Karwar
Karwar is a small coastal city and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Karnataka, India.
Etymology
Karwar, also known locally as "Kādwād", derived its name from the nearby village of "Kade-Wādā". In the local Konkani, Kade means "Last" and Wādā means "Ward". Hence, Kade-Wādā referred to the southernmost Konkani-speaking village. During the Crown rule in India, the name "Karwar" was spelt as "Carwar". The ancient name was "Baithkhol"—from an Arabic term Bait-e-kol— meaning the "bay of safety". This is in the Indian history for maritime trade wherein black peppercorns, cardamom, and muslin cloth were exported from this Kādwād port and after the war with Veer Henja Naik, the port activities were shifted to Baithkhol. Thereafter, the port of Kādwād was isolated and Kurmagad Fort was activated by the Portuguese.History
Karwar township was built by the British in the year 1857 after the Indian Rebellion. Karwar is popularly known as the "Kashmir of Karnataka". Prior to 1857, Karwar did not exist as a town. Honnavara was the district headquarters of Canara district consisting up to Mangalore to Kodibag Karwar, up till Kali river; and Karwar village existed as hamlets like Habbuwada, Kajubag, Kodibag, Kone, Baad, Kathinkon, Sunkeri, Shirwad, and Binaga. After that, the river bank towards the north was under the rule of Sadhashiv Nayak and Maratha Confederacy. After the mutiny of 1857, the British made division of Canara District into two parts as South Canara with headquarters at Mangalore attached to Madras Presidency and North Canara with headquarters at the newly built town Karwar, which was attached to Bombay Presidency. It was a planned city like Panaji, Mumbai, Dharwad, and Bengaluru. After the rule of the Indian Government from 1947, Karwar is more or less neglected politically and kept without major developments.Ancient history
The region of Karwar was historically part of the ancient city of Govapuri, as documented in the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana:गोकर्णादुत्तरे भागे सप्तयोजनविस्तृ॥
तत्र गोवापुरी नाम नगरी पापनाशिनी॥
This revered reference underscores Karwar's deep historical and mythological ties to the Konkan region, intertwining it with Goa’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
In later centuries, Portuguese traders knew Karwar as Cintacora, Chitrakul, Chittakula or Sindpur. In 1510, the Portuguese captured and burnt a fort at Karwar. They called it Fort Pir, Forte de Piro or Pito due to the presence of a Muslim Dargah.
In 1638, the English Trading Courteen Association established a factory at Kadwad village, 6 km east of Karwar and traded with merchants from Arabia and Africa. The common commodities were muslin, black pepper, cardamom, cassier and coarse blue cotton cloth. In 1649, the Courteen Association merged with the British East India Company, and Karwar became a company town. The East India Company built fighting ships in the Karwar harbour. For example, the Britannia which had 18 guns was built to defend Bombay from attacks by Maratha Koli admiral Kanhoji Angre.
Before the Portuguese colonization, the area was part of several Indian kingdoms, including those that encompassed present-day Goa. Karwar shares notable cultural similarities with Goa, particularly in its language and cuisine.
In the 1700s, Karwar was a part of the Maratha Empire. Having marched from Bednore in the south, visiting on his way the sacred temple at Gokarna, Shivaji seized Ankola and the next day came to Karwar. Both the East India Company and Sher Shah, the Sardar of Bijapur, were very much alarmed at this sudden development. They collected a huge amount and offered it to Shivaji, praying that they may be spared. Satisfied at the recognition of his authority, Shivaji crossed the Kali River and conquered Sadashivgad on 21 February 1665.
In 1784, at the time of the Treaty of Mangalore between Tipu Sultan and the East India Company, After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Karwar was captured by the British.
Kot Siveshvar, another fortress, was built near Karwar by the Sultan of Bijapur to counterattacks from the north. Karwar is also believed to be the coast where Ottomans arrived at the request of Tipu Sultan as aide in battle against the British empire. The said Ottoman aid could not participate in any battles due to martyrdom of Tipu Sultan but instead set up a stronghold with the locals and later the Portuguese and Marathas to protect the town.
