Bharuch () is a city located at the mouth of the Narmada River in Gujarat in the western part of India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District.
The city and its surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a ship building centre and sea port in the pre-compass coastal trading routes for trading with the Occident and the East, perhaps as far back as the days of earliest trade connections. The route made use of the regular and predictable monsoon winds or relied on galleys. Many goods from the Far East and Far West (the famed Spices and Silk trade) were shipped there during the annual monsoon winds, making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes. Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the Parthian Empire, the Romans, the Chinese, and other Western and Eastern centres of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages and the corresponding medieval period elsewhere in the world.Periplus of the Erythraean SeaPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea. Depts.washington.edu. Retrieved on 28 July 2013.
The city has been the home to the Gujarati Bhargava Brahmana community for ages. The community traces its lineage to Bhrigu and Parashurama, who is the sixth avatara of Vishnu. The Bhargava community still administers a large number of public trusts in the city. However the present day Bhargava Brahmanas have migrated to Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and other countries such as France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Being close to one of the biggest industrial areas including Ankleshvara GIDC, it is at times referred to as the chemical capital of India. The city has chemical plants, textile mills, long staple cotton, dairy products and much more. Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated 50 km to the west of Bharuch, in Dahej. It also houses many multinational companies, such as Videocon, BASF, ONGC Petro-Additions, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports & SEZ, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals, MRF Tires, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires, Jubilant, Aditya Birla Hindalco Industries, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, ISGEC Hitachi, UPL (company), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited, Deepak Nitrite, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Petronet LNG, Godrej & Boyce, Piramal Group, Pidilite Industries, SRF Limited, Safari Equipments and Welspun Maxsteel Ltd. The industrial estate of Vilayata houses the companies of Aditya Birla Grasim, Kansai Nerolac Paints etc., Jhagadia houses DCM Sriram Chemicals, Saint-Gobain India Ltd., PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd. among others. Because of the distinctive colour of its soil (which is also ideal for cotton cultivation), Bharuch is sometimes referred to as 'Kanam Pradesham' (black-soil land). Bharuch is also nicknamed as 'Peanut City' for its salty peanuts, locally known as 'Khari Singh'.
Etymology Bharuch was known as (Bhrigukachha) or (Bharukachha) in ancient times. According to local tradition, the name is believed to have been derived from the sage Bhrigu, whose temple stands on the Narmada riverbank in the Dandia Bazar area of the city.
It was known to the Greek and Roman writers as Barygaza, the name used in the first-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and later by Ptolemy. The Geography of Strabo contains the form Bargosa.
In British administrative usage, the town and its district were entered as Broach, a spelling that remained standard in official publications until independence.
History
Ancient period The Dipavamsa, a Sri Lankan Pali chronicle believed to have been compiled between the third and fourth century CE, names Bharukachchha among the western Indian ports at which the legendary prince Vijaya called before reaching the Sri Lanka.
By the first century CE, the port laid within the empire of the Western Satrap ruler Nahapana, whom the Periplus names as Manbanos and describes as ruling from Minnagara first and subsequently from Ujjain. The Periplus describes Barygaza as the principal port of the region that was reached through a difficult tidal estuary in which royal pilots met incoming ships and guided them to the anchorage. The port's main imports were wine, copper, tin, lead, coral, textiles, raw glass, and gold and silver coin. Its main exports were nard, costus, bdellium, ivory, onyx, agate, cotton cloth, silk and long pepper. Goods reached the port by road from modern-day Ujjain as well as from Paithana (Paithan) and Tagara (Ter). The Periplus also reports that drachmas bearing the names of the rulers Menander and Apollodotus circulated at Barygaza. While it attributes old remains of shrines, fort walls, and wells to Alexander's expedition, that attribution remains contested as there are no records of Alexander having been in the area.
Strabo records that a contingent of ambassadors that was sent to Caesar Augustus by an Indian king included Zarmanochegas, a man of Bargosa, who later burned himself alive at Athens.
Antiquity
During the pre-Mauryan period in Gujarat, King Pradyota Mahavira of the Pradyota dynasty of Ujjain ruled over in 550 BCE. He was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. The Theragatha, part of the Pali Canon written down in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE, mentions Vaddha Thera and Malitavamba Thera of , as contemporaries of the Buddha, while the Therigatha of the same canon mentions Vaddhamta Theri of .
Excavations near the banks of the Narmada River in Bharuch have revealed archaeological remains of temples. Later Bharuch was part of the Mauryan Empire (322 BCE–185 BCE), the Western Satraps, the Guptas, Gurjaras and the Gurjara-Pratiharas. As one southern terminus of the Kamboja-Dvaravati Route, it is mentioned extensively as a major trading partner of the Roman and Greek worlds, in the 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Maitraka era (470 CE–788 CE) and Rashtrakuta era (788 CE–942 CE) According to historical accounts, the Pratihara Empire with the capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the Prathiharas. The kingdom of Bharuch was created by this empire.
