Thane - Demographics and Culture

Demographics and Culture

Thane was inhabited with people of the Agri and Koli communities, and their villages still exist today as "Chendani Koliwada", "Kopari Goan", and "Uthalsar". It also includes Majiwade, Balkum, Dhokali, Kolshet, Wadavli, and others. In 1825, when the British explored their newly annexed territories in Bassein, they discovered that Thane was inhabited primarily by Roman Catholics, who are both native and Portuguese, and that the latter was virtually indistinguishable from the former in skin color and custom. The local villagers, like Kolis (fishermen), are converted into indigenous Catholics mostly from villages of Chendani, Koliwada, and Majiwada. The Agri and Koli community people had their own culture. Some of the upper class East Indian families in the Khatri ward of Thane still speak Portuguese.

Thane has a predominantly Maharashtrian culture, although, like its neighbouring city Mumbai, it has a cosmopolitan culture as well. Because of the huge residential boom, the city has witnessed a large number of immigrants from the nearby city of Mumbai as well as from other pockets of state and country. The face of the city is nowadays becoming increasingly cosmopolitan. Beside Marathi, sizable populations of North Indians, South Indians, Sindhis, Gujaratis and Marwari and other people from different regions live in Thane, mainly because of its proximity to Mumbai. Thane is bordered by the Yeoor Hills on one side and is dotted with numerous beautiful lakes, which are a cause of cooler weather than that of Mumbai.

Festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Gudhi Padwa, Durga Puja, Mahashivratri and Shivaji Jayanti are celebrated with great zest in the city. Thane offers high rewards amounting to 1 million rupees (US$ 25,000) for winners of Dahi Handi sport during the Gokulashtami festival.

Schools in Thane include the Vidya Prasarak Mandal's Polytechnic, founded in 1983.