Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of

Porbandar district Porbandar district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. The district covers an area of 2,316 km2. It had a population of 5.85,449 of which 48.77% were urban as of the 2011 census. This district was carved out of Juna ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

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 ...

. It is the birthplace of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and

Sudama Sudama (), also known as Kuchela (), is a childhood friend of the Hindu deity Krishna. The story of his visit to Dvaraka to meet his friend is featured in the Bhagavata Purana. In their legend, Sudama and Krishna study together as children ...

. It was the former capital of the Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and

Chhaya Chhaya or Chaya (), also known as Savarna, is the Hindu personification and goddess of shadow, and a consort of Surya, the Hindu sun god. She is the shadow-image or reflection of Saranyu (Sanjna), the first wife of Surya. Chhaya was born from th ...

are the twin cities of each other and both cities are jointly governed by Porbandar–Chhaya Municipal Corporation.

History

Late Harappan settlement (1600-1400 BCE)

Onshore explorations in and around Porbandar brought to light the remains of a

Late Harappan The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE t ...

settlement dating back to the 16th-14th centuries BCE. There is evidence to suggest that the Harappan legacy of

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

activity continued till the late Harappan period on 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 ...

coast. The discovery of ancient jetties along the Porbandar creek signifies the importance of Porbandar as an active center of maritime activities in the past. Indian theology views Porbandar as the birthplace of Sudama, a friend of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. For this reason, it is also referred to as Sudaamapuri or Sudamapuri.

Princely Porbandar (1600 CE onwards)

Porbandar was the seat of the eponymous princely state in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Later the state belonged to the

Jethwa Jethwa (Jethva, Jaitwa or Jethi) is a clan of Rajputs and caste of Gujarat. Jethwa surname is also found amongst the Koli Darji, Mistris of Kutch, and Gurjar Kshatriya Kadias castes of Gujarat. Origin It has been suggested that the Sain ...

clan of

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s and had been established in the area since at least the mid-16th century. The state was subordinate to the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

governor of

Gujarat Subah The Gujarat Subah () was a province (subah) of the Mughal Empire, encompassing the Gujarat region. The region first fell under Mughal control in 1573, when the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) defeated the Gujarat Sultanate under Muzaffa ...

until being overrun by the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

s in the latter half of the 18th century. After, they came under the authority of the

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Maratha, Kunbi, Koli, Mali & Mahar Jatis/ Tribes. Etymology The Marathi historian D.S. Parasnis and his co-autho ...

court at

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

and eventually of the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

After Independence

Upon the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1947, the state was annexed into the

dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

. It was merged with the '

United State of Kathiawar Saurashtra State, formally known as United State of Kathiawar and later United State of Saurashtra, was a state of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital. History For ...

', effective 15 February 1948 and eventually came to form part of the present-day state of Gujarat. The last King of Porbandar was

Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaja Rana Shri Sir Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji Sahib Bahadur, KCSI (30 June 1901 – 4 October 1979) was the last Maharaja of Porbandar belonging to Jethwa dynasty, who ascended the throne of princely state of Porbandar o ...

Maharaj.

Geography

Porbandar is located at . It has an average elevation of 1 metre (3 ft).

Climate

Like most of Gujarat, Porbandar has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSh'') with three distinct seasons: the “cool” from October to March, the “hot” in April, May and early June, and the monsoonal “wet” from mid-June to September. Almost no rain falls outside the monsoon season, except for a very few late-season

tropical cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

. The most powerful one occurred on 22 October 1975 and produced a storm surge of . During the monsoon season, rainfall is exceedingly erratic: Annual rainfall has been as low as in 1918 and in 1939, but as high as in 1983—when a cyclone caused over to fall over four days—and in 1878. With a

coefficient of variation In probability theory and statistics, the coefficient of variation (CV), also known as normalized root-mean-square deviation (NRMSD), percent RMS, and relative standard deviation (RSD), is a standardized measure of dispersion of a probability ...

exceeding fifty percent and an expectation of only 41 percent of mean annual rainfall in the driest year in ten, the Porbandar region is among the most variable in the world—comparable to northern Australia, the Brazilian

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the " hinterland" or " backcountry" of Brazil. The word refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil or the hinterlands of the country in general (similar to the specific ...

and the Kiribatese

Line Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands () are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons, except Vostok and Jarvis) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...

