In 1790–1, an epidemic devastated numerous parts of Gujarat during which 100,000 Gujaratis were killed in Surat alone. if they were baptized, they would all be saved by the virtue of their works, for they never do to others what they would not do unto them. and these people are neither moors nor heathens. a certain race which eats nothing that has blood, never kills any living things. He noted that Jainism had a strong presence in Gujarat and opined that Gujaratis were deprived of their kingdom by Mughals because of their kind heartedness. Įarly European travelers like Ludovico di Varthema (15th century) traveled to Gujarat and wrote on the people of Gujarat. With Muslims in Gujarat, 67 out of 86 communities claim migrant past. For example, the Audichya Brahmins claim migration from present day Uttar Pradesh. In Gujarat that number is around 70%.In the state, 124 Hindu communities out of 186 claim migrant past. In Anthropological surveys conducted in India about 60% of the people claim that their community is a migrant to their state or region. The king of Cambay (in present-day Gujarat) from "Figurae variae Asiae et Africae," a 16th-century Portuguese manuscript in the Casanatense Library in Rome (Codex Casanatense 1889) In recent decades, larger numbers of Gujaratis have migrated to English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Diasporas and transnational networks in many of these countries date back to more than a century. All throughout history Gujaratis have earned a reputation as being India's greatest merchants, industrialists and business entrepreneurs and have therefore been at forefront of migrations all over the world, particularly to regions that were part of the British empire such as Fiji, Hong Kong, Malaya, East Africa and South Africa. There are very large Gujarati immigrant communities in other parts of India, most notably in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and other cities like Kochi. Gujaratis also form a significant part of the populations in the neighboring metropolis of Mumbai and union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, which was a former Portuguese colony. Despite significant migration primarily for economic reasons, most Gujaratis in India live in the state of Gujarat in Western India.