world.wikisort.org - India

Furus is a village in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra state in Western India. The 2011 Census of India recorded a total of 1,129 residents in the village.[1] Furus's geographical area is approximately 905 hectares (2,240 acres).[1] It is predominantly populated by Konkani Muslims along with Hindu and Buddhist. Furus is believed to be named by Persians who came here to trade in horses (horse: فارسی Persian). The main language spoken in Furus is Kokni (not to be confused with Goan Konkani), a blend of Bankoti, Sangameshwari and Marathi infused with words of Arabic, Urdu and Persian origin.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2013)

Furus फुरुस
Hamlet, Village
S.I. High School & Junior College, Furus
Furus Location in Maharashtra, India Show map of Maharashtra Furus Furus (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 17.70°N 73.35°E / 17.70; 73.35
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Ratnagiri
Government
• Body	Gram Panchayat
• Sarpanch	Mrs Rukhiya Liyakat Sunge
Population  (2010)
• Total	5,600
Languages
• Official	Konkani, Marathi, Urdu, Hindi, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	415710
Telephone code	02356
Literacy	85%
Climate	humid (Köppen)

History

Kokni Muslims trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of India during the medieval era and Persians. Muslims first arrived in Konkan in 699, according to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, less than 70 years after the death of Muhammad in 632.[2] Furus is believed to be visited by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on 17 May 1937 on the way to Dapoli and spent a night at Buddhawadi, Furus [3]

Location

Furus is on State Highway SH104 between Khed and Dapoli.[4] The nearest Railway Station is Khed which is 12 km away. 14 km. from Dapoli. Furus is situated beside the banks of a seasonal stream called locally as Patoli and is surrounded on all sides by low hills. It rains in plenty during Monsoon season. The temperature in Furus varies between 20 and 35 degrees. Ratnagiri District can be physically divided into 3 zones viz. Coastal, Middle and Hilly. Furus falls under Middle Zone. Middle zone is characterized by a medium altitude. It is more accessible due to the Bombay–Goa Highway as well as the Konkan railway.

Transportation

Furus is well-connected by road to nearby big towns. State Highway 104, Khed to Dapoli passes from Furus. Besides buses are also available as per their timings auto-rickshaw are available round-the clock.

Educational facilities

Furus was one of the first townships in the area to have a high school. S.I. High School & Junior College of Science, Furus was founded by "Adv. & ex MLA W. A. Parkar" under a government initiative in 1938 (pre-independence time). The School was in English Medium named Anglo Vernacular High School and is still functional. Furus has following school

• Siraj-ul-Islam High School and Junior College
• CWS - Ideal English School

Economy

Furus economy was hugely dependent on agricultural product till early 1980. Post 1980 most of the young earners head towards metro cities and hence agricultural production gets big hit in coming years. During the same period most of the people started to migrate to Gulf countries for the jobs. Presently 95% of Furus economy depend on remittance from Gulf countries.

Healthcare Facilities

Furus has government run Primary Health Center situated at Dayal Road. Apart from this Furus has one equipped private nursing home run by resident Dr. Antule and a small clinic run by visiting Dr. Chikhale.

Demographics

Furus consists of 7 sub-villages and over 1200 homes with a population of nearly 5600. The main religions here are Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The Muslim community consists of 7 Sub Jamaats also called as Mohallas. They are

• Navanagar (नवानगर) mohalla
• Choughan (चौगन) mohalla
• Fanaswad (फणसवाड)
• Tahtani (तहतानी) mohalla
• Tekdi (टेकडी) mohalla and
• Aathvi (आठवी) mohalla
• Falsonda (फल्सोंडा)

Buddhist reside at Buddhawadi whereas people following Hinduism mostly reside at Nhavwadi, Chougulewadi, Gujarwadi, Bhuleshwarwadi, Kanganewadi and Rewalewadi.

See also

• Ratnagiri
• Konkani Muslim

References

General

• http://wikimapia.org/1144914/Furus
• https://books.google.com/books?id=fOQkpcVcd9AC&pg=PT195&dq=konkani+muslim+arab&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BsldVOe5HNPGuATypoGIAw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=konkani%20muslim%20arab&f=false
• http://www.mahapwd.com/gismaps/ratnagiri/default.htm

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132220/http://furus.in/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100823133058/http://www.fwskuwait.com/

---