Dharmaj

Dharmaj
Paris of Asia
Town
Country  India
State Gujarat
District Anand
Elevation 25.60 m (83.99 ft)
Population (2010)
 • Total 11,334
Languages
 • Official

Gujarati, Hindi, English

Mayor(Sarpanch) = Jayvirbhai.C.Patel
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 388430
Telephone code 02697
Nearest city Anand
Website

Dharmaj is a town in Gujarat. The name of the town refers to Dharma. It is a village of district Anand, and taluka of Petlad on Borsad-Tarapur Highway 8A. With a population of only 11, 000 this small village has all the facilities which even a city can not boast of. The infrastructure consists of pure drinking water, under ground drainage system and tar roads. Whereas the lanes are stone laid. The smallest and remotest by lanes are well provided with proper street lights. The population of Dharmaj consists of mainly patidars. The rest of the population is a mix of Vaniyas, Brahmins, Suthar, Valand, Garasiya, Vanakar, Harijan, Rohit etc.[1]

Geography

Dharmaj is situated in Kheda, Gujarat, India, It's geographical coordinates are 22° 25' 0" North, 72° 48' 0" East.[2] It has an average elevation of 84'.

Dharmaj village land information:[1]

Total land: 3568.2 Acres

Developed land: 380.82 Acres

Agricultural land: 3150.5 Acres.

Forests, roads, streams: 32.19 Acres.

Main crops: Tobacco, Banana, Rice.

Early history

The history of the settlement of Dharmaj is very ancient. People say it was settled by Dharma Rabari in 1130 AD. He used to take his cows there for grazing. He had found a Shiva Ling, while digging in the remote area of jungle. The name of this village refers to him, Dharma. In 1155 AD. Narsihbhai Patel of Jargal, came to settle down in this village. The house he used to live is now known as Juni Khadki. Rangaji Patel's descendants are the Patidars of the five Khadki’s:

Since a long time, the Patidars of Dharmaj have detailed knowledge about agriculture. The lands remained fertile, even while the maximum amount of crops were extracted. Tobacco was the main crop. As there was Urvakunji Nicotine Industries in Dharmaj, nicotine was produced by them. The Patidars of Dharmaj took on a leading role in the Independence Movement. They provided shelter to the freedom fighters. A young man named Ramanbhai Purshottambhai was shot during firing at ADAS.[3]

The town had a dedicated social worker, Chimanbhai Kishorbhai Patel, who was elected surpanch for a number of years. Shri Hirabhai Muljibhai Patel was a special pride to Dharmaj. Shri [H. M. Patel|H.M. Patel], an I.C.S. officer was appointed as the [Finance Secretary] of the Indian republic. He was the first finance minister of India and Home and Deputy Prime Minister during the Janta Rule. He was also awarded the world famous Albert Sweitzer Medal for his work on the preservation of the Natural Wealth and Wildlife Foundation. he was appointed as the President of the Indian Board for Wildlife. Shri H.M. Patel was also the chairman of different educational institutions of Charotar Vidyamandal at [Vallabh Vidhyanagar].

The town has various institutions in the fields of education, social, and religion. These institutions were established by generous donations from the Patidars of Dharmaj, both from the homeland and abroad.[1]

Modern history

Today,The great dollar dream has created a stir in the land of White Revolution, and turned Dharmaj into a village with world class facilities, rubbing shoulders with any top city, totally on NRI money. Now, this little village wants the country to adopt the Dharmaj model.

Where can one see a village, with a population of 5,000, running a vibrant English medium school for children and a college, ultra-modern medical facilities, water park, recreation zone and state-of-the-art civic infrastructure?

The medical facilities include a kidney center, a cancer research facility, a maternity hospital, polio and orthopedic hospital, an eye hospital that has operated on 1.47 lakh patients, a glaucoma research center, a dental hospital and a mineral water plant provides 20 liters treated water at just Rs 12 to the economically backward.

It is a silent revolution that has seen NRGs from the village, which are now spread across the globe, pitching in just to assure that their relatives get all the facilities that any city can boast of.

This tiny city has Rs 1000 crores in NRI deposits in mostly state-run banks. The over 3,000 Patidar families live life king-size and zip past in swanky cars and almost every family in the village has a member sending in the money for several decades.

There as many as 1,700 families hailing from this village settled in Britain, around 300 families in the U.S., 160 in New Zealand, 200 in Canada, and 60 in Australia, among others, taking the total number of families staying abroad to around 3,120. Thus, it is richest village of Asia.[4]

Education

The schools of Dharmaj have been modelled to English Medium Schools by taking in the consideration of the importance of English in this modern world. The H. M. Patel English Medium School[5] is the school with many modern facilities as computer labs, workshops, laboratories, libraries, conference room, language room, prayer hall proving it to be 21st century.

Long with the school, Dharmaj also has a college as well.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dharmaj village info book. Dharmaj: Gram Panchayat. 2008. p. 7.
  2. ↑ Team, Maplandia.com. "Dharmaj Map | India Google Satellite Maps". www.maplandia.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  3. ↑ "Chh Gam Patidar Samaj". www.chhgamsamaj.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  4. ↑ "Dalit families flee state's rich NRI village Dharmaj - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  5. ↑ "H.M.Patel E.M.S. Complex Dharamaj". emsdharmaj.org.in. Retrieved 2016-04-27.

External links

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