and Kutch. He invited many
talented people, including Brahmin -Brahmabhatt from the Northern India to settle in Devasthali (Siddhpur) and
employed them in key positions in his administration. He initiated the construction of Rudra Mahal (996 AD),
dedicated to Lord Shiva, before his death. Mulraj Solanki's regime was the beginning of a golden period of
GUJARAT, blossomed into a cultural icon of India, heralding 'renaissance' in music, dance, art, architecture,
language, script, agriculture and trade, and came to be known as Gurjar-Desh, Gurjar-Rashtra and finally
GUJARAT. GUJARATi took its distinct structure from Marwadi and Malwi. Jain Muni, HemchandraCharya,
Kumarpal's trusted Minister, actively promoted the development of the GUJARATi language and grammer. As
a result, GUJARAT evolved as a fully definable region, during the Solanki dynasty. Trade with West Asia
comprising of imports of horses, wine, and metals and exports of textiles, spices, semi-precious stones, timber
and swords, increased several folds by Arab and Bania traders in this era. The guardian family deity of the
Solankis was Somnath, at Prabhas-Patan (Veraval). The temple idol was desecrated and plundered during the
times of Solanki king BhimDev (I), by Mahmud of Gazni. BhimDev and Parmar King Bhoj of Malwa rebuilt
the temple and enhanced the splendor of Someshwarnath. (Somanath temple was rebuilt eight times). No
sooner Mahmud of Gazni began retreating, after his devastating attacks on Somanath and annihilating
Anhilpur-Patan into rubbles, the sounds of hammer and chisel began to ring up the hills of Abu and
Arasur, with the building of splendorous temples at Delwada and Kumbharia. As if the death and
destruction caste upon them by the destroyer and the iconoclast, was but, a nightmare that vanished into the thin
air of these mountains. Such resilience of the people of GUJARAT was to surface again and again through ages.
BhimDev's successor, KaranDev founded the town of Karnavati (near Mani-Nagar) on Sabarmati
river. KaranDev and MinalDevi's son Siddhraj Jaisinh (1094-1142) was the most prominent of the
Solanki Emperors, that most meticulously and efficiently ruled GUJARAT, Saurastra, Kutch and Malwa. One
of the most tragic fables of the time, popular with the Barots (bards), is that of Ranak Devi. Siddharth Jaisinh
was engaged to Ranak Devi. But, she was married off to Ra'Khengar of Junagadh, by her family. Siddhraj
Jaisinh invaded Junagadh. In the war, Ra'Khengar, the ruler of Junagadh, was killed. RanakDevi, his queen, in
the Rajput tradition of the time, instead of surrendering to Siddhraj, chose to become 'Sati'. RanakDevi's temple
still stands in Wadhwan, as a monumental reminder of her love for her husband, Ra'Khangar. Another
melancholy episode that became a folklore of the time, was that of Jasma Oden. Siddhraj had ordered
construction of Sahastra-Ling Talao (lake) in Patan, to conserve water for the use of his people. While the
construction of the lake was going on, he came across Jasma Oden, a woman employed to dig the lake. Siddhraj
fell in love with her beauty, and wanted to marry her. Jasma Oden was a married woman, and so, she gave
Siddhraj a 'Shrap' (curse) that his lake would never have water. The magnificent Sahastra-Ling Talao still stands
barren as a memorial to Jasma Oden, in Patan. Shahstra-Ling Talao, a lake adorned by one-thousand shrines of
Shiv-Lings on its banks. It is a spectacular confluence of the pragmatic architectural splendor, intertwined with
symbolizing reverence for Hindu religious sanctity for water. The five kilometer lake, used to get water from
river Saraswati, by canals. The awe-inspiring lake still leaves an onlooker with an ever-enduring memory of its
grandeur. Solanki kings had built thousands of wells throughout GUJARAT, but, Rani-Ni-Vav (Queen's stepwell) is a seven-story marvel outside Patan. Its steps are interwoven with sculptures of Lord Vishnu's Avtaras,
Jain Tirthankars, Hindu Goddesses and glamorous Apsaras. VishalDev Vaghela followed the Solanki Dynasty,
who built the famous temples of Dabhoi and Vishalnagar (Visnagar). King Virdaval Waghela entrusted his two
distinguished Diwans, Vastupal and Tejpal to building magnificient temples at Abu, Girnar and Shatrunjay. For
a thousand years, Rajput kings had repelled the invaders. But, KaranDev Vaghela was the last Hindu
Rajput king of GUJARAT, since the superior forces of Alauddin Khilji conquored Anhilpur-Patan.
