Gujarat Tourism

Junagadh Tourism :

The history of junagadh is chequered by the rules of the Mauryans, Kshatrapas, Guptas, Vilabhis, Chudasamas, Gujarat Sultans and Babi Nawabs. Junagadh, at different times in history, was under the influence of four major religions. Hindu, Bhuddhist, Jain and Muslim. Both political powers and religious influences enriched the culture and created edifices leaving their mark on the architecture of Junagadh.

Junagadh was the capital of the Junagadh State under the Muslim rulers of Babi Nawabs. In Gujarati, `Junagadh' literally means an ancient fort. The junagadh town is located at the foothills the sacred hill of Girnar and occupies a special place in the history of Gujarat. There are two fortifications: the fort walls surrounding the town and Uparkot in the west. Uparkot, an ancient citadel located on the higher level of the town, was a stronghold of Mauryans and Gupta Empire and is said tp have survived 16 sieges in the last 1000 years due to its strategic location and difficult access. The entrance of Uparkot has a fine specimen of Hindu Toran, leading to flat land dotted with archological sites. The major sites are Buddhist caves, Baba Pyara caves (2nd century), Adi-Kadi Vav, Navghan Kuvo and Jami Masjid. The Buddhist caves are fine examples of rock cut architecture with ornamented pillars, carved entrances, water cisterns, chaitya hall, monastic cells for meditation and chaitya windows. The Khapara-Kodia caves located in the town are also worth visiting.


Adi-kadi Vav and Navghan Kuvo were built by the Chudasama Rajputs and are unique water structures among the numerous step wells of Gujarat. Both these served as sourcesf during teh sieges lasting for years and were essential parts oft he basic need of the hill fort. The Adi-Kadi Vav(15th century) has a long flight of 120 steps leading to water, while the Navghan Kuvo (1260AD) is hewn from soft rock and is 52 meter deep, reached by a circular staircase winding around the shaft.Jami Mosque was originally a palace of Ranakdevi, converted into a mosque by Muhammad begada to commemorate his victory over Junagadh in 1470 AD. Another interesting artefact from past is `Nilam' canon, brought to Diu from Egypt to fight against the Prortuguese and it was manufactured by the order of Suleyman, the Magnificent, King of Turkey. The Babi rulers of Junagadh, Nawab Mahobat Khat II (1851-82 AD)undertook the beatification of Junagadh and patronized the construction of several building and urban design projects like Aina Mahal, Circle Chowk with clock tower and Dewan Chowk. Other important buildings of the Nawabi period are Bahauddin College, Manoranjan Guest House, Mahobat Madresa (Narsi Vidya Mandir). The most interesting structures are the maqbaras (musoleums) of the Royal Family. The group of maqbaras represent the creative and eclectic phase of Nawabi architecture of Junagadh (1878-1911 AD). All the architectural elements are phase of Nawabi architecture of Junagadh (1878-1911 AD). All the architectural elements are highly decorative and remind one, of the last phase of architecture of Lucknow.

The 14 rock edicts (257-56 BC) of the great Emperor Ashoka, inscribed on a huge stone in Pali script, inscrption by King Rudradaman (150 AD) and Skandagupta (456 AD) are the proof of importance of Junagadh from ancient times. The city was home to one of the great poets of India, Narsinh Mehta (15th century). He was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, a scholar, philosopher and a social reformer. The `Narsinha Mehta no Choro' near Najewadi Gate was a platform for his religious discouses and Bhajans. Other places to be visited are the Sakkarbag Zoo, Welingodn Dam, Damodar Kund, Bhavnath Temple, city Rajmahal and Darbar Hall Museum. Girnar is a sacred hill with five peaks visited by millions of Hindus and Jains. The Mahashivratri fair held here is attended by naga sadhus and pilgrims from all over India. Excursions in Junagadh Gir National Park (the only home of Asiatic Lions)60 km, Prabhas patan-Somnath (one of eh twelve most sacred Shiva Shrines)79km, Chorwad (a delightful resort on the beach) 72 km.Junagadh Travel Information By Air:Nearest Airport is Keshod (40km), Porbandar(113 km)By Train: Railway Station of Ahmedabad-Junagadh and Rajkot-Junagadh line By Road: Rajkot(102km),Porbandar(113 km), Ahmedabad (327 km) Local transport:Non-Metered Autorickshaws and Local buses.

