Dhrangadhra is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. During the period of the British Raj, the city was the capital of Dhrangadhra state, one of the eight first-class princely states (13-gun salute) of the Kathiawar Agency in the Bombay Presidency. Dhrangadhra grew from the state of Jhalawad which was founded about AD 1090. This state was ruled by the Jhala Rajputs. In AD 1735, Dhrangadhra was founded as its capital. The state was then renamed Dhrangadhra-Halvad state from the initial name of Kuwa, Halwad. In 1941 the princely state of Dhrangadhra had a population of 94,417 living in an area of 1,167 square miles. In 1925, India's first soda ash factory was founded in Dhrangadhra. It was taken over by Shreyans Prasad Jain, who established the Dhrangadhra Chemical Works (now known as DCW) in 1939. In 1948 the state of Dhrangadhra was made part of the Zalawad district in Saurashtra. In 1956 it became part of Gujarat. Dhrangadhra also...
