HISTORY
OF GUJARAT - 3
Gujarat
- The Land of the Legends :
Gujarat is a State in northwestern India, on the border with Pakistan
and Rajasthan in the north east, Madhya Pradesh in the east, and
Maharashtra and the Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli in the south. The Arabian Sea borders the state both to the
west and the south west.
Gujarat : The State took it’s name from the Gujara, the land
of the Gujjars, who ruled the area during the 700’s and 800’s.
Ancient
Roots :
The first settlers in the State of Gujarat were Gujjars who happened
to be an ethnic group of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although
their originis remain uncertain, the clan appeared in northern India
and in Saurashtra about the time of the Huna invasion. The name
of the tribe was ‘sanskritized’ to ‘Gurjara’
who followed the main religions of Hinduism, Islam, Sikkism and
Christianity.
However,
the earliest Archeological traces indicate the Indus Valley Civilization
as historical relics with the stone age settlements are found in
Gujarat around Sabarmati and Mahi rivers. Its roots are also in
the Harappan traces found at Lothal, Rampur, Amri and other places.
Ancient
Gujarat was ruled by the Maurya Dynasty. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya
conquered a number of states in Gujarat while his grandson, King
Ashoka extended his domain in Gujarat. The reigns of the first three
Mauryas were significant but with Ashoka’s death in 232 B
C the Mauryan empire began to crumble,leading to political defragmentation.
The Shungas who succeeded the Mauryas tried, unsuccessfully, to
uphold the semblance of political unity.
After
the fall of the Maurya Empire, the Sakas or Scynthians controlled
the region from A.D. 130 to 390. Under Rudra-daman, their empire
contained Malwa (in Madhya Pradesh), Saurashtra, Kutchh and Rajasthan.
During the 300s and 400s, the area formed a part of the Gupta Empire
which in turn was succeeded by the Maitraka Dynasty. It was during
the rule of Dhruvasena Maitrak that the great Chinese traveler and
philosopher Huien Tsang visited India in 640AD.
Between
the decline of the Mauryan power and the coming of Saurashtra under
the sway of the Samprati Mauryas of Ujjain, there was a Greek incursion
into Gujarat led by Demetrius.
Three
royal races of Hindus successively ruled over, namely, the Chawura,
Solanki', and Baghilah races. The total number of individuals belonging
to the tribes who held power amounted to twenty-three, and they
retained possession of the country for five hundred and seventy-five
years - previous to the period when Gujarat became subject to the
Mohammedans. The Chawura tribe ruled one hundred and ninety-six
years after which the power passed into the hands of the Solankhi
tribe in the manner described.
It
was during the 900s that the Solanki Dynasty came to power. Under
the Solanki Dynasty, Gujarat reached to its greatest extent. It
is believed that the Gujjars belonged to this Solanki Dynasty because
Pratiharas, the Paramaras and the Solankis were imperial Gujjars.
Ancient Gujarat’s last Hindu rulers were the Solanki clan
of Rajputs from 960 AD to 1243 AD. It is also learnt, Karandev of
the Vaghela dynasty was the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat and he was
overthrown by the superior forces of Allauddin Khilji from Delhi
in 1297.
Medieval
Invasions :
The Muslim rule continued for 400 years. Gujarat's Muslim governor
Zafar Khan Muzaffar asserted his independence, and established the
first Muslim sultanate in Gujarat. He took advantage of the weak
rulers of Delhi prevailing at the time. He declared independence
and assumed the title of Muzaffar Shah. His successor, Ahmed I,
the first independent Muslim ruler of Gujarat, found Ahmedabad in
1411 on the banks of the Sabarmati river.
Prior
to this, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Gujarat, A.D. 1026. He had vowed
to invade India in order to destroy idolatry, capture prisoners
of war and plunder the vast wealth for which Gujarat was known.
Later, Allaudin Khilji invaded Gujarat in 1298 A.D.
Sultanate
of Gujarat remained independent until 1576 when the Mughal emperor
Akbar conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire. The Mughal
Emperor Akbar conquered Malwa and Gujarat in 1570s. The Mughals
ruled for about 2 centuries till the streak was terminated by the
Marathas after that Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler
conquered Gujarat with his military skill.
Influencing
Modernity :
In 1600’s, the Dutch, French, English and Portuguese –
all established bases along the coast of the region acquiring several
enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including Daman and Diu as well
as Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The
British East India Company established a factory in Surat in 1614,
which formed their first base in India, but it was eclipsed by Bombay
after the British acquired it from Portugal in 1668. The Company
wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the
Second Anglo-Maratha War. Many local rulers, notably the Maratha
Gaekwads of Baroda (Vadodara), made a separate peace treaty with
the British, and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for
retaining local self-rule.
Gujarat
was placed under the political authority of the Bombay Presidency,
with the exception of Baroda state, which had a direct relationship
with the Governor-General of India. From 1818 to 1947, most of present-day
Gujarat, including Kathiawar, Kutch, and northern and eastern Gujarat
were divided into dozens of princely states, but several districts
in central and southern Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Broach (Bharuch),
Kaira, Panch Mahals, and Surat, were ruled directly by British officials.
A
new era began with the Independence movement started by leaders
like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji
Desai, K.M. Munshi, Narhari Parikh, Mahadev Desai, Mohanlal Pandya,
Bhulabhai Desai and Ravi Shankar Vyas all who hailed from Gujarat.
Gujarat became a place for some of the most popular revolts, including
the Satyagrahas in Kheda, Bardoli, Borsad and the Salt Satyagraha.
Source
:
https://gujaratindia.gov.in/
about-gujarat/history-1.htm
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