Porbandar

Porbandar

Porbandar, city, western Gujarat state, western India. It is situated in the western part of the Kathiawar Peninsula on the Arabian Sea coast.

Porbandar was controlled by the Jethwa Rajputs from about the 16th century. It was the capital of the former princely state of Porbandar (1785–1948) before it was incorporated into independent India. Nationalist leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in Porbandar in 1869, and both his birthplace and the neighbouring Kirti Mandir, a museum dedicated to Gandhi, are major tourist destinations.

Other notable sites in the city include Darbargadh, a fortified palace built by Rana Sartanji; Sartanji Choro, Sartanji’s summer pavilion; the Huzar (Huzoor) Palace; and Bharat Mandir Hall, containing a huge relief map of India and painted pillars showing religious figures and persons from Hindu epics. The city is famous for its building stone, and it produces a variety of manufactures. It is served by major highways, is a railway terminus, and has an airport. Pop. (2001) city, 133,051; urban agglom., 197,382; (2011) city, 151,770; urban agglom., 217,203.