BHAVNAGAR

also called Bhaunagar town, south-central Gujarat state, west-central India, on the western shore of the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea. Founded in 1723, it has become an important commercial and industrial centre, with spinning and weaving mills, metalworks, tile and brick factories, sawmills, an iron foundry, and a chemical plant. It is connected with the main Western Railway system and has a port for small vessels to the north. The town is the site of the Gandhi Museum. The surrounding region at one time constituted the princely state of Bhavnagar and was part of the Western India States agency (194447). After Indian independence in 1947, Bhavnagar was merged into the new state of Saurashtra, which now forms part of Gujarat state. The chief agricultural products of the surrounding region are cotton and grains; salt is processed. Pop. (1981) town, 307,121; metropolitan area, 308,642.