Bharuch

Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District.

The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a ship building centre and sea port in the pre-compass coastal trading routes for trading with the Occident and the East, perhaps as far back as the days of earliest trade connections. The route made use of the regular and predictable monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East and Far West (the famed Spices and Silk trade) were shipped there during the annual monsoon winds, making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes. Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the Parthian Empire, in the Roman Empire, the Chinese, and in other Western and Eastern centres of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages and other the middle ages of the world.Periplus of the Erythraean SeaPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea
Depts.washington.edu. Retrieved on 28 July 2013.

Bharuch has been the home to the Gujarati Bhargava Brahmana community for ages. The community traces its lineage to Bhrigu and Parashurama, who is the sixth avatara of Vishnu. The Bhargava community still administers a large number of public trusts in the city. However the present day Bhargava Brahmanas have migrated to Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and other countries such as France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Being close to one of the biggest industrial areas including Ankleshvara GIDC, it is at times referred to as the chemical capital of India. The city has chemical plants, textile mills, long staple cotton, dairy products and much more. Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated 50 km to the west of Bharuch, in Dahej. It also houses many multinational companies, such as Videocon, BASF, ONGC Petro-Additions, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports & SEZ, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals, MRF Tires, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires, Jubilant, Aditya Birla Hindalco Industries, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, ISGEC Hitachi, UPL (company), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited, Deepak Nitrite, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Petronet LNG, Godrej & Boyce, Piramal Group, Pidilite Industries, SRF Limited, Safari Equipments and Welspun Maxsteel Ltd. The industrial estate of Vilayata houses the companies of Aditya Birla Grasim, Kansai Nerolac Paints etc., Jhagadia houses DCM Sriram Chemicals, Saint-Gobain India Ltd., PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd. among others. Because of the distinctive colour of its soil (which is also ideal for cotton cultivation), Bharuch is sometimes referred to as 'Kanam Pradesham' (black-soil land). Bharuch is also nicknamed as 'Peanut City' for its salty peanuts, locally known as 'Khari Singh'.

Etymology

Bharuch was known as Bhrigukaccha (IAST: ''bhṛgukaccha'') in Sanskrit. According to the Markandeya Purana (5.3.181-182), the great seer Bhrigu received a boon from the god Shiva and his consort, enabling him to create a great Tirtha (major pilgrimage site and centre of spiritual endeavour of sages). He founded it on the back of the giant turtle which is an avatar of the god Vishnu. The text uses the Sanskrit word ''kacchapa'' denoting turtle. Hence, the splendid holy place was named after both the sage and the turtle: Bhrigu-kaccha.

Some sources also called it .

To the ancient Greeks, it was known as Barygaza () (meaning "deep-treasure"), Bargosa, and later the Romans adopted the Greek name of this port in Latin as Barigaza in the Latin name of this city.

The name in modern Indian languages (Gujarati, Hindi) is Bharuch (IAST: ''bharūc''). In colonial era, it was spelled Broach.

History

BCE era

During the Prarga–Maurya period in Gujarat, King Pradyota Mahavira of the Pradyota dynasty of Ujjain ruled over Bharutkutchha in 550 BCE. He was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. The '' Theragatha'', part of the ''Pali Canon'' written down in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE, mentions Vaddha Thera and Malitavamba Thera of Bharukaccha, as contemporaries of the Buddha, while the Therigatha of the same canon mentions Vaddhamta Theri of Bharukaccha. The ancient Sri Lankan chronicle, the '' Dipavamsa'', mentions that the legendary king Vijaya stopped at Bharutkutchha for three months in 500 BCE.

