Daman and Diu was a union territory in northwestern India. With an area of 112 km2 (43 sq mi), it was the smallest administrative subdivision of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two districts, Daman and Diu island, geographically separated by the Gulf of Khambat. The state of Gujarat and the Arabian Sea bordered the territory. A Portuguese colony since the 1500s, the territories were taken by India with the Annexation of Goa in 1961. Daman and Diu were administered as part of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu between 1961 and 1987. After the Goa Opinion Poll, they became a separate union territory. In 2019, legislation was passed to merge the union territory of Daman and Diu with its neighbouring union territory, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, to form the new union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu with effect from 26 January 2020.
The State of India, also referred as the Portuguese State of India or simply Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the Kingdom of Portugal. The capital of Portuguese India served as the governing centre of a string of military forts and trading posts scattered all over the Indian Ocean.
Goa, Daman and Diu was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the annexation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first Military Governor. The Goa portion of the territory was granted full statehood within the Indian union on 30 May 1987, Daman and Diu remained a separate territory until December 2019, when it was merged with Dadra and Nagar Haveli and is today the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Diu, also known as Diu Town, is a medieval fortified town in Diu district in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. Diu district is the tenth least populated district of India. The town of Diu lies at the eastern end of Diu Island and is known for its fortress and old Portuguese cathedral. It is a fishing town.
Diu district is one of the three districts of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu of India. The district is made up of Diu Island and two small enclaves in the State of Gujarat. The district headquarters are at Diu Town. It is the ninth least populous district in the country.
Lieutenant General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth, PVSM was a senior officer in the Indian Army who played a commanding role in the Liberation of Goa from Portuguese control in 1961, and briefly served as the Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu.
Diu Airport is a domestic airport serving Diu in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. Besides Diu, it also serves the neighbouring areas of Gujarat, including Veraval and Jafrabad. It is the only airport in the union territory with commercial operations.
The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed the Portuguese State of India, the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In India, this action is referred to as the "Liberation of Goa". In Portugal, it is referred to as the "Invasion of Goa". Jawaharlal Nehru had hoped that the popular movement in Goa and the pressure of world public opinion would force the Portuguese Goan authorities to grant it independence, but without success; consequently, Krishna Menon suggested taking Goa by force.
The Goa liberation movement was a movement which fought to end Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, Portuguese India. The movement built on the small scale revolts and uprisings of the 19th century, and grew powerful during the period 1940–1961. The movement was conducted both inside and outside Goa, and was characterised by a range of tactics including nonviolent demonstrations, revolutionary methods and diplomatic efforts. However, Portuguese control of its Indian colonies ended only when India invaded and annexed Goa in 1961, causing a mixture of worldwide acclaim and condemnation, and incorporated the territories into India.
The Annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was the conflict in which the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli passed from Portuguese rule to independent rule, with Indian allegiance, in 1954.
The Diu Fortress is a Portuguese-built fortification located on the west coast of India in Diu. The fortress was built as part of Portuguese India's defensive fortifications at the eastern tip of the island of Diu during the 16th century. The fortress, which borders on the town of Diu, was built in 1535 subsequent to a defense alliance forged by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese when Humayun, the Mughal Emperor attempted to annex this territory. It was strengthened over the years, till 1546. The Portuguese ruled over this territory from 1537 until the Indian invasion of December 1961. Today it is a landmark of Diu and one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.
Relations between India and Portugal began amicably in 1947 when the former achieved independence. Relations went into decline after 1950 over Portugal's refusal to surrender its exclaves of Goa, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli on India's west coast. By 1955, the two nations had cut off diplomatic relations, triggering a crisis that led to a war between two countries which resulted in the Indian Annexation of Goa in 1961. Portugal refused to recognise Indian sovereignty over the annexed territories until 1974 when, following the Carnation Revolution, the new government in Lisbon recognised Indian sovereignty and restored diplomatic relations.
Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa or TAIP was an airline which operated from Portuguese India from 1955 to 1961. During this period, it functioned as the state airline of Portuguese India, which comprised Goa, Daman and Diu.
The Portuguese ruled territories of Goa, Daman and Diu were invaded and successfully annexed through Operation Vijay into the Republic of India on 19 December 1961. Since then, elections in the state are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India to elect representatives of various bodies on national, state and district levels.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by the Government of India in July 2019; the necessary legislation was passed in the Parliament of India in December 2019 and came into effect on 26 January 2020. The territory is made up of four separate geographical entities: Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and the island of Diu. All four areas were formerly part of Portuguese India, with a joint capital at Panjim, Goa. They came under Indian rule in the mid-20th century after the Annexation of Goa and of the Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Goa, Daman and Diu were jointly administered until 1987, when Goa was granted statehood after the Konkani language agitation. The current capital is Daman and Silvassa is the largest city.
The first elections to the Goa, Daman & Diu Legislative Assembly were held in December 1963, to elect members of the 30 constituencies, in the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, India.
The Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is the governing body of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The administration is led by an administrator appointed by the President of India. The union territory doesn't have an elected legislative assembly. It governs three districts.
Libia "Libby" Lobo Sardesai is an Indian freedom fighter from Goa. Along with Vaman Sardesai, whom she later married, she ran an underground radio station, Voice of Freedom, that transmitted across Portuguese Goa from 1955 to 1961, advocating the cause of the Goan independence movement. Following the Liberation of Goa, she was the first Director of Tourism of Goa, Daman and Diu.
