Junagadh

Overview: place & people

Place

Junagadh is located at [show location on an interactive map] 21.52° N 70.47° E.[1] It has an average elevation of 107 metres (351 feet).

Rainfall

The average annual rainfall of the Saurashtra region is about 775.0 mm with a standard deviation of 75.1 mm. Monsoon rainfall averages 680 mm with a variability of 61%. Rainfall for the months of June, July, August and September averages 194, 338, 187 and 105 mm, with the corresponding coefficients of variation being 150, 69, 87 and 84%, respectively. The monsoon from June to September is received in 33 rainy days with a late season long dry spell.

People

As of 2001 India census, Junagadh had a population of 168,686. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Junagadh has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 67%. In Junagadh, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

The Solanki, of the Chalukya dynasty, ruled Gujarat in the 11th and 12th centuries. The two large step wells (vavs) of Uperkot Fort were both commissioned by Rah Navghan I (1025-1044 C.E.). The Muslims conquered Gujarat in 1299 and the Sultanate of Gujarat was formed in 1407. Mahmud Begada (Mahmud Shah I) invaded Junagadh in 1467. The city was annexed to the Gujarat Sultanate; foundation was laid for Mahmudabad in 1497. Strong embankments were raised along the river, and the city was adorned with a palace, handsome buildings and extensive gardens.

When the Portuguese took over the ports of Diu and Daman in the 16th century, a fifteen-foot cannon, made in Egypt in 1531, was abandoned at Uperkot Fort by a Turkish admiral opposing the Portuguese forces at Diu.

One of the residential buildings occupied by a ministerial person

Sher Khan Babi, who had owed allegiance to the Sultan of Ahmedabad, founded the state of Junagadh by expelling the then Mughal governor and declaring his independence in the 18th century (1748 C.E.). He assumed the name Bahadur Khan when he came to power in Junagadh. The Babi Nawabs of Junagadh went on to conquer large territories in southern Saurashtra. His descendants ruled over the state for the next two centuries, first as tributaries of Baroda, and later under the suzerainty of the British. The British East India Company took control of the state in 1818, but the Saurashtra area never came under the direct control of the British. Rather, it was divided into over one hundred princely states right up to Independence.

The present old town, developed during the 19th and 20th centuries, is one of the former princely state of British India.

Culture

Festivals are performed as under.

Shivratri Mela - At the foot of Girnar mountain (Talati) in month of MAHA 9 starts on mela for next five days. About ten thousand people visit.

Girnar Parikrama:- Starts from kartik 11 to 15 thousand people assemble. They walk the periphery of Girnar hills on foot, about a total distance of 40 km. People enjoy the religious and natural beauty.

Girnar Competition:- Every year between 1 to 10 January Girnar Climbing Competition is held by Gujarat Government. Whoever Climbs up 5500 feet within 2 hours, S/he gets certificate from Government of Gujarat and Winner gets lots of prizes.

See also

• [[Asiatic Lion-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Lion]]

• [[Gir Forest National Park-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gir_Forest_National_Park]]

Photo gallery

Prime Minister's residence before partition

Everything else

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External links

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