Guj: ભાવનગર bhāvanagara
‘Bhavsinhji’s City’ – City/District, Gujarat
From Bhavsinhji and Skt: nagar, ‘city’.
This city was founded in 1724 by Bhavsinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar, a princely state before it joined the Indian Union in 1948. It is a diamond cutting and polishing centre and, at Alang, has the world’s largest ship-breaking yard recycling about half of the world’s salvaged ships. It has been called an ‘environmental time bomb‘.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Gujarat place names.
Shipbreaking Operation at Alang Adam Cohn