Daman and Diu

Daman and Diu (/dəˈmɑːn ... ˈdiːuː/; locallyⓘ) 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, Damaon 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.[1]

This article is about the former union territory. For the current union territory of India, see Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Daman and Diu
Union territory
1987–2020
Seal of
Seal

Map of Daman and Diu
CapitalDaman
Area 
• 
112 km2 (43 sq mi)
Population 
• 
242,911
History
Government
Administrator 
• 1987 (first)
Gopal Singh
• 2019 (last)
Praful Khoda Patel
History 
• Established
30 May 1987
• Formation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
26 January 2020
Political subdivisions2 districts
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Goa, Daman and Diu
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

History

For over 450 years, the coastal enclaves of Daman (Portuguese: Damão) 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 has also been ruled by Kolis.[2][3]

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.

On 3 November 2019, Daman Collector Rakesh Minhas issued a Section 144 order banning peaceful assembly of four or more persons, slogan-shouting and the use of loudspeakers across the entire and ordered the conversion of Government High School, Bhimpore and the Government Sarvottam High School, Moti Daman into 'temporary jails'.[4] This was in response to a land ownership dispute between the local indigenous fishing community and the local administration[5] that had confiscated their land and bulldozed their homes. The ensuing 2019 Daman Indigenous Land Clearing Protests resulted with the detention of 70 protesters in the 'temporary jails' and another 8 arrests. Few of the adivasi fisherfolk were rehoused whilst most languished traumatised and homeless on the streets near the rubble of their razed homes.[6]

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.[7][8][9]

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1951 49,000—    
1961 37,000−24.5%
1971 63,000+70.3%
1981 79,000+25.4%
1991 102,000+29.1%
2001 158,000+54.9%
Source: Census of India[10]
Literacy rates in Daman and Diu
Male
 
 91.5%
Female
 
 79.5%
Total
 
 87.1%

According to the 2011 census, Daman and Diu had a literacy rate of 87.1%, higher than the national average of 74.04%.[11] Male and female literacy rates are 91.5 and 79.5 per cent respectively. The lowest female-to-male ratio in India (618 females per thousand males) was recorded in Daman and Diu.[12] The Daman district, with a sex ratio of 533:1000 (F:M), is among the lowest of all the districts.

Religion
Religion in Daman and Diu[13]
Hinduism
 
 90.50%
Islam
 
 7.92%
Christianity
 
 1.16%
Others
 
 0.41%

Hinduism is the most common religion in Daman and Diu. Muslims are also now the second-largest religious group in the territory, followed by the indigenous 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

Languages of Daman and Diu (2011)[14]

  Gujarati (50.83%)
  Hindi (36.31%)
  Marathi (4.53%)
  Bengali (2.15%)
  Odia (1.82%)
  Nepali (0.58%)
  Malayalam (0.51%)
  Assamese (0.49%)
  Others (2.78%)

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 (a Konkani-speaking region) 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:[15]

  • First language: Gujarati
  • Second language: Hindi
  • Third language: English

Administration

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 several other officers in carrying out his duty.

Districts

The union territory of Daman and Diu had two districts:

  • Diu District, an area of 40 km2 (15 sq mi). The main settlement is the town of Diu.
  • Daman District, an area of 72 km2 (28 sq mi). The main settlement is the city of Daman.

See also

References
  1. Staff, The ID (4 December 2019). "Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu UTs merge for 'better admin efficiency, service': MoS Home". Indus Dictum. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. Ward (1998). Gujarat–Daman–Diu: A Travel Guide. Orient Longman Limited. ISBN 9788125013839.
  3. Singh, K. S.; Solanki, B. R.; Sinha, N. K.; Pereira, Jaime F. (1994). Daman and Diu. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 9788171547616.
  4. "Daman: Section 144 Imposed, Two Government Schools Converted Into 'Temporary Jails'". The Wire. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. "Demolition of houses: Section 144 in Daman after residents protest". Indian Express. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  6. Uppal, Jas (6 January 2020). "Daman – Land and Property Owned by the Fishing Communities Confiscated and Homes Demolished". Justice Upheld. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  7. Dutta, Amrita Nayak (10 July 2019). "There will be one UT less as Modi govt plans to merge Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu". The Print. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  8. PTI (22 November 2019). "Govt plans to merge 2 UTs -- Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli | National". Devdiscourse. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  9. "The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019" (PDF). Lok Sabha. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. "Census Population" (PDF). Census of India. Ministry of Finance India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  11. census 2011
  12. "Ranking of States and Union territories by population size : 1991 and 2001" (PDF). Government of India (2001). Census of India. pp. 5–6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  13. "Daman and Diu". Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. "Language – India, States and Union Territories" (PDF). Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General. pp. 13–14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  15. "51st REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES IN INDIA" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. 15 July 2015. p. 125. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
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