Kutch District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kutch (also spelled Cutch, Kachh, Kachch, and Kachchh) is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,612 km2, it is the largest district in the state of Gujarat and the second largest in India. It was a Princely State ruled by JADEJA clan of Rajputs for almost 1000 years.
Kachchh literally means 'surrounded by water'; this district is surrounded by the gulf of kachchh and the arabian sea in south and west, while northern and eastern parts are surrounded by the Great and Small Rann (seasonal wetlands) of Kachchh. When there were not many dams built on its rivers, the Rann of Kachchh remained wetlands for a large part of the year. Even today, the region remains wet for a significant part of year.
Many believe that this district derives its name from the shape of its map, which when viewed upside down (south upward) resembles a tortoise; the word for "tortoise" is Kachchh or Kachbo in the Kutchi and Gujarati languages. It is also known as "The Mystery Land" because little is known of its people and religion(s). The district had a population of 1,583,225 of which 30% were urban as of 2001. [1]
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[edit] Geography
Kutch is virtually an island, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west; the Gulf of Kutch, which separates it from the Kathiawar peninsula, to the south and southeast; and by the Rann of Kutch, a sprawling but seasonal wetland, to the north and east. In ages past, the Rann of Kutch was an extension of the Arabian Sea. A range of hills runs east-west, parallel to the Gulf of Kutch. The border with Pakistan lies along the northern edge of the Rann of Kutch; the north-eastern border with Pakistan along Sir creek is the subject of a border dispute.
It is recorded that a massive earthquake hit Kutch on June 16, 1819. This partially changed the course of a section of the river Indus and caused a surface depression that became an inland sea.
[edit] Administrative divisions
The administrative headquarters of Kutch district is Bhuj.
[edit] Language and people
The languages spoken predominantly in Kutch are Kutchi and Gujarati. Kutchi is a language that draws heavily from its neighbouring language groups: Sindhi, Punjabi and Gujarati, however it is usually considered a dialect of Gujarati. Mostly people of the Kutch speak Kutchi, as well as Kutchis who have moved to more commercial areas such as Ahmedabad, Baroda and Rajkot. The Kutchi language has not historically been a written language, though in modern times it is occasionally written in the Gujarati script. Kachchhi and Gujarati are not mutually intelligible though Sindhi and Kachchhi are to some extent.
A number of Kutchi kanbis migrated to Africa, especially South Africa, in the early 1960's and also form a substantial expatriate population in the United Kingdom.
Kutch has a strong tradition of crafts and is famous for its embroidery. Some of the finest ari embroidery was stiched for royalty here whilst women in every village were busy preparing beautiful clothes and decorations for dowries.[citation needed] Unfortunately many of these fine skills have now been lost though some are being rejuvenated through handicrafts initiatives.
Another important art of Kutch is Bandhani, which was primarily originated in the region. Women wear sari of Bandhani art in festives like Marriages, Navaratri and Diwali. Handprinting is used to make the Bedspreads, pillow covers and other such furnishing products for household.
The dominant religion of Kutch is a form of Hinduism, Jainism and Shia Islam.
[edit] History
Remote and sparsely populated while the district of Kutch may be, it has had an interesting history. The Indus valley civilization, known to be one of the first ever civilised societies consisted of the ancestors of Kutchis as well as others. However now most of the river lies in Pakistan after India was split up.
[edit] Dholavira
Dholavira, The Ancient Metropolitan City, locally known as Kotada Timba Prachin Mahanagar Dholavira, is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological site in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is located on the Khadir island in the Kutch district of Gujarat - the island is surrounded by water in the monsoon season. The site was occupied from about 2900 BCE for about a millennium, declining slowly after about 2100 BCE, briefly abandoned and then reoccupied, finally by villagers among its ruins, until about 1450.
[edit] Princely Kutch
Kutch was formerly an independent state, founded in the late 13th century by a samma rajput named Jada, from which name the Jadeja rajputs derive their patronymic. The Jadeja dynasty ruled not only Kutch but also much of neighbouring Kathiawar for several centuries until the independence of India in 1947. In 1815, Kutch became a British protectorate and ultimately a princely state, whose local ruler acknowledged British sovereignty in return for local autonomy. A beautiful mirror palace, one surviving relic of the princely era is the Aina Mahal ("mirror palace"), built in the 1760's at Bhuj for the Maharao of Kutch by Ram Singh Malam who had learnt glass, enamel and tile work from the Dutch.
[edit] Recent history
Upon the independence of India in 1947, Kutch acceded unto the dominion of India and was constitited an independent commissionerate. It was created a state within the union of India in 1950. On November 1, 1956, Kutch was merged with Bombay state, which in 1960 was divided into the new linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Kutch thereupon became a part of Gujarat state.
After the Partition of India in 1947, the province of Sindh, including the port of Karachi, ended up in Pakistan. The Indian Government constructed a modern port at Kandla in Kutch to serve as a port for western India in lieu of Karachi. There was a dispute over the Kutch region with Pakistan and fighting broke out just months before the outbreak of the Second Kashmir War. Pakistan claimed 3,500 sq. mi of the land and an international tribunal was setup. It however, awarded only 350 sq. mi of the claim by Pakistan, the vast majority remaining with India. Tensions flared again during the Atlantique Incident as it came just weeks after the 1999 Kargil Conglict.
The epicenter of 2001 Gujarat Earthquake was in this district. It was the most severe earthquake (out of more than 90 earthquakes) to hit Kutch in 185 years. Much of Bhuj was destroyed or damaged as were many villages. Many of the attractions of Bhuj including the Aina Mahal have still not been restored.
[edit] External links
- Popular daily Kutch Mitra now on net.
- Comprehensive information about Kutch on panjokutch.com
- Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Kutch
- Post-independence chief commissioners of Kutch
- First ever Kutchi Digital Directory
- Kutchis in USA
- Kutchis in mumbai
- Computer Graphics reconstruction of Dholavira.
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