Excavations near the banks of the river Narmada in Bharuch have revealed many archaeological and architectural wonders, mostly temples. Later Bharuch was part of the Mauryan Empire (322 BCE–185 BCE), the Western Satraps, the Guptas and the Gurjara-Pratiharas.It was known to the Greeks and Romans as ''Barygaza'', and had a settlement of Greek and Roman traders. As one southern terminus of the Kamboja-Dvaravati Route, it is mentioned extensively as a major trading partner of the Roman and Greek worlds, in the 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. One of the Periploi describes numerous Greek buildings and fortifications in the area, although mistakenly attributing them to early Greeks who never reached this far south in the Indian Subcontinent as they ruled only lands to the west of the Indian Subcontinent before the Indo-Greeks ruled the western and northern Indian Subcontinent along with the Indian Subcontinental countries, as well as the circulation of Indo-Greek coinage in the region:
:"The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza. In these places there remain even to the present time signs of the visit of Greeks, such as ancient shrines, walls of forts and great wells." Periplus, Chapter. 41
:"To the present day ancient Drachmae are current in Barygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander III of Macedonia, Apollodotus I and Menander I." Periplus Chapter. 47

Maitraka era (470 CE–788 CE) and Rashtrakuta era (788 CE–942 CE)

According to historical accounts, the Pratihara Empire with the capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the Prathiharas. The kingdom of Bharuch was created by this Empire.

Portuguese attacks

In the 17th century CE, the Dutch and British made it a centre of their cotton purchases in Gujarat, and commercial warehouses were established in 1616 CE and 1618 CE by the British and Dutch respectively and others later. After that, in 1675 CE and 1686 CE, it was sacked by the Marathas. During this period, Bharuch was handed over to Kutubuddin. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb demolished the fortification and the fort in 1660 CE by attacking. Later on, he built it again in 1686 CE. In 1772 CE, the British again attacked Bharuch, defeating Nawab Mu'azzaz Khan, allegedly with the help of his treacherous minister, Diwan Lallubhai. The British handed over Bharuch to the Marathas who ruled between 1783 CE and 1802 CE. From 1802 CE, Bharuch was returned to the East India Company under the terms of the Treaty of Salbai.

Geography and climate

Bharuch is located at . It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet). Bharuch is a port city situated on the banks of the Narmada River. The damming of the Narmada caused the original port facilities to close, the nearest port is now in Dahej. The Bharuch district is surrounded by Vadodara (North), Narmada (East) and Surat (South) districts. To the west is the Gulf of Khambhat.

Bharuch has a tropical savanna climate (under Köppen's Climate classification), moderated strongly by the Arabian Sea. The summer begins in early March and lasts until June. April and May are the hottest months, the average maximum temperature being . Monsoon begins in late June and the Village receives about of rain by the end of September, with the average maximum being during those months. October and November see the retreat of the monsoon and a return of high temperatures until late November. Winter starts in December and ends in late February, with average temperatures of around .

Very often heavy monsoon rain brings floods in the Narmada basin area. The Village had witnessed major floods in the past, but now the floods have been controlled after the damming of the Narmada.

Economy, commerce and industry

Bharuch has always been prosperous because of its location on the Narmada River. Although water tends to be scarce in Gujarat, one never finds difficulty in getting water in Bharuch. As a result of this, agriculture and other linked commercial activities have flourished in Bharuch. Bharuch is also a central stopping point for many villages spread around its boundaries. People from these small villages come to Bharuch when they want to shop for new clothes or make a major purchase. Lately, a lot of retiring expatriates have been returning to Bharuch and building new houses giving the economy a boost.

Traditionally, Bharuch has been the centre of the peanut processing and marketing industry with a well-established brand name around the country. Almost none of the peanuts are grown in Bharuch itself but the best of the crops from neighbouring regions are brought here for processing. Bharuch is also the home of the Bandhni method of clothing design and is well known for this traditional art form.

At present, this heavily industrialised area is renowned for its textile mills, chemical plants, long-staple cotton, dairy products, and much more. Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated here. It also houses many reputed multinational companies like Videocon, BASF, Reliance, Welspun Stahl, etc. Bharuch is a shopping centre well known for its salty peanuts. Because of the distinctive colour of the soil here that is ideal for cotton cultivation, Bharuch is sometimes referred to as 'Kanam Pradesh' (black soil land).

Over the past 60 years, a major part of the population has moved to countries like the UK, USA, the African continent, and other parts of Europe. This brings some economical boost to the local businesses as people come back for vacations and spend their earnings here.

Trade

Bharuch was a major sea port in the important pre-compass coastal trading routes to points West, perhaps as far back as the days of the Pharaohs, which utilised the regular and predictable Monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East were trans-shipped there for the annual monsoon winds making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes and Bharuch was definitely known to the Greeks, the various Persian Empires and in the Roman Republic and Empire and other Western centres of civilisation, through the end of the European Middle Ages.

