Rajkot

This article is about the city in India. For its namesake district, see Rajkot district.

Rajkot राजकोट રાજકોટ
Metropolis
Rani Lakshmibai Circle and Under Bridge
Country	India
State	Gujarat
Region	Saurashtra (region)
District	Rajkot
Zone	3 (Central, East & West)
Ward	23
Rajkot Municipal Corporation	1973
Government
• Body	(RMC)
• Mayor	Dr.Jaimin Upadhyay
Area
• Metropolis	170.00 km2 (65.64 sq mi)
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Metropolis	1,286,678
• Rank	27
• Density	7,600/km2 (20,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,390,640
Demonym	Rajkotian
Languages
• Official	Gujarati, Hindi, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	360 0XX
Telephone code	0281
Vehicle registration	GJ-3
Literacy	82.20 (2011)%
Planning agency	(RUDA)
Climate	Semi-Arid (Köppen)
Precipitation	590 millimetres (23 in)
Avg. annual temperature	26 °C (79 °F)
Website	www.rmc.gov.in

Rajkot (Rājkot Template:Pronunciation inline) is the fourth largest city in the state of Gujarat, India, after Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara. Rajkot is the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population more than 1.2 million as of 2015. Rajkot is the seventh cleanest city of India. Rajkot is also the 147th-fastest-growing city in the world. The city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District, 245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, before its merger with Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State from 1 May 1960.

History

Further information: History of Rajkot

See also: Rajkot State

Young Mohandas Gandhi (right) and his school friend Sheikh Mehtab (left) in Rajkot.

Rajkot has been under different rulers since it was founded. Rajkot has a long history and had a significant part in the Indian independence movement. Rajkot was home for many personalities like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Rajkot is in a transition period of growing cultural, industrial and economical activities. Rajkot is the 26th largest city of India and the 122nd fastest growing urban area of the world.

Rajkot was the capital of the then Saurashtra state from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956 before merging in bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was merged into Gujarat State from bilingual Bombay state on 1 May 1960. Thakur Saheb Pradyumansinhji died in 1973. His son, Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji, who has carved out a political career at the provincial level, succeeded him. He served as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for several years and as the state Minister for Health and Finance. Monoharsinhji's son, Mandattasinh Jadeja has embarked on a business career.

On 26 January 2001 a devastating earthquake centred near Bhuj, measuring 6.9 on the richter scale, struck the city.

Geography

An Aerial Image of the Aji River that Flows through the city of Rajkot

Rajkot is located at 22.3°N 70.78°E / 22.3; 70.78. It has an average elevation of 128 metres (420 ft). The city is located on the bank of Aji River and Nyari River which remains dry except the monsoon months of July to September. The city is spread in the area of 170.00 km². Rajkot is situated in the region called Saurashtra in the Gujarat state of India. The significance of Rajkot's location is owing to the fact that it is one of the prime industrial centres of Gujarat. Rajkot has a central location in the area called the Kathiawar peninsula. The city is located within the Rajkot district in Gujarat. Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district of Rajkot. The district is surrounded by Bhavnagar and Surendranagar in the east, Junagadh and Amreli in the south, Morbi in the north and Jamnagar in the west.

Climate

Rajkot has a semi-arid climate, with hot, dry summers from mid-March to mid-June and the wet monsoon season from mid-June to October, when the city receives 590 mm of rain on average. The months from November to February are mild, the average temperature being around 20 °C, with low humidity.

One of the most important weather phenomena, that is associated with the city of Rajkot is 'cyclone'. The cyclones generally occur in the Arabian Sea during the months after the rainy season. The region experiences a lot of rainfall and high-speed winds during the time of the year after the monsoon season as well as the months of May and June. However, June experiences lesser amount of rainfall and winds than the post-monsoon time. Thunderstorms are another important part of the Rajkot weather in the months of June and July. During summer time, the temperature ranges between 24 °C and 42 °C. In the months of winter, Rajkot temperature varies between 10 °C and 22 °C but on a whole winters are pleasant.

