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Gujaratis

75px75px
Mohandas Gandhi • Swami Dayananda Saraswati • Morarji Desai Sardar Patel • Mukesh Ambani Sam Pitroda • Ardeshir Tarapore  • Narendra Modi • Muhammad Ali Jinnah •
Total population
c. 65 to 75 million
Regions with significant populations
India 65 million  United Kingdom 780,000  Tanzania  Pakistan 100,000  Uganda  South Africa 155,017  Kenya  Madagascar  Malawi  Malaysia  Fiji  Singapore [1]  Mauritius  Trinidad and Tobago  United States 600,000  Canada 200,000  Australia 40,000
Languages
Gujarati
Religion
Mostly Hinduism but also Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism (see Parsis), Christianity, Judaism

Gujarati people (Gujarati: ગુજરાતી લોકો Gujǎrātī loko?), or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India. Famous Gujaratis include Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mohandas Gandhi, Dhirubhai Ambani, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Demographics[link]

Gujaratis in India[link]

The Gujarati people live in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, in the state of Gujarat. Gujaratis have rich cultural heritage. Many Gujaratis inhabit the state of Maharashtra of India and the territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Additionally, the Gujarati language has been adopted by communities such as the Kacchis, who use it as their literary language,^[2] and the Parsis, who had made the Gujarat region of the Indian subcontinent their home. Gandhinagar^[3] is the capital city of Gujarat. Gujaratis mainly follow Hindu religion (89.1%), apart from others including Muslims that constitute 9.1%, Jains 1.0%, Sikhs, and Christians.^[4] There are many Gujaratis living in various cities in South Indian states viz. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Gujarati diaspora[link]

Gujaratis have achieved a high demographic profile in many urban districts worldwide, notably in India Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the New York City Metropolitan Area, USA.

Significant migrant Gujarati communities exist around the world. The largest expatriate Gujarati populations are in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Other major Gujarati communities exist in South and East Africa (most notably Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique – a substantial number of Gujaratis from this former Portuguese colony settled in Portugal after its independence) and South-East Asia (Myanmar, Malaysia).

According to the US Census Bureau^[5] in 2006 there were 1,417,000 people in the US who spoke Gujarati, Hindi or other Indic languages (e.g. Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu) at home; Gujaratis comprised 299,000 of these numbers, suggesting greater than 20% of the approximately 3 million Indian Americans are Gujarati, with the highest number residing in the New York City Metropolitan Area. (This total excludes 325,000 Urdu speakers who it might reasonably be assumed are predominantly of Pakistani origin.) Note that this estimate does not include second or greater generation Gujaratis who report they primarily speak English at home. Most East African Asians are Gujaratis. Early 2010 figures estimate that there are 104,000 people who speak Gujarati in Canada, with the majority living in the Greater Toronto Area.^[6] In the UK, Gujarati people live primarily in London and Leicester.^[7]

Gujaratis of Pakistan[link]

There is a community of Muslim Gujaratis in neighbouring Pakistan, mainly settled in Sindh for generations. A sizable number migrated after the Partition of India and subsequent creation of independent Pakistan in 1947. These Pakistani Gujaratis belong mainly to the Khoja Bohra^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Chhipa, Chundrigar, Charotar Sunni Vohra, Muslim Ghanchi and Memon groups; however, many Gujaratis are also a part of Pakistan's small but vibrant Hindu community. Many Gujaratis in Pakistan retain ties to their relatives in Muslim communities living in Gujarat, and maintain Gujarati as their native language. However, a growing number are adopting Urdu as their native tongue. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan whose mother tongue was also Gujarati and were Gujarati Hindus before , is one of the most notable people of Gujarati Muslim ancestry belonged to the province of Gujarat however born in Karachi.^[8] Gujarati Muslims constitute the majority in Saddar Town.

Genetics[link]

In terms of ancestry, the majority of Gujaratis share identical genes with the rest of the northern Indian populations, but show a significant relationship with West Asia.

