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Gujarat |
Gujarat is the most industrialized state in India after Maharashtra and is located in western India, bordered by Pakistan to the northwest and Rajasthan to the north. Its capital is Gandhinagar, a planned city close to Ahmedabad, the former state capital and the commercial center of Gujarat.
The state of Gujarat was created on May 1, 1960, out of the northern, predominantly Gujarati-speaking portion of Bombay state. The southern, predominantly Marathi-speaking portion of Bombay state became Maharashtra.
Gujarat has become one of the fastest-growing states in the country; as of 2002, Gujarat had an average per capita income of Rs. 7500 (Current 1992 prices), compared to Rs. 6400, the average for all Indian states.
Gujarat has given India two of the most prominent leaders in the independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Though his birthplace is disputed, it is certain that the Gujarati language was also the mother-tongue of the "father of Pakistan", Quaid-e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Gujaratis have also been active in the arts and the sciences; Vikram Sarabhai, a Gujarati, was the father of India's space program. They are, however, mostly noted for their entrepreneurial spirit.
Politics
Gujarat is governed by a Legislative Assembly of 182 members. Members of the
Legislative Assembly (MLA) are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one
of 182 constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for scheduled castes and 26
for scheduled tribes. The term of office for a member of the Legislative Assembly
is five years.
The Legislative Assembly elects a speaker, who presides over the meetings of the legislature. A governor is appointed by the President of India, and is empowered to summon, prorogue, and dissolve the Legislative Assembly, and to address the House after every general election and the commencement of each year's first session of the Legislative Assembly. The Leader of the Legislative Assembly is the leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature (Chief Minister), or his or her designee. The Leader sets the dates of the legislative sessions, and decides what business is to be transacted in the legislature and what order it is taken up.
The administration of the state is led by the Chief Minister.
After independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress party (INC) ruled the Bombay state (which included present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra). Congress continued to govern Gujarat after the state's creation in 1960. During and after India's State of Emergency of 1975-1977, public support for the Congress Party eroded, but it continued to hold government until 1995. In the 1995 Assembly Polls, the Congress lost to the BJP and Keshubhai Patel came to power. His Government lasted only 2 years. The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by Shankersinh Vaghela. BJP returned to power in 1998 state assembly polls and has won most of the subsequent polls. In 2001, following the loss of 2 assembly seats in by-elections, Keshubhai Patel resigned and handed over power to Narendra Modi. The BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election, and Narendra Modi has since served as Chief Minister of the state.
As of 2004, key figures in Gujarat politics are:
Narendra Modi, Chief Minister (BJP)
Shankersinh Vaghela, MIP representing Kapadvanj constituency; Indian Government
Textile Minister (INC).
Keshubhai Patel (BJP)
Sureshbhai Mehta (BJP)
Main article: Chief Ministers of Gujarat
Following are the Chief Ministers of Gujarat. (They are ordered by the date from which they took office for the first time)
Dr. Shri Jivraj Narayan Mehta
Balwantrai Mehta
Hitendra K Desai
Ghanshyambhai C. Oza
Chimanbhai J Patel
Babubhai J Patel
Madhavsinh F. Solanki
Amarsinh Chaudhary
Chhabildas Mehta
Keshubhai S. Patel
Sureshchandra R. Mehta
Shankersinh L. Vaghela
Dilipbhai Ramanbhai Parikh
Narendra Modi
Economy
It is one of India's most prosperous states, having a per-capita GDP significantly
above India's average. Major resources produced by the state include cotton,
peanuts, dates, sugarcane, and petrol.
Surat, a city by the Gulf of Khambat, is a hub of global diamond trade. Much of its diamond trade is controlled by a handful of families professing the Jain faith.
Also on the Gulf of Khambat, 50 kilometers southeast of Bhavnagar, is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard, the world's largest.
Anand is host to Amul dairy, one of the largest milk product producers of the world. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India.
Reliance Industries Limited was founded by one of Gujarat's most respected industrialists, the late Dhirubhai Ambani.
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