People of the Konkan Division
The Konkan Division is the administrative division in the coastal region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has a diverse number of ethnic and religious communities.
Bhandaris
The Bhandari caste is among the seafaring caste of ancient and medieval India.They migrated southward from Rajputana in early 1100 CE and subsequently spread over different parts of India. Along with Maharashtra, Goa, parts of Karnataka like Karwar.
East Indians
East Indians are a Marathi-speaking, Roman Catholic ethnic or sub-ethnic group, based in and around the city of Mumbai in western Indian state of Maharashtra. These people are of the original Marathi ethnic group and had been evangelized by the Portuguese.
Konkani/Konkani Muslims
There are large Konkani Muslim communities in Mumbai, Thane, Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg. In local lingo, the pronunciation is Kokani rather than Konkani, which can be confused with konkani language speaking people from Goa. Kokani Muslims speak Kokani, a Marathi dialect, peculiar to the community. They are descendants of Arab traders (Mulla/Faqih) and some Hindu converts. Konkani Muslims are heavily involved in the merchant navy, shipbuilding, and textile industries in India. Most in villages are also into farming and fishing, whereas many work as expatriates in Gulf countries. They trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of India during the medieval era. The diaspora spread out around India and the rest of the world but maintain their strong sense of community and identity. They predominantly belong to the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, unlike North Indian Muslims who generally adhere to the Hanafi school.
Siddis
The Siddi (Urdu: شیدی ; Punjabi: ਸਿਦ੍ਦੀ; Kannada: ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು; Hindi, Marathi, Konkani: सिद्दी or शीदि/ಸಿದ್ಧಿ; Sindhi: شيدي; Gujarati: સીદી), also known as Siddhi, Sheedi, Habshi or Makrani, are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. Members are descended from Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa. Some were merchants, sailors and mercenaries. Others were indentured servants but the vast majority were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by Arab and Portuguese merchants.[1]
Notable people
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian independence activist
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, an Indian independence activist and Hindu nationalist
- Sane Guruji, poet
- B. R. Ambedkar, social reformer who was involved in drafting the Constitution of India
- Ratnakar Matkari, playwright
- Balaji Vishwanath, Peshwa of the erstwhile Peshwa empire
- Shafi Inamdar, actor
- Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer
- Ramakant Achrekar - The "Kingmaker" cricket coach whose wide student list include Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli,
- Sachin Tendulkar - Indian Cricketer and Bharat Ratna,
- Sunil Gavaskar - Indian Cricketer
- P.L.Deshpande - Famous Indian Humorist and Author
- Vinoba Bhave - Activist and Founder of the Bhoodan Movement
References
- ↑ Shah, Anish M.; et al. (15 July 2011). "Indian Siddis: African Descendants with Indian Admixture". American Journal of Human Genetics 89 (1): 154–161. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.05.030. Retrieved 18 December 2012. They quickly organized themselves and gained control of the surrounding territory. The Janjira fort was occupied and held by them for a long time, they are Muslims and are found around Ratnagiri and Raigad.