A 2004 Stanford study conducted with a wide sampling from India, found that over 33% of genetic markers in Gujarat were partially of West Eurasian origin, the second highest amongst the sampled group of South Asians with Punjabis at 42%, Sindhis at 31% and Kashmiris at 30%.^[9]

Haplogroup U7 is found in Iran, the Near East,^[9] Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan; with extremely low frequencies in neighboring countries Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. Its frequency peaks at over 12% in Gujarat, 9% in Iran, 9% in Punjab, 6% in Pakistan and 6% in Afghanistan. Elsewhere in India, its frequency is very low (0.00% to 0.90%).^[9] Outside of the Near East, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Northwestern Indian states, Haplogroup U7 is non-existent. Expansion times and haplotype diversities for the Indian and Near and Middle Eastern U7 mtDNAs are strikingly similar. The possible homeland of this haplogroup likely spans the coverage of Iran to Western India. From there its frequency declines steeply both to the east and to the west. Its equally high frequency as well as diversity in Gujarat favors a scenario whereby U7 has been introduced by the coastal Gujarat to areas of Iran. ^[10]

Some preliminary conclusions from these varying tests support some of the highest degrees of Indian mtDNAs found in Western Asia, with a particular close relationship between Iran and Gujarat, supporting a theory of trade contact and migrations out of Gujarat into West Asia.^[10]

Food[link]

Vedhmi is a sweet lentil stuffed chapatis.

Hindus and Jains are predominantly vegetarians, to a greater extent than Hindu communities elsewhere in India. Gujarati cuisine follows the traditional Indian full meal structure of rice, cooked vegetables, lentil curry or daal and roti. The different types of rotli (breads) that a Gujarati cooks are rotli or chapati, bhakhri, thepla or dhebara, puri, maal purah, and puran-pohli. Khaman, Dhokla pani puri, dhokli, dal-dhokli, undhiyu, jalebi, fafda, chevdoh, Samosa, papdi, muthia, bhajia, patra, bhusu and Sev mamra are traditional Gujarati dishes savoured by many communities across the world.

Khichdi – a mix of rice and toor daal, a type of lentil, cooked with little spices in a pressure cooker – is a popular Gujarati meal. It is found very satisfying by most Gujaratis, and cooked very regularly in most homes, typically on a busy day due to its ease of cooking. It can also become an elaborate meal when served with several side dishes such as a vegetable curry, yogurt, papad, mango pickle, and onions. It is found to be served in Gujarati immigrant families settled abroad even after decades of being outside India.

Gujaratis are more comfortable cooking with peanut oil (shing tel). However, while living abroad they adjust their cooking method with available canola or sunflower oil. The making of masala is traditionally done on grinding stones. Nowadays, people use a blender or grinder to make masala. Each person makes masala differently, hence cooking tastes differ depending on the household. People from north Gujarat use dry red chili powder, whereas people from south Gujarat prefer using green chili and coriander in their cooking. Gujarati Jains (and many Hindus) avoid using garlic and onions in their cooking. Traditionally Gujaratis eat mukhwas or paan at the end of a meal. In many parts of Gujarat, having chhass (chilled buttermilk) or soda after lunch or dinner is quite common. Gujarati families celebrate Sharad Purnima by having dinner with doodh-pauva under moonlight.

A very interesting version of English Custard is made in Gujarat. It was picked up from the British nearly 200 years ago, and the Indian recipe uses cornstarch instead of the traditional eggs, this being a 19th century invention in Britain itself. The Indian version of the custard is cooked with cardamom and saffron, and served with fruit and sliced almonds, oftentimes simply called fruit salad.

Dress[link]

A Meghwal woman in the Hodka village, north of Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat

Indian jewelry like mangalsutras, necklaces, nose rings, earrings, bangles and rings, toe rings, bracelets are all part of the Gujarati attire. Most of this jewelry is made in 22 carat gold but cheaper costume jewelry is also available. During weddings, Gujarati brides wear a lot of jewelry, this is traditionally a form of trust handed to the girl as 22 karat jewelry.

