Konkan

For the village in Burkina Faso, see Konkan, Burkina Faso.

The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Thane district to Mangalore. The sapta-Konkan is a slightly larger region described in the Skanda Purana which refers it as "Parashurama Srishti".

Traditional houses in Konkan region

Boundaries

The precise definition of Konkan varies, it is roughly the lands between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, and between the Tapi river in the north to the Chandragiri river in the south, it includes the following districts roughly of modern India, notably Gujarat's Valsad, Dadra, Nagar Haveli Maharashtra's districts of Raigad, Mumbai, Thane, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, the state of Goa, and the Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kanara districts of Karnataka and Kasaragode in Kerala.

The Konkan division

The Konkan division is an administrative sub-division of Maharashtra which comprises all the coastal districts of the state.

Geography

The Sahyadri Mountain range ("Western Ghats") forms the eastern boundary of the Konkan, and the Arabian Sea marks the western boundary. The southern boundary is the Gangavali River. The Mayura River forms the northern boundary.

The Gangavali flows in the district of ("Uttara Kannada") in present-day "Karnataka State"; the cis-Gangavali portion (seen from Bombay) of this district is the southernmost part of the Konkan. The towns of Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar and Bhatkal fall within the Konkan. The exact identity of the Mayura River, the northern limits of the historic Konkan, is indeterminate.

Ethnology

Main article: Konkani people

The Gabit, Gauda, Kuruba and Kunbi tribals of Konkan are among the original settlers in the region.

Tribal communities in Konkan include Konkana, Warli and Kolcha in Southern Gujarat, Dadra and Nagarhaveli and Thane district of Maharashtra. Katkaris are found more in Raigad and also some in Ratnagiri district.

See also

• People of the Konkan Division
• Konkani people
• Konkani language
• Konkan Railway
• Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project