Climate data for Rajkot Airport (1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	36.4 (97.5)	40.0 (104.0)	43.9 (111.0)	44.4 (111.9)	47.9 (118.2)	45.8 (114.4)	40.6 (105.1)	38.8 (101.8)	42.8 (109.0)	41.9 (107.4)	38.4 (101.1)	36.4 (97.5)	47.9 (118.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28.4 (83.1)	30.9 (87.6)	35.5 (95.9)	39.1 (102.4)	40.5 (104.9)	37.8 (100.0)	33.0 (91.4)	31.6 (88.9)	33.6 (92.5)	35.9 (96.6)	33.2 (91.8)	29.9 (85.8)	34.1 (93.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	12.8 (55.0)	15.0 (59.0)	19.2 (66.6)	22.6 (72.7)	25.4 (77.7)	26.5 (79.7)	25.4 (77.7)	24.4 (75.9)	23.8 (74.8)	22.4 (72.3)	18.4 (65.1)	14.4 (57.9)	20.9 (69.6)
Record low °C (°F)	−0.6 (30.9)	1.1 (34.0)	6.1 (43.0)	10.0 (50.0)	16.1 (61.0)	20.0 (68.0)	19.4 (66.9)	20.1 (68.2)	16.7 (62.1)	12.2 (54.0)	7.2 (45.0)	2.8 (37.0)	−0.6 (30.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	0.8 (0.03)	0.3 (0.01)	0.1 (0.00)	1.4 (0.06)	5.4 (0.21)	108.4 (4.27)	253.4 (9.98)	165.3 (6.51)	115.1 (4.53)	19.3 (0.76)	6.3 (0.25)	0.3 (0.01)	676.1 (26.62)
Average rainy days	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.1	4.4	9.6	8.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	0.1	29.1
Source: India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010)

Demographics

As of the 2011 India census, Rajkot recorded a total population of 1,390,640. Rajkot city has an average literacy rate of 82.20%, higher than the national average. The population is 52.43% male and 47.47% female. Most of the population is Hindu with a Muslim minority.

Religions in Rajkot (2011)
Hinduism			89.90%
Islam			7.68%
Jainism			1.90%
Christianity			0.27%
Others♦			0.24%
Distribution of religions

Population growth through the years

Year	Population
1891	29,200
1941	66,400
1951	132,100
1961	193,500
1968	270,800
1971	302,000
1981	444,200
1991	654,500
2001	1,003,015
2011	1,390,640
2013	1,560,000

♦ Source:

♦ Source:

Culture

The people in Rajkot are predominantly vegetarians and are vehemently against any form of hunting. The women of Rajkot are fond of jewellery. Large chains, pendants and other heavy gold jewellery are a common sight during marriages, festivals and functions. The attire changes with the season and festivals. The ladies normally wear the Gujarati type of the Sari and men can be seen in flowing Kurtas and formal wear (shirts and trousers).

Rajkot is multicultural. One can find many languages, like Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English, Sindhi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi. However, only Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, and English are well understood. Rajkot is the part of Kathiyawad. Because of this people of Rajkot are also known as Kathiyawadi.

Rajkot is frequently referred to as "Rangilu Rajkot" (રંગીલુ રાજકોટ) meaning colourful Rajkot.

Landmarks

File:Alfred High School.jpg

Mohandas Gandhi High School

File:Kabagandhidelo.jpg

This is the house where Gandhiji's father, Karamchand Uttanchand Gandhi (Kaba Gandhi) resided at Rajkot, serving as Diwan (Prime Minister) to the King. Gandhiji himself spent a few years of his early life here from 1881 to 1887. This is a typical Saurashtra 'dela' type house with a central approach from an arched gateway. It was built on 1880–81 A.D. and today it depicts an interesting photo essay of his life.

Rajkot has many historical landmarks and places to visit. The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park in the centre of the city featuring many monuments from colonial times. Located prominently in the centre of the garden is the Connaught Hall. Other notable points of interest near the garden include the historic Mohandas Gandhi High School, Kaba Gandhi No Delo (Mohandas Gandhi's childhood residence), Rashtriya Shala, Watson Museum,Rotary Dolls Museum, Lang Library , Rotary Midtown Library and Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

The Rotary Dolls Museum has a collection of more than 1,400 dolls from all over the world.

Ramkrishna Ashram

The Lang Library and the G.T. Sheth Library collect thousands of documents and books covering every period in Rajkot and Saurashtra (region) history. Rajkot has many other public libraries with many branches throughout the city. It includes Rotary Midtown of Rajkot City Library and many more.

