Linguistic Features of India: Western States

This article is to give you some idea about India's linguistic features. Having covered the Southern and North-Eastern States in my other articles, our journey is cheerfully moving towards the Western part of India. The Western part of India comprises the following States and Union Territories (UTs):

1. Maharashtra (Capital: Mumbai)
2. Gujarat (Capital: Gandhinagar)
3. Goa (Capital: Panaji also known as Panjim) and
4. Dadra & Nagar Haveli (Capital: Silvassa) (U.T.)
5. Daman & Diu (Capital: Daman) (U.T.)

Let's begin with Maharashtra. It's capital city is Mumbai (Bombay) and also known as 'The Gateway of India'. Marathi is the state language. But Hindi also largely used. In fact in Mumbai many languages are spoken as a large chunk of people living here are from different states and living peacefully. Gujarati, Sindhi, English, Urdu, Punjabi, etc., are the other languages widely used. Maharashtra has a good number of neighboring states. They are Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Chhattisgarh.

Gujarati is the language of Gujarat, the land where Mahatma Gandhi was born. People also use Hindi well. The state shares its border with Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Interestingly it has a border with Pakistan too.

In Goa, the main language is Konkani. Here people also speak Marathi, Hindi and English. Because of the large influx of tourists from across the world, English has a prominent place here. Some even speak other European languages thanks to its goodwill as a preferred tourist destination in India. Goa's neighboring states are Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The Union Territory known as Dadra & Nagar Haveli presents a different language story. Here people speak Bhili, Gujarati, Bhilodi, Marathi & Hindi. Gujarat and Maharashtra are its border states.

And in Daman & Diu, the 2nd U.T. in the region, the languages used are Gujarati and Hindi. The territory shares its border with Gujarat.

While geographically examining, Rajasthan can also be added to the Western states' list. But Rajasthan is often considered as a Northern state. Here people use Rajasthani and Hindi languages. There are a few number of other languages too such as Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari, etc. People can also follow English too as it is a major tourist spot in India.

The major language in the western part of India is Hindi. English also is used in places such as Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Panaji, Margao Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, etc. The region has a rich population of well-educated people and they speak fluent English.

When we speak of Europe, we say the West is more vibrant, rich and powerful. The case is same in India too as the western region of India shows a positive picture of growth and development.