. An illustration of Porbandar's extremely variable rainfall can be seen from 1899 to 1905 when seven successive years produced annual falls of: * in 1899 * in 1900 * in 1901 * in 1902 * in 1903 * in 1904 and * in 1905 Porbandar, owing to its coastal location, is the least hot of all major cities in Gujarat: Average high temperatures do not reach in any month.

Demographics

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 ...

, Porbandar (City and urban outgrowth) had a population of 152,760. Males constituted 51.4% of the population and females 48.6%. Porbandar has an average literacy rate of 86.46%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 91.69%, and female literacy is 80.92%. In Porbandar, 9.11% of the population is under 6 years of age. According to the Census in 2011, the population of Porbander contracted 3.85% in 2011. i.e. the growth rate was negative. The sex ration of the city was 943 in 2011.

Formation of Municipal Corporation

In 01 January 2025, the Gujarat state government elevated Porbandar–Chhaya from a municipality to a municipal corporation, enhancing its administrative capabilities and enabling more comprehensive urban planning and development. This transition is expected to improve infrastructure, public services, and governance for residents. The Porbandar–Chhaya Municipal Corporation now joins the ranks of Gujarat's municipal corporations, reflecting the region's growth and urbanization.

Government and politics

Porbandar city is governed by a MunicipalCorporation. The Municipal Corporation is responsible for supply of water to the city using Narmada as the main source of water supply. The Municipal Corporation supplies around 14 MLD everyday to the city. As per records available from 2008, the city had a coverage of 39% in terms of water supply connections though the coverage of distribution system was reported as 80%. As per another assessment in the year 2016, Porbandar ranked the lowest in terms the volume of water supplied per capita at 59 lpcd (liters per capita per day) as compared to Gandhinagar which ranked the highest at 245 lpcd. Municipal Corporation is also responsible for waste management in the city and generates about 66 tonnes per day of waste. The current member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Mansukh Mandaviya Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya (born 1 June 1972) is an Indian politician who has been serving as Ministry of Labour and Employment (India), Minister of Labour and Employment and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Minister of Youth Affairs a ...

Culture

Tourist attractions

Courtship of Lesser Flamingos at Porbandar photo Dhaval Vargiya

The best time to visit is October to March. * Kirti Mandir, It is located at the Main bazaar, Manek Chowk. Timings 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM Everyday. Website
GandhiBapu - Home Page
* Bharat Mandir (A permanent exhibition of culture, history and geometry about India. It was established by Shri Nanjibhai Kalidas Mehta) * Tara Mandir (one of the oldest planetariums of India) * Shree Sudama ji Mandir: One of the few temples built in India in his name * Shree Hari Mandir or Sandipani temple (handled by

Ramesh Oza Rameshbhai Oza (born August 13, 1957), known as Pujya Bhaishri, is an Indian spiritual leader. Early life Rameshbhai Oza was born on 31 August 1957 at Devka village near Rajula, Saurashtra, Gujarat, India. He was born in ''Unewal'' Brahmin f ...

): a temple complex * The Huzoor Palace, Daria Raj Mahal Palace, Darbargadh and the Sartanji Choro * Porbandar Chowpati * Porbandar Bird Sanctuary (birds like teals, fowls, flamingos, ibis, curlews can be seen) * Barda Hills Wildlife Sanctuary (about 15 km from Porbandar, ideal for trekking) * Porbandar has many wetlands ideal for birdwatching. *

Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the ''Gita Govinda' ...

Mela (5 days), celebrated in the month of

Shraavana Śrāvaṇa () is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the year, typically beginning in mid to late July and ending in late August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as ...

as per Hindu calendar. There are rides, food, and other attractions. * It is also one of the last coasts remaining where the threatened marine mammal

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

can be found.

Notable people

- "The father of the Nation" was born here *

Kasturba Gandhi Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturba Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist who was involved in the Indian independence movement during British Raj, British India. She was married to Mohandas ...

- wife of Mahatma Gandhi *

Nanji Kalidas Mehta Nanji Kalidas Mehta, Raj Ratna, MBE (17 November 1887 – 25 August 1969) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist from Gujarat. He founded the Mehta Group in British East Africa, with its head office in India. Known as Sheth Nanjibhai ...

- businessman and philanthropist * Dr. Savitaben Nanji Kalidas Mehta - Educationist and Manipuri dancer *

Nanabhai Bhatt Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ' ...