Other points of interest in Rajkot include ISCON temple, Manidweep Temple, Gebanshah Pir Dargah, Hashanshah Pir Dargah, Turkibapu's Dargah, Swaminarayan Gurukul, Masonic Hall, Jam Tower, Race Course, Aji Dam, Ramkrishna Ashram, Shri Ranchhoddas Ashram, Swaminarayan Temple,

Watson Museum And Library: The Watson Museum today has a collection of human history and culture. Its collection has precious objects of colonial period of India and History of Rajkot. Located in the pleasant Jubilee Garden, the museum is a good introduction to Saurashtra's cultural heritage. Rajkot Memon Boarding is headquarters of Muslim activities before 1947. Saurashtra Muslim league held many Muslim convention at Rajkot Memon boarding ground.

Located at a short distance from the city, The Trimandir, a non sectarian temple offers a pleasant and soothing environment. It is widely popular among pilgrims.

Awards

Best LAW and Order city – 2013

Performing Arts

Rajkot is a major regional centre for the arts, with many venues for the performing arts in the city. Hemu Gadhvi Natyagraha, one of the first non-profit regional theatres, is rich with history and dedicated to the Gujarati Play.

Music

Rajkot has its own native music genre, called Dayro, which is used to convey folk stories and sayings. Rajkot also inherited Kathiyawadi folk music.The city also has various orchestra groups, which perform professionally. They mainly perform the music albums from Bollywood.

Sports

Cricket is the most famous sport in the city. One-day internationals, domestic tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy and many inter-school and collegiate tournaments are played at the Madhavrao Sindhia Cricket Ground. The newly constructed 2nd International Cricket Stadium situated in Rajkot, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, formerly known as Khandheri Cricket Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Khandheri, about 15 kilometres outside Rajkot, India. The Stadium has a capacity of 28,000 to 32,000 spectators. In this cricket stadium Day/Night matches can now also be played. The stadium hosted its 1st International Cricket Match played on 11 January 2013 between India and England. The stadium will part of a larger sports complex that will include venues for other sports such as badminton, basketball, and volleyball. It will host Saurashtra Cricket Association matches along with Madhavrao Sindhia Cricket Ground. Rajkot has produced cricketers such as K S Ranjitsinhji, Karsan Ghavri and Cheteshwar Pujara who have been members of the Indian cricket team. Rajkot has many other cricket grounds around city, including Railway Cricket Ground and Rajkumar College South Ground. Apart from cricket, other sports such as hockey, association football, volleyball, badminton, tennis, table-tennis, chess, swimming and squash are rapidly growing popular in the city. There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of private sports clubs, gymkhanas and gymnasiums. Kathiawar gymkhana, indoor stadium and swimming pools of Rajkot Municipal Corporation are major sports clubs in city. Recently, the Gujarat Hockey Team (Under 14) was assembled with all 16 players coming from Rajkot.A new modernised cricket ground is even under construction at the outskirts. There are numerous swimming pools too. Rajkot Municipal Corporation also owns a 9 hole golf course at Ishwaria. It is maintained by Green Meadows Golf Club

In 2016 & 2017, a franchise from Rajkot will play in Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Intex Technologies.

Cycling is a fast growing sport in Rajkot. Members of "Rajkot Cycle Club" regularly ride BRMs which are timed events which stretch from 200 km to 1200 km.

Festivals

Garba, is popular among both, men and women and is performed during the festival of Navratri. The dance starts before midnight and continues until dawn. Mata Ambe, who rides a Lion, has a special reverential status with any highly religious Gujarati. The 'Janmastami Mela' is organised for five days at the Race Course grounds to celebrate Janmastami. Diwali is one of the most important festival and is usually a week long holiday. Rajkot Municipal Corporation arranges the annual Fireworks Show for the citizens of Rajkot during the Diwali festival. The festival of Eid is also celebrated by the Muslim population. Holi is also celebrated with frolic and is widely enjoyed by most of the city folk. People also celebrate Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti) on 14 January by flying kites from their terraces.

Economy

Crystal Mall Kalawad Road

The city contributes to the economy of the state with heavy and small scale industries under the patronage of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and Gujarat State Financial Corporation (GSFC). The economy of Rajkot got another shot in the arm with 280 million World Bank aid for development of infrastructure of the city. Many a renowned business houses made a beeline for grabbing the property market in the city, before it skyrockets. The plans are already in place to beautify and modernise the ancient city, including a Rock Garden, ala Chandigarh. Another 250 million project to rebuild the Kaiser-e-Hind, the only major bridge linking to the city, is already nearing completion. .

