Rajkot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rajkot
Rajkot
State - District(s)	Gujarat - Rajkot
Coordinates	22.3° N 70.78° E
Area - Elevation	? km² - 134 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	966,642 - ?/km²
Mayor	Dhansukh Bhanderi
Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle	- 360 001/2/3/4/5/6/7 - +0281 - GJ

Rajkot pronunciation (help·info) (2005 pop. 1,252,400) is a city of Gujarat state in India and administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Industry
5 Transportation
6 Interesting Places
7 Education
8 External links

[edit] History

Founded in 1612 by Thakur Saheb Vibhaji Ajoji Jadeja of Jadeja clan. Vibhaji was grandson of Jam Sataji of Nawanagar, presentday Jamnagar. During British Rule, it was a regional headquarter (Residency).

It has been seat of Jadeja Clan (Rajkot Branch) since then.

Mahatma Gandhi spent his early years in Rajkot while his father was a Diwan to one of the Saurashtran Nawab, and the house where Gandhi lived is now a museum named Kaba Gandhi No Delo. He went to school in here (Alfred High School, now known as Mahatma Gandhi High School).

After Independence, Rajkot became part of bilingual Bombay State. Later it was acknowledged as a capital of Saurashtra State. It hosted the State Assembly for the state. Uchhrangrai N. Dhebar(known poprularly as Dhebarbhai) was The First Chief Minister of Saurashtra State. He implemented the rights of peasents over the land ("Vave ane jamin") means land belongs to one who cultivated. Later, he was named as President of All India Congress Committee. Balwantbhai Mehta was The Second Chief Minister for the states.

When states were created based on Spoken Languages, the city along with Saurashtra State was merged into newly formed Gujarat State.

[edit] Geography

Rajkot is located at 22.3° N 70.78° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 134 metres (439 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Rajkot had a population of 966,642. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Rajkot has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national ave

[edit] Industry

Rajkot is famous for its Bandhani Sarees, mirror-work, patch work, bead work, jewellery market, silk embroidery and Watch Parts. The city hosts several of small scale manufacturing industries. Some of the industrial products that Rajkot is popular for includes:

Bearings
Diesel Engines (Largely exported to Africa and Middle East)
Kitchen Knives and other cutting appliances
Watch Parts : Watch Cases & Bracelets
Auto Parts
Forging industry
Casting industry
Machine tools

[edit] Transportation

It is connected to Mumbai by air and railway. Daily flights are operated by Jet Airways, Air Deccan and Indian Airlines. The city is well connected to other major cities of Gujarat such as Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Surat etc. by bus services operated by private and state-owned transport corporations. It is main railway junction of Saurashtra, train for the all the major cities is available from here.

[edit] Interesting Places

Race Course Ring Road
Rajkumar College
Aji Dam
Nyari Dam
Swaminarayan Temple
Darshan Vatika
Bal Vatika
Balaji Temple (Saat Hanumaan Temple)
Jubilee Garden
Watson Museum
Ramakrishna Aashram
Lalpari lake
Mukti Dhama
Love Temple (Prem Mandir)
Christ College
Vraj Vatika
Fun world
Ishwariya Temple
Jagnath Temple
Ram Krushna Aashram
Alfred High School (Gandhiji studied here)

[edit] Education

Saurashtra university is considered to be one of the largest universities of Gujarat. It was established on 23rd May 1967. Since then, it covers 7 major districts of Saurashtra region. The university has 207 colleges affiliated to it and has 28 PG Departments offering courses in Medical, Law, Basic Science, Commerce, Management and I.T, Humanities, Arts, Music, Religion and Indian Culture. SAGAR