Kingdom of Porbandar (1193–1307; 1785–1808) Kingdom of Ranpur (1307–1574) Kingdom of Chhaya (1574–1785) Porbandar State (1808–1948) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1193–1948 | |||||||||
Porbandar in a map of the Bombay Presidency | |||||||||
| Status | Sovereign monarchy (1193-1808) Princely state of the British East India Company (1808-1858) and British India (1858-1948) | ||||||||
| Capital | Porbandar (1193-1307, 1785-1948) Ranpur (1307-1574) Chhaya (1547-1785) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Gujarati Old Gujarati Hindustani (Hindi) Sanskrit English | ||||||||
| Government | Sovereign Monarchy (1193-1808) Princely State of the British East India Company (1808-1858) and British India (1858-1948) | ||||||||
| Maharaja Rana | |||||||||
• 10 December 1908-15 February 1948 | Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1193 | ||||||||
| 1948 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Porbandar district and Junagadh district, Gujarat, India | ||||||||
Porbandar State was a princely state during the British Raj ruled by Jethwa dynasty. It was one of the few princely states with a coastline.
The capital of state was the harbour town of Porbandar.[citation needed] Some other important towns of this state were Bhanvad, Chhaya, Ranpar, and Shrinagar. Earlier Shrinagar served as the capital of Jethwas, then Ghumli served as the capital, but was lost to the Jadejas, however, architectural heritage built by them still stands at Ghumli.[1] During the British Raj, the state covered[2] an area of 1,663 square kilometres (642 sq mi), encompassing 106 villages and a population, in 1921, of over 100,000 people. It enjoyed a revenue of Rs. 21,00,000/-.
In 1193 Porbandar State was founded by an ancestral ruler expelled from Morvi State. In 1307 the state was renamed 'Ranpur' and in 1574 it was renamed 'Chhaya'. Finally in 1785 the state reverted to the name Porbandar. On 5 December 1809 it became a British protectorate and between 1886 and 15 September 1900 the state was administered by the Bombay Presidency. It was part of the Kathiawar Agency[3] from 1819 to 1922.[citation needed]
In 1888, during the reign of Vikramatji Khimojiraj, the State started metre-gauge railway called Porbandar State Railway, which after independence was merged in to Saurashtra Railway.[4]
Upon the Independence of India in 1947, the state acceded unto the dominion of India. It was merged with the 'United State of Kathiawar', effective from 15 February 1948 and eventually came to form part of the present-day state of Gujarat.[citation needed]
The grandfather of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of Indian independence movement, Uttamchand Gandhi and later his father – Karamchand Gandhi and uncle – Tulsidas Gandhi, served as Dewan to Rana of Porbandar state.[5][6]
Porbandar State was ruled by the Jethwa dynasty of Rajputs.[7] By 1947, the rulers held the style of "Highness" and the title of "Maharaj Rana Sahib";[citation needed] they were entitled to a salute of 13 guns as a hereditary distinction.
The flag is an elongated triangle in light orange with a purple variegated edge; near the pole, a red triangle with a double triangular red flag on its shaft, a long inscription in red.
The coat of arms features Hanuman. The crest is a bull, and supporters are two bisons. The motto was "Sri Vusubh dwujay numah" (I bow to the flag, whose sign is the bull)
