The story of Junagadh, which was liberated later than India

Periodicity- Lalit Khambhayata

- Junagadh was liberated not in August 1947 but in November. November 9th is Independence Day. New and old knowledge about Junagadh on the occasion of that day.

- Inscription: Ancient history carved in stone

The well-known history of the independence of Ju Nagdh is something like this: When the kingdoms of the whole country were merging into a nation called India in the 19th century, three rulers fell apart, Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh. The three were later reunited in India by Sardar Patel through Sam-Dam-Dand-Bheed. The people took to the streets to unite Junagadh in India and formed their own organization, called the 'RG (parallel) government'. The day Junagadh was annexed to India by the efforts of the RG government was November 9, 19. That means Junagadh will celebrate its Independence Day tomorrow. On this occasion, some of the knowledge stories of Junagadh that seem brand new when you look at them ...

- Girnar in the padar of Junagadh and if we go a little farther, lions are given special importance in tourism. But if the culture and history of Junagadh is exposed, the first heritage city of India can be Junagadh and not Ahmedabad. Why Because there are innumerable dynasties (Greek, Saka, Kshatrapo, Maurya, Kalinga, Chudasama, Mughal, Babi, English) who have ruled here. Junagadh has seen so many dynasties that hardly any city has seen in history. His rule was diverse, but so was Spapatya. Even today, the architecture of Junagadh has a mixture of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain and English which is not found in all of India.

- Among the numerous rulers in the folk psyche of Junagadh are 'Ra' (original identity was 'Varah' and from this 'Raah') and Nawab are prevalent. Out of the last one thousand years, Junagadh was ruled by Hindus for the first five hundred years and Muslims for the next five hundred and one years. The popularity of King Ra'navaghan of the Chudasama dynasty is also special. The fact is that Ra'navaghan I, II, III and IV came on the throne of Junagadh. What these people remember is that Navghan was the first to gather his army at Alidar village near Una and regain his throne. The reign of the first Navghan was from 104 AD to 108 AD. Navghan had shifted the capital from Vanthali to Junagadh. The reign of the Chumdas dynasty began in Junagadh in 6 AD, when a prince named Chandrachud came to the throne. That rule came to an end when Madanlik III ascended the throne in 180 AD. Then Muslim rule began.

- The kings and maharajas knew how to ride horses, but the Nawab of Junagadh Mahabatkhan knew how to milk cows. Due to his unquenchable love for cows, he kept the best kind of cows and oxen at Willingdon Farm. Cows received lifelong nourishment here and were not sent to the slaughterhouse under any circumstances. Many hawks were also winners in various competitions. The state of Junagadh had passed the 'Farmer Protection Act' in 18-7 to honor farmers. The Debt Relief Act was also enacted to relieve farmers from debt burden. It is not surprising that the aggrieved peasants today consider the Nawabi or the monarchy to be good.

- The inscription of Ashoka written in Brahmi script is known in Junagadh. Among the tourists who come to Junagadh who are interested in history, they visit the gigantic stone on Bhavnath Road and the orders of Emperor Ashoka engraved on it. The first attempt to solve the inscription was made by the famous archaeologist of Junagadh and Bhagwanji Indralal. The researchers knew that there was something written on the giant stone. But what are the commandments of Ashoka was done by the established Lord. Probably the inscription system in the whole of India started from Junagadh.

- It is not surprising that there is a room with a chandelier and a coronation on a glorious throne. In Junagadh, however, the tilak of all the Nawabs was worn on the porch outside the palace. After that a grand program was held in the palace. The first Nawab Bahadur Khan was crowned at the Otala near the north gate of the Rangmahal, hence the tradition. In 'History of Saurashtra', SV Jani writes: 'Nawab was originally a subah of the Mughal emperor of Delhi, but after the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal power weakened, so Babi Fojdar Sherkhan of Junagadh in 19th was renamed Bahadur Khan as Bahadur Ilkab. Gave. The rest were originally from Afghanistan.

- Bahauddin College in whose name is Bahauddin Bhai was the Wazir of Junagadh (tenure as Wazir from 191 to 1919). They wanted to make sculptures of lions. That is why the stones of Junagadh were sent to the Anglo-American laboratory to check its strength. Shambhu Prasad Desai, an ardent historian of Junagadh, has noted in 'Junagadh and Girnar' that 'after laboratory examination, a huge granite stone was cut from the cliff of Sonarakh river (on which Damodar tank is located) and four lion sculptures were made from it. Two of the sculptures were placed at Junagadh and two at Veraval railway station. Today, 150 years later, the stone forests are undefeated.

Bahauddin College in Junagadh, known as Bahauddin Bhai, was then the second most important college in Sorath after Bhavnagar. In 1800, Viceroy Curzon came to inaugurate it. At that time, I was amazed to see the 100 feet long and 30 feet wide central room of the college. Because the room stood without any support (stands today). Jethabhai Mistry, who did the best construction of the college, including the room, was also awarded a loan. It is to be seen that the whole college is very attractive, but the idea of ​​including it in the tourism circuit of Junagadh has not come to any authorities or the administrators of the college!

