Western India

Coordinates: 19°00′00″N 74°09′00″E / 19.0000°N 74.1500°E / 19.0000; 74.1500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about West India. For the Caribbean region, see West Indies.

West India
Western India / The West
States and territories
Other states sometimes included
Largest cityMumbai
Most populous cities (2011)
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu:

Goa:

Gujarat:

Maharashtra:

Area
 • Total508,032 km2 (196,152 sq mi)
Population
 • Total173,343,821
 • Density340/km2 (880/sq mi)
Official languages

Western India is a loosely defined

states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu,[1] while the Ministry of Culture and some historians also include the state of Rajasthan.[2][3] The Geological Survey of India includes Maharashtra but excludes Rajasthan[4] whereas Ministry of Minority Affairs includes Karnataka but excludes Rajasthan.[5]

urban population.[11] Roughly, western India is bounded by the Thar Desert in the north, the Vindhya Range in the east and north and the Arabian Sea in the west. A major portion of Western India shares the Thar Desert with North India and Pakistan and the Deccan Plateau with South and Central India
.

In ancient history, Western India was divided into three great states according to

Balochistan were also included in this region. In art history, the term normally covers just Gujarat and Rajasthan, which tend to move together in terms of style.[13] Western India has the second-largest gross domestic product
than any other region in India.

States under Western India Zonal Council in mauve

History

Moghul Empire in the Early 18th century

Parts of Gujarat were the site of

Dandi March took place in Gujarat. The region became part of independent India in 1947, and the present state boundaries were drawn based on linguistic considerations in 1956.[14]

Geography

Jain Temples on Girnar Mountain range
Konkan in monsoon

The region consists of the predominantly arid to semi-arid region of

Chambal
and many other smaller tributaries of other rivers.

Climate

The climate varies between tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, and semi arid. The coastal regions experience little seasonal variations although the temperatures range between 20 °C to 38 °C. Mumbai and northern Konkan regions experience cooler winters with minimum temperatures hovering around 12 °C. Interior Maharashtra experiences hot summers with maximum temperatures averaging 40 °C and mild winters with minimum temperatures averaging about 10 °C. Pune, a city in the western region experiences temperatures around 35-40 °C in summers and 7-12 °C on winters. Gujarat also has a warm climate with hot summers and cool winters.

Demographics

A Meghwal woman in the Hodka Village, north of Bhuj

Marathi, Gujarati and Kokani are widely spoken languages in Western India.[15]

Religion

Religion in Western India
Religion Percent(%)
Hinduism
 
 83.66%
Islam
 
 10.12%
Buddhism
 
 4%
Others
 
 2.22%

The majority follow

Buddhists
can be found too. Most Christians live in the state of Goa.

Overall, 83.66% of the population is

Buddhist with Christians in Goa and Maharashtra making up the majority of the remainder.[citation needed
]

Language

Marathi, is the most widely spoken language in Western India with about 73 million speakers, followed by Gujarati with about 46 million speakers and Konkani 2.5 million speakers, all of which are Indo-Aryan languages.[15] As in other parts of India, a high level of multilingualism is seen with English and Hindi being spoken as additional languages in urban areas.[16]

Mahalasa Temple
Mahalasa Temple in Goa

Literacy

The average literacy rate of West India is around 76%, higher than the national average of 70.5%.

fertility rate is about 2.2, while the average household size is about 4.7.[17]

Culture

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The states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa are culturally varied and distinct.

Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Bhavnagar

Bollywood
has had a huge impact on the lifestyle and culture of this part of India as the industry is primarily located in Mumbai.

Turkic and Mughal conquests, as well as a constant stream of back and forth migrations to and from Sindh and Rajasthan, which helped shape the unique cultural landscape of the state. Cultural Events like Rann Utsav, International Kite Festival and Global Garba
festivals have been started in Gujarat to showcase its culture internationally.

Goa's culture is a unique blend of Indian and

Churches and Convents of Goa have been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
.

Cuisine

Pav bhaji from Mumbai, Maharashtra

The cuisine of Western India is diverse.

kokum and cashew-nuts. With its distinct spices and medium of cooking as coconut oil, both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian cuisine is equally popular.[citation needed
]

Gujarati cuisine is almost exclusively vegetarian. Gujarat is one of three states in India, with prohibition on alcohol, along with Mizoram and Manipur.[18] In contrast, Maharashtra has some of the best vineyards in India, with Nashik and Sangli districts being the country's biggest grape-producing districts.[19]

Economy

Mumbai, the financial capital of the country

The region generates 24.00% of the national GDP of the country, with an annual growth rate of 14.5% as of 2006.

tax revenues of the country. More than 85% of the households have access to electricity with about 55% owning a television. Agriculture employs most people in the region, while services
have largest share in the total GDP.

Surat, the Business capital of Gujarat
Economic and demographic indicators[21]
Parameter West India National
Per capita net state domestic product (SDP) ₹122,569 (US$1,500) ₹73,500 (US$920)
Percentage share in total 24 NA
Average annual growth of GDP 13.66 8.5
Percentage of population below poverty line 8.66 26.10
Percentage of urban population 46.75 31.16
Percentage of households with electricity 93.6 67.3
Literacy rate
 83.2 74.04[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Inter-state Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. ^ "West Zone Cultural Centre". wzccindia.com. Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  3. ^ Vidyarthi & Rai 1977.
  4. ^ "Geological Survey of India". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 52nd report (July 2014 to June 2015)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  6. ^ Parthasarathy & Iyengar 2006, p. 85.
  7. ^ "West India - Madhya Pradesh". Asia-Planet.
  8. ^ Nilsen 2010, p. 205.
  9. ^ Pandeya & Lieth 2012, p. 219.
  10. ^ Rothermund 1993, pp. 190–193.
  11. ^ "Census GIS data". Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  12. ^ Cunningham 1871, p. 248.
  13. ISBN 0140081445
  14. ^ "States Reorganization Act". Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  15. ^ a b "2001 Census language data". Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  16. ^ "Indian and its languages" (PDF). Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  17. ^ a b "NFHS fact sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  18. ^ "Alcohol Prohibition and Addictive Consumption in India" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  19. ^ "Wine Industry in Maharashtra: An Analysis" (PDF). Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  20. ^ "Statement : gross state domestic product at current prices". Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  21. ^ Also A Head For Numbers. Outlook India. 16 July 2007
  22. ^ India. World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 20 March 2008

Bibliography

External links

19°00′00″N 74°09′00″E / 19.0000°N 74.1500°E / 19.0000; 74.1500

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