History

Bharuch is also known as Broach, in Gujarat is situated at the mouth of the river Narmada. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District and a municipality of about 3,70,000 inhabitants. The city of Bharuch and its surrounds has been settled since far back into antiquity and was a ship building center and seaport in the pre-compass coastal trading routes to points West, perhaps as far back as the days of the Pharaohs, which utilized the regular and predictable Monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East (the famed Spice and Silk trade) were trans-shipped there for the annual monsoon winds making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes.

Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the various Persian Empires, in the Roman Republic and Empire, and in other Western centers of civilization through the end of the European Middle Ages. In the 3rd century, Bharuch port was mentioned as Barugaza. Arab traders used to enter Gujarat via Bharuch to do business. The British and Valandas accepted the importance of Bharuch and established their business center there. At the end of the 17th century, it was plundered twice but resurged quickly after wards and a proverb was composed about it, “Bhangyu Bhangyu Toye Bharuch”.

During the British Raj it was officially known as Broach. Bharuch is the home to the Gujarati Bhargav Brahmin community for ages. The community traces its lineage to Maharshi Bhrigurishi and Bhagwan Parshuram who is considered to be incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Bhargav community still administers large amount of public Trusts in the city. However the present day Bhargav Brahmins have migrated to Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedbad and other countries.