Years ago, only married Gujarati (Hindu) women wore a red bindi (red powder worn in a round shape on the forehead also found in the form of stickers). These days, most women, married or not, wear 'bindi' as a fashion accessory when they wear traditional Indian outfits. Modern Bindis are like stickers, and are available in various shapes, sizes, colors and designs. Only married women however, wear red powder, called 'sindoor', in a short straight line on the scalp, starting near the hairline and covers the area where the hair is generally parted(middle). During a traditional Hindu wedding, the groom applies 'sindoor' on the bride for the very first time. This act can be compared to a ring ceremony in western weddings.

There are several different outfits that are worn by both men and women depending on the occasion. Younger women wear western outfits like skirts, dresses, jeans, etc. Older women usually wear saris or salwar kamiz. The Gujarati method of wearing a sari is different from the Bengali method which is usually prevalent in fashion shows. Gujarati ladies drape the pallu over the front of their right shoulder and across the chest tucked into the waist. The Bengali method which is more prevalent in India and amongst younger women involves draping the pallu over the left shoulder with the pallu hanging freely in back

Generally, men wear pants and shirts or t-shirts however traditionally, males will wear dhotis be it every day on a special occasion and a kurta is worn on top. Females will wear saris or something similar. On special occasions females will wear slightly more expensive saris. These traditional garments can be seen both in and outside of India. A famous example is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who wore a dhoti.

Literature[link]

Gujarati literature's history may be traced to 1000 AD. Since then literature has flourished till date. Well known laureates of Gujarati literature are Zevarchand meghani,avinash vyas Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Gandhiji, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Keshavlal Shah.

Kavi Kant and Kalapi are famous^{[peacock term]} Gujarati poets and Vipul K Rawal is the famous^{[peacock term]} Bollywood writer who has written blockbusters like Iqbal.

Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature. Saraswatichandra is a landmark^{[peacock term]} novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like Harindra Dave, Suresh Dalal, Jyotindra Dave, Tarak Mehta, Harkisan Mehta, Chandrakant Bakshi, Vinod Bhatt, Kanti Bhatt, Makarand Dave, and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A huge^{[peacock term]} contribution to Gujarati language literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Bramhanand, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to bhavai. Bhavai is a musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai, Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Gujarati language is enriched by the Adhytmic Literature written by Srimad Rajchandra and Pandit Himmatlal Jethalal Shah. This Literature is both in the form of Poetry and Prose.

Mention in history[link]

Early European travelers like Ludovico di Varthema (15th century) traveled to Gujarat and wrote on the people of Gujarat. He noted that Jainism had a strong presence in Gujarat and opined that Gujaratis were deprived of their kingdom by Muslims because of their kind heartedness. His description of Gujaratis was:^[11]

…a certain race which eats nothing that has blood, never kills any living things… and these people are neither moors nor heathens… if they were baptized, they would all be saved by the virtue of their works, for they never do to others what they would not do unto them.

Famous & Notable Gujarati Businessmen and Industrialists[link]

Azim Premji at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2009

Ratan Naval Tata

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai

Tulsi Tanti at the World Economic Forum

Gujaratis are considered as one of the major business communities not only in India but around the world. The Indian Diamond Industry is controlled by Gujaratis. Gujaratis are risk takers. Many Gujarati individuals are known for lending money and financing money. Majority Retail outlets in Mumbai are under control of Gujaratis. Gujaratis have a major presence as far as Equity Stock Trading is concerned. They have strong presence in USA, UK, South and Central African countries, Canada, Australia and many European countries. Some of the famous Gujarati Businessmen and Industrialists, including Parsis, are as below:

Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance Industries)

Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries)

Anil Ambani (Reliance ADAG)

Azim Premji (Wipro Limited)

Ratan Tata (Tata Group) (Parsi)

Chirayu Amin Alembic

Gautam Adani (Adani Group)

Harsh Mariwala (Marico)

Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharmaceutical Industries)

Karsanbhai Patel (Nirma Group)

Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Group)

Pankaj Patel (Cadila Healthcare)

Mafatlal Gagalbhai (Mafatlal Industries)

Muljibhai Madhvani (Madhvani Group)

Nanji Kalidas Mehta (Mehta Group)(Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited)

Jignesh Shah (Financial Technologies Group)

U. N. Mehta (Torrent Group)

Ambalal Sarabhai (Sarabhai Group of Companies)

Vikram Sarabhai (Father of the Indian space program)

Sam Pitroda (C-SAM, Inc.)