Real Estate

High street

Kings plaza Rajkot

Atlantis Flats Rajkot

Real estate in rajkot has ben key contributors to Rajkot's development in terms Economic development and Infrastructure development. Rajkot is one of the most popular destination of Real estate investment across Gujarat state. Starting early 2014, rajkot has got some of the finest sky scrapers. KVIR Live photography based out of Rajkot has captured some of the iconic buildings of Rajkot.

Industry

Rajkot is famous for its jewellery market, silk embroidery and watch parts. The city hosts several small scale manufacturing industries. Some of the industrial products for which Rajkot is known include bearings, diesel engines, kitchen knives and other cutting appliances, watch parts (cases & bracelets), automotive parts, forging industry, casting industry, machine tools, share market and software development. The city is also home to some of the largest CNC machine and auto parts manufacturers in the country such as Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. & Macpower CNC Machines Pvt. Ltd. and Atul Auto Ltd.

Rajkot is well known throughout the world for its casting and forging industries. Over the last few years, it has started to play an increasingly important role in the complex supply chains of many global engineering companies that make products such as electric motors, automobiles, machine tools, bearings, shafts etc.

There are about 500 foundry units in Rajkot. The cluster came up mainly to cater to the casting requirements of the local diesel engine industry. The geographical spread of the cluster includes Aji Vasahat, Gondal Road, Bhavanagar Road areas, Shapar, Veraval and Metoda. The majority of foundry units in Rajkot produce grey iron castings for the domestic market. A very small percentage (about 2%) of the foundry units export castings such as electric motor castings, automobile castings etc. There are some biggest gear manufacturing companies in Rajkot such as Synnova Gears and Transmission Pvt. Ltd. , Mahindra Gears etc.

Rajkot is also famous for its gold purity and has one of the largest gold markets in India.

Rajkot is also growing up in Software Industries and ITeS. There are many SOHO companies working in Web Development along with many new multinational call centres and software companies setting up their operations and development centres in Rajkot.

Rajkot's sister city Morbi is also a manufacturing hub for ceramics industry, wall clocks industry and electrical accessories. The city is a home to large industries such as Ajanta Clock, Samay Group, ORPAT Group, Sonera Industries, Rickon Quartz etc.

In the near future, the government of Gujarat will allocate large land areas for the development of Special Economic Zone which will be parted in three different areas and will include industries such as Software, Auto-Mobiles, etc. As per recent market reviews, Rajkot is becoming Asia's biggest Auto-Mobile Zone.

Rajkot is also famous for its textile printing units which produce cotton salwar suits and cotton print and silk sarees.

Rajkot was formerly the leading centre in India in the field of diesel engine and submersible pumps. Submersible pumps are still manufactured in the city and marketed throughout India, with some of the larger manufacturers also exporting them.

Rajkot is also home to some of India's leading snacks manufacturers such as Balaji Wafers Pvt Ltd, Gopal Snacks Pvt Ltd and is home to one of India's leading share broker Marwadi Shares & Finance Ltd.

Law and government

Rajkot is governed by many government bodies, including Jilla Seva Sadan (Rajkot District Collector Offices), Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Rajkot Urban Development Authority and bodies like the Police Department of Gujarat and the Rajkot City Traffic Police Department, which work to maintain law and order in the city.

The city civic body has started a 24x7 call centre, the first of its kind in Gujarat and the second in the country to take care of all complaints relating to civic management. Citizens can now get all their complaints registered with the Rajkot Municipal Corporation by dialling a single number with an assurance that the problem would be addressed within 72 hours.

Transport

Rajkot is connected to major Indian cities by Air, Railway and Road.

Roads and highways

Road network near Rajkot Gujarat India 2015

The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) runs regular buses to and from Rajkot to other cities of Gujarat. More than 81000 people travel daily with GSRTC. Rajkot is very well connected with Gujarat State Highways and Rajkot is allocated the vehicle registration code GJ-3 by RTO. There are a number of private bus operators connecting city with other cities of Gujarat state and other states of India.

Rail and Internal transport

Rajkot Junction Railway Station

Rajkot has two railway stations. Rajkot Junction Railway Station (station code: RJT) is the more widely used railway station for passenger trains, and has services to all the major cities of India. Its elevation is 128 m above sea level. The other, smaller, railway station is Bhaktinagar Railway Station (station code: BKNG), served only by trains from Somnath, Veraval, Junagadh and Porbandar.

