Goa
Goa is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region. It is geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bordered by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coastline. It is India's smallest state by area and fourth-smallest by population. Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is its largest city by population. The state's official language is Konkani, spoken by the majority of its inhabitants.
The Portuguese, who first voyaged to the subcontinent in the early 16th century as merchants, conquered it shortly thereafter. Goa became an overseas territory of the Portuguese Empire and part of what was then known as Portuguese India, remaining under Portuguese rule for approximately 451 years until its annexation by India in December 1961. The historic city of Margão still reflects the cultural legacy of colonisation.
Goa is one of India’s most developed small states and has the second-highest GDP per capita among all Indian states, more than twice the national average GDP per capita. The Eleventh Finance Commission of India named Goa the best-placed state in terms of infrastructure, while India's National Commission on Population ranked it as having the highest quality of life in the country. It ranks highest among Indian states in the Human Development Index. Goa has a robust tourism sector. It has biodiversity, lying near the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.
Etymology
After the Bahmani-Bijapuri city of Goa was captured by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510, and made the capital of the Estado da Índia, the city gave its name to the contiguous territories.The origin of the city name Goa is unclear. In ancient literature, Goa was known by many names, such as Gomanchala, Gopakapattana, Gopakapattam, Gopakapuri, Govapuri, Govem, and Gomantak. Other historical names for Goa are Sindapur, Sandabur, and Mahassapatam.
History
Prehistory
Rock art engravings found in Goa are one of the earliest known traces of human life in India. Goa, situated within the Shimoga-Goa Greenstone Belt in the Western Ghats, yields evidence for Acheulean occupation. Rock art engravings are present on laterite platforms and granite boulders in Usgalimal, near the west-flowing Kushavati river, and in Kajur. In Kajur, the rock engravings of animals, tectiforms, and other designs in granite have been associated with what is considered to be a megalithic stone circle, with a round granite stone in the centre. Petroglyphs, cones, stone-axe, and choppers dating to 10,000 years ago have been found in various locations in Goa, including Kazur, Mauxim, and the Mandovi-Zuari basin. Recently, these petroglyphs have been included in the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites.Evidence of Paleolithic life is visible at Dabolim, Adkon, Shigao, Fatorpa, Arli, Maulinguinim, Diwar, Sanguem, Pilerne, and Aquem-Margaon. Difficulty in carbon dating the laterite rock compounds poses a problem for determining the exact time period.
Early Goan society underwent radical change when Indo-Aryan and Dravidian migrants amalgamated with the aboriginal locