In ancient history, Western India was divided into three great states according to
Hwen Thsang, namely
Sindh (which comprised the whole valley of the
Indus from the
Punjab to the sea, including the
Delta and the island of
Kutch),
Gurjaradesa (which comprised Western
Rajputana and the
Indian Desert), and Balabhi (which comprised the
peninsula of Gujarat, with a small portion of the adjacent coast). Before the
partition of India, the now-Pakistani territories of
Sindh and
Balochistan were also included in this region. In art history, the term normally covers just Gujarat and Rajasthan, which tend to move together in terms of style. Western India has the
second-largest gross domestic product of any region in India. in
mauve Parts of Gujarat were the site of the
Indus Valley civilisation. Places have been uncovered in Gujarat at
Lothal,
Surkotada, and around
Ghaggar River in
Rajasthan. The Western Indian region was ruled by the
Rashtrakuta Empire, the
Maurya Empire, the
Gupta Empire,
Rajputs,
Satavahanas,
Western Satraps,
Indo Greeks,
Kadambas etc. in the ancients times. During the medieval age, the area was under the rule of the
Vaghela dynasty, the
Gujarat Sultanate, and the
Delhi Sultanate. Thereafter, the area was under
Mughal rule. Later, the
Maratha Empire, which arose in western Maharashtra, came to dominate a major portion of the Indian sub-continent. However, its defeat by the British in the
Anglo-Maratha wars left most of India under colonial rule. The region then experienced great upheavals during the struggle for
Indian Independence.
Gandhi's
Dandi March took place in Gujarat. The region became part of independent India in 1947, and the present state boundaries were drawn based on linguistic considerations in 1956. ==Geography==