In the 1st century AD, Bharuch port has been mentioned as Barigaza. Bharuch which was a prosperous and powerful port was an important part of Gujarat until the 16th century. Arab traders used to enter Gujarat via Bharuch. British, Valandas, and others accepted the importance of Bharuch and established premises and local staff here. At the end of the 17th century, the city was plundered twice but resurged quickly after the plunder and a proverb/refrain arose, "Bhangyu Bhangyu Toye Bharuch".

As a trading depot, the limitations of coastal shipping made it a regular terminus via several mixed trade routes of the fabled spice and silk trading between East and West.

Narmada River's inland access to central and northern India and with a location in the sheltered Gulf of Khambhat in the era of coastal sea travel grew and prospered as a trading transshipment centre and shipbuilding port. Until very modern times the only effective way to move goods was by water transport, and Bharuch had sheltered waters in an era without weather forecasting, compasses, and when shipping was necessarily limited to coastal navigation, and the general east–west course of the Narmada gave access to the rich inland empires at the upper reaches of the Narmada, including easy caravan access to the Ganges valley and the plains of Delhi.

Broach then (1500-1700) was a major textile manufacturing hub. The Broach city was famous for its bafta in the West and Southeast Asian markets. Bafta cloth was among the leading textile products exported to Europe and other parts of the world.

Present industrial city

Modern Bharuch is one of the most heavily industrialised areas, not only in Gujarat but in India as a whole, with many large chemical plants producing fertilisers, paints, dyes, cotton, textiles, and dairy products.

Bharuch has also the advantage of Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal. A very large fertiliser, chemical companies, like GNFC Ltd. is also located in Narmadanagar (a suburb of Bharuch) since 1976.

Large Indian and multinational companies, like the Torrent Group, PepsiCo International, Guardian Corporation, Hitachi, Heubach Colors, Zydus Cadila, Cadila Health Care, Survival Technologies, Videocon, China Light and Power, BASF, Reliance, Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group, Welspun Stahl, Aventis, Gulbrandsen Technologies, Wockhardt, Rallis, Pfizer, Ciba, L&T, Bayer, Glenmark, UPL, Lupin, J B Chemicals, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, NTPC, ONGC, GAIL, OPaL SOlvay, Breeze Intermediates For Flavor & Fragrance Intermediates, Alliance Tyre Group, Fireminich, Astra Specialty Compounds, Dahej and GPEC, have set up manufacturing units in and around Bharuch and Ankleshwar.

Petronet LNG Ltd, one of the fastest-growing companies in the Indian energy sector, has set up the country's first LNG receiving and regasification terminal at Dahej. Dahej nowadays is considered to be fastest-growing industrial area with companies like ONGC, GNFC, Alliance Tyre Group, ABG Shipyard, First carbon, Indofil, Birla copper, Adani, Reliance,

Demographics

India census, Bharuch had a population of 148,391. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bharuch has an average literacy rate of 97.06%, much higher than the national average of 74%; with male literacy of 98.5% and female literacy of 95.5%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

As Bharuch is a renowned tirtha, also known as Bhrigu Tirtha, in many of the Hindu Puranas, it is a host of huge number of temples along the river side. There exists also a number of mosques in this city many of them having been built in the medieval area and the most famous one is known as ''Jamia Masjid Bharuch'' built in 1644 during reign of Shah Jahan.

Notable people

Mythological figures related to Bharuch include Bhrigu Rishi, Shukra, Chyavana, Chandra, Dattatreya, Durvasa, Vamana, Mahabali, Jamadagni and Parshurama. Notable historical figures include King Nahapana.

Notable people from recent times include:

* Godrej family, including Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej, co-founders of the Godrej Group
* Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (1887–1971), Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist
* Feroze Gandhi (1912–1960), was an Indian politician and journalist, husband of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
* Ahmed Patel (1949–2020), senior leader of the Indian National Congress
* Cyrus Broacha (born 1971), Indian television personality, ancestors were from Bharuch
* Omkarnath Thakur (1897–1967) Indian educator, musicologist, and Hindustani classical singer
* Premchand Roychand (1831–1906), Indian businessman and merchant, founder of the Bombay Stock Exchange
* Tribhuvandas Luhar (1908–1991), Gujarati writer
* Shapurji Broacha (1845–1920), Indian industrialist and philanthropist, Sheriff of Bombay during George V's coronation in India
* Ibrahim Ali Patel Belongs to The Patel Family of Ikhar, The Political and Royal Family of Bharuch Gujarat

Broacha and Bharucha are common surnames among Parsis and Dawoodi Bohras originally from Bharuch.

