Dholka
Encyclopedia
Dholka is a city and municipality in the Ahmedabad District of the India
n state of Gujarat. With an average elevation of 17 metres (55.8 ft), Dholka is considered "India's first municipality".
, Dholka was the seat of the Vaghela family, who were vassal
s of the Solanki
rulers of Gujarat. As the Solankis went into decline, so the Vaghelas rose in power becoming rulers of Gujarat from 1243 until the Muslim conquest in 1297. They restored stability to Gujarat for the latter half of the 13th century, while the Vaghela kings and their officials were dedicated patrons of the arts and temple-building.
Dholka is home to one of the first Hindu
Swaminarayan Temples in the world, which was established, according to the Hindu calendar, on the 5th day of the bright half of Vaishakha in Vikram Samvat 1883.
There are many ancient mosques in the city including the Khan Masjid (a rare brick structure) along with the magnificent stone Khan Talao, Jumu'ah
Masjid (Friday prayer mosque). Other well-knonw Muslim
shrines include the Hazrat Shah shrine and Najmuddin Chisti's shrine in Lilajpur. The recently constructed Swaminarayan Temple (Kalikund Tirth) is also located in Dholka.
The Dholka Municipality is one of the oldest in India where people live in communal harmony and celebrate the festivals of both the Hindu and Muslim communities. It was possibly the only city in India which remained calm and peaceful during the 2002 Gujarat riots
.
Large numbers of old buildings in the city suggest that it was important in ancient times while archaeologists have discovered small stone chert
tools made of chalcedony
, quartz and agate, which date to the Middle Stone and Iron Age. Dholka was part of the Kheda district until surrendered by the Gaekwad
Maratha dynasty in order to retrieve some of their territory, then later incorporated into the Ahmedabad district during the British era.
s and chattris (outdoor pavilions) all marked by the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI). The monuments here are a mixture of cultures – possessing layouts that are distinctly Muslim, but with pillars, pilasters, beams and roofs that are unmistakably Hindu in style.
Close to the jungle, there is a small lake beside which Lord Rama
is believed to have rested and lost his wife Sita
. The lake is surrounded by a retaining wall and has a sluice at the west end and steps on the east and west sides leading down to the water.
Next to the lake stands the massive Dholka Idgah or main mosque, which has mandapas on either side set some distance away. The three mosque towers are around 200 feet (61 m) tall with massive domes covering each hall. Outside, one set of steps leads to the top of the structure and another to the muezzin
’s tower. The entire building is constructed of brick and limestone mortar while its doorway features large religious inscriptions.
The rear wall of the mosque has a series of intricately designed limestone jali
s (perforated screens) while the central room has a minbar
(pulpit) where the imam
stands to deliver sermons. This tall features is made of marble and remains completely intact. From here, even a softly spoken voice resounds throughout the entire mosque, which consists of three halls each with an area of more than 100 ft2.
Each room has a spot identifying which direction is west, with a pillasterd niche representing Mecca
. Windows high up in the wall admit light and air to the building which is also called Ali Khan’s mosque or Alif Khan’s mosque and was built around 11th century.
Fallen pillars, grave stones with intricate patterns on all sides and broken chattris (pavilions) lie within the premises of the idgah (congregation assembly area) while its paved ground is almost entirely covered in grass. A chattri similar in style to those found in the state of Rajasthan
marks the beginning and end of the mosque area.
Close by stands the Pandava’s Pathshala. This is where the pandava
s are said to have practised and honed their war skills. This massive fort-like structure is enclosed on all sides and distinctly Hindu in style with a chattri on each of the four corners. There are battlements and guard positions all around, with halls in the centre of this structure or boundary wall, which are used as the mosque.
As this remains a functioning mosque entry is restricted. The idgah is no longer used but remains in good condition; massive beehives are now located here.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Gujarat. With an average elevation of 17 metres (55.8 ft), Dholka is considered "India's first municipality".
History
During the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Dholka was the seat of the Vaghela family, who were vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s of the Solanki
Solanki
The Solanki was a royal Hindu Indian dynasty that ruled parts of western and central India between the 10th to 13th centuries. A number of scholars including V. A. Smith assign them Gurjar origin....
rulers of Gujarat. As the Solankis went into decline, so the Vaghelas rose in power becoming rulers of Gujarat from 1243 until the Muslim conquest in 1297. They restored stability to Gujarat for the latter half of the 13th century, while the Vaghela kings and their officials were dedicated patrons of the arts and temple-building.
