Karwar

Karwar derived its name from the nearby village of Kadwad (Kade Wada, the last wado). Kade means last and wado means precinct or area in Konkani. Before Indian independence, the name Karwar was spelt Carwar.[2] The name Baithkhol, is an Arabic term Bait-e-kol, meaning the bay of safety. This is in the Indian History for maritime trade wherein pepper, cardamom and muslin were exported from this Kadewad port and after the war with Veer Henja Naik (1803), the port activities were shifted to Baithkol. Thereafter the port of Kadwad was isolated and Kurmagad Fort was activated by the Portuguese.

Kali River and Sadashivgad fort as seen from Nandangadda village

Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka

Leisure boats on Kali River

Kot Siveshvar, another fortress, was built near Karwar (in Siveshvar village) by the Sultan of Bijapur to counter attacks from the north. At the ruins of Fort Siveshvar are a Muslim graveyard and a tunnel at the eastern gate.

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 (tomb of a Sufi saint, Shahkaramuddin). In the 17th century, refugees from Portuguese rule in Goa moved to Karwar.

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 (1715) which had 18 guns was built to defend Bombay from attacks by Maratha Koli[3] admiral Kanhoji Angre.[4]

In the 1700s, Karwar was a part of the Maratha Empire. In 1784, at the time of the Treaty of Mangalore between Tipu Sultan and the East India Company, Karwar and Sadashivgad were spelt Carwar and Sadasewgude, respectively.[5] After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Karwar was captured by the British.

The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town.[6] At 22 years, Tagore stayed with his second brother, Satyendranath Tagore, who was a district judge in Karwar.

From 1862 until the re-organisation of the Indian states after Independence, Uttara Kannada district was a part of the Bombay Presidency. During this time, major public works carried out included improvement of roads, 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 (kutcherries or zamindar's offices) and a Christian burial ground.[7]

At the same time, the local Konkani-speaking people had close connections with Mumbai. Many Marathi middle schools were established in the Karwar and Joida taluks. Marathi films were released in Karwar. The visit of Marathi drama troupes from Mumbai and Pune was an annual feature.

During World War II Karwar was an Indian Naval training site.[8]^:172

The local unit of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) at Sadashivagad and its leaders including Vishnu Kalgutkar and Shivanand Rane joined the GSKEM and said they would dissolve the MES unit and fight for a merger of Karwar and Joida in Goa.

Karwar Town was built by the British in the year 1857 after the Mutiny. Kawar is also known as 'Kashmir of Karnataka'. There is only Karwar Market [i:e Karwar city], Habbuwada, Kajubag, Kodibag, Kone village, Baad Village, Kathinkon, Sunkeri village, Shirwad village and Binaga village. Earlier to 1857 there was no existence of Karwar city. Before that, Honnavar was the District Head of Canara District consisting up to Mangalore to Kodibag Karwar, till Kali river. After that the bank towards the north was under the rule of Sadhashiv Nayak and Maratha province. After the mutiny of 1857, the British made division of Canara District into two parts as South Kanara [Dakshin Kannada] with headquarters at Mangalore attached to Madras Province and North Kanara [Uttar Kannada] with headquarters at the newly built town Karwar, which was attached to Bombay province. It is one of the well planned cities like Goa, Mumbai, Dharwad, Bangalore. After the rule of Indian Government from 1947, Karwar is more or less neglected politically and kept without major development. Kot Siveshvar, another fortress, was built near Karwar (in Siveshvar village) by the Sultan of Bijapur to counterattacks from the north. At the ruins of Fort Siveshvar are a Muslim graveyard and a tunnel at the eastern gate.

Marathas: Having marched from Bednore in the south, visiting on his way the sacred temple at Gokarna, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj seized Ankola and the next day came to Karwar (then known as Kadwad). Both the East India Company and Sher Shah, the sardar of Bijapur, were very much alarmed at this sudden development. They collected huge amount and offering 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.

The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town.[6] At 22 years, Tagore stayed with his second brother, Satyendranath Tagore, a district judge in Karwar who was also India's first ICS . Satyanedranath Tagore lived here with his erudite wife Jnanadanandini Devi and their two children, son Surendranath (1872–1940) and daughter Indira Devi Choudhurani (1973–1960). Rabindranath also spent few months in Karwar with his newly married wife Mrinalini Devi in 1883.