Places of interest

Bharuch City

*Bhrigu Rishi Temple. The temple of Bhrigu Rishi, one of the famous and sacred temples of Gujarat, is situated on the east of the city in Dandia Bazar area on the banks of the holy river Narmada. This temple, being visited by a number of pilgrims, has great religious importance to the people of Bharuch. Bharuch which was originally called 'Bhrigukachchha' derived its name from this temple. The temple was built in honour of the great saint Maharishi Bhrigu who was able to attain sainthood by reaching the perfect balance between wisdom and activity. It was here that Bhrigu Rishi wrote first Indian Astrological work, Bhrigu Samhita. He is said to have documented five million horoscopes, in which he wrote down the fate of every being in the universe.
*Nav Nathas. There are nine Swayambhu (self menifested
Shivalingas
located at different places in old Bharuch city. These Shivalingas are known as Nav Naths in Bharuch. They are Kamnath, Jwalnath, Somnath, Bhimnath, Gangnath, Bhootnath, Pingalnath, Siddhnath and Kashi Vishwanath. These nine shivlingas are said to be exist since time immemorial. It was due to these shivlingas that Bhrigu Rishi choose Bharuch for his ashram.
*Temples swarm the city and each holds its own religious significance. The Swaminarayan Temple in Dandia Bazar area of city is 175 years old and hosts a palette of colour on its walls. Narmada Mata Temple, also in Dandia Bazar, is 150 years old and dedicated to Goddess Narmada. The Vaishnav Haveli enshrines an idol of Bal Krishna said to have come from Mathura in 1725. Behind the old Civil Hospital, the Khodiyar Mata Temple overlooks the low-lying area of furja and offers one of the best views of sunset in the city.
*Gurudwara Chadar Saheb. In the 15th century Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh Guru, visited Bharuch. It is believed that when a boatman refuses to take him across the Narmadda, he crosses over on a cloth sheet or chadar. The Gurudwara was later constructed in Kasak area, on the site where he landed in Bharuch.

Surrounding area

*Shuklatirth is situated at a distance of about east of Bharuch is a host of many old temples. The most famous of them is Shukleshwar Mahadev Temple. Legend says that Shiva was pleased with the devout Chanakya and guided him to salvation. He instructed Chanakya to start his journey in a black boat at the mouth of the Narmada dress in black and accompanied by a black cow. The place where black would transform into white would mark the location of his liberation. The transformation occurred in Shuklatirth. Shiva stayed with Chanakya at this site in the form of a linga. It is believed that this temple houses that same linga, and that by praying here all sins are purged and desires fulfilled. The Omkarnath Vishnu Mandir has a tall white idol of Vishnu said to have emerged from the Narmada. This idol is made up of sand (it is a self manifested idol), but it appears as if it is made from marble.
*Kabirvad is the island of Banyan trees. Kabirvad is an island on the river Narmada at a distance of about east of Bharuch city. The main attraction here is a gigantic banyan tree covering an area of more than 2.5 acres. According to legend, it is at this place that saint Kabirdas meditated and the tree grew from a meswak stick (used for brushing the teeth) that was thrown here by the saint. A single tree has over years proliferated into a tree with several trunks and spread in over 2.5 acres of land. Other added attractions here are the lotus shaped marble temple, Kabir museum and boat ride on Narmada river.

Other places of interest

* Stambheshwar Mahadev – Kavi Kamboi ( from Bharuch) at the estuary of the Mahi River. This Shivalinga is flooded at high tides; not during low tides.Archived copy

See also

* Bharucha
* Ankleshwar
* Bafta cloth

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

* :gu:ભરૂચ
* Indo-Greek Kingdom
* Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

{{Authority control

Cities and towns in Bharuch district
Gulf of Khambhat
Port cities in India