This document presents a term paper on the West Coast region of Malabar Coast in India. It discusses the geography and coastline of India, focusing on the western coastal plains which run along the Arabian Sea. It describes several regions along the western coast, including the Kutch and Kathiawar region in Gujarat as well as the Kerala plain. The document reviews previous studies on the maritime history and harbors of North Malabar Coast. It concludes that maritime activities in the region were influenced by empires in West Asia, India and China and that different groups, such as Arab and Indian traders, dominated different parts of the trade routes between West Asia and China over time.

1. PRESENTATION OF TERM PAPER
RD_402
Presented To
Dr. Sanjeev Sharma
Course Code – RD_402
Presented From
Asif Iqbal
Student of Jawaharlal Nehru
University
TOPIC –
West Coast Region
Malabar Coast (North & South)

2. INTRODUCTION
 Malabar Coast, name long applied to the southern part of India’s western
seacoast, roughly from the state of Goa southward, which is framed on the
east by the Western Ghats range. The geography of India is like a
honeycomb that hangs in the Indian Ocean- elude, banged by the southwest
and northeast showers, which grease artistic exchanges and cross-
pollination across the ocean. India has been a source of testaments which
have told, and natural coffers that have attracted people from different
regions of Asia, Europe and Africa.

3. INDIAN COASTLINE
 India has a coastline of 7516.6Km [ 6100km of mainland coastline
+ coastline of 1197km Indian Islands] touching 13 states and
Union Territories.
 As such the coast of India does not offer many sites for good
natural harbours.

4. COASTLINES OF EMERGENCE & SUBMERGENCE
 Coastline of emergence is formed either by an unlift of the land or
by the lowering of sea level. Coastline of submergence is an
exact opposite case.
 Bars, spits, lagoons, salt marshes, beaches, sea cliffs and arches
are typical features of emergence.
 The west coast of India, on the other hand, is both emergent and
submergent.
 The Northern portion of the coast is submerged as a result of
faulting and the southern portion, that is the Kerela coast, is an
example of a emergent coast.

5. WESTERN COASTAL PLAINS
Kutch &
Kathiawar
Region
Karnataka
Coastal Plain Kerala Plain Gujarat Plain Konkan Plain

6. KUTCH & KATHIAWAR REGION
 Kutch & Kathiawar, though an extension
of Planinsular plateau, they are still
treated as integral part of the Western
Coastal Plains as they are now levelled
down.
 The Kutch Peninsula was an island
surrounded by seas and lagoons. These
seas and lagoons were later filled by
sediment brought by the Indus River
which used to flow through this area.
Lack of rains recent times has turned it
into arid and semi-arid landscape.

7. KERALA PLAIN
 The Indian coastline which is 7516.6 km long
covers 6100 km of mainland coastline along
with the Andaman, Nicobar and the
Lakshadweep islands. The coastline of India
touches 13 states and Union Territories. The
western coastal plains are along the Arabian
Sea whereas the eastern coastal plains are
located along the Bay of Bengal.

8. RESEARCH REVIEW
 Many studies are available on the maritime history of North Malabar
Coast. History of the harbourage municipalities of Kozhikode and
Pantaleoni Kollam has entered scholarly attention. The medieval
marketable conditioning of this region is bandied by Kawashima,
Chakravarty as part of developments in the Indian Ocean region.
None of the medieval anchorages have been shovelled. A face
check of the anchorages of this region was accepted.

9. CONCLUSION
 Maritime activities are the result of a number of factors, both internal and external. The
emergence of empires in West Asia, India and China boosted the maritime activities in the
Indian Ocean. From the fifteenth century, the long-distance voyage declined and the
different sectors of the trade routes from West Asia to China were navigated in separate
lags and were dominated by different navigators; the route from west Asia to India was
dominated by Arab navigators, while those from India to Malacca were dominated by
Indian navigators and the Chinese navigators dominated the stretch between Malacca and
South China.
 The Jewish traders seem to have been active in the trade activities from about ninth
century in Kerala. From the analysis of evidence, one could see the predominance of Arab
traders from the 13th century in South India. Similar pattern is also seen on the east coast.

10. THANK YOU