Popular stories say that a group of early settlers led by warrior Ajay Pal (also

called Ajepal), brother of King of Ajmer, Rajasthan arrived and settled there
around ad 650 or 805 (Samvat 862).[1] Slowly the settlement flourished and became a
centre of trade and commerce. Due to its prosperity and wealth it was often target
of invasion of clan warriors. As the founder of the settlement, and later the
ruler, Ajay Pal dedicated his life to protecting the town. Due to his efforts and
his sacrifice, he is worshiped as a saint and his tomb (also called Samadhi in
Hinduism) and temple is located on the outskirts of the town.

At different points of time in history, the town was ruled by various clans such as
Chaulukya, Vaghela, Chawda, before finally it went to the more powerful warrior
clan, the Jadeja, who gained control of the Kutch region. The town was declared the
capital of the Kingdom of Kutch in 1545. The town was fortified by the early
eighteenth century. In 1800, the town, port, and dependencies of Anjar were granted
to Fateh Muhammad, who busied himself in extending its trade and establishing the
harbour of Tuna.[1] The town served as the capital of the Kutch region on and off,
until the nearby settlement of Bhuj permanently became the capital city.

On 25 December 1815, Anjar was attacked by the British East India Company. In the
following year the fort and dependent villages were made over to the British and
held by them until 1822.[1][2] Anjar suffered severely from an earthquake in 1819,
which destroyed a large number of houses, and thousands of lives.[1][2] The
population shortly afterwards was about 10,000.[2] In 1822, the company government
transferred the power of the region back to the Jadeja Rulers in exchange for
annual fee.[2] The payments were a burden on the local treasury and the entire
burden (including arrears) were paid on its behalf by the British government.[2][3]

Due to social segregation, complex social structure and cultural restrictions in

the ancient times, most of these clans established their separate wards or
neighbourhoods (locally known as 'fariyas') within the town, so that in any
neighbourhood of the town you would find houses of only people of a certain clan.
However, today the culture has opened up.

Kutch region, and specifically Anjar suffered several earthquakes in addition to

the one in 1819. At an interval of nearly fifty years, there have been earthquakes
in the region. Anjar also experienced strong earthquake on 21 July 1956, which had
its epicentre near the town[4] and another major earthquake on 26 January 2001,
which caused large scale destruction of houses and population. As per records more
than 1,350 houses were destroyed.[5] Most of the damage occurred to the older
constructions in the fortified area of the town where buildings and houses were
hundreds of years old.[6][7] The earthquake claimed more than 1,500 lives, and left
many more injured.[8][9] After a decade of rehabilitation work, the town has now
recovered from the loss and destruction