Bhavnagar District is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of southeastern
Gujarat
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 ...
, India, on the
Saurashtra peninsula. It is also known as Gohilwar as a major portion of Bhavnagar district was ruled by
Gohil Gohil may refer to:
* Gohil dynasty, 12th-century rulers of Saurashtra in modern Gujarat
* Gohil, a Gujarati'rajsthani clan
* Gahlot, a clan of rajputs
* Dinita Gohil, British actress
* Gigabhai Gohil (died 2020), Indian politician
* Manav Gohil (b ...
Rajputs
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
.
The administrative headquarters is in the town of
Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...
.
Geography
![Rajaparakhodiyarmandir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Rajaparakhodiyarmandir.JPG)
Bhavnagar District covers an area of over 8334 km
2. The coastal area is mostly
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
.
Bhavnagar borders with
Ahmedabad District
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ahmedabad District
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = District of Gujarat
, image_skyline = D ...
to the northeast,
Botad District to the northwest, the
Gulf of Cambay
The Gulf of Khambhat, historically known as the Gulf of Cambay, is a bay on the Arabian Sea coast of India, bordering the state of Gujarat just north of Mumbai and Diu Island. The Gulf of Khambhat is about long, about wide in the north and u ...
to the east and south and
Amreli District to the west.
History
Bhavnagar State
Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra.
The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941.
Its ruler ...
was a
salute state
A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...
during the
Raj,
ruled by the Gohil Rajputs, .
Bhavnagar lost two
taluka
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
s,
Botad
Botad is a city and district headquarters of Botad district, Gujarat, India. It is about 92 km from Bhavnagar and 133 km From Ahmedabad by road distance.
Botad district is made from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. Erstwhile, it was part of ...
and
Gadhada
Gadhada is a town and a municipality in Botad District in the state of Gujarat, India. Gadhada is situated at bank of River Ghela. Swaminarayan lived here for more than 25 years.
Geography
Gadhada is located at . It has an average elevati ...
, to the creation in August 2013 of the new district of
Botad
Botad is a city and district headquarters of Botad district, Gujarat, India. It is about 92 km from Bhavnagar and 133 km From Ahmedabad by road distance.
Botad district is made from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. Erstwhile, it was part of ...
.
Administrative divisions
Bhavnagar District is divided into ten
taluka
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
s :
Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...
,
Sihor
Sihor is a town, a municipality in Bhavnagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Placed along the river Gautami, this erstwhile capital of the Gahlot, Gohil Rajputs, surrounded by hills is situated about 2 ...
,
Umrala,
Gariadhar
Gariadhar is a city and a municipality in Bhavnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India.
Geography
Gariadhar is located at . It has an average elevation of 83 metres (272 feet).
Demographics
India census, Gariadhar had a populat ...
,
Palitana
Pālītāṇā is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre ("shashwat tirth") for Jains. It is first of the two vegetarian cities in the world.
Histo ...
,
Mahuva,
Talaja Talaja may refer to:
People
* Roope Talaja (born 1988), Finnish ice hockey player
* Silvija Talaja (born 1978), Croatian tennis player
Places
* Talaja Caves, India
* Talaja, Bhavnagar
Talaja is a town and a municipality in Bhavnagar district ...
,
Ghogha
Ghogha is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the mid-western bank of the Gulf of Khambhat. It was an important historical commercial port on the Arabian Sea until the development of nearby Bha ...
,
Jesar and
Vallbhipur. There are close to 800 villages in this district, for example,
Tana Tana may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Lake Tana, a lake in Ethiopia (and a source of the Nile River)
* Tana Qirqos, an island in the eastern part of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Gumara River
* Tana River County, a county of Coast P ...
.
Demographics
According to the
2011 census Bhavnagar district has a
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 2,880,365,
roughly equal to the nation of
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
or the US state of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. This gives it a ranking of 133rd in India (out of a total of
640).
[ The district has a population density of .][ Its ]population growth rate
Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...
over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.53%.[ Bhavnagar has a ]sex ratio
The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...
of 931 females
Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...
for every 1000 males,[ and a ]literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
of 76.84%. The divided district has a population of 2,393,272. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are 125,441 and 8.039 which is 5.24% and 0.34% of the population respectively.[
Hindus were 2,176,962 while Muslims were 187,148 and Jains 21,851.]
Language
Politics
Sites
Historical places
Among the many historical places in Bhavnagar District are:
*Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
caves in Taleja,
*Statues of Seven Sisters in Rauhishala, and
*Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
Memorial and Sardar Memorial at Crescent Circle in the town of Bhavnagar.
Natural heritage sites
Velavadar Blackbuck National Park is the only tropical grassland in India recognised as a National park. It is spread over an area of 34.08 km2. The park contains mainly blackbuck
The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources.
It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...
, antelopes
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammal ...
, nilgai
The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...
, wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
, jackals
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
, hyenas
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the cla ...
, jungle cats
The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...
, fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, and wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
. Endangered birds such as Houbara Bustard
The houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata''), also known as African houbara, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. ...
, Lesser Florican
The lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''), also known as the likh or ''kharmore'', is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus ''Sypheotides''. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall gras ...
, Sarus White Storks, White Pelican, Montagu, and Pallid harrier
The pale or pallid harrier (''Circus macrourus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'', referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fli ...
also call the park home. Raptors including the Greater Spotted Eagle
The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), occasionally called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it is a member of the subfamily Aquil ...
, Juvenile Imperial Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle
The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...
, Short-toed Snake Eagle
The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus n ...
, and Long-legged Buzzard
The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...
are also seen in the park. The climate in Velavdar National Park makes it one of the best places for the migrating birds to breed.
Piram Island
Piram Island or Piram Bet is an island in Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea which falls under Bhavnagar district of Gujarat state, India. Except the campus of lighthouse, the island is privately owned.
Geography
The island is situated 7.2 nautical ...
is an island approximately 6 km offshore off Ghogha
Ghogha is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the mid-western bank of the Gulf of Khambhat. It was an important historical commercial port on the Arabian Sea until the development of nearby Bha ...
. It is said that this island was created about 3.5 million years ago. It is well known for its diversity of life, including many vulnerable or endangered species. There is a ruined fort which was built in 1325. The island has mangrove vegetation and also nesting site for two endangered species of sea turtle; Olive ridley sea turtle
The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in ...
and Green sea turtle, and around fifty species of birds, mostly seabirds.
Notes and references
External links
Official website
{{Bhavnagar district
Districts of Gujarat