Godhra

Godhra is a road and rail junction and a commercial centre for timber and agricultural produce. Industries include oilseed pressing, flour milling, and glass manufacture. Godhra is a Municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from gou which means "cow" and dhara which has two meanings: one in Sanskrit which means "hold" or "land" and the other in Hindi which means "flow": It means the Land of the Cow.

For the neighbourhood in Karachi, see Godhra, Karachi.

Godhra
Ramsagar Lake near Bus Stand, Godhra
Nickname(s): 
Land of Cows
Godhra
Godhra
Coordinates: 22°46′38″N 73°37′13″E
Country India
StateGujarat
DistrictPanchmahal
Named forCows
Elevation
73 m (240 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total143,644
Languages
 • SpokenGujarati
 • OfficialGujarati, Hindi, English and Urdu
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
389001
Telephone code02672
Vehicle registrationGJ-17
Sex ratio935/1000 ♀/♂
Literacy rate87.51 %
Websitepanchmahals.nic.in

Godhra is widely known in India and internationally for being the starting point of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Statewide religious riots between Hindus and Muslims began after the Godhra train burning incident near the Godhra railway station on 27 February 2002, where about 59 train passengers were burnt alive.[1] It was in Godhra that Vallabhbhai Patel first met Gandhi in 1917 and was subsequently drawn into the Indian freedom struggle.[2]

History
  • The word "Godhra" means the land of cows. As per local folklore, cows used to come here from Pavagadh for grazing.
  • AD 975: A bronze of Lord Rishabhanath of AD 975 found at Akota mentions Gohadra kula, i.e., the school of Jain monks at Gohadra.[3]
  • AD 1415: The historical name of Godhra is "Godhrahk", which was established by Parmar king named Dhudhul Mandalik in A.D. 1415.
  • 15th Century: Five hundred years ago, the respectable Saint Shrimad Vallabhacharya in his morning ritual speech gave the example of his dream city. He explained how the city which was seen in dream by her daughter was handed over by a Muslim resident to a Hindu family.

Other Name in Literature

Gujarati Historic Novel named Gujaratno Jay written by Zaverchand Meghani based on various Jain Prabandhas describes city as Godhpur(ગોધપુર).[4]

Religious importance
  • Sat Kaival Temple at Bagaidol village of Godhra is famous temple of sat kaival sampraday.
  • Godhra is one of the religious places in the India which has four bethaks (temples) for Vaishnav Sampraday. There are two main seats of Lord Gokulnathji and one each for Lord Gusaiji and Lord Mahaprabhuji. Godhra is the only city in India that has all three seats (or bhaitaks) of the Mahaprabhuji, Gusianji, and Gokulnathji.
  • Godhra has so many beautiful masjid's ,
  • Godhra has three beautiful Jain temples. The main idol (or Mul Nayak) in the Jain Temple is of Shantinath. It also has a popular temple called the 'Trimandir', a non-sectarian temple founded by Dada Bhagwan in the Bhamaiya area (Ahmedabad Road).[5]

Demographics
Religions in Godhra
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 46.63%
Muslims
 
 51.23%
Jains
 
 1.31%
Others†
 
 0.8%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).
  • Year 2011: As of 2011 India census,
    • Population:
      • Godhra had a population of 143,644
      • Males constitute 51.67% of the population and females 48.32%
    • Literacy:
      • Godhra has an average literacy rate of 87.51%, higher than the national average of 74.04%
      • Male literacy is 92.25%, and female literacy is 82.44%
  • Year 2001: As of 2001 India census,[6]
    • Population:
      • Godhra had a population of 121,852.
      • Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.
    • Literacy:
      • Godhra has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%
      • Male literacy is 79.5%, and female literacy is 64.5%.

Connectivity
Godhra junction railway station
Godhra GSRTC Bus Station

Godhra is connected to all major towns of Gujarat by public transport service operated by GSRTC. And Godhra is Railway Junction that connects Godhra with different parts of state and nation

Education

Godhra has an average literacy rate of 87.51%, higher than the national average of 59.5%

University
  • College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology(AAU),MMRS,Dholakuva
  • Shri Govind Guru University
  • Darul Uloom Rahmaniyah, the Islamic university of Godhra, located 2 km out of Godhra
  • GEC Godhra. (Government Engineering College)
  • Engineering College, Tuwa (GTU)
  • Government polytechnic Godhra(GTU)

Schools
  • Kalrav School (Vavdi)
  • Aman Day School
  • New Era High School (Primary Section is Dr. Chamanlal Mehta Primary School)
  • Calorx Public School
  • M & M Mehta High School (Primary Section is Anaj Mahajan Primary School)
  • Nalanda School
  • St. Arnolds High School
  • G.N. Junior Public School (Bhuaravav Road)
  • Sharda Mandir (T. C. Soni)
  • Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir(CBSE)
  • Rotary English Medium School
  • Delhi Public School (CBSE)
  • Jay Jalaram International High School, Parvadi
  • Telang Vanijya High School
  • Nityam International School (Nityam Vidhya Vihar School, Kangaroo Pa Pa Pagli School)
  • Kendriya Vidayalaya, Godhra (CBSE)
  • The Iqbal Union High School
  • The Iqbal Girls High School
  • Meccab Memorial High School
  • The Saifee Jamali English High School
  • Acharya Narendradev Girls High School
  • Unnati Vidhyalay
  • Navrachna High School etc...
  • VMPatel Institute (Private ITI)
  • Usmangani (RD).School.Gondra Godhra *Other educational institutions like Student's brain development Institute Who run programs like UCMAS, Vedic Maths, Spoken English
  • Polan Bazar Urdu Kanya Shala Godhra
  • Blue Bell Public School.
  • Ali Public school
  • Nootan High school
  • Usman Gani School
  • Dr. Zakirhusen School
  • Molana Azad school

Colleges

There are several colleges in Godhra for various studies, like

  • Sheth P. T. Arts & Science College, Godhra
  • Shree Sarvajanik Commerce College, Godhra
  • Shamlaji Homeopathic College, Vavdi
  • Shree Ghantakarna Mahaveer Physiotherapy College, Vavdi
  • Shri Shamlaji Homeopathic Medical College and Research Institute, Godhra
  • General Nursing School, General Hospital
  • Government Engineering College, Chhabanpur
  • Government Polytechnic College, Godhra
  • Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Godhra
  • College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Godhra affiliated to Anand Agricultural University, Anand. Located at Dholakuwa 5 km away from Godhra on Dahod highway.
  • Diploma-Engineering College, Tuwa (GTU), 2 km away from Godhra-Ahmedabad Highway in Tuwa Village.

Landscape
Nehru Park Godhra located near bus station

Mesri River, Ramsagar Lake,Voharwad Masjid Tower,Polan Bazar,Methodist Church, Naheru Garden and in far east Kanelav Lake represents nature's beauty.

See also

    References
    1. Dasgupta, Manas (6 March 2011). "It was not a random attack on S-6 but kar sevaks were targeted, says judge". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
    2. Gandhi, Rajmohan (1 January 2011). Patel a Life. Navjivan trust. ISBN 8172291388.
    3. Akota Bronzes, Umakant P. Shah, 1959, p. 57-58.
    4. Meghani, Zaverchand (April 2011). Gujaratno Jay. Ahmdabad: Gurjar Sahitya Bhavan. p. 65. ISBN 978-81-8461-481-7.
    5. "The Godhra Trimandir". Retrieved 20 April 2018.
    6. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
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