Vanraj Chavda was the founder of the strategically important town of Champaner in 8th century. It was
considered the strategic gateway to Malwa, Khandesh and Daccan, (thick Narmada river jungles had made them
impregnable), for highways ran thru the town which made it a militarily and a commercially viable artery
to central and southern India. It also collected lucrative customs duty for the goods that went thru it. Chauhans
of Ranthambhor (Rajasthan), descendents of the last Rajput Emperor of Delhi, Prithviraj Chauhan, had
established their kingdom in Champaner in (1300 AD). Because of its strategic importance, in South
GUJARAT, many Sultans of GUJARAT had tried to conquer it. Hindu kings had never discriminated against
any religion and so Champaner had many Hindu, Jain and Buddhist shrines, with Maha Kali temple at the top
of the reddish/yellow Pawagadh hill. Garbas/Raas and stage-plays were also a cultural contribution of
Champaner to GUJARAT. It was a well-planned city with a distinctly defined drainage system, grain-storages,
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lakes and tanks for constant water supply with successively fortified walls at regular distances from the top
of Pawagadh hills to the surface level. It was Mahmud Begda (1484), who succeeded in capturing the fort, after
two years of camping outside the fort and using deceitful tactics.
MUSLIM ERA: The fertile plains of northern India had always been a destination of choice for hordes of
invaders from the North-West by the tribes that had just converted to Islam. For the reason of its geography, the
Rajput ruled states suffered the brunt of this aggression from various Mongol-Turk-Afghan war-lords that
repeatedly invaded the subcontinent. Professor Stanley Wolpert (UCLA), in his book, New History of India,
wrote, "The Rajputs were the vanguard of Hindu India in the face of Islamic onslaught". Had it not been for the
Rajputs, all of India would have been, perhaps, going to the Masjid to-day to pray, like Malaysia,
Indonesia, Iran, Eastern Europe and Africa.
Before 1298, Muslims had only occasional contact with this part of India - GUJARAT, because, Rajputana was
a formidable obstacle to Muslim to advance from the North. They were allowed two small settlements, in port
towns of Bharuch and Khambhat. Abdullah, a missionary from Egypt, during Sidhraj's times preached there. He
became the founder of the Bohra faith in the region. It was Allauddin Khilji, who annexed GUJARAT into
Delhi Sultanate after destroying Anhilpur-Patan. Nevertheless, the Sultanate was not in a firm control of
GUJARAT. When Timur Langh (great grand-father of Babar, the founder of the Mogul Dynasty), brutally
ransacked Delhi (1398), thereby pushing Delhi Sultanate to its breaking point. That is when SultanateGovernor Muzaffer Shah, declared himself independent, Sultan of GUJARAT. His son, Ahmed Shah, moved
the capital from Karnavati to the new city named after himself, Ahmedabad, (February 26, 1411, 600 years old).
Mahmud Begda, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, in 1487, fortified the city, six miles in circumference, having
twelve gates. He was a ruthless but an efficient ruler. He was called Begada, because he had conquered two
'Gadhs', Junagadh (1467) and Pawagadh (1484). He made Khambhat, a commercially viable port. Later, under
the Moguls, Surat rose in prominence.
Mogul Emperor Akbar, conquered Ahmedabad (1573), and brought it under control of Delhi again. Akbar was
the first Muslim king that made India his home. Until then all those invaded India, just plundered riches of India
and left behind a ghastly trail of death, destruction and mayhem. Akbar wanted to weave into Indian tapestry of
art, architecture, culture, tradition, administration and history, his own vision of the greatness of the country.
