The State in India with the largest coastline is

Concept

The coastline of a state is the length of its land boundary that meets the sea. Among India's nine mainland coastal states this length varies widely, because it depends on how indented the shore is — gulfs, bays, creeks and peninsulas all add to it. So the state with the maximum coastline is the one whose shore is most broken up by such indentations, not simply the one that looks largest on a map.

Application

Gujarat sits on the north-west coast facing the Arabian Sea. Its shore is exceptionally indented: the Kathiawar (Saurashtra) peninsula juts into the sea and is flanked by the Gulf of Kutch to its north and the Gulf of Khambhat to its east, while the Rann of Kutch adds further coastal margin. These deep indentations stretch the measured shoreline to roughly 2,340 km (the figure long quoted as about 1,600 km), the largest of any Indian state.

Contrast

Comparing the choices by what each actually offers:

• Gujarat — a heavily indented Arabian-Sea shore (peninsula plus two gulfs) giving the greatest measured length; this is the answer.

• Tamil Nadu — a long but comparatively straight south-eastern coast on the Bay of Bengal; substantial, yet not the maximum.

• Andhra Pradesh — an extended Bay-of-Bengal coast on the east, large but short of the leader.

• Maharashtra — a rugged western (Konkan) coast on the Arabian Sea, notable but smaller in total length.

Result: Gujarat has the largest coastline among the Indian states.