Dhaneti or Dhanetee is a village in

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

Taluka of Kutch District 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 ...

State of India. It is about 26 km from

the Taluka and district headquarters of Kutch.

History

Paliyas belonging to Mistris of Kutch at Dhaneti

About the history of Dhaneti, the village holds a special place in the annals of Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya or

Mistris of Kutch Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya (also known as Mistri or Mestri) are a minority Hindu community of Gujarat in India, who claim to be Kshatriya. They are an artisan community related with masonry, artistic carvings, sculpting and building and construction ...

, who entered Kutch and fought a battle on the land of the Dhaneti village in late the 12th century around 1177–78 A.D. (V.S. 1234) and got themselves established and settled at this village under the leadership of Patel Ganga Maru.Gurjar Kshatriyas, also known as Mistris, came to Kutch from Rajasthan. They are skilled in building construction. They first established themselves at Dhaneti and were granted 18 villages by the rulers of Kutch.
/ref>Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Community : A brief History & Glory: by Raja Pawan Jethwa. (2007) Calcutta. Even today, intricate ''

paliya The Paliya or Khambhi is a type of a memorial found in the western regions of the India subcontinent, especially Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat and also in Sindh region of Pakistan. They mostly commemorate the death of a person. These s ...

s'' or memorial stones of their ''dadas'' or ''shurapuras'' (the ancestors who died while fighting) and ''deris'' (pyre alters) of their '' Satis'' are standing there near the village pond and other areas of the village, as a mute witness to the war that was fought on this land by these Gurjar Kshatriyas, who are known as

. Today, almost a thousand years after the war, the community people visit Dhaneti to pay respect to these memorial stones, built in memory of their forefathers, who gave up their lives fighting to defend their next generations.

References

{{Reflist Villages in Kutch district Populated places established in the 12th century 1177 establishments in Asia 12th-century establishments in India