Khedoi
Khedoi is large village located 14 km from the town of Anjar and the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village is sub-divided into Nani-Khedoi and Moti-Khedoi. It has a primary health centre and a major electricity processing plant. The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture.
Khedoi | |
|---|---|
village | |
  Khedoi Location in Gujarat, India | |
| Coordinates: 23.059279°N 69.918955°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Kachchh |
| Panchayat | Gram Panchayat |
| Elevation | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Gujarati, Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 370130 |
| Telephone code | 02836 |
| Vehicle registration | GJ-12 |
| Sex ratio | 0.894 ♂/♀ |
| Distance from Bhuj | 34 kilometres (21 mi) |
| Distance from Ahmedabad | 350 kilometres (220 mi) |
History
Khedoi is one of the 19 villages founded by Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas, who first moved to Saurashtra in the early 7th century. A major group entered Kutch in the 12th century and established themselves at Dhaneti.[1] From the 12th century onwards they moved to settle themselves between Anjar and Bhuj and founded the villages of Anjar, Sinugra, Khambhra, Nagalpar, Khedoi, Madhapar, Hajapar, Kukma, Galpadar, Reha, Vidi, Ratnal, Jambudi, Devaliya, Lovaria, Nagor, Chandiya, Meghpar and Kumbharia.[2] [3][4][5]
All the old houses, temples, entrance gates and chabutro, were erected by this Kshatriya community in its heyday in the decades of 1890-1900. However, the majority of old houses built by the artisan Mestri community with their unique architecture were destroyed in the earthquake of 26 January 2001. Khedoi was home to many Gaidher, who belonged to Mestri community bearing Rathod surname
Present status
The Darbar, Jadeja, Rabari, Ahirs, Patels and, goswami dominate the village population, whereas the Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas community who founded the village in 1450 AD are very few.
Temples
There are temples of Momay Ma, Champal Ma, Amba Ma, Shiv Mandir, Thakor Mandir and Kuldevi. Temples of many clans of these Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya community are also in this village.
Economy
The village of Khedoi now houses a well-known and prominent sector of manufacturing industry. The factory of Man Industries Limited, manufacturing steel pipes, is located on the outskirts of the village. The economy of the village depends heavily on farming. The soil surrounding the village is fertile and has farms growing mango, guava, pomegranate and other fruits and vegetable.
References
- Gurjar Kshatriyas, also known as Gajdhar, came to Kutch from Rajasthan. They are skilled in building construction. They first established themselves at Dhaneti and were granted 18 villages by the rulers of Kutch. They are famous designers and developers of buildings and bridges. Waghelas, Rathod, Chauhan, Parmar, Khodiyar, Padiyar, Sawana and Varu are the main sub classes of Gurjar Kshatriya.
- "18 Villages founded by Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas". Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- One of the 18 of the ‘gams’ or Kshatriyas villages scattered in Anjar and Mundra Talukas, has now nothing to show that it was once the home to some of Kutch’s finest artisans. Archived 2012-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Details of artisan quality of Gajdhar Archived 2012-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
- Gajdhar of Kutch Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine