and
Sadashivgad fort Karwar township was built by the British in the year 1857 after the
Indian Rebellion. Karwar is popularly known as the "Kashmir of Karnataka". Prior to 1857, Karwar did not exist as a town.
Honnavara was the district headquarters of
Canara district consisting up to
Mangalore to Kodibag Karwar, up till Kali river; and Karwar village (
Kādwād) existed as hamlets like Habbuwada, Kajubag, Kodibag, Kone, Baad, Kathinkon, Sunkeri, Shirwad, and Binaga. After that, the river bank towards the north was under the rule of Sadhashiv Nayak and
Maratha Confederacy. After the
mutiny of 1857, the British made division of Canara District into two parts as
South Canara with headquarters at
Mangalore attached to
Madras Presidency and
North Canara with headquarters at the newly built town Karwar, which was attached to
Bombay Presidency. It was a planned city like Panaji, Mumbai, Dharwad, and Bengaluru. After the rule of the Indian Government from 1947, Karwar is more or less neglected politically and kept without major developments.
Ancient history The region of Karwar was historically part of the ancient city of Govapuri, as documented in the
Sahyadrikhanda of the
Skanda Purana: गोकर्णादुत्तरे भागे सप्तयोजनविस्तृ॥ तत्र गोवापुरी नाम नगरी पापनाशिनी॥ (Translation: "To the north of Gokarna, extending over seven yojanas, lies the city of Govapuri, the destroyer of sins.") This revered reference underscores Karwar's deep historical and mythological ties to the Konkan region, intertwining it with Goa's cultural and spiritual heritage. In later centuries, Portuguese traders knew Karwar as
Cintacora,
Chitrakul,
Chittakula or
Sindpur. In 1510, the Portuguese captured and burnt a fort at Karwar. They called it
Fort Pir,
Forte de Piro or
Pito due to the presence of a Muslim Dargah (tomb of a Sufi saint, Shahkaramuddin). In 1638, the English Trading Courteen Association established a factory at Kadwad village, 6 km east of Karwar and traded with merchants from Arabia and Africa. The common commodities were
muslin,
black pepper,
cardamom, cassier and coarse blue cotton cloth. In 1649, the Courteen Association merged with the British
East India Company, and Karwar became a
company town. The East India Company built fighting ships in the Karwar harbour. For example, the
Britannia (1715) which had 18 guns was built to defend
Bombay from attacks by Maratha
Koli admiral
Kanhoji Angre. Before the Portuguese colonization, the area was part of several Indian kingdoms, including those that encompassed present-day Goa. Karwar shares notable cultural similarities with Goa, particularly in its language and cuisine. In the 1700s, Karwar was a part of the
Maratha Empire. Having marched from Bednore in the south, visiting on his way the sacred temple at Gokarna, Shivaji seized Ankola and the next day came to Karwar (then known as Kadwad). Both the East India Company and Sher Shah, the Sardar of Bijapur, were very much alarmed at this sudden development. They collected a huge amount and offered it to Shivaji, praying that they may be spared. Satisfied at the recognition of his authority, Shivaji crossed the Kali River and conquered Sadashivgad on 21 February 1665. In 1784, at the time of the
Treaty of Mangalore between
Tipu Sultan and the East India Company, After the defeat of the Marathas in the
Third Anglo-Maratha War, Karwar was captured by the British. Kot Siveshvar, another fortress, was built near Karwar (in Siveshvar village) by the Sultan of Bijapur to counterattacks from the north. Karwar is also believed to be the coast where Ottomans arrived at the request of Tipu Sultan as aide in battle against the British empire. The said Ottoman aid could not participate in any battles due to martyrdom of Tipu Sultan but instead set up a stronghold with the locals and later the Portuguese and Marathas to protect the town. At the ruins of Fort Siveshvar are a
Muslim graveyard and a tunnel at the eastern gate. The
Bengali poet and
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town. During this period, major public works carried out included the improvement of roads, the building of a wharf, wharf road and a sea wall at the Karwar port as well as the construction of a multi-floor storage building, staff housing, a post office,
kutcheri (kutcherries or
zamindar's offices) and a Christian burial ground. At the same time, the local Konkani-speaking people had close connections with Mumbai and Goa. Many Marathi middle schools were established in Karwar and
Joida taluks, despite the fact that the local populace mostly were
Konkani native speakers. During
World War II Karwar was an Indian Naval training site.
Post-Independence After India gained independence in 1947, the movement for linguistic states led to the reorganization of states based on language. In 1956, the Mysore State was formed, incorporating various regions, including parts of the Bombay Presidency. Despite Karwar being a Konkani-speaking region, it was included in the newly formed Mysore State as part of this reorganization. Since
Goa was under Portuguese control at the time, forming a Konkani-speaking state was not feasible. The decision to incorporate Karwar into Mysore State was influenced by broader political and administrative considerations aimed at creating a cohesive Kannada-speaking state. Karwar during the 1950–60s played important role in the Konkani language agitation, helping cement Konkani as an independent language during Konkani conferences held in Karwar. The city played an important role in Konkan culture and Konkani culture hosting many Konkani conferences to promote the language. There have been demographic shifts since the state reorganizations act, and Karwar is no longer the stronghold for Konkani culture and has been overtaken by Panaji (or Panjim), Goa (after Goa achieved statehood) and by Mangalore. The city is also neglected by the state government and has been devoid of development in recent years. Spots of attractions are usually underfunded, relatively little money is allowed for development and people have to constantly rely on the neighboring state of Goa to carry out their needs. == Geography ==