Chorwad or Chorvad is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Junagadh district in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

, India. It lies on the coast of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

Etymology

It is said to have derived its name from being a notorious haunt of pirates.

History

Since the earliest times, Chorvad has been famous for its

betel Betel (''Piper betle'') is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their lea ...

gardens, and the flavour of Chorvad betel is supposed to be very superior, and it is largely exported not only inland but also by sea. Chorvad was in ancient times a dependency of Mangrol. In later times, i. e. after the collapse of the Mughal power in the

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

peninsula, it was seized on by the Raizadas, but we have no record of the exact date of such seizure ; but Sanghji or Singhji, the Raizada Garasia of Chorvad, took an active part in the internecine wars of the nineteenth century ; but he was killed in the battle of Malia fought between him and Aliya Hatti, and his descendants were much embarrassed as to how they should defray the arrears of the soldiery. As Rana Sultanji of Porbandar State was connected by marriage with the deceased Singhji, his relatives in 1787 entrusted the fort and town to him on condition that he should defray the demands of the Sipahis. The Rana agreed and took possession of the town and then his commandant of this town captured

Veraval Somnath, also known as Veraval, is a city and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Somnath temple, a place of pilgrimage due to its importance as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga si ...

. This caused a general insurrection against the Nawab along the coast, and Sutrapada also rebelled. But in the course of a short time Veraval was recovered and Chorvad also was conquered in 1788. Mokaji, the chief Raizada Garasia, was permitted to retire with his family to Dhoraji on this occasion under the protection of Jadeja Kumbhoji of Gondal State. So Chorvad became a ''khalsa'' (crown) domain of the

Junagadh State The State of Junagadh or Junagarh was a princely state located in Gujarat, It was ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty since 1654 by first Nawab of Junagarh, Nawab of Junagadh even within the Maratha Confederacy and later British India. which, aft ...

Demographics

The population according to the 1872 census was 2818 souls, but this fell to 1299 after the severe famine of 1878–79. India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Chorvad had a population of 21,196. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Chorvad has an average literacy rate of 50%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 62% and female literacy of 38%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Places of interest

There are some images here in a patch of forest called the ''Jhund'' or Chorvadi Mata. Chorvad beach is also popular. It is located near the Chorvad Palace.

Notable people

* Dhirubhai Ambani, Industrialist and founder of

Reliance Industries Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Its businesses include energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, entertainment, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance is the ...

* Rajesh Chudasama, Politician * Jeewanlal Motichand Shah of Mukund Ltd., Industrialist * Viren Shah of Mukund Ltd., Industrialist and Governor of West Bengal (1999-2004) * Shyam Pathak, Indian actor and comedian

References

Cities and towns in Junagadh district {{Junagadh-geo-stub