| Limbdi | |
| — city — | |
|
|
|
| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District(s) | Surendranagar |
| Population | 40,067 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 53 metres (174 ft) |
Limbdi is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Limbdi has a proud place in women's education. It is home to Lady Wellingdon Girls School, now Municipal school number 3. This school was established in Limbdi on 1 March 1859 when India had hardly any girls schools even in urban areas. Initially "girls only", it is now a co-educational school.
Contents |
Limbdi was a princely state- entitled to a hereditary salute of 9-guns during and before the British empire, ruled by the Jhala dynasty. After India's independence from British colonial rule in 1947, Limbdi was integrated into the nation with other princely states. It has a current population of about 70,000 people who are employed in diverse professions from agriculture to small businesses.
Limbdi was considered to be the "KASHI" of Gujarat because lots of temples are located in the city in almost every street & society. Lord Swaminarayan had visited Limbdi several times. And the story of Vaghri's salvation by Lord Swaminarayan has been depicted in the scriptures of Swaminarayan Sect.In May 2010 Pramukh Swami Maharaj inaguarated the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Limbdi. Swami Vivekananda had also visited Limbdi, and a Ram Krishna Mission was built near Railway Station in this memory and also rameshwar mahadev temple held in the ramkrishna nagar society.it was build by local public of the society. Limbdi is home to the Jagadish Ashram established by Shri Shivprakashji, Shri Dattaprakashji and Shri Vishnuprakashji, the three disciples of Shri Jagannath Tirth Swami. Some scenes of the famous Hindi movie Guide were shot at this Ashram. Limbdi is also famous for its "Kachariya" (or Kachariyu) a dish made from sesame seeds ("tal").
The Bhogavo River flows by Limbdi. The best way to visit Limbdi is by bus from Ahmedabad. Buses from Ahmedabad to Rajkot also stop on their way in Limbdi. Another way is by the Saurashtra Mail train from Bombay which stops at Ahmedabad and Surendranagar. Buses and private vehicles on hire can be used to get from Surendranagar to Limbdi.There is a daily train from Mumbai, named Bhavnagar-Bandra Superfast express which stops at Limbdi.
During local princely states existence in Kathiyavad, there were approximately 222 small & medium princely states. During that era, Limbdi was also a princely state. During the time span from 1768 to 1948, many dictators had taken charge of Limbdi starting from Harisinh, Bhojraj, Harbham, Fatesinh, Jashwantsinh, Dotalsinh, Digvijaysinh and the last Chhatrasalsinh.
During the reign of king Jaswantsinh, Swami Vivekananda had stayed in the city Limbdi during his visit of Saurashtra. King Jaswantsinh had become the friend of Swami Vivekananda. They had stayed together in Mahabaleshwar during 4-May-1892 to 28-May-1892. Spiritual discussion held between them has been well depicted in the Daily Diary of king Jaswantsinh. It is believed that king Jaswantsinh had inspired & requested Swami Vivekananda to participate in the World Religion Conference.
After Sir Jaswantsinh, Sir Dotalsinh took over the charge of the Limbdi state and he had tried to rule over Limbdi in the modern and sophisticated way. For the purpose of making people aware of the ruling of the state, he had initiated tradition of publishing "Limbdi Darbari Gazzete" in 1909.
For ensuring well-managed administration of Limbdi state, a tradition of "Sudharai (improvement)" was executed which consisted of 30 members out of which 18 members used to belong to puplic body and 12 used to belong to administrative body. In this arrangement, main social benefits such as cleanliness, health, fire brigade and lighting were made available as and when need arises. There were several princely cities in Saurashtra, but Limbdi was the first city to install electricity bulbs on the roads of the city during the reign of king Dolatsinh.
During Dolatsinh's rule, utmost importance was given to improving the condition of agriculture and farmers. For making proper use of land resources, the king used to give waste lands and barren lands to needy farmers for 3 years for development without collecting any taxes from them. In 1908, the cultivated land was 116 lakh acres which reached to 181 lakh acres in 1935. For the upliftment of farmers, Limbdi Co-operative Bank was established. By forming various farmers oriented laws, they had been made free from the burden of debt.
