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Bhavnagar

City in Gujarat, India

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Gate of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhavnagar, India
Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Bhavnagar is situated 190 kilometres or 120 miles away from the state capital Gandhinagar and to the west of the Gulf of Khambhat. It has always been an important city for trade with many large and small scale industries along with the world's largest ship breaking yard, Alang which is located 50 kilometres or 31 miles away. Historically, Bhavnagar holds the distinction of being the first princely state to voluntarily merge into the Union of India in January 1948, a move led by Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil. The city is a significant educational center in Gujarat; Shamaldas Arts College, founded by Maharaja Takhtsinhji in 1885, is historically prominent as the institution where Mahatma Gandhi studied in 1888. Gandhi's admission to the college is recorded as one of the earliest milestones in his academic journey before he left for London to study law. The city serves as the gateway to Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, which is recognized as the only tropical grassland in India to be designated as a National Park along with Victoria park which is the only urban forest of Gujarat located at the heart of Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is also famous for its version of the popular Gujarati snack 'Ganthiya' and 'Jalebi'.

History

The Gohil Rajput of the Suryavanshi clan faced severe competition in Marwar. Around 1260 AD, they moved down to the Gujarat's coastal area and established three capitals: Sejakpur (now Ranpur), Umrala, and Sihor. Sejakpur was founded in 1194.

In 1722–1723, the forces led by Khanthaji Kadani and Maratha Pilaji Gaekwad attempted to raid Sihor but were repelled by Maharajah Bhavsinhji Gohil. After the war, Bhavsinhji realized the reason for repeated attacks was the location of Sihor. In 1723, on auspicious day of vaishakh Shukla Tritiya also known as Akshay Tritiya he established a new capital near Vadva village, 20 km away from Sihor, and named it Bhavnagar after himself . It was a carefully chosen and strategic location because of its potential for maritime trade. Naturally, Bhavnagar became the capital of Bhavnagar State. In 1807, Bhavnagar State became a British protectorate.

The old town of Bhavnagar was a fortified town with gates leading to other important regional towns. It remained a major port for almost two centuries, trading commodities with Mozambique, Zanzibar, Singapore, and the Persian Gulf.

Bhavsinhji ensured that Bhavnagar benefited from the revenue that was brought in from maritime trade, which was monopolized by Surat and Cambay. As the castle of Surat was under the control of the Siddis of Janjira, Bhavsinhji brokered an agreement with them, giving the Sidis 1.25% of the revenue by Bhavnagar port. Bhavsinhji entered into a similar agreement with the British when they took over Surat in 1856. Whilst Bhavsinhji was in power, Bhavnagar grew from a small chieftainship to a considerably important state. This was due to the addition of new territories as well as the income provided by maritime trade. Bhavsinhji's successors continued to encourage maritime trade through Bhavnagar port, recognizing its importance to the state. The territory was further expanded by Bhavsinhji's grandson, Vakhatsinhji Gohil, when he took possession of lands belonging to Kolis and Kathis, obtained Rajula from the Navab Saheb Ahmad Khan, and merged Ghogha Taluka into the state.

In 1793, Vakhatsinhji conquered the forts of Chital and Talaja, and later conquered Mahuva, Kundla, Trapaj, Umrala and Botad. Bhavnagar remained the main port of the state, with Mahuva and Ghogha also becoming important ports. Because of the maritime trade, the state prospered compared to other states. During the late 19th century, the Bhavnagar State Railway was constructed. This made Bhavnagar the first state that was able to construct its railway system without any aid from the central government, which was mentioned in The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Mr. Peile, a political agent, described the state as follows:

With flourishing finances and much good work in progress. Of financial matters I need say little; you have no debts, and your treasury is full.

Between 1870 and 1878, the state were put under joint administration, due to the fact that Prince Takhtsinhji was a minor. This period produced some notable reforms in the areas of administration, revenue collection, judiciary, the post and telegraph services, and economic policy. The ports were also modernized. The two people who were responsible for those reforms were E. H. Percival of the Bombay Civil Service and Gaurishankar Udayshankar Oza, Chief Minister of Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar Boroz.

In 1911, HH Maharani Nundkanvarba of Bhavnagar was awarded the Order of the Crown of India, the highest Imperial award for women of the British Empire. The former princely state of Bhavnagar was also known as Gohilwad, "Land of the Gohils" (the clan of the ruling family).

Merger with the Indian Union in 1947

Until the independence of India in 1947, Bhavnagar was an independent state ruled by the Rajput Gohil family. In 1947, the Deputy Prime Minister of the newly independent Indian Union Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel undertook the ambitious and complex process of unifying 562 princely states with the Union of India. The last ruling Maharajah of Bhavnagar, Krishna Kumarsinhji handed over the administration of his Bombay State to the people's representative in 1948.

Kumarsinhji was one of the first to merge his princely state to the Union of India.

The erstwhile royal family of Bhavnagar continues to lead an active role in the public eye as well as in business (hotels, real estate, agriculture, and ship-breaking) and is held in high regard by the population both in the city as well as areas that comprised the former princely state of Bhavnagar. The city celebrated its 300th anniversary (tercentenary) in 2023.

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