Maritime heritage of Gujarat, Kathiawad and Kutch

The maritime heritage of Gujarat, Kathiawad and Kutch spans over four thousand years. Marine archaeological excavations have brought to light a large number of antiquities suggestive of the regions maritime past dating back to the Indus Valley Civilisation. The Indus people had multilateral trade contacts with Egypt, Mesopotamia, Bahrain and others. The maritime history of Gujarat is replete with references about her seafaring traditions. This gets reflected not only in the archaeological findings, but also in the literature, sculptures, memorial stone (palayas), boat building traditions, seamen's manuals (pothis) and daily accounts (roznamas), in their living practices, customs, trade account and others. Situated on the northwestern coast of India, Gujarat is the country's principal maritime state endowed with favourable strategic port locations. This arises out of its geographical location and along coastline over 1600 km (one third of the coastlines of India). It is the nearest outlet to Middle East, Africa, Europe and adjoining Pakistan. Today, the northwestern coast of Gujarat, namely, the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Khambhat are fast emerging as industrial and energy hubs of the State as well as that of the country.