- One identity of Junagadh today is male saffron, the other identity is saffron mango. Junagadh's mango is sold in piles during the season. Carrie's name was not Saffron. This mango probably grew in Mangrol and from there came to Junagadh. Then Iyengar, a garden officer at the time, liked mangoes and set up a mango orchard. It was named saffron because of its color after ripening. That name has become world famous today. When Prime Minister Nehru visited Russia, he took special saffron from Gir to present to Russian Prime Minister Nikita Khushchov. There were more than 5 types of mangoes in total and its regular display was held.

- Like other ancient towns, Junagadh was once a fortified town. The fort is now known as Uparkot. There is controversy over who actually built the overcoat. According to one belief, the fort was built by Maharaja Ugrasen, while another is believed to have been built by Chandragupta Maurya. Even more interesting than history is the treasure hidden somewhere in the fort. Going to demolish the old constructions of Junagadh and build new ones, many times the old basement and in some cases the amount of gold-silver coins have been and continue to be found under the old construction. Historian of Junagadh Dr. Pradhyuman Khachar says, "If the Uparkot fort is completely excavated, there is a good chance that such jewels or treasures will be found from its bottom." There was also a law that if items worth ten rupees or more were found in the state, the state would have the right to it!

A Junagadh, however, has come out of Kangra of Uparkot.

The gate is named after Sardar Patel, who played an important role in the independence of Junagadh. After being neglected, this attractive looking door in front of the railway station is now being painted. This door is basically part of the whole building complex. At one time Wazir Bahauddin Bhai lived there. That is why even today on every arch of the door there is a huge letter written in English on the left and in Gujarati on the right as 'Bahauddinbhai's house'. Of course, for that you have to look carefully at the arches spread on both sides of the door.

If we talk about the time, the new year of Jungadh on the 17th started counting from 1st September. Cannons were fired from the upper coat at 12 noon every day so that the people could know the time.

The architecture of the Nawabs, which still shines today but has not developed in terms of tourism.

When is the RG Government Museum?

The museum, which tells the story of the liberation struggle of Kashmir and Hyderabad, is in the town. But despite repeated demands to set up a museum depicting the successive history of the RG government that liberated Junagadh, the government has not shown interest. The RG government was not only the freedom struggle of Junagadh, but a powerful chapter in the people's wars that took place all over India. Bhutto, the Nawab of Junagadh and an adviser, decided to merge with Pakistan, which was criticized as far as the United States and England. Those stories are alive in the books, but the museum has to keep them alive among the people ...

A town has many names

Today, many tourists come to Girnar, but as late as the 7th century, the Chinese traveler Hu-en-sang traveled here and wrote a description of Girnar. He named this mountain Ujjayant. There are half a dozen names in the history of Ameya Girnar. If we come down from Girnar, there were seventeen names in Junagadh city and this is the eighteenth name, Parimal Rupani has noted in her book. These are the seventeen names: Karankubj, Manipur, Chandraketupur, Raivat, Puratanpur, Girinagar, Nagar, Purvanagar, Durg, Jirnadurg, Khengargarh, Ugrasengarh, Mustafabad, Jirangarh, Junagarh and Junagadh.

Cloud-talking fortress Girnar and its remarkable peak

- Girnar is a volcanic mountain. On the way from Ambaji to Gorakhnath-Dattatreya, a black layer of black lava can be seen somewhere in the hills spread far behind. In the 19th century, JW Evans, a British officer, conducted a geological survey of Girnar and found that it contained metals such as copper and mica. But since it is expensive to remove, no action has been taken in that direction.

- Junagadh has been the center of four major religions namely Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain. The flags of these four religious centers are flying over Girnar. The Ambaji Temple at Girnar is famous, followed by the Gorakhnath and Dattatreya talking peaks. Apart from that, Girnar has many unknown and supernatural places. Girnar itself is a group of hills such as Babriyo, Khodiyar, Bhensalo, Joganio, Ashwasthama, Lakshman, Datar. Then from Girnar flow small and big rivers like Sonarakh (name at one time due to the belief that gold particles were found in the river), Hemajali, Kalvo, etc. Girnar is a protected forest area in addition to the mountain. The forest of Girnar is spread over an area of ​​about one and a half hundred square kilometers, in which one and a half to two dozen lions, a number of panthers and other creatures live. Normally these wild creatures stay away from humans, but sometimes lampreys can be seen on the Bharatvan-Sitavan ladder leading to the back of Girnar. 300 species of plants grow here to save the wildlife.

Ambaji

1,050.5 m

3 feet

Gorakhnath

1112 m

3 feet

Oghad Dattatreya

105 m

3 feet

Ansuya

Renuka

Kalika / Kalaka

1008 m

3 feet