Guj: ખેડા khēḍā
‘Field’ [Khetaka] -City/District, Gujarat
From Skt: kshetra, ‘field’.
The name Kheda originated from kshetra [→khetta→kherak→kheda].
Kheda has a history of rebellion. In 1803-8 the Koli chiefs rose up against the East India Company, raiding and plundering British possessions. For a while they posed a serious threat to Company rule in the area.
And in 1918 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was born in Kheda District and became the first Deputy PM of independent India, organised a successful satyagraha here (with Gandhi) in protest against taxes in a period of drought, Spanish flu, famine and hardship for local peasants. He was also a key player in ensuring the Princely States joined the new Republic of India.
The statue commemorating him is the world’s tallest at 182 metres (597 ft) and, at a cost of $370m, created its o
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: Statue of Unity, Kevadiya Colony Vijay B. Barot