Dholka is home to one of the first Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Swaminarayan Temples in the world, which was established, according to the Hindu calendar, on the 5th day of the bright half of Vaishakha in Vikram Samvat 1883.
There are many ancient mosques in the city including the Khan Masjid (a rare brick structure) along with the magnificent stone Khan Talao, Jumu'ah
Jumu'ah
Jumu'ah is a congregational prayer that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon in lieu of dhuhr...
Masjid (Friday prayer mosque). Other well-knonw Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
shrines include the Hazrat Shah shrine and Najmuddin Chisti's shrine in Lilajpur. The recently constructed Swaminarayan Temple (Kalikund Tirth) is also located in Dholka.
The Dholka Municipality is one of the oldest in India where people live in communal harmony and celebrate the festivals of both the Hindu and Muslim communities. It was possibly the only city in India which remained calm and peaceful during the 2002 Gujarat riots
2002 Gujarat violence
The 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
.
Large numbers of old buildings in the city suggest that it was important in ancient times while archaeologists have discovered small stone chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
tools made of chalcedony
Chalcedony
Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...
, quartz and agate, which date to the Middle Stone and Iron Age. Dholka was part of the Kheda district until surrendered by the Gaekwad
Gaekwad
The Gaekwad or Gaikwad was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-18th century until 1947...
Maratha dynasty in order to retrieve some of their territory, then later incorporated into the Ahmedabad district during the British era.
Architecture
Regarded as the oldest municipality in Gujarat, the city has majestic ruined mosques featuring tracery work, carvings and designs. Dholka is also known to have had an oilfield. There are monuments here known as Pandava’s Pathshala and Ali Khan’s Mosque as well as mandapaMandapa
A mandapa in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals.-Temple architecture:...
s and chattris (outdoor pavilions) all marked by the Archaeological Survey of India
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
(ASI). The monuments here are a mixture of cultures – possessing layouts that are distinctly Muslim, but with pillars, pilasters, beams and roofs that are unmistakably Hindu in style.
Close to the jungle, there is a small lake beside which Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
is believed to have rested and lost his wife Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
. The lake is surrounded by a retaining wall and has a sluice at the west end and steps on the east and west sides leading down to the water.
Next to the lake stands the massive Dholka Idgah or main mosque, which has mandapas on either side set some distance away. The three mosque towers are around 200 feet (61 m) tall with massive domes covering each hall. Outside, one set of steps leads to the top of the structure and another to the muezzin
Muezzin
A muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
’s tower. The entire building is constructed of brick and limestone mortar while its doorway features large religious inscriptions.
The rear wall of the mosque has a series of intricately designed limestone jali
Jali
A jali is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry. Early work was performed by carving into stone, while the later more elegant used by the Mughals employed the technique of inlay, using marble...
s (perforated screens) while the central room has a minbar
Minbar
A minbar is a pulpit in the mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons or in the Hussainia where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation...
(pulpit) where the imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
stands to deliver sermons. This tall features is made of marble and remains completely intact. From here, even a softly spoken voice resounds throughout the entire mosque, which consists of three halls each with an area of more than 100 ft2.
Each room has a spot identifying which direction is west, with a pillasterd niche representing Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. Windows high up in the wall admit light and air to the building which is also called Ali Khan’s mosque or Alif Khan’s mosque and was built around 11th century.
Fallen pillars, grave stones with intricate patterns on all sides and broken chattris (pavilions) lie within the premises of the idgah (congregation assembly area) while its paved ground is almost entirely covered in grass. A chattri similar in style to those found in the state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
marks the beginning and end of the mosque area.
Close by stands the Pandava’s Pathshala. This is where the pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
s are said to have practised and honed their war skills. This massive fort-like structure is enclosed on all sides and distinctly Hindu in style with a chattri on each of the four corners. There are battlements and guard positions all around, with halls in the centre of this structure or boundary wall, which are used as the mosque.
As this remains a functioning mosque entry is restricted. The idgah is no longer used but remains in good condition; massive beehives are now located here.
Demographics
As of the 2001 Indian census, Dholka had a population of 53,792 of which 52 per cent were male and 48 per cent female. The city has an average literacy rate of 66 per cent, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy stands at 73 per cent and that for females at 59 per cent. In Dholka, 12 per cent of the population is under six years of age.Further reading
- Burgess, James, Muhammadan Architecture of Bharoch, Cambay, Dholka, Champanir, and Mahmudabad in Gujarat. Archaeological Survey of Western India Volume VI. (1896)