Dholera History: From Salt Satyagraha to Smart City
Before the smart city, Dholera had a real history, including a chapter in the freedom movement. Here is what is documented, with the shaky claims flagged.
The Dholera Satyagraha
The Dholera Satyagraha (April 1930) was a real salt-law civil-disobedience action at Dholera port after the Dandi march. DURABLE Per the Gujarati Vishwakosh, Amritlal Seth led about 21 satyagrahis on 6 April and Balwantrai Mehta led a larger contingent around 13 April, with poet Jhaverchand Meghani among the recruiters. A separate 'Ambubhai leadership' claim is unverified, so we do not print it.
Temple and port tradition
Dholera has a Swaminarayan temple (one of nine built by Swaminarayan), which is durable. DURABLE A claim that Dholera was a historic port town appears on Wikipedia but is marked citation-needed, so we present it as tradition or claim rather than confirmed fact.
Old village versus new SIR
No. Dholera village or town is the small existing settlement (Census 2011 population about 2,779). Dholera SIR is the large new Special Investment Region planned across 22 villages of the taluka, about 920 sq km. DURABLE The SIR is the smart-city project; the village is one of the pre-existing settlements in the area.
Per Census 2011, Dholera village had 2,779 people (576 households, about 80% literacy). DURABLE The taluka total is not reliably sourced. The often-quoted figure of about 1 million residents is a promotional full-build target over about 30 years, not a current population. TARGET
FAQ
What was the Dholera Satyagraha?
The Dholera Satyagraha (April 1930) was a real salt-law civil-disobedience action at Dholera port after the Dandi march. DURABLE Per the Gujarati Vishwakosh, Amritlal Seth led about 21 satyagrahis on 6 April and Balwantrai Mehta led a larger contingent around 13 April, with poet Jhaverchand Meghani among the recruiters. A separate 'Ambubhai leadership' claim is unverified, so we do not print it.
What is the population of Dholera?
Per Census 2011, Dholera village had 2,779 people (576 households, about 80% literacy). DURABLE The taluka total is not reliably sourced. The often-quoted figure of about 1 million residents is a promotional full-build target over about 30 years, not a current population. TARGET