Kutiyana
Kutiyana is a city and a municipality in Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is situated on the banks of the Bhadar River.
History
The name of the town is supposedly derived from a Charan lady named Kunti, who established a nes at the location which grew into a village called Kuntiyana, later corrupted to Kutiyana. From a village, Kutiyana developed into a town.Kutiyana was the home of poets Bhat Rao Lakhan, Sorathi Sarasvat Vaikunath, Kshatri Mardash Bhagat, Bhat Thakardas, and Bhat Bhupatsingh.
Due to its strategic importance in the medieval period being on the main road to Porbandar-Barda and on the boundaries of Ghed and hill regions, the city of Kutiyana has seen many sieges and battles in its history.
Kutiyana also came to be known as Muzafarabad by the Muslims because it is believed that Muzafar Halim, governor of Saurashtra, made it very popular and built a fort around the town. In contemporary Persian records, the town was named as such. In an inscription of Jamamasjid dated 1539 AD, it is stated that one Ibrahim Nizam Zermi build a mosque there.
In 1730-1740, Kalidas, a baniya of Ahmedabad and an official of Vasantray Purabia, built a citadel called Kalikothi in the town.
After the partition of India, displaced Hindu migrants from Pakistan were settled here in place of the Muslim population who chose to migrate to Pakistan.
Kutiyana is also the original home of Mahatma Gandhi, whose family held barkhali lands in the town.