Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of

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 the administrative headquarters of

Navsari District Navsari is an administrative district in the state of Gujarat in India, with its headquarters at the city of Navsari. The district covers an area of 2,211 square kilometres and was formed in 1997 after Valsad district was split into Valsad and N ...

. Navsari is situated between

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Navsari is a twin city of

. It is located 37 km south of Surat. As per

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Navsari is 16th biggest city of

state. It ranked 10th most populous city of Gujarat in

1991 Census of India The 1991 Census of India was the 13th in a series of censuses held in India every decade since 1872. The population of India was counted as 838,583,988. Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO, EOLSS Publishers, Paris, France Retrieved 17 Dec ...

and

2001 Census of India The 2001 Census of India was the 14th in a series of censuses held in India every decade since 1871. The population of India was counted as 1,028,737,436 consisting of 532,223,090 males and 496,514,346 females. Total population increased by 18 ...

. Navsari is the 23rd "cleanest city of India" located in the west zone according to the Swachh Bharat Urban mission. Dandi village near Navsari was the focal point of the great

Salt March The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

led by

Mahatma 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- ...

during civil disobedience movement of India.

History

Navsari was originally known as "Navasarika", and was the capital of a ''vishya'' (an administrative unit) in the Lata region. It is identified with "Nusaripa", a city mentioned in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's 2nd century

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

-language work ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

''. The

Chalukyas of Navasarika The Chalukyas (IAST: Cālukya) of Navasarika (modern Navsari) were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra during 7th and 8th centuries, as vassals of the Chalukyas of Vatapi. They are also known as the "Ear ...

, who governed the area around Navsari as subordinates of the

Chalukyas of Vatapi 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 ...

, repulsed an Umayyad invasion of the area in 738-739 CE. According to the Parsi tradition, in 1142 A.D., when they first came to Navsari, the city was named Nag Mandal. The Parsis found the city's atmosphere similar to that of the Sari region of Iran. In the Persian language, "now" means new, and "Sari" refers to the region in Iran, hence the name Naoo Sari. Two families of

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...

priests settled in Navsari in the early 13th century, and the town soon emerged as the main center of the Parsi priesthood and religious authority. As the Parsi community grew at other places in India, the priests from Navsari were sought by the new Parsi settlements throughout the country. It is the home of the Bhagarsath

Atash Behram An Atash Behram (Fire of Victory) is the highest grade of a fire that can be placed in a Zoroastrian fire temple as an eternal flame, the other two lower graded fires are Atash Adaran and below Adaran is the Atash Dadgah- these three grades signif ...

established in 1765, which is now a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

replaced Navsari as the principal settlement of the Parsi community in the 18th century, following its rise as a major trade center for the European

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, and the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

incursions into Surat; Surat itself lost this position to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in the later years.

Geography

Navsari is located at . It has an average elevation of 9m (29') above sea level. The city is located in southern Gujarat and is situated near the Purna River, within a few kilometers of the river's delta, which is west of the city and empties into the

Gulf of Khambhat 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 ...

. The weather in Navsari is sunny from October to May, and rainy from June to September. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 42 °C (107.6 °F) and 17 °C (62.6 °F) respectively. The average annual rainfall is 122 cm (48 in).

Demographics

The city's first settlers were the

Chalukyas 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 ...

, followed by the

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

, and subsequent settlements by the

Parsis Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

. According to the 2011 census, Navsari had a population of 171,109. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Navsari had an average literacy rate of 88%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy was 92%, and female literacy was 84%. 10% of the population was under 6 years of age. Gujarati is the main language spoken in Navsari. The other languages spoken are Hindi & English.

Landmarks

The Sayaji Vaibhav Public Library Navsari is an important public building in Navsari. The Meherjirana library. This is one of the oldest libraries in the South Gujarat Region. It was established by the first Dastur (Parsi/Zoroastrian priest)

Meherji Rana The first Dastur Meherji Rana, sometimes known as Mayyaji Rana, was a spiritual leader of the Parsi community in India during the sixteenth century. He was renowned among the Parsis and other communities due to his “vast knowledge and spiritual ...

