Nadiad is a city and municipality in the Kheda district of the state of Gujarat, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Kheda district and is one of the principal urban centres of the Charotar region in central Gujarat. The city is well known for its educational institutions, religious heritage, and its association with several prominent figures in modern Indian history, most notably Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Kheda |
| Region | Charotar, central Gujarat |
| Civic body | Nadiad Municipality |
| Languages | Gujarati, Hindi |
| Known for | Santram Mandir, educational institutions, association with Sardar Patel |
Nadiad lies in the fertile Charotar plain between the rivers Mahi and Sabarmati, an alluvial tract noted for tobacco, banana, and dairy farming. The city is connected by the Western Railway main line and by National Highway 48 (the Ahmedabad–Vadodara corridor), placing it roughly between Ahmedabad to the north and Vadodara to the south. Anand lies a short distance to the south.
Local tradition holds that Nadiad grew from an older settlement sometimes referred to as Natpur, formed around nine lakes (talavs), from which the name "Nadiad" is said to be derived. Under the Mughal and later Maratha administrations the town was a revenue centre, and during the British period it was incorporated into the Kheda district of the Bombay Presidency.
Nadiad gained national prominence during the freedom struggle. The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918, led by Mahatma Gandhi along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, drew its base from the rural districts around Nadiad and is regarded as a formative episode in the early non-cooperation phase of the Indian freedom movement.
The city is the seat of the Santram Mandir, a temple and religious institution founded in the 19th century around the saint Santram Maharaj. The Santram tradition is influential across the Charotar region and runs charitable, educational, and medical institutions in the area. Nadiad also has a number of Swaminarayan, Vaishnava, and Jain temples, reflecting the broader religious mix of central Gujarat.
Nadiad has long been recognised as an educational centre in Gujarat. Notable institutions include:
The local economy is based on agriculture and agro-processing, dairy (linked to the wider Amul cooperative network of the Kheda–Anand belt), tobacco trade, small-scale manufacturing, and education and healthcare services. Nadiad functions as a market town for surrounding villages of the Charotar region.
The city is administered by the Nadiad Municipality, which manages urban services, sanitation, roads, and local taxation. As district headquarters, Nadiad also hosts the offices of the District Collector and other Kheda district administrative bodies.
Nadiad railway station lies on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad main line of the Western Railway and is served by long-distance and local trains, including services on the Nadiad–Kapadvanj and Nadiad–Petlad branches historically operated in the region. National Highway 48 passes near the city, providing road links to Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Mumbai. The nearest major airport is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.