Amreli district is one of the 33 administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

s of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The district headquarters are located at

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Am ...

. The district occupies an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

of 6,760 km² and has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 1,514,190 of which 22.45% were urban (as of 2011). Amreli is the land of Yogiji Maharaj(Dhari), Danbapu, Sage Muldas, Sage Bhojalrambapa, Sage Muktanand Swami, Magician K.Lal, Zaverchand Megahani's place ( Bagasara), Dr. Jivaraj Mehata etc. Amreli covers Dhari Gir National forest sanctuary area. Now it is developing as a Hub of Education.

Origin of name

Amreli district name derives its name from the town of Amreli, which is the headquarters of the district. It is believed that during the year 534 AD, Amreli existed as a city place with name Anumanji. After that the name was Amlik and then Amravati. The ancient Sanskrit name of Amreli was Amarvalli.

History

Initially, Amreli was a small village with an ancient history, and part of various kingdoms and empires established in the area. It shot into prominence, turning from village to town, when the Marathas began acquiring territory and establishing their reign over the region in 1780s. Besides levying taxes on the other rulers of the Kathiawar Peninsula, the Gaekwads also acquired their own territory and chose Amreli as the headquarters for their "Kathewad Pranth", which included Dwarka mandal. Vithalrao Devaji was appointed the Diwan (1801–1820), and during this period, Amreli grew and prospered. Vithalrao Devaji converted much of the adjoining forest land into farm land to realise revenue and also built the Nagnath Mahadev temple. Later in 1886, under the Gaikwad regime, compulsory and free education policy was adopted in Amreli for the first time. From 18th century to 1959, Dwarika and Okhamandal was part of Gaikwad - Amreli state but after 1959, those two cities were merged with Jamnagar district. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, the Maratha

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, an ...

dynasty organised its Baroda State into four administrative ''

prant A prant is a historical district in India, and a native British Raj age term for a colonial district. The same name can thus have different meanings depending on the period. Pre-colonial Some prants are traditional names for parts of historical ...

s'' (equivalent to British Districts), namely Baroda itself, Kadi (the largest), Navsari and Amreli, the smallest. After independence the district became the part of Bombay State and a separate district in Gujarat State after the bifurcation of Bombay State.

Geography

Amreli has a variety of soils such as Medium black, loamy, sandy, rocky inferior and saline.

Politics

Economy

Amreli district is industrially backward area. There are some small industries like oil mills spread over the district. The economy depends upon agriculture. Agro-based industries are also well developed in the district. Mainly groundnut, cotton, sesame, bajri, wheat, and grams are grown therein. Fishery is an important sector in Rajula and Jafrabad talukas. The district has 4 industrial estates under the GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Centres), two of which are in Babra. District has 4822 Small Scale Industries and 5 Medium Scale Industries in which Rs.4947.35 lakh is invested. 16,640 employments are generated through this industrial centres. Pipavav, Jafrabad and Victor ports are situated in the coastal district.

Gems

Gem cutting and polishing industries are located in Babra, while Savar Kundla taluka is famous for its Manual weighing Scales-Electronic Weighing machines across the country. Gold plating units in Bagasara city. The diamond trading industry is also well developed. small gem cutting industry located in Dhari

Mining

Rajula is famous for rajula stones which are famous worldwide.

Ginning

Babra is famous for Ginning industry with more than 50 ginning and pressing factories.

Divisions

The district comprises 11

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s. *

* Babra * Dhari * Vadia * Lathi * Lilia * Savar Kundla * Khambha * Rajula * Jafrabad * Bagasara

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Amreli district has a

of 1,514,190, roughly equal to the nation of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

or the US state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. This gives it a ranking of 329th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 8.59%. Amreli has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

of 964

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 74.49%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 8.78% and 0.48% of the population respectively. Hindus are 93.15% while Muslims are 6.55% of the population. At the time of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, 99.01% of the population in the district spoke

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

as their first language.

Culture

The most popular temples in the city of Amreli are Nagnath Temple, Gayatri Temple and Shreenathji Haveli. The other tourist places in Amreli district are Tulshishyam- Una(via dhari), Sarkeshvar Mahadev, Balana (Jafarabad),

Delvada Delvada, also known as Delwada, is a village in Una Taluka, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of the Machundri River, 5 km from Una and about 8 km from Diu. Several religious and social groups exist i ...

, Holi-Dharin Nana Visavadar, Vakuni-Dhar, Hanuman Gada, Satadhar, Galadhara-Khodiyar Temple and Khodiyar dam(Dhari). Kankai-banej and diu.ambardi safari park (Dhari) is most tourist attractions place in amreli district.

Notable people

Bhoja Bhagat Bhoja Bhagat (1785–1850), also known as Bhojal or Bhojalram was a Hindu saint poet from Gujarat, India. Life Bhoja or Bhojo was born in 1785 in Leuva Patidar caste at village named Devkigalol near Jetpur in Saurashtra. His father's name was ...

- poet-saint *

Yogiji Maharaj Yogiji Maharaj (23 May 1892 – 23 January 1971), born Jina Vasani, was a Hindu swami and the fourth spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sa ...

- Hindu sadhu and guru *

Jivraj Narayan Mehta Jivraj Narayan Mehta (29 August 1887 – 7 November 1978) was an Indian politician and the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also served as the first "Dewan" (Prime Minister) of the erstwhile Baroda state, and Indian high commissioner to the ...

- first Chief Minister of Gujarat *

Ramesh Parekh Ramesh Parekh (1940-2006) was a Gujarati poet and lyricist from Gujarat, India. He was one of the most popular poets of modern Gujarati poetry. Though government servant by profession, he had deep interest in literature and music. He contributed ...

, famous poet of Gujarat. * Kalapi - writer & poet and was also Thakor of Lathi. *

Kavi Kant Manishankar Ratnji Bhatt ( gu, મણિશંકર રત્નજી ભટૃ), popularly known as Kavi Kant ( gu, કવિ કાન્ત) was a Gujarati poet, playwright and essayist. He is an innovator of ''Khandkavya'', a typical Gujarati ...

- poet *

Manubhai Kotadia Manubhai Kotadia (31 July 1936 – 23 July 2003) was an Indian politician. He was elected to 9th Lok Sabha in 1989 on Janata Dal ticket from Amreli constituency. He was Minister of Agriculture and Power in Gujarat. He also served as Minister of ...

- politician. *

Muktanand Swami Muktanand Swami (1758–1830), born Mukunddas, was a swami and paramahansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Biography He was born Mukunddas to Anandram and Radhabai in Amrapur village (Dist-Amreli), Gujarat in 1758. While children of his age ...

- sadhu and paramahansa of Swaminarayan sampraday. * Savji Dholakia - diamond merchant from Surat and the founder of Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd.

References

External links

Official website

Amreli district collector website
{{Authority control Districts of Gujarat