, who was also born in Navsari. He was invited by Akbar in a religious program organized by the Great Akbar. Leaders of all religious groups participated in it. Akbar asked to start a conversation and eventually asked to give information about their religion. All the religious leaders gave information about their religions and gradually tried to show their religions as great except Dastur Meherjirana. Afterward, the leaders asked Akbar his opinion as to whose religion is great. Akbar was really impressed by Dastur Meherjirana, so he asked him. Meherjirana Dastur calmly replied, "All religions are equal in terms of strength and ideology and principle". Akbar was extremely impressed by his personality. He donated a piece of land to Dastur Meherjirana in Navsari, where today The Meherjirana Library stands. Akbar wrote on a scroll about the donation of land which is still preserved by the management of the library. Dandi The Dandi seashore is an important location from the point of view of India's Independence Movement. In

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

Mahatma Gandhi started the "

Dandi March The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

" from Sabarmati Ashram up to the Dandi seashore to protest against a tax on salt by the colonial government. Ajmalgadh Though it is surrounded by high hills, this is a historical place. Zoroastrians/Parsis roamed in the forest and cave of Ajmalgadh to save and protect their sacred fire-cauldron for nearly 250–350 years. Recently, the local administration constructed a pillar on the hill of Ajmalgadh describing the story. They also closed the cave which was used to protect the holy fire.

Transportation

The nearest domestic and international airport is

Surat International Airport Surat International Airport , is an international airport serving Surat and Southern Gujarat. It is located in Magdalla, situated 12 km (6.4 mi) from the city centre. It has a total area of 770 acres (312 ha), and is the second busiest airport ...

at Magdalla,

, 27 km. There are other two airports nearby,

Vadodara Airport Vadodara Airport is a Domestic airport serving the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India in the suburb of Harni, located northeast of Vadodara. It is the third-busiest airport in Gujarat, after Ahmedabad and Surat airports. Terminals The existin ...

, 178 km north from the Navsari city &

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

, 239 km south-west from Navsari city. also lies on the Mumbai-

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

railway link, one of the busiest railway routes in India. Navsari is well connected by

NH 64 National Highway 64 (NH 64) is a National Highway (India), National Highway in India connecting Dandi and Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. References

National highways in India National Highways in Gujarat {{India-NH-st ...

also known as Sabarmati-Dandi Highway.

NH 48 National Highway 48 (NH 48) is a National Highway of India that starts at Delhi and terminates at Chennai traversing through seven states of India. It has a total length of 2807 km (1744 miles). NH 48 passes through the states of Del ...

also passes through the city. Navsari is only 30 km south of Surat.

Education

Universities and colleges

Engineering Universities and colleges

* Mahatma Gandhi Inst. of Technical Education and Research * GIDC Degree Engineering College

Arts & Commerce Universities and colleges

* Sorabji Burjorji Garda Arts College
B.P. Baria Science College
*

Navsari Agricultural University Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is situated between Surat & Mumbai. Navsari is a twin city of Surat. It is located 37 km south of Sura ...

* P.K. Patel Commerce College * Navsari Law College * Vallabhbudhi Polytechnic, Navsari * Naranlala College o
Professional and Applied Science
* S.S. Agrawal College of Arts and Commerce, Navsari * S.S. Agrawal College of Nursing Training College and Research Centre, Navsari * S.S. Agrawal Institute of Management and Technology, Navsari * S.S. Agrawal Homeyopathic Collage, Navsari * B.D. Gohil, Navsari. * Dinshaw Daboo Law College * District Institute of Education and Training, Navsari - B. Ed. College — Famous Academy * Gyansetu Institute for All Competitive Exams- Near Harbhole, Kanyashala no 1

