Overview
- Vadnagar, the prime minister’s birthplace in Gujarat, is profiled as a roughly 2,500-year-old, continuously inhabited town shaped by Silk Route trade and Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Islamic influences.
- The Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum, inaugurated on January 16, 2025 by Union home minister Amit Shah, showcases nine thematic galleries and thousands of excavated objects.
- Archaeologists have documented layered remains from the Mauryan and Buddhist periods, with surveys noting dozens of historic water bodies within a 10km radius that supported settlement resilience.
- According to the Hatkeshwar temple priest citing the archaeology department, the shrine is about 2,200 years old, with Rs 19 crore sanctioned for its development after Vadnagar’s 2016 tourism designation.
- With the prime minister turning 75 on September 17, local organisers plan blood donation drives, temple prayers and community events, reflecting renewed attention on the town’s heritage and civic development.