________________
Chapter 2
The Geographic And Historic Perspective Of Kutch
Kutch is the second largest district of India and the largest district of the state of Gujarat. The total land mass is 44,185.4 sq kms. of which 23,310 sq kms. are occupied by the Rann of Kutch. This Rann is not a dessert but an arid land, a depression in which the rivers drain and the large tides of the Arabian Sea enter from the kori creek. The Rann separates Kutch from Pakistan on the northern side and from Gujarat on the eastern side. The ocean forms the entire southern and western border. The kori creek is at the northwestern end.
The historic background of the topography of Kutch is very important, to the present Kutch as well as its past. It is believed that the Rann of Kutch was an ocean once upon a time. Ved kalin Saraswati River flowing thru the eastern part of Kutch met the sea at the northern part of Saurashtra.? Luni River coming from the east met the Arabian Sea, similarly the river Banas met the ocean (Bay of Kutch) in the west. The Indus and a few other rivers met the ocean on the northern part. As the time passed some of these small rivers either dried up or merged with Indus, which too drifted, further north, leaving only a small tributary Puran. In 1764 the Gulam Shah of Sindh constructed a dam on Puran to prevent its waters entering Kutch.
A massive earth quake in the year 1819 created a dual phenomenon of depressing the region west to kori creek and creating an elevation of land on the northern side which was 5.5 meters tall 80 kms long and 24 kms broad. This totally separated the Indus tributaries from Kutch and the waters of the Arabian Sea filled up the depression turning it in to a large arid saline marsh.
The land of Kutch belongs to Mesozoic and Jurassic period. 1800 meters of sand stone and limestone form the core of the land. This Jurassic period land is believed to be a part of the Gondvana the southern continent. Many varieties of fossils, both, of plants and animals of Jurassic and later period are found from these sand stones. (I have collected many fossils from Kutch; the most precious of them is a fossilized dinosaur egg with a fully developed embryo within. I even got it CT Scanned, and that scan reveals the complete embryonic dinosaur.)
The district has a meager rainfall, (average 6 to 8 inches) and is haunted by famine often. This too is an age-old problem. You can find water conservation attempts in Dholavira (harappan site), which dates back to 2000 years BC.
The vast coastline of Kutch extending from Koteshwar in the north to the Kandla at the southeastern end has made Kutch an important maritime center for more than two thousand years. Hectic maritime activities from ancient past till today have given this area a distinct edge.
When did men start his dwelling in Kutch? And from where did he come? We have very little concrete evidence on this subject. However Dr. Sankalia (the doyen of Indian archeology from Deccan College Poona) suggests that the first men came from the east African coast to Gujarat." He says there are reasons to believe that the period may be any thing from50, 000 to 100,000 Years.
Ejan page no 243 Ejan page no 244 Ejan page no 245 Ejan page no 245 Early man in India journal Asiatic of Bombay vol. 41 42 H.D.Sankalia.
The Geographic And Historic Perspective Of Kutch
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