A famous shrine (Sansthan) is Shri Kshetra Baad Math, Gurumath Karwar.

Shri Kshetra Gurumath is a pilgrim institution that was established in 1906. This spiritual centre was set up by Srimath Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Padmanabh Teerth (also called as Maharaja by localities) in the Sahyadri Hills, where visitors can view the Kali river meeting the Arabian Sea which is called as "Sangam" in local language. Maharaja built a Dattatraya temple on the land donated by a True devote at Baad, Karwar and started a Gurumath, Otherwise called the Shri Kshetra Baad Math, Karwar. The centre was established with the aim of spreading knowledge about vedantic subjects among the masses. It should be visited by those who are interested in learning about Shri Padmanabhateertha's teachings, such as thinking beyond the definition of 'concepts' and receiving good from everybody and anybody.

Every year the 2 festival (utsav) named after "Gurudwadashi" held in the month of October and Maharaja's Punyatithi held in the month of august are celebrated with 13000+ devotees. The Maharaja did not nominate any heir to the math but constituted a managing committee to look into its principles. The Maharaja, who was an Advaita scholar, has written 43 books on Vedanta, including 32 in Marathi, 5 in Kannada and 6 in Sanskrit.

Local bird, Sturnia blythii. Karwar is rich in flora and fauna

Karwar is a seaside city on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. To the east are the Western Ghats. Karwar is situated on the banks of the Kali river (Kali nadi) 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 153 km and is the main source of irrigation in the region. Karwar is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of the Karnataka – Goa border, 519 kilometres (322 mi) north-west of Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka, and 272 kilometres (169 mi) north of Karnataka's chief port city Mangalore.

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 1.2 to 2.5 metres (3 ft 11 in to 8 ft 2 in).[8]^:172

The total population in Karwar is 157,739 as of 2014 by Indian Government. Karwar had an average literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy was 85%, and female literacy was 75%. In Karwar, 10% of the population were children under 6 years of age.

Karwar taluk is ethnically Konkani, however it was historically ruled by the Kannada kings of Karnataka. It was part of the Bombay Presidency during the British 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 taluks. Marathi films were often released in Karwar. The visit of Marathi drama troupes from Bombay and Pune was an annual feature. However, Konkani-speaking people were disenchanted when Marathis began to claim that 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.

Karwar at dusk

Most people in Karwar are Hindu. Christianity was introduced to Karwar by the British and by the Portuguese in Goa in the 17th and 18th centuries. Muslim seafaring traders migrated to Karwar from the Deccan (Bahamani) kingdoms. Karwar was called Baithkol meaning the house of safety or "Bait-e-kol" meaning place of safety in Arabic. Muslim villages in Karwar include: Shiveshvar, Kadwad, Sunkeri, Chittakula, Sawar Pai and Hotegali. Islamic tradition holds that two brothers, descendants of Ali, the son in law of Mohammad, settled in Shiveshvar and made the village a place of Islamic learning. In Shiveshvar, there are three shrines dedicated to Muslim saints: Gaiby Pir, Nizam Pir and Shamshuddin pir-in Kot. Christianity was introduced to Karwar by the British and by the Portuguese when ruling Goa in the 17th and 18th centuries. Portuguese also visited Karwar in those Days.

Karwar is known for its education facilities in the neighboring states.

• Rama Raghoba Rane, (1918–1994). The only Param Vir Chakra Award winner from Karnataka.
• Jayshree Gadkar, a Marathi movie actress of the 1960s, born to a Konkani speaking family in Kanasgiri, near Sadashivgad.
• Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal, born in Karwar as Alka Nadakarni in a Konkani speaking family and brought up in Mumbai.

• Karwar also have a fiber broadband and 3g network of BSNL network for fast internet.

Karwar comprises the following blocks or villages:

• Sadashivgad
• Kali river
• Mangalore
• Uttara Kannada

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karwar.

• Karwar City Municipal Council
• Zilla panchayat Karwar