But, unfortunately that trend ended with Aurangzeb. During the Mogul reign, Ahmedabad thrived as a trade
center of textile goods, which were exported as far away as Europe thru the ports of Surat and Khambhat, by
enterprising GUJARATi Banias. Shah Jahan, Mogul Ruler, spent prime of his life in Ahmedabad. He sponsored
the construction of Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. Mogul Faujdars appointed Nawabs to administer the
region. Control of GUJARAT gave them an unprecedented power and prestige, financial and manpower
resources, command over gateway to Malwa, Khandesh and Deccan. But, soon enough breakdown of such
a remote-controlled authority gave rise to local powers to fill the vacuum.
Resourceful Parsis had landed in Sanjan from Iran, sometime in the 7th century and made GUJARAT their
home. Of the Europeans, first Portuguese (1512-1619), and then DUTCH, followed by the British (1609),
appeared on the shores of Surat as traders. Sir Thomas Roe obtained permission of the Mogul Emperor
Jahangir, to establish a factory in Surat (Surajpur), and DUTCH followed them. Portuguese withdrew from
Surat, when Princess Catherine of Brenganza was married to Charles II of England in 1662, and Surat and
Bombay islands were given to the British in dowery. By 1687, British had established Presidency in Bombay,
while took control of local governance in Surat by 1800.
ANGLO-MARATHA ERA: Marathas began to consolidate their power. Moguls sent Afzal Khan to kill Shivaji,
rising Maratha king. Shivaji (1659) killed Afzal Khan at Pratapgadh, using tiger claws. Shivaji had used the
guerrilla warfare tactics combined with swift surprise-attack military strategy on the horse-back, developed
by Maharana Pratap almost a century earlier, against the Moguls in Rajasthan. Thereafter, Chhatrapati Shivaji
invaded and plundered Mogul stronghold, port of Surat, in 1664 and 1672. These were the initial incursions of
the Marathas into GUJARAT. Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shivaji appointed the Peshwa (Prime Minister or PantPradhan) to run his day-to-day administration. These Peshwas had control of finances of the military, which put
them in a position of power.
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Before the time of Aurangzeb's death (1707), cracks had begun to develop in the Mogul Empire. The
centralized hierarchical vertical power of Mogul Empire from Delhi was coming to an end. GUJARAT was one
of the sixteen Subas of the Mogul Empire, throughout India. Constant Maratha raids could not be controlled by
the Mogul officers in GUJARAT. In 1748, Sher Khan established Babi Dynasty in Junagadh with the help of
the Sultan of Ahmedabad. A towering statesman, his Nagar Diwan, Amarji, made Junagadh a prominent
state. Ahmedabad remained under the control of Moguls until 1758, when Moguls surrendered to the
contending Marathas - Peshwas (Brahmins) of Poona and Gaekwads (Maratha-Rajput descent) of Baroda. In
1774, a succession dispute arose, when Narayan Rao peshwa was killed and Raghoba wanted to become the
Peshwa, bypassing Narayan Rao's son. The British and the Gaekwads successfully supported Narayan Rao's
son's candidacy. Gaekwads recognized British power after the treaty of Salbai (1782). Surat went to the British
in 1800, and Bharuch in 1803. PilajiRao Gaekwad and Kanoji Kadam-Bande raided region south of Surat and
built a fort in Songadh, and took residence there. South GUJARAT's Rajas of Rajpipla and Chhota-Udaipur
supported the Marathas. Nizam Haider Qualikhan appointed his Naib, Hamid khan, to take charge
of GUJARAT and went to Deccan and declared independence from the Moguls. Royal court appointed Shujaut-Khan to replace Hamid Khan. Hamid Khan asked for help of Kanoji and Pilajirao. Shuja-ut Khan was
killed and the Marathas, for the first time, entered Ahmedabad. Wealthy Desais of Padra, Chhani, Bhaili
and Viramgam needed safety and security from often unruly Moguls, and so, they helped Marathas establish
themselves in GUJARAT. Desais collected Chauth for the Marathas. Shroffs and Nagarsheths became very
prominent in GUJARAT politics and finance, during the Rajput and the Maratha rule. Until now, the Gaekwads
and the Peshwas of Poona shared the revenues collected in GUJARAT. After the treaty of Salbai, Gaekwads
and the British shared the revenues. Maharaja Sayaji Rao (1863 – 1939) was the most enlightened of the
Gaekwad kings. His was one of the most efficiently and effectively run administration of a princely state of
India. He gave to his people, the Baroda College (Maharaja Sayaji Rao University), Gaekwad Baroda State
Railway (first narrow gauge railway in India), Nyay Mandir, Kirti Mandir, Sur Sagar Lake, Dufferin Hospital,
Jamnabai Hospital, Laxmi Vilas Palace, Nazar Baug Palace, Makarpura palace, Kamati Baug, the museum,
Ajwa water supply, Mandvi, Khanderao Market, Polo Grounds and so on.