Portuguese empire The Battle of Bharuch was a night-time attack by Portuguese forces under the command of Jorge de Meneses Baroche in 1547 against the city, then belonging to the Sultanate of Gujarat. The Portuguese were victorious.
Nawabs of Bharuch and the Maratha Empire The Nawabs of Bharuch ruled this region of Gujarat, and in 1685, they came under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire, governed by the Peshwa. In 1736, the Royal House of Bharuch became sovereign, ruling the region independently. During this era, Bharuch was known for its cotton production, which caused the East India Company to set its eyes on the area. In 1771, Bharuch was attacked by the British and on 18 November 1772, it was placed under Company rule in India. The ruling family of Bharuch was granted a hereditary pension by the British government.
Geography and climate Bharuch is located at . It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet). Bharuch, a former port, is situated on the banks of the Narmada River. The damming of the Narmada led to the closure of the city's original port facilities; the nearest port is now at Dahej. The city lies in Bharuch district, which is bordered by Vadodara district to the north, Narmada district to the east, and Surat district to the south with the Gulf of Khambhat to the west.
Under the Köppen climate classification, Bharuch has a tropical savanna climate moderated strongly by the Arabian Sea. The summer begins in early March and lasts until June. April and May are the hottest months, with average maximum temperatures of about . The South Asian monsoon begins in late June, and the district receives about of rain by the end of September, with average maximum temperatures of about during those months. October and November see the retreat of the monsoon and a brief return of high temperatures until late November. Winter starts in December and ends in late February, with average temperatures of around .
Heavy monsoon rain often brings flooding to the Narmada basin area. Bharuch has experienced major floods, most recently in 2023, though flooding has been largely controlled since the damming of the Narmada.
Economy, commerce and industry
Bharuch's historical prosperity has been attributed to its location on the Narmada River. Although water tends to be scarce in Gujarat, water availability in Bharuch has historically been reliable, allowing agriculture and related commercial activities to flourish. Bharuch is also a central stopping point for many villages surrounding its boundaries: people from smaller settlements often come to Bharuch for shopping or major purchases. In recent years, many retiring expatriates have returned to Bharuch and built new houses, giving the local economy a boost.
Traditionally, Bharuch has been the centre of the peanut-processing and marketing industry, with a well-established brand name across India. Almost none of the peanuts are grown locally, but the best crops from neighbouring regions are brought here for processing. Bharuch is also the home of the Bandhni method of clothing design and is well known for this traditional art form.
At present, this heavily industrialised area is renowned for its textile mills, chemical plants, long-staple cotton, dairy products, and more. Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated here. It also houses many reputed multinational companies such as Videocon, BASF, Reliance, Welspun Stahl, etc. Bharuch is a shopping centre noted for its salty peanuts. Because of the distinctive colour of its soil, which is ideal for cotton cultivation, Bharuch is sometimes referred to as 'Kanam Pradesh' (black-soil land).
Over the past 60 years, a major part of the population has moved to countries such as the UK, the US, the African nations, and parts of Europe. This migration continues to boost the local economy, as people return for vacations and spend their earnings locally.
Trade Bharuch was a major seaport in the important pre-compass coastal trading routes to points west, perhaps as far back as the days of the Pharaohs, which utilised the regular and predictable monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East were trans-shipped here during the annual monsoon winds, making Bharuch a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes. Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the Persian Empires, the Roman Republic and Empire, and other Western centres of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages.
In the 1st century AD, Bharuch port has been mentioned as Barigaza. Bharuch, then a prosperous and powerful port, remained an important part of Gujarat until the 16th century. Arab traders entered Gujarat via Bharuch. British, Dutch ("Valandas"), and others recognised Bharuch's importance and established premises and local staff here. At the end of the 17th century, the city was plundered twice, but resurged quickly, giving rise to the proverb, "Bhangyu Bhangyu Toye Bharuch".
As a trading depot, the limitations of coastal shipping made Bharuch a regular terminus alongside several mixed trade routes of the famed spice and silk trade between East and West.
The Narmada River's inland access to central and northern India, combined with Bharuch's sheltered position on the Gulf of Khambhat during an era of coastal sea travel, allowed the city to grow and prosper as a transshipment centre and shipbuilding port. Until modern times, water transport was the most effective means of moving goods, and Bharuch offered sheltered waters in an era without weather forecasting or compasses, when navigating was limited to coastal routes. The east–west course of the Narmada gave access to inland empires at its upper reaches, including caravan routes to the Ganges valley and the plains of Delhi.