Godhra

Godhra () is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative capital of the Panchmahal district. Originally, the name came from gou which means "cow", and "dhara", which has two meanings depending on how the word is pronounced. 'Dharaa' means a feminine thing or person that "holds" something, and it usually means "land", and the other pronunciation is 'dhaaraa' which means "flow". However, the second pronunciation is not widely used nor is it usually associated with this word. Hence, 'Godhra or Godharaa' means the Land of the Cow.

Godhra is widely known in India and internationally for being the starting point of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Statewide religious riots between Hindus and Muslims began after the Godhra train burning incident near the Godhra railway station on 27 February 2002, where about 59 train passengers were burnt alive. It was in Godhra that Vallabhbhai Patel first met Gandhi in 1917 and was subsequently drawn into the Indian freedom struggle.