Western India

Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, while the Ministry of Culture and some historians also include the state of Rajasthan. The Geological Survey of India includes Maharashtra but excludes Rajasthan whereas Ministry of Minority Affairs includes Karnataka but excludes Rajasthan.

Madhya Pradesh is also often included and Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and southern Punjab are sometimes included. Western India may also refer to the western half of India, i.e. all the states west of Delhi and Chennai, thus also including Punjab, Kerala and surrounding states. The region is highly industrialised, with a large urban population. Roughly, Western India is bounded by the Thar Desert in the north, the Vindhya Range in the east and north and the Arabian Sea in the west. A major portion of Western India shares the Thar Desert with North India and Pakistan and the Deccan Plateau with South and Central India.

In ancient history, Western India was divided into three great states according to Hwen Thsang, namely Sindh (which comprised the whole valley of the Indus from the Punjab to the sea, including the Delta and the island of Kutch), Gurjara (which comprised Western Rajputana and the Indian Desert), and Balabhi (which comprised the peninsula of Gujarat, with a small portion of the adjacent coast). Before the partition of India, the now-Pakistani territories of Sindh and Balochistan were also included in this region. In art history, the term normally covers just Gujarat and Rajasthan, which tend to move together in terms of style. Western India has the second-largest gross domestic product of any region in India.

Parts of Gujarat were the site of the Indus Valley civilisation. Places have been uncovered in Gujarat at Lothal, Surkotada, and around Ghaggar river in Rajasthan. The Western Indian region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta Empire, the Maurya Empire, the Gupta Empire, Rajputs, Satavahanas, Western Satraps, Indo Greeks, Kadambas etc. in the ancients times. During the medieval age, the area was under the rule of the Vaghela dynasty, the Gujarat Sultanate, and the Delhi Sultanate. Thereafter, the area was under Mughal rule. Later, the Maratha Empire, which arose in western Maharashtra, came to dominate a major portion of the Indian sub-continent. However, its defeat by the British in the Anglo-Maratha wars left most of India under colonial rule. The region then experienced great upheavals during the struggle for Indian Independence. Gandhi's Dandi March took place in Gujarat. The region became part of independent India in 1947, and the present state boundaries were drawn based on linguistic considerations in 1956.

The region consists of the predominantly arid to semi-arid region of Saurashtra and Kutch in the North. The region South of that of Cambay and Southern Gujarat makes the northern semi arid region and the southern humid region submerge. The Western Ghats lie along the coast of South Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. The Deccan Plateaus of the Vidarbha, Marathwada in central and eastern Maharashtra define the rest of the region. The vegetation varies from tropical rainforests along the Konkan coast to thorny bushes and shrubs in northern Gujarat. The rivers in this region are the Mahi, Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Zuari, Mandovi, Krishna, Ghaggar, Chambal and many other smaller tributaries of other rivers.

The climate varies between tropical monsoon, tropical savanna, semi arid and desert. The coastal regions experience little seasonal variations although the temperatures range between 20 °C to 38 °C. Mumbai and northern Konkan regions experience cooler winters with minimum temperatures hovering around 12 °C. Interior Maharashtra experiences hot summers with maximum temperatures averaging 40 °C and mild winters with minimum temperatures averaging about 10 °C. Pune, a city in the western region experiences temperatures around 35-40 °C in summers and 7-12 °C on winters. Gujarat also has a warm climate with hot summers and cool winters.

Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani are widely spoken languages in Western India.

The majority follow Hinduism and there are significant minority who follow Islam and smaller number who follow Christianity. There are also a few indigenous Jews called the Bene Israel who speak Marathi. The Parsees who settled in Gujarat made Mumbai and Surat their home. Significant percentages of Jains and Buddhists can be found too. Most Christians live in the state of Goa.