KUTCH

Gujarat is the western most state of India. It can be divided into four geographical regions: the first and second are the northern and southern halves of tne Gujarat plain, a well-defined corridor of alluvium; a third is the peninsular of Saurashtra (also known as Kathiawad); the fourth is Kutch.

Kutch is bounded to the north/north-west by Sindh (Pakistan); to the north-east by Rajasthan; to the east by the districts ofBanaskantha and Mehsana; to the south-east by Surendranagar district; to the south by the Gulf of Kutch; and to the south-west and west by the Arabian.Sea. It is has a land area of 21120 sq. km. and includes a further 21368 sq. km. of the two Ranns [Kutch Gazetteer 1971]. Kutch takes its name from its topographical features, which resemble a tortoise (kacchbo). The outcrops of Kutch face the sea to the southwest, wiiile in all other directions they are bordered by salt flats, the Ranns, an alluvial deposit of clay and sand. The semi-fertile buffer between the mainland of Kutch and the Great Rann is known as ‘Banni’, and consists of a vast sandy loam tract, flat and thinly populated.

The history and people of Kutch Since ancient times, Kutch has been settled by various races and tribes coming from the north and east. It formed part of the Mauryan Empire and then came under the authority of the Sakas, Kshatrapas, Guptas, Haihayas; it was ruled over by the Mailrakas, Gurjaras, Chalukyas, Chavdas, Solankis, Kathis, and other Gujarat Kings. Kutch emerged as a separate kingdom in the 14th century, when it was conquered by the Sindh tribe of Samma Rajputs of Jadeja clan. It then remained virtually independent from Gujarat under the rulership of the Maharaos of Kutch, whose line continued unbroken from that time until Kutch was integrated into the Indian Union in 1948.

In 1819 a treaty between the British and Kutch Governments was concluded: under this Treaty British influence in the ternlory was admitted, with the formation of a Regency Council; but the Maharao, the Jadeja, Bhayat’and the premier nobles were guaranteed the right by the Council to be free from all British authority in their domestic concerns. Kutch remained a feudal state with vested interests, which hampered the development of an equitable land revenue system, while custom and transit dues made it difficult to develop trade. During the 1800s, successive Maharaos improved the management of their State, targeting the judicial system, education, Fiscal measures, trade, water supply and communications. The Regency Council was finally dissolved in 1884, when Rao 29 Khengarji III was formally invested with full powers of government. Although he made efforts to develop his state, he could still not tax the territories of the chiefs and Bhayats.

As the ports of Saurashtra gained in importance, the trade in Kutch declined: simultaneously Kutch citizens demanded, at great expense to the Rao himself, improved education, medical facilities, communications, etc. Khengarji established the port of Kandla, improved the port of Mandvi; and dredged the main channel. New political changes had a limited impact on Kutchi society, and ‘Kutch was still lacking the spirit of innovation in almost all walks of life’ although Kutchis themselves travelled far and wide. Khengarji was sympathetic to the ideal of a self-governing India, and during the Independence struggles, Kutchis living in Bombay instituted the Kutchi Praja Sangh to develop political awareness in Kutch.

Shortly afterwards the Kutchi Praja Mandal was started in Kutch itself, to carry on political activities. Khengarji died in 1942 and was succeeded by his son, Vijayrajji. During Vijayrajji’s rule, activism in Kutch increased. When India became independent in 1947, talks about the integration of Kutch and other Princely States into India began. Vijayrajji died in 1948 and it fell to his son, Madansinji, to sign the Treaty of Accession into the Indian Union, under which Kutch was placed under the direct control of the Central Government. Kutch became a district of the bilingual Bombay State in 1956 and in May 1960 it became a district of the present Gujarat Stale when the former Bombay State was bifurcated.