Morbi or Morvi is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was a Princely State ruled by the Jadeja clan of Rajputs until Indian independence in 1947. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. In 2011, the city’s population was determined to be 194,947.[1] Its chief products are cotton and grain. The town of Morbi is situated on the river Machhu, 35 km from the sea and 60 km from Rajkot.
The city-state of Morbi and much of the building heritage and town planning is attributed to the administration of Sir Lakhdhiraji Waghji,who ruled from 1922 to 1948. Sir Waghji acted as a ruler, manager, patron and policeman of the state with great authority. Sir Waghji, like other contemporary rulers of Saurashtra, built roads and a railway network (of seventy miles), connecting Wadhwan with Morbi and the two small ports of Navlakhi and Vavania, for exporting the state’s production of salt and cloth. The Morbi railway station combines Indian and European architectural elements. Today, Sir Waghji Thakor’s grandson Shivam Thakor is still the Prince of the state and resides in the royal palace.
