Kapadvanj (Karpat – Vanjiyam or "The Land of Textile") is a town as well as one of the

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 ...

of the

Kheda district Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...

in the

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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located on bank of river Mohar. It is 65 km away from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and 93 km away from

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

Geography

Kapadvanj is located at . It has an average elevation of 69 metres (226 feet).

Climate

Kapadvanj usually experiences a semi-arid climate. The temperatures shoot up to 45-47 degree Celsius especially in the month of May. Hot winds blow over the region known as"Loo". Rainy season starts from July and ends in September. Rainfall is between 750-800mm. In winters temperature fall to 8-9 degree Celsius. Mild climate causes pleasant weather during the season

History, Historical Places

Jayasimha Siddharaja Jayasiṃha ( ), who assumed the title Siddharāja (), was an Indian king who ruled western parts of India. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty. Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in pres ...

(1094 – 1143),

chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

king, built some of Gujarat’s finest architectural structures. He had built two exquisite Vavs (step wells) and a Torana at the centre of the old town. The main structure called kundvav is a rectangular structure, similar to plan of Modhera Sun Temple step well. However, it is smaller and simpler than Modhera’s. Kundvav Kapadvanj Rushi Pandya India

Kapadvanj was a major trading centre on the route inland from the port of Cambay and trade brought it wealth and importance in the time Siddharaj Jayasinh Solanki. As it was located close to Mohar River, it was a perfect place for constructing step wells for water supply. According to local historians and elderly folks the town had five gates. The torana at Kapadvanj is one among the 13 kirtistambhas in Gujarat; however it is amongst the best preserved, only after the Vadnagar torana. It has two pillars and a transverse architrave. The entire torana is covered with elaborate sculptures. Other historical place of Kapadvanj is Vohrawad (a Bohra neighbourhood marked by the special character of the elegantly hybrid architecture). There are few wooden havelis there. They wore even sculptures of musicians, a usual feature of pol wooden houses in Ahmedabad. There are nine Jain Temples in Kapadvanj. Chintamani Parshwanath Temple, Astapad Temple, Glass temple of Shantinath are famous of them. Feroze Tuglaq Mosque in Kapadvanj has a unique calligraphy originated in Gujarat called ''Khat-e-Bahaar'' which blends local elements in Arabic script.

Battles & Historical Events

Shortly after, in A.D, 1746, a battle was fought at Kapadvanj in which SherKhan was wounded. He was then forced to take shelter with Rangoji in Kapadvanj, while Fakhr-ud-daulah, Gangadhar and Krishnaji laid siege to that town. At this time

Malhar Rao Holkar Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the es ...

, on his way back from his yearly raid into

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

, was asked by the Lunawara Chief to join him in attacking Virpur.

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

agreed, and Virpur was plundered. Rangoji, hearing of the arrival of Holkar, begged him to come to his aid, and on the promise of receiving a sum of 20,000/ (Rs. 2,00,000) and two elephants, Holkar consented. And Fakhr-ud-daulah, hearing of the approach of Holkar, raised the siege of Kapadvanj, and marching to Dholka.

Demographics

When Gujarat separated from Mumbai, the government created 10 dist and 40 taluka, Kapadvanj was one of them. Kapadvanj was a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Gujarat. Shankarsinh Vaghela was last MP from Kapadvanj.

Education

Kapadvanj has many educational institutions like Maneklal Desai Kishor Mandir, Shree L M Sharda Mandir School, Adarsh School , M P High School, Shree Ganesh English Medium School, School for success (jeevanshilp campus)
Parekh Brothers Science College
V.M Parekh and K.S. Shah Arts and commerce college, Smt. Santaben Kanchanlal Shah (Chawada) College of Education (B. ed. college). Kapadwanj Kelavani Mandal (KKM Trust) is the oldest and pioneer non-profit entity in the town effortlessly working for providing quality education since 1940.

Politics

Politics of kapadvanj city has always been closely contested between

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and

Bharatiya Janta Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

. Other national parties with limited activities are

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), alon ...

Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party in ...

. Other state parties active in kapadvanj is Mahagujarat Janta Party, Samata Party, Republic Party of India. kapadvanj has 280,899 registered voters including 143,664 Male and 137,223 Female. kapadvanj has one state assembly constituencies. INC has always been a strong party in this arena. INC won this seat in 2017 election. Total number of voters participated were 199,642. INC got 42.67% of votes and nearest competitor was BJP with 29.04%. Election for the state assembly is held every 5 years. Current MLA of kapadvanj assembly is Dabhi Kalabhai Raijibhai.

References

External links

*
Aapdu Kapadvanj Website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kheda district