Introduction
The origins of the present-day city of Karwar in
Karnataka can be traced to a traditional fishing
village on the Arabian Sea at the mouth of the
River Kali. Rich in natural resources, Karwar
drew its significance from a natural harbour
protected from the sea. Karwar’s physiography
was the triggering point that led to early
settlements. The place became home to several
migrating communities who settled near the
sea, river, or forests, based on their occupation
and cultural practices. Among them were the
seafaring communities (fishermen) such as the
Gambits, Ambigas, Harikanths, Kharvis, the
land and forest communities like the Bhandaris,
Siddis, Hallaki-Vokkals and numerous others.
The use of the harbour resulted in this area
being exposed to international trade. Trade w
ith the Arabian Peninsula, African continent
Southeast Asia and others passed through
this point.
The arrival of Europeans in Karwar marked a
shift from trade for essentials to trade fuelled
by surplus production. Karwar was established
as a military town owing to its unique geographic
advantage. The onslaught of industrialisation
disrupted the domestic self-sufficient cycles
and the communities became consumers. As
the city became congested, a new grid-iron
street pattern with conservancy lanes was
inscribed within the existing fabric. The newareas created at this time came to accommodate
most of the institutional, commercial, posh
residential areas of the city.
The post-independence period saw Karwar as
the district headquarters, since the formation
of the state of Karnataka in 1956. However, the
acceleration of development was driven by
infrastructure such as the bridges to connect
the western coastal highway from south to north
in 1983, the Konkan railway since
1998, a port at INS Kadamba since the
mid-2000s, the Kaiga nuclear power
plant, ABCIL at Binaga, and paper mills
and other industries.
Karwar today is undergoing rapid changes
triggered by urbanisation. While there is a
defined role for Karwar as a city in the context
of state or central plans, the local aspirations
fall through the cracks. The present-day
reality of Karwar is that the native population
is either migrating to other places or that the
occupations that thrived on this geography and
that influenced the production of culture in terms
of language, food, rituals and practises are simply
disappearing. The present-day
masterplan speaks about development,
infrastructure, jobs and prosperity but it isn’t
clear whom this is for. Looking at it from
another perspective, if development isThis spread: Snapshots of
the dwelling and
infrastructural facilities in
Karwar, Karnataka