Sabarkantha district is one of the 33 districts 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 ...

state of

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 ...

and is located in the northeastern part of the state. The administrative headquarters of the district are located in

Himatnagar Himatnagar or Himmatnagar is a municipality in Sabarkantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. The city is on the bank of the river Hathmati. History Himatnagar was founded in 1426 b ...

Geography

Himatnagar Public Library and Towerclock

Sabarkantha District is bounded by

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

state to the north and northeast,

Banaskantha district Banaskantha district is one of the thirty-three districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city. The district is located in the Northeast of Gujarat and is pre ...

and

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of ove ...

to the west, Gandhinagar district to the south and

Aravalli district Aravalli district is a district in the state of Gujarat in India that came into being on August 15, 2013, becoming the 29th district of the state. The district has been carved out of the Sabarkantha district. The district headquarters are at Modas ...

to the southeast. It is spread across an area of 5390 km². It has a gender ratio of 950 females per 1000 men, and the literacy rate for the district is 76.6%.

History

During the

Western Satrap The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajastha ...

rule, the region was known as ''Shwabhra'' ( gu, શ્વભ્ર). The region was under rule of Satrap Rudradama in 150 A.D. as indicated in

Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts The Major Rock Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent some of the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. These edicts are preceded chronologica ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

. The river of the region is named as ''Shwabhravati'' which is now known as Sabarmati River. The region is also named in auxiliary text ''Gaṇapāṭha'' of

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...

's grammar work, ''Aṣṭādhyāyī''. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Vijaynagar in Sabarkantha district was the capital of

Vijaynagar State Vijaynagar State, known as Pol State before 1934 and also called Ghodadar for a short time, was a princely state under the Mahi Kantha Agency, Bombay Presidency in NE Gujarat during the British Raj. The capital of the state was in Vijaynagar talu ...

or Pol State, one of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s of the

Mahi Kantha Agency Mahi Kantha was a political agency or collection of princely states in British India, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. In 1933, the states of the Mahi Kantha Agency, except for Danta, were included in the Western India States ...

. The present-day district of Sabarkantha was formed in 1949 through the merger of 29

s and some parts of the British-governed Ahmedabad district. When the erstwhile

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

was bifurcated in 1960, Sabarkantha became a part of the newly-formed

Economy

In 2006 the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India. Ministry of Panchayati Raj looks into all matters relating to the Panchayati Raj and Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was created in May 2004. The ministry is headed by a m ...

named Sabarkantha one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the six districts in Gujarat currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Divisions

Sabarkantha district has 8

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: # Himatnagar # Idar # Prantij # Talod # Khedbrahma # Poshina # Vadali # Vijaynagar

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sabarkantha 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 2,428,589, roughly equal to the nation of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

or the US state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. This gives it a ranking of 183rd 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 16.56%. Sabarkantha 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 950

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 76.6%. The divided district has a population of 1,388,671. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are 125,462 and 328,243 which is 9.03% and 23.64% of the population respectively. Hindus are 1,285,218, Muslims are 90,027 and Jains are 9,990.

Language

Politics

Forts

Idario Gadh - Ilva Durga (ancient fort) – Idar is an ancient fort, known as 'Ilva Durga' and finds mentioned in Mahabharat and in the travelogue of the Rathore Rajputs in the Mahi Kantha agency at the time of British Raj. It is a classic example of a naturally protected hill fort, located at the southern edge of the Aravalli range. At the foothill, lay the ruins of an old palace, a fine specimen of architecture in stone with delicately carved balconies. The entry to Idar town is through a three storeyed clock tower cum entrance gate, with a huge arch and semi circular dome at the top. The road, with a colourful bazaar on both sides, leads to the tower and ends at the foothills of Idar fort.

Heritage sites

Vijay Villas Vijaynagar

Vijay Villas Vijaynagar is nested on the foothills of the aravali ranges and is on the edge of among the few dense forests left in Gujarat in the Sabarkantha district which is on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is a heaven for nature and wild life admirers.

Darbargadh

About 18 km from Ambaji in Sabarkantha district, Poshina takes one back to the simple beauty of traditional village life, populated by a captivating mélange of colorful tribal communities of the Garasias, Bhils and the pastoral Rabaris. Poshina is home to a tribal shrine where you find the staggering scene of thousands of terracotta horses standing in rows as offerings to the local goddess. Nearby villages have similar horses carved in reverence to her divinity. A visit to the homes of the potters who make these striking horses is an excellent glimpse into tribal culture. In Poshina you find the Darbargadh Poshina, once a palace, and now a welcoming heritage hotel, with huge gateways, a massive dome, numerous pillars and arches, a pleasant courtyard, gardens, lawns and terraces, owned by the descendants of the Chalukyas, whose empire spread through much of Gujarat and Central India in the 12th century. You also find old Jain sandstone temples of Parshvanath and Neminath and an old Shiva temple. Sabarkantha district is host to the famous Chitra Vichitra Fair in Gunbhakhari village, a couple of weeks after Holi.

Polo forest

Polo forest is spread across 400 square KM, located near Abhapur village in Vijaynagar taluka of Gujarat. Polo forest is surrounded by beautiful hills from where the Harnav River is crossing and spread across the forest, ancient Shiv temple, Jain temple and other heritage site located in nearby areas, Every year, Gujarat government celebrate Polo festival by organizing well-planned travel events which includes adventure activities, cycling, camping.

Notable people

Umashankar Joshi Umashankar Jethalal Joshi () (21 July 1911 – 19 December 1988) was an Indian poet, scholar and writer known for his contributions to Gujarati literature. He wrote most of his works in Gujarati. Biograpy Early years Umashankar Joshi was ...

(1911–1988), writer and scholar, born in Bamna (now

). *

Rashid Patel Rashid Ghulam Mohammed Patel (born 1 June 1964) was a left arm fast bowler who represented India. He played for Baroda between 1986–87 and 1996–97 in domestic cricket. Rashid Patel had a rather unsuccessful career for India. His only Test ...

, Indian cricketer. *

Zohraben Chavda Zohraben Akbarbhai Chavda (1923–1997) was a Gandhian social reformer and member of the 3rd Lok Sabha from Banaskantha. Early life Zohraben was born on 2 September 1923 in Prantij town of Gujarat to Jamiyatkhan Ummarkhan Pathan and his wife. She ...

(1923–1997), Gandhian social reformer and member of the 3rd Loksabha from Banaskantha. * Manoj Joshi, actor and comedian, born in

Himmatnagar Himatnagar or Himmatnagar is a municipality in Sabarkantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. The city is on the bank of the river Hathmati. History Himatnagar was founded in 1426 b ...

. *

Praful Khoda Patel Praful Khoda Patel is an Indian politician who is currently the administrator of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and the union territory of Lakshadweep. Political career Patel began his political career winnin ...

, politician and administrator of Diu, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli.

References

External links

Official website

Collectorate website

Bhiloda site
{{coord, 23.6, 72.95, type:adm2nd_region:IN, display=title Districts of Gujarat