Editing Mandvi (section)

==History==
Mandvi was founded by the Rao of [[Kutch State]], [[Khengarji I]] in 1580.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

[[File:Mandvi Kutch Gate.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Mandvi fort|fort]] wall and gate near Brahmapuri area]]
[[File:Mandvi Bridge over Rukmavati - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Mandvi Bridge over Rukmavati]]The city Mandvi was named after Sage Mandavya (Mahabharata story), who lived here. He was also known as AM BABA. When Portuguese explorer [[Vasco da Gama]] discovered Europe-to-India sea route in 1497, he had a Gujarati by his side to show him the way. A Kutchi sailor, Kanji Malam, navigated the commander to Calicut from Malindi on east African coast. Malam hailed from Mandvi, a shipbuilding hub. Historians have differed over the identity of the sailor, calling him a Christian and a Gujarati. German author Justus says it was Malam ([[Kharva]]) and he was a Hindu Gujarati who accompanied Vasco. Italian researcher Sinthia Salvadori too has concluded that it was Malam who showed Gama the way to India. Salvadori has made this observation in her 'We Came in Dhows', an account written after interacting with people in Gujarat. 

Malam's role in the Vasco expedition has largely been overlooked by historians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kutchi sailor showed Vasco da way &#124; India News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kutchi-sailor-showed-Vasco-da-way/articleshow/6703424.cms |website=The Times of India|date=7 October 2010 }}</ref> As per chronicles of [[Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas]] – many clans of their community, especially, Gohil, [[Bhatti clan|Bhatti]], [[Jethwa]], [[Solanki (clan)|Solanki]], [[Rathore (Rajput clan)|Rathod]] clans & also Visavaria [[Brahmin]]s shifted to Mandvi in between 15th to 16th century AD, from [[Dhaneti]].<ref>Kadia Kshatriya Itihas by Nutan Prakashan: 1897</ref> The establishment of the town dates back to the late 16th century (1581 AD) and is attributed to the first [[Jadeja]] ruler of Kutch, [[Rao Khengarji I]]. In the 18th century, the Mandvi merchants collectively owned a fleet of 400 vessels trading with [[East Africa]], [[Malabar coast]] and the [[Persian Gulf]]. In the early 19th century, it was a major port of entry for the inland trade with [[Malwa]], [[Marwar]] and [[Sindh]]. 

Mandvi was at the junction of two trade routes the maritime [[spice]] trade-route and the [[desert]] [[camel]] [[Camel train|caravan]] route, acting as an important trade center. Mandvi was originally a fortified town having a [[fort]] wall of about 8 m high and 1.2 m wide stone masonry. 

In the heyday of [[Shipping|maritime]] trade, before the arrival of [[steamboat]]s, Mandvi was a rich and prosperous town, earning four times more revenue from [[export]] than [[import]]. It was a profit-making center of the Kutch state, surpassing the capital city of [[Bhuj]] in terms of wealth. Dr. Manubhai Pandhi, a local social leader, recorded shipbuilding art and collected old documents which is treasured now in Prince of Wales Museum (www.bombaymuseum.org) in Mumbai. 

As most of the top ports of [[India]] were controlled by [[European ethnic groups|European]]s, especially the [[Portugal|Portuguese]], even the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] held the [[Maharao]]s of [[Kachchh]] in high esteem, as they needed the port of Mandvi for exports, imports and also for pilgrimages to [[Mecca]]. In the 1960s, the [[Dabeli]] is said to have been invented here by Keshavji Gabha Chudasama (Malam)([[Kharva]]).{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}