- film director and producer *

Jaydev Unadkat Jaydev Dipakbhai Unadkat (born 18 October 1991) is an Indian professional cricketer who has played for the Indian national team. He plays for Saurashtra and Sussex in domestic cricket. He represented India in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in ...

- Indian cricket player *

- (also known as Kuchela) friend of

* Ajay Lalcheta - Oman cricket team Ex-captain & player *

Dilip Joshi Dilip Joshi is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films and television and is best known for portraying the lead role in the long-running Indian Hindi-language television sitcom, ''Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'', in which he plays ...

- famous for his role in the TV serial

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah ''Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'' (), often abbreviated as ''TMKOC'', is an Indian sitcom and Indian comedy based on the weekly column ''Duniya Ne Undha Chasma'' by Tarak Mehta for the magazine '' Chitralekha''. Produced by Asit Kumarr Modi ...

as Jethalal Gada

Transport

Porbandar is well-connected by road, rail and air to cities across the country.

Port

Porbandar is an ancient port city. At present it has an all-weather medium-sized deep water port, with direct berthing facilities up to 50,000 DWT ships. The Porbandar Coast Guard headquarters, designated as Coast Guard District Headquarters 1 (DHQ-1), is located near RGT College in Porbandar, Gujarat. INS Sardar Patel is a naval base of the Indian Navy in Porbandar, Gujarat and the Station Headquarters of Naval Station, Porbandar. It provides the logistic support to the Indian Navy units deployed in the Northern Arabian Sea

Road

The city is connected through National Highway 27, connecting to Rajkot and Ahmedabad. National Highway 8E Ext (also known as State Highway 6) connects to

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some west of the state capital, Gandhinagar. The city was the capital of Nawanagar State, Na ...

Dwarka Dwarka () is a town and municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at ...

in the north and

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 ...

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

in the south. Major public transport is covered by the private and government buses. Many private coaches are available daily to

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian 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 ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. It i ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, Vadodra,

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

, and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Rail

Porbandar railway station Porbandar railway station (station code: PBR) is a railway station in city of Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat. It belongs to the Bhavnagar Division of Western Railways The Western Railway (abbreviated WR) is one of the 19 zones of ...

connects Porbandar with major cities of state and the country. There are daily trains to Rajkot (via Jamnagar, Bhanwad and Upleta, Dhoraji, Gondal as well), Somnath (via Junagadh) and Mumbai (via

, Vadodra and

). There are also trains to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district on the banks of Burhi Gandak River, Burhi Gandak river in the Tirhut division of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur distri ...

and

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

connecting to major cities of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. A weekly train service connects

Kochuveli Thiruvananthapuram North Railway Station (station code: TVCN), formerly Kochuveli railway station (old station code: KCVL), is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

(Kerala) and

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

(

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

) with Porbandar via

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

and Quilon(Kollam).

Airport

Spicejet SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. , it is the fourth largest airline in India by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 4% and connects 73 destinations, including 60 Indi ...

Flight is operational from Porbandar to Mumbai twice a week. Tuesday and Thursday

Sports

* Duleep School of Cricket Ground is one of two cricket grounds in Porbandar. The ground is also the home ground of

Saurashtra cricket team Saurashtra cricket team is one of the three first-class cricket teams based in the Indian state of Gujarat (the others being Baroda and Gujarat) that compete in India's first-class tournament Ranji Trophy and limited-overs Vijay Hazare Troph ...

. It hosted six cricket matches from 1968 to 1986 before falling of the record. The ground is named after great Indian cricketer and Prince of Nawanagar Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji. * Natwarsinhji Cricket Club Ground is one of two cricket grounds in Porbandar. It hosted a

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

match in October 1960 between

and

Maharashtra cricket team The Maharashtra cricket team is a state cricket team that represents the Maharashtra state in domestic cricket of India. It is governed by Maharashtra Cricket Association. It plays its home matches at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium i ...

. The Maharashtra team won by 10 wickets as the match had a low scores with Saurashtra scored 94 & 139 and Maharashtra scored 187 and 47/0. It was scheduled for three days but was completed in two. This was only cricket played on the ground.

References

Sources

for more details on Porbandar

Application of geological and geophysical methods in marine archaeology and underwater explorations

Porbandar district

External links

GeoHack – Porbandar
* {{Authority control Port cities in India Populated coastal places in India Ports and harbours of Gujarat Former capital cities in India