The British took over the city of Ahmedabad in 1818. Military cantonment was established in
1824 and municipal government was setup in 1858. In 1864, a railway link was created by B B & C I (Bombay
Baroda and Central India) Railway, which made Ahmedabad a prosperous industrial and commercial center of
GUJARAT linking Northern and Southern India. Textiles and Tobacco industries flourished and huge
population migrations took place between rural and industrial centers of GUJARAT. As the Peshwas declined
in power, the British replaced them. The British had direct control over Surat, Bharuch, Godhra, Kheda,
Dholka, Dhandhuka and Ahmedabad, while the Gaekwads had direct control over Navsari, Mehsana, Amreli
and Baroda. Peshwas gradually disintegrated. The British had signed separate treaties with each prince of India.
MODERN GUJARAT: Beehive-activities of the Independence Movement, began in Ahmedabad with
Mahatma Gandhi establishing Kochrab Ashram (1915-Paldi) and Sabarmati Ashram (1917-Satyagrah Ashram),
in Ahmedabad. Protests against the extension of war-time regulations (Rowlette Act-1919), and Textile workers
strike for better civil rights and pay, rocked the city. From here, Gandhiji embarked upon his civil disobedience
movement, with Dandi Salt March (1930) and Quit India Movement (1942). The city endured intense HinduMuslim riots on the eve of the Independence. British Bombay Presidency comprised of the western coastal
regions of India. When Reoganization of The States Commission decided to keep bi-lingual Bombay State
(1956), the riots broke out through-out the state. Indulal Yagnik led the Maha-GUJARAT movement, which
resulted in the birth of today’s GUJARAT state in India and Ahmedabad as its capital. L.D. College of
Engineering initiated the Nav-Nirman Agitation (1974), which shook-up not only GUJARAT, but, with
Jayaprakash Narayan leading the movement, led to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, imposing
'National Emergency' (1975).
GUJARAT has produced such legends as, Narsinh Mehta, Dhumketu, Umashankar Joshi, Kanaiyalal Munshi,
Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Jinnah, Morarji Desai, Jivraj Mehta, Dhirubhai Ambani, Vikram Sarabhai, Dr, Verghese
Kurian and others. GUJARAT State has made some giant leaps in economic development since year 2000. It
has experienced double digit growth, especially in the areas such as Agriculture, Auto, Chemical, Infrastructure
(Power, Road, Port and Communications), Dairy, Diamond, Oil Refinery, Pharmaceutical, Textiles, and so on,
making GUJART as the premier state and the economic growth engine of India.
Gujaratotsav 2011
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Sponsors of Gujaratotsav 2011
Grand Sponsor:
Godrej Properties
Chief Guest:
Shri Navin Doshi and Pratima Doshi
Gold Sponsors:
1. Moksha Restaurant
2. Babubhai & Madhuben Mehta
3. Ushakant & Irma Thakkar
4. Govind & Sonal Vaghashia
Silver Sponsors:
1. State Bank of India, Canoga Park Branch
2. Wilshire State Bank
3. Vikram & Anjana Kamdar
4. Sharad & Jyothsana Patel
5. Satish & Nidhi Tomar
Gujaratotsav 2011
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