Rajkot Municipal Corporation has restored city bus services with Public Private Partnership in 2007. RMC and a private company is providing around 80 CNG buses under 15 to 20 routes in city and suburbs.

Rajkot BRTS Bus and the Corridor

Recently Rajkot BRTS was launched on 1 October 2012. a new Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) with launching of the 10-km long Blue corridor and two AC buses which will be free for the first three months. The corridor is located in the west part of the city through the 150 ft ring road connecting Madhapar chokdi on the Jamangar road to Gondal chokdi on the Gondal road. The corridor will host 11 buses in further stage.

Rajkot BRTS Route :

A Jet Airways aircraft and refuelling truck on the apron at Rajkot Airport

The fully completed project in future will have two more corridors – green and red from Arvind Maniyar Nagar to Saurashtra University and Greenland Chowk to Saurashtra University respectively involving 157 buses in three colours. Rajkot thus becomes the second city in Gujarat to have BRTS after Ahmedabad. The city of Surat too is planning an ambitious BRTS project, construction of which is going on presently.

Rajkot has a large number of auto rickshaws, which operate around the clock within the city. Most of these are converted to CNG from petrol or diesel. Ola Cabs has started its operations here.

Aviation

Rajkot Airport is conveniently located at a short distance from the city and can be easily accessed by cab and auto rickshaw services. There are multiple daily flights to Mumbai, served by Air India and Jet Airways. Air India started the Rajkot New Delhi flight from 15 February 2015.

Media and communications

State-owned All India Radio has a local station and has FM channel 102.4 Vividh Bharati in Rajkot which transmits various programs of mass interest. Private FMs like Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, Red FM 93.5, Big 92.7 FM and 94.3 MY FM also serves people of Rajkot with excellent entertainment stuff + events.

Education

Christ College Building

RK University

Rajkot is famous for providing education to Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhiji), at the Alfred High School. A number of schools in the city are run by Rajkot Municipal Corporation.They include 20 schools and learning centres, which consist of 3 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 4 junior high schools, 4 senior high schools, 1 education centres, and 1 special school. There are also some self-financed public schools. TGES (The Galaxy Educational System) is a group of sister schools.The Galaxy School(TGS) a part of TGES is the only international school in the city which offers International Baccalaureate Program.Rajkot is home to Rajkumar College, Rajkot, also known RKC, which is one of the oldest schools of India.

Rajkot also has Union Government HRD Ministry run Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, now shifted to Jamnagar highway premise. Earlier it started at the Juni Khadki school premise of Sir Lakhajiraj High School and later on moved to its own building on the Jamnagar Road. It is CBSE Board affiliated, residential school for girls and boys, providing education to those selected at the Class VI level all India entrance test.

The city is home to Saurashtra University, several colleges, and other institutions of higher education, both public and private. Rajkot is also home to the first private university in Saurashtra, RK University (RKU), which offers more than 50 programs at different levels from diploma to doctorate degrees. The city has 12 engineering colleges. It has a Performing Arts College (Vocal, Classical dance, Tabla Vadan etc.) opposite Hemu Gadhvi Natya Gruh. The Saurashtra University is the city's public university. It is spread across approximately 410 acres (1.7 km²) of green land with 28 post graduation departments.

See also

• List of most populous cities in India
• List of most populous metropolitan areas in India
• List of twin towns and sister cities in India
• Status of Indian cities
• List of cities in India
• List of million-plus cities in India

Further reading

• Sadashiv, Anant. A History of important ancient towns & cities in Gujarat & Kathiawad. ASIN B0008B2NGA.
• Singhji, Virbhadra. The Rajputs of Saurashtra. ISBN 81-7154-546-7.
• Curzon, George Nathaniel. Speeches.
• Thornton, Edward. A Gazetteer of The Territories under the government of The East-India Company, and of the Native states on the continent of India. ISBN 81-85557-52-7.
• Briggs, Henry George. The Cities of Gujaráshtra: : Their Topography and History Illustrated, in.
• Baird, Robert. The Christian Retrospect and Register: A Summary of the Scientific, Moral.
• Chesson, James. Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from May 1844 to February 1846.

• #creation cards is the best place to shop for wedding at rajkot.

External links

• Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC)
• Rotary Dolls Museum in World's Amazing Records
• World Environment Day 2014 – Student Taking Oath to Set World Record
• Virani School Student Writing Essay Together set World Record
• Rotary Dolls Museum – 1600+ Dolls Collection
• Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA)
• Rajkot travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Template:Dmoz