The history regarding the settlement of Dharmaj is very ancient. Some say it was settled by Dharma Rabari in 1130 A.D. Dharma Rabari found Shiva Ling, while digging in the remote area of the jungle. He used to take his cows there for grazing. The name of the town Dharmaj refers to Dharma. In 1155 A.D. Narsinhbhai Patel, originally from Jarga, came to Dharmaj to settle down. The house in which he used to live is now called Juni Khadki Rangaji Patel from Virol (near Sojitra) came to Dharmaj to settle in 1675A.D.
The Patidars of Dharmaj have very thorough knowledge of agriculture. Even while the maximum crop was extracted, the land had remained fertile. Tobacco is the main crop of the town. Nicotine was processed from tobacco by Urvakunji Nicotine Industries in Dharmaj. The town is not only agricultural, but industrial too.
The Patidars of Dharmaj took on a leading role in the Independence Movement. They provided shelter to the freedom fighters. A young man named Ramanbhai Purshttambhai was shot during firing at ADAS.
The town has various institutions in the fields of education, social, and religion. These institutions were established by generous donations from the Patidars of Dharmaj, both from the homeland and abroad. Mr Rajabhai Patel has contributed a great deal to the village despite residing out of Dharmaj, he has built an old peoples home and a temple complex which has become a meeting point for the whole village.
Today,The great dollar dream has created a stir in the land of White Revolution, and turned Dharmaj into a village with world class facilities, rubbing shoulders with any top city, totally on NRI money. Now, this little village wants the country to adopt the Dharmaj model.
Where can one see a village, with a population of 5,000, running a vibrant English medium school for children and a college, ultra-modern medical facilities, water park, recreation zone and state-of-the-art civic infrastructure?
The medical facilities include a kidney centre, a cancer research facility, a maternity hospital, a polio and orthopaedic hospital, an eye hospital that has operated on 1.47 lakh patients, a glaucoma research centre, a dental hospital and a mineral water plant provides 20 litre treated water at just Rs 2 to the economically backward.
It is a silent revolution that has seen NRGs from the village, which are now spread across the globe, pitching in just to assure that their relatives get all the facilities that any city can boast of.