Harshad Mehta

Ketan Parekh

Kasturbhai Lalbhai (Atul Limited)

Adi Godrej (Godrej Group) (Parsi)

Nusli Wadia (Wadia Group) (Parsi)

Jehangir Wadia (GoAir) (Parsi)

Ismail Merchant (Merchant Ivory Productions)

Murad Velshi

Sajid Nadiadwala

Ismail Darbar

Deepak Parekh ((HDFC Bank))

Bharat Shah (Film producer)

Dhaval Sanghavi (Buddhisagar)

Mehul Choksi (Gitanjali Group)

Arvind Mafatlal (Mafatlal Group)

A. M. Naik (Larsen and Toubro)

Hemant Lakhani

Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (ARY Group)

Dhara Bhatt (Bhavnagar State)

Ghulam Muhammad A. Fecto (Fecto Group of Industries)

Arts and entertainment[link]

Women and men performing Garba as part of Navaratri celebrations in Ahmedabad

Fabric designs involve use of Batik. The embedding of mirrors (called abhla) in fabric is a favourite among art lovers. Wall hangings demonstrate use of knitting and embedding of mirrors. Gujarati pottery includes different kinds of deeva (lamps) and pots. During the festival of Navratri, youngsters wear traditional dress and go out to play dandia and sing garbas. Typically men wear Kedia and women wear Ghaghra Cholee to dance in Navratri.

Gujarati films have made artists like Upendra Trivedi, Snehlata, Raajeev, Aruna Irani and Asrani popular in the entertainment industry. In the U.S., Bali Brahmbhatt came up with the hit song "Patel Rap", referring to changing values of Gujarati culture.

There are dedicated television channels airing Gujarati programs.

There are very few well known Gujarati painters like Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, Moazzam Mirza, Amit Ambalal, Haku Shah. UK based Kamal Koria's work often depicts traditional Gujarati village life.^[12]

See also[link]

• List of people from Gujarat

References[link]

http://www.Lohanamilan.com/ Website for Gujarati Lohana's

http://www.maaumiya.com/

Further reading[link]

Rank	Name	Net Worth (Billion USD)	City	Company	Industry
1	Mukesh Ambani	27.1	Mumbai	Reliance Industries	Petrochemicals
2	Azim Premji	16.80	Banglore	Wipro Technologies	Software and IT-enabled services
3	Anil Ambani	13.3	Mumbai	Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group	Conglomerate
4	Gautam Adani	10.7	Ahmedabad	Adani Group	Conglomerate
5	Dilip Shanghvi	5.20	Mumbai	Sun Pharmaceutical	Pharmaceuticals
6	Uday Kotak	3.4	Mumbai	Kotak Mahindra Bank	BFSI
7	Sudhir & Samir Mehta	2.5	Ahmedabad	Torrent Pharma	Pharmaceuticals
8	Pankaj Patel	2.05	Ahmedabad	Cadila Healthcare	Pharmaceuticals
9	Ashwin Dani	1.03	Mumbai	Asian Paints	Paints
	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gujarati people

• Jhaveri, Krishanlal Mohanlal (ed.) (2003), The Gujaratis: The People, Their History, and Culture, New Delhi: Cosmo Publications .

Narendra Modi નરેન્દ્ર મોદી
Chief Minister of Gujarat
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2001
Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Preceded by	Keshubhai Patel
Constituency	Maninagar
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 61) Vadnagar, Gujarat, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Alma mater	Gujarat University[1]
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Narendra Modi
As of 9 March, 2009 Source: Government of Gujarat

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950^[1]) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben.^[2] He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.^[3] In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.^[4] He was elected again for a third term^[5] on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".^[6][7]

Personal life[link]

Modi was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India.^[8] During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations.^[9] As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirmāṇ ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organiser for the organisation, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[10] As a teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his brother.^[11] Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political science from Gujarat University.^[12]

Early activism and politics[link]

Modi was a pracharak (campaigner) in the RSS during his university years.^[12][13] He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.

The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organising two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.