Sindhudurg
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Sindhudurg (सिंधुदुर्ग) is a district in the state of Maharashtra in India, which was carved out of the erstwhile Ratnagiri District. The district headquarters are located at Oros.
Location
Sindhudurg is bordered on the north by Ratnagiri District, on the south by the state of Goa, on the west by the Arabian Sea, and to the east across the crest of the Western Ghats or Sahyadris is Kolhapur District. Sindhudurg is part of Konkan (coastal) region, a narrow coastal plain in western Maharashtra which lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
History
The word Konkan is of Indian origin and of considerable antiquity, though the origin of the name has never been sufficiently explained. The seven kingdoms of the Konkan of mythology are mentioned in the History of Kashmir and are said to have included nearly the whole west coast of India. The Pandavas are said to have passed through this region in the 13th year of their exile and had settled in this area for some time. The Raja of this region Veerat Ray had accompanied them in the famous war at Kurukshetra with the Kauravas.
In the second century A.D. the Maurya empire annexed the Konkan coast. In the middle of the sixth century, kings of the Maurya and Nala dynasties appear to have been ruling in the Konkan. The district of Ratnagiri was under the Silahars and the capital of their kingdom was probably Goa and later it may have been transferred to a more central place in the vicinity of Ratnagiri or Kharepatan. Chandrapur was one of the most ancient towns in Konkan, probably founded by Chandraditya, son of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II.
The 16th century saw the advent and rise of Portuguese power on the west coast of India and Sindhudurg was no exception. The sultan lost hold on the district in 1675 with the rise of Shivaji leading finally into the hands of Marathas. Marathas continued to the district till 1817 i.e. when the struggle between the British and the Peshvas came to an end and the whole of Konkan was transferred to the British.
In 1819 South Konkan was formed as separate district with its headquarters first at Bankot and later at Ratnagiri. Three northern subdivisions were transferred to Thane District in 1830 and the district was reduced to a sub-collectorate level under Thane district. In 1832, it was again made a full-fledged district and named as Ratnagiri district. In the year 1945, a new mahal (tahsil) called Kankavli Mahal (tahsil) was formed. The former Indian state of Sawantwadi was merged with the district and the taluka boundaries were reorganized in the year 1949. In the same year the new taluka of the Sawantwadi was created and two new mahals namely Kudal and Lanja were formed. With the reorganization of the states in 1956, the district was included in the Bombay state and since 1960, it forms a part of Maharashtra.
The name of the district has been adopted from the famous sea fort of Sindhudurg. This was built by Shivaji near Malwan and its name literally means ‘Sea Fort’. Its construction started on 25 November 1664 and after 3 years it was completed in such a fashion that it could not be seen easily by enemies coming from the Arabian Sea.
Sindhudurg district is the southern part of the Konkan coast which is historically famous for its long coast line and safe harbors. Sindhudurg district was earlier a part of Ratnagiri district. For administrative convenience and industrial and agricultural development, Ratnagiri district was divided into Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg with effect from 1 May 1981.
Tahsils
Sindhudurg district now comprises the eight tahsils of Sawantwadi, Kudal, Vengurla, Malvan, Devgad, Kankavli, Vaibhavwadi and Dodamarg.
सिंधुदुर्ग ज़िला
सिंधुदुर्ग ज़िला भारत के महाराष्ट्र राज्य का एक ज़िला है। ज़िले का मुख्यालय ओरोस है। यह ज़िला रत्नागिरि जिले से अलग कर के बनाया गया था। सन 2011 के जनसंख्या के आंकड़ों के अनुसार महाराष्ट्र में यह सबसे कम जनसंख्या वाला जिल है। एक अन्य सर्वे के अनुसार यह भारत का सबसे स्वच्छ जिला है।
बानकोट
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[1] ने लेख किया है .....बानकोट (AS, p.621) महाराष्ट्र राज्य में पश्चिमी-समुद्र तट पर बंबई (वर्तमान मुम्बई) के निकट स्थित है। इसी स्थान को अंग्रेज़ ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी ने 'फ़ोर्ट विक्टोरिया' का नाम दिया था, क्योंकि कंपनी ने अपनी व्यापारिक कोठियों की रक्षा के लिए यहाँ इस नाम का क़िला बनवाया था। प्रथम पेशवा बालाजी विश्वनाथ से संधि करने के पश्चात् अंग्रेज़ों को भारत के पश्चिमी तट पर सबसे पहले यही स्थान प्राप्त हुआ था।