Schools

* Podar International School, Navsari * Sheth H.C. Parekh, Navsari High School * Hamara school *Tapovan SanskarDham Vidhyalaya * Bai Navajbai Tata Zoroastrian Girls School *The Vidyakunj High School * Seth P.H. Vidyalaya (Sanskarbharti) * Akhil Hind Mahila Parishad High School * Bai Navajbai Tata Girls' High School *Sir C.J. Navsari Zarthosti Madresa High School * Seth R.J.J. High School * Sir Jamshetji Jeejeebhoy English medium high school *The Simlak Muslim Education Institute, Simlak, Jalapore * The Navsari High School * Real English School * St. Francis of Assisi Convent High School * Bhakta Ashram * Seventh-Day Adventist English School * Dadabhau Kawasji Tata High School * Dinbai Daboo Girls High School * Late G.C Patel Vidhyalaya * R.D Patel Sarvajanik High School * Mamta Mandir * Seth Banatwala High School * Shree Sardar Patel Vidhya Bhavan, Jalalpore * Shree Sardar Sharda Mandir, Vijalpore * Hemali English Primary & Modern English Secondary & Higher Secondary School * Naranlala Higher Secondary School * Divine Public School * Sri Sathya Sai Vidyaniketan, Ganeshvad Sisodra * Seventh Day English School, Shyam Nagar, Navsari * Sanskar bharti ,Navsari

Hospitals

* The Dorabji Nanabhoy Mehta Sarvajanik Hospital * K.D.N. Gohil Hospital * Daboo Hospital * Rotary Eye Institute * Orange Hospital * Yashfin Hospital * Mulla Hospital * Civil Hospital * Kejal Hospital * Dhruvini Nursing Home & Iccu * MAA cancer Hospital * Nirali cancer research hospital * Ramaben Hospital * Lions Hospital * Shraddha Hospital * Shushrusha Hospital * Anand Hospital * Parmar Hospital * Unity Hospital * Surbhi Hospital * Maroliya hospital for women

Notable people

Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who served as 2nd, 9th, and 22nd President of t ...

, known as the "Grand Old Man of India", Member of Parliament (MP) in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

between 1892 and 1895 *

Jeetan Patel Jeetan Shashi Patel (born 7 May 1980) is a former New Zealand international cricketer. A right arm off spin bowler, he plays for Wellington in New Zealand and Warwickshire in England. He is also the spin bowling coach for the England cricket ...

(1980), New - Zealand international Cricketer of Indian Origin. *

Homai Vyarawalla Homai Vyarawalla (9 December 1913 – 15 January 2012), commonly known by her pseudonym Dalda 13, was India's first woman photojournalist. She began her career in 1938 working for the Bombay Chronicle, capturing images of daily life in the cit ...

(1913–2012), first woman photojournalist of India, Padma Vibushan *

Ram Ganesh Gadkari Ram Ganesh Gadkari (26 May 1885 – 23 January 1919) was a Marathi people, Marathi poet, playwright, and humorist from Bombay Presidency, India. Ram Ganesh Gadkari was one of the writers the in new age transformation in Marathi literature. He wr ...

(1885 - 1919), Marathi poet, playwright, and humorist *

Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet Jejeebhoy of Bombay CMG (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian-Parsi merchant and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the opium trade with Ch ...

, merchant and philanthropist *

, spiritual leader of the Parsi community in India *

Jamsetji Tata Jamsetji (Jamshedji) Nusserwanji Tata (3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian pioneer industrialist who founded the Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company. Named the greatest philanthropist of the last century by several poll ...

, founder of what would later become the Tata Group of companies, regarded as the "father of Indian industry" *

Kurush Deboo Kurush Deboo (born 12 September 1963) is an Indian actor who has acted in many supporting roles in Hindi films and television series. He was first noticed as Shah Rukh Khan's character's loyal friend in ''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa''. He is known fo ...

, Indian film actor, famous for Munnabhai M.B.B.S. was born in Navsari *

Ketan Mehta Ketan Mehta (born 21 July 1952) is an Indian film director who has also directed documentaries and television serials since 1975. Early life and education Born on 21 July 1952 in Navsari in Gujarat, Mehta did his schooling from Sardar Patel V ...

, Indian film director who has also directed documentaries and television serials * Hiralal Jairam, cricketer

References

External links

Official website
of the Navsari Nagarpalika.
Official website
of the Navsari Collectorate (in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

). {{Authority control Cities and towns in Navsari district Zoroastrianism in India Parsi culture Parsi people