At the ruins of Fort Siveshvar are a Muslim graveyard and a tunnel at the eastern gate.
The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town. At 22 years old, Tagore stayed with his second brother, Satyendranath Tagore, who was a district judge in Karwar.
From 1862 until the re-organization of the Indian states after Independence, present-day Uttara Kannada district was a part of the Bombay Presidency. During this period, major public works carried out included the improvement of roads, the building of a wharf, wharf road and a sea wall at the Karwar port as well as the construction of a multi-floor storage building, staff housing, a post office, kutcheri and a Christian burial ground.
At the same time, the local Konkani-speaking people had close connections with Mumbai and Goa. Many Marathi middle schools were established in Karwar and Joida taluks, despite the fact that the local populace mostly were Konkani native speakers.
During World War II Karwar was an Indian Naval training site.
Post-Independence
After India gained independence in 1947, the movement for linguistic states led to the reorganization of states based on language. In 1956, the Mysore State was formed, incorporating various regions, including parts of the Bombay Presidency. Despite Karwar being a Konkani-speaking region, it was included in the newly formed Mysore State as part of this reorganization. Since Goa was under Portuguese control at the time, forming a Konkani-speaking state was not feasible. The decision to incorporate Karwar into Mysore State was influenced by broader political and administrative considerations aimed at creating a cohesive Kannada-speaking state. Karwar during the 1950–60s played important role in the Konkani language agitation, helping cement Konkani as an independent language during Konkani conferences held in Karwar. The city played an important role in Konkan culture and Konkani culture hosting many Konkani conferences to promote the language. There have been demographic shifts since the state reorganizations act, and Karwar is no longer the stronghold for Konkani culture and has been overtaken by Panaji, Goa and by Mangalore.The city is also neglected by the state government and has been devoid of development in recent years. Spots of attractions are usually underfunded, relatively little money is allowed for development and people have to constantly rely on the neighboring state of Goa to carry out their needs.
Geography
Karwar is a seaport on the west coast of peninsular India. To the east are the Western Ghats. Karwar is situated on the banks of the Kali river which flows west to the Arabian sea from its headwaters at Bidi village in the Western Ghats. The Kali river has a length of about and is the main source of irrigation in the region.Baitkhol port at Karwar is a natural harbour with land side hills and ocean side islands protecting it from cyclonic weather. The four fathom mark lies close to the shore. The tidal range is.
Biodiversity
Several small mangrove covered islands lie off the Kali river estuary including Anjediva Island and Devagadaguda Islands. The sub-tidal regions of the islands have a high biodiversity, although the waters off Karwar have recorded higher than normal faecal coliform counts.Climate
Karwar lies on a coastal strip known as the Monsoon Coast. Karwar has hot and humid summers from March to May where the temperature may peak to. The Arabian Sea is warm throughout the year. Winters from December to February are mild and seldom plummet to. The windy monsoon period from June to September has an average rainfall of over.Demographics
The total population in Karwar town with outgrowth is 77,139 as of 2011 by Indian Government. As of 2011, Karwar had an average literacy rate of 93%, higher than the national average of 74%. Males constitutes 49.7% of population and 50.3% are females. In Karwar, 10% of the population were children under six years of age.Border issues
Karwar taluka is majorly Konkani by first language speakers. It was part of the Bombay Presidency during the British colonial rule, before the reorganization of states. The native Konkani speakers had close connections with Bombay which extended to matrimonial relations too. Many Marathi-medium schools were also established in Karwar and Joida talukas. Marathi films were often released in Karwar. The visit of Marathi drama troupes from Bombay and Poona was an annual feature. However, Konkani-speaking people were disenchanted when Marathis began to claim Konkani as a dialect of Marathi. They disputed it and asserted that Konkani had independent status as a language. It was the native Konkani-speaking people led by late P. S. Kamat who argued before Mahajan Commission that Karwar was an integral part of Karnataka.There have been recent assertions by both Maharashtra and Goa that Karwar should belong to their states.