Daman and Diu


Daman and Diu was a union territory in western India. With an area of, it was the smallest federal division of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two distinct regions—Daman and Diu—that are geographically separated by the Gulf of Khambhat. The state of Gujarat and the Arabian Sea bordered the territory. A Portuguese colony since the 1500s, the territories were annexed by India in 1961. Daman and Diu were administered as part of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu between 1961 and 1987, when 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. It has also been ruled by Kolis.

History

For over 450 years, the coastal enclaves of Daman and Diu on the Arabian Sea coast were part of Portuguese India, along with Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Goa, Daman and Diu were incorporated into the Republic of India on 19 December 1961, by military conquest. Portugal did not recognise the Indian annexation of these territories until the Carnation Revolution of 1974.
The territory of Goa, Daman and Diu was administered as a single union territory until 30 may 1987, when Goa was granted statehood, leaving Daman and Diu as a separate union territory. Each enclave constituted one of the union territory's two districts. Daman and Diu are approximately 650 kilometres away from each other by road.
In December 2019, the Parliament of India passed legislation to merge Daman and Diu with the nearby union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to create a new union territory to be known as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Demographics

;Literacy:
According to the 2011 census, Daman and Diu had a literacy rate of 87.1%, higher than the national average of 74.04%. Male and female literacy rates are 91.5 and 79.5 percent respectively.
;Sex ratio:
According to the 2011 census, the lowest female-to-male ratio in India was recorded in Daman and Diu. The Daman district, with a female-to-male ratio of 0.533, is among the lowest of all the districts.
;Religion:
Hinduism was by far the most common religion in Daman and Diu. Muslims were the second-largest religious group in the territory, followed by Christians.
The Catholic Christians of Daman and Diu are pastorally served by the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, which has its see in Goa, the primatial see of India.
;Languages:
Gujarati was the mother tongue of most of the territory's population, as they belong to the Gujarati-speaking Damaniya sub-caste. Along with Gujarati, Hindi and English are also widely used. Daman and Diu were once part of a combined union territory along with Goa, before Goa became a state in 1987.
The use of Portuguese, which was the territory's official language during the colonial period, is in decline and relegated to home use. It is also used as a liturgical language by the territory's Catholics. Standard Portuguese exists in a post-creole continuum while Daman and Diu Portuguese is spoken by about 10,000–12,000 people in Daman.
The languages taught in schools in Daman and Diu under the three-language formula were:
According to the Constitution of India, the administration of Daman and Diu was carried out by an Administrator, appointed by the President of India as an agent of the President, not a head of state/government or a governor. He was assisted by a number of other officers in carrying out his duty. Currently, this post is held by Praful Khoda Patel.
;Districts:
The union territory of Daman and Diu had two districts: