Chijgam 2.58

Chijgam is a village located on the coast of the Arabian Sea 160 miles north of Mumbai, India. The village of Dandi, which is famous for Gandhi's salt march, and city of Navsari, which is the birthplace of the founders of TATA (India's largest business group), are located in close proximity of Chijgam. Despite limited resources in Chijgam, many residents of the tiny village become doctors, software engineers, chartered accountants, and the like. Former villagers now reside in the USA, Canada, UK, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and New Zealand.HistoryChijgam was established around 1850 by Makanbhai Patel and few other families who migrated from Mutwaad. Chijgam and all of its neighboring villages were massive sea salt producing areas for almost 200 years. The area that Chijgam is located on is separated from the Arabian Sea by approximately one mile of land. It is located on Kanai Creek which starts from Toli Talav, north of Navsari and ends up at Arabian Sea.Salt was mainly traded from the Chijgamis to the Banjaras/Vanzaras (gujrati pronunciation) (the gypsy tribe of traders) for money, materials, essentials, food, and jewelry. Eventually technology advanced, and ships were used to transport salt to Mumbai. Adoption of a railroad transportation system replaced Chijgami dependence on the Vanzaras and their camel fleets. Introduction of a fresh water canal system reduced the amount of salt in the sea (brine level) by 40%. The lack of salt eventually ended the salt business that Chijgam was accustomed to. However, canals were useful in rejuvenating farm crops and mango orchards. Despite the demise of the salt manufacturing business, the improvement of the land’s agriculture is why canals were still used. By 1975, opportunities in the diamond cutting and polishing businesses brought prosperity back to Chijgam. Meanwhile, people started to immigrate to Europe and North America. Today Canada and the Persian Gulf have one of the largest number of residents from Chijgam.