Coastal South West India

Coastal South West India is a geo-cultural region in the Indian Subcontinent that spans entire Coastal South Western India. The region was referred as Sapta Konkan region in the Skanda Purana.

Coastal South West India spans across the entire Arabian Sea coastline of the Indian subcontinent from the coastline of the Gulf of Kutch in its westernmost corner and stretches across the Gulf of Khambhat, and through the Salsette Island and Mumbai along the Konkan and southwards across the Raigad region and through Kanara and further down through Mangalapuram (Mangalore) and along the Malabar unto the southernmost tip to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). In ancient tradition Coastal South West Indian Subcontinent extends till Ceylon.

The people along coastal south west India exhibit vast diversity along an underlying commonality as a result of long history of contact with west Asian Mediterranean traders along the Arabian sea coastline.

The region includes Gujaratis in the westernmost region, Maharashtrians and Goans along the western coastline, Kannadigas in its south western coastline and Tulus and Malayalis in its southernmost region of South India.

As a result of the thriving trade between the Mediterranean world and South West Indian coastline along the Arabian sea, there has been significant intermingling between the people of Coastal South West India and the west asian world. Several west Asian communities have also settled and become part of the diversity of coastal south west India. These include the Parsis,Bohras and Baghdadi Jews in the westernmost region, the Bene Israel along the South western region the descendants of mediterranean traders along Coorg and Mangalore, the Jonakan Mappilas along Malabar region, and the cochin jews and Syriac Nasranis along the southernmost region of South India.

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