History
During the Middle Ages, Dholka was the seat of the Vaghela family, who were vassals of the Solanki rulers of Gujarat. As the Solankis went into decline, so the Vaghelas rose in power becoming rulers of Gujarat from 1243 until the Muslim conquest in 1297. They restored stability to Gujarat for the latter half of the 13th century, while the Vaghela kings and their officials were dedicated patrons of the arts and temple-building.
Dholka is home to one of the first Hindu Swaminarayan Temples in the world, which was established, according to the Hindu calendar, on the 5th day of the bright half of Vaishakha in Vikram Samvat 1883.
There are many ancient mosques in the city including the Khan Masjid (a rare brick structure) along with the magnificent stone Khan Talao, Jumu'ah Masjid (Friday prayer mosque). Other well-known Muslim shrines include the Hazrat Shah shrine and Najmuddin Chisti's shrine in Lilajpur. The recently constructed Swaminarayan Temple (Kalikund Tirth) is also located in Dholka.
The Dholka Municipality is one of the oldest in India where people live in communal harmony and celebrate the festivals of both the Hindu and Muslim communities. It was possibly the only city in India which remained calm and peaceful during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Large numbers of old buildings in the city suggest that it was important in ancient times while archaeologists have discovered small stone chert tools made of chalcedony, quartz and agate, which date to the Middle Stone and Iron Age. Dholka was part of the Kheda district until surrendered by the Gaekwad Maratha dynasty in order to retrieve some of their territory, then later incorporated into the Ahmedabad district during the British era.
Read more about this topic: Dholka City
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