The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Western India
India
View Larger MapDescription of institution: Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. 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,[1] while the Ministry of Culture and some historians also include the state of Rajasthan.[2][3] The Geological Survey of India includes Maharashtra but excludes Rajasthan[4] whereas Ministry of Minority Affairs includes Karnataka but excludes Rajasthan.[5]
Madhya Pradesh is also often included[6][7][8] and Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and southern Punjab are sometimes included.[9] 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.[10] The region is highly industrialised, with a large urban population.[11] 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).[12] 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.[13] Western India has the second-largest gross domestic product than any other region in India. URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_India