During this time, famines(droughts) used to happen over and over again. But the king always encouraged the farmers to store food & fodder to meet future contingencies. Therefore in 1912, Limbdi state didn't have to suffer much due to famine.
During the reign of king Dolatsinh, there was full-fledge develoment of cotton trading and ginning mills. Apart from this, a few more industries had emerged such as soap factories, bras factories, nicol plating factories, factories of knife etc.
For the welfare of people, the king had passed "Nashabandhi(No liquor)" by forgoing the probable income of 15 to 20 thousand of that time. There was strict restriction on the production and selling of liquor. A person caught in such activities had to suffer a lot.
In 1912, a law was brought in force against child-marriage. Moreover, there was also a ban on begging. However, it was taken care that nobody in the Limbdi state sleeps hungry. Wrong traditions before and after death were also abolished. During holy festivals and in the month of "Shravan", animal-klling was prohibited. In 1909, export of cows from the state was banned.
Education from primary to metriculation was free of cost which was compulsory for boys and voluntary for girls. However, if a girl goes to school, she was furnished all the necessary items such as books, bags, stationery and clothes free of cost. Sir Jashwantsinh High School (Sir J. High School) was included in top 10 schools of the country by the Education Head of Mumbai Govt Mr. D. Parajay. Sir Dotalsinh had made an arrangement of providing all the expenses of meritorious students going abroad for further study. For this noble purpose only Rs.20000/- (presently Rs.20 crores) used to be kept reserve. This king used to give donations for the development of education not only in Limbdi state, but also the colleges outside the Limbdi state. The king had given donation of Rs.1 lakh to Banaras Hindu University [1] and also to Rabindranath Tagore for Shantiniketan. He had helped several caste-based hostels with financial means.The king had established 5 mobile libraries.
Cricket was given prime importance in the state. During a cricket match in England between India & England in 1928, King Ghanshyamsinh was the vice captain of Indian Team.
For easy availability of health related service, 8 hospitals were established. The Limbdi state had sent Dr. A.D. Popat to England for further study in medicine.
In 1914, tram facility was introduced from railway station to the palace for the convenience of people. In 1909, Wood House vegetable market and Circuit House were built. Moreover, "Baluba Dharm-shala" was built near railway station at the expense of Rs.80000/-. A bridge named Dolatsinh was built on the river Bhogavo in 1936 which was inaugurated by Vice Roy Lord Wilindon. Sir Dotalsinh was really a modern and high profile ruler of Limbdi state. He had bought a two-seater plane and an aerodram. He was bestowed with KCIE award in 1921 and KCS award in 1931 by British Government.
In 1938, Sir Dolatsinh had begun to renounce the ruling power reaching at the age of 70 years. During this time, the people of Limbdi had formed a "Praja Mandal" on 24-Dec-1938 due to which there was wild struggle between the king and the people of Limbdi. During 1939, a conference was held by "Praja Mandal" which the king didn't like and made huge uproar at the conference. Many people were wounded during this mishap. Many people felt disheartened and started migrating from Limbdi to other cities.
In 1940, after death of Sir Dolatsinh, Sir Digvijay became ruler who could rule only for 4 months after which he died. The last ruler of Limbdi was his son Sir Chhatrapalsinh during 1941 to 1948. After independence, Limbdi state was merged with united India.
Limbdi is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 53 metres (173 feet). LIMBDI is located on NH-8,101 km from Ahmedabad.
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Limbdi had a population of 40,067. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Limbdi has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 62%. In Limbdi, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
External Links
[[St. Shree Kabir Ashram,Limbdi,On Ahmedabad - Rajkot Highway Dist : Surendranagar , Gujarat. Website:http://www.kabirashramlimbdi.com/index.html]]