The Story of Junagadh

as history moves, many insightfully delightful trivia of history get buried under a simplified black-n-white version of the historical experience. The popularity of the simplified version is because it is uncomplicated and clearly distinguishes the "good" from the "bad" - and therefore, is very convenient for the MSM and the 0/1-binary thinkers (which inhabit the MSM, ideologue community and even the blogosphere).History, on the other hand, is primarily amoral, and has a tendency of punching holes in the contemporary zeitgeist...So here goes the "first installment" of this series - based on "facts" as I know them: just a story often not told/known... and no ideological implications:]While we often say that India got its independence from the British on August 15, 1947, actually, the British never ever ruled the entire India as we know it now - at least not technically.There was one part which was the British India (Direct Rule), and there was the other part consisting of 562 Princely States, covering roughly 40% of land-mass of what we now call India (Indirect Rule). About 100+ of these Princely States were quite large, e.g., Travancore, Hyderabad, Baroda, Mysore, Kashmir, etc., while many were small "jagirdaris"...


While the British India was governed by the British Parliament, there was a separate political arrangements with the princes, and it came under something/somebody called "Chancellor of Indian Princes".In early 1947, when England decided to free India, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act (in June 1947, which marked the foundation of two separate nations - India and Pakistan). However, this Act did not apply to the Princely States. The freedom to these states was given by a separate Cabinet Memorendum, which declared that the British Government will cease to have any political or defense arrangements ("Power of Paramountcy") with the Princely States. The memorendum was clear that the Princely States were free to decide to either join India or Pakistan before August 1947 - or devise their own sovereign political system for self-governance.Most of the Princely States were small and decided to join either India or Pakistan before independence (in return for a promise that the government will maintain their Princely perquisites, which finally got abolished in 1970-71). There were, however, three exceptions:
Hyderabad (which had a population of around 1.4cr, with a muslim Nizam and around 80% hindu population): the Nizam of Hyderabad either wanted to remain sovereign (and become a part of the British Commonwealth), or join Pakistan (which would have made an interesting map of Pakistan;)... Anyway, the state was annexed by India.
Kashmir (with a hindu Maharaja and a muslim majority in the population, and, to make thing more complicated, an adjoining borders with Pakistan): There is a confusion about whether the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, ever signed the letter of accesion with India or not - he had not done that till India and Pakistan became independent in August 1947. Some records say that he wanted to be a part of India, but by then the situation had gone out of hand, and Indian army landed to curb the infilteration... etc. etc... but that remains a murky, messy situation... Even now!...and JunagadhJunagadh was an interesting case: The Nawab of Junagadh was a muslim, with a large hindu population. Geographically, it was a peculiar piece of the jigsaw in what were to become the two nations of India and Pakistan. It was a state in erswhile Saurashtra, surrounded by the hindu Kathiawad regions (which had acceded to India) on three sides, and facing the Arabian Sea on the fourth.The Nawab, however, decided to join Pakistan, which predictably did not go very well with the local populace, and they revolted. The neighbouring states also added to pressure by creating blckade ("chakka jam") to any grains, vegetables, or material from reaching Junagadh. As the revolt grew, the Nawab fled to Pakistan along with his family, taking almost all state treasury with him, and leaving his Deewan (Prime Minister) to manage the affairs. The Deewan of Junagadh did the best that he could have done to bring the situation to normalcy. The situation continued to worsen. The newly formed Pakistan was still dealing its own issues to extend help to a distant Junagadh... and finally the Deewan wrote to Jinnah that since Pakistan was not been able to help Junagadh, and the situation was worsening, he would be handing over Junagadh to Indian government - which he did around Octover 47, through a letter to the Regional Commisioner of Saurashtra, Mr Buch.A few months later a plebicite was held in which more than 190,000 voted to be a part of India, while only 91 favoured to be a part of Pakistan (Pakistan contested the results, and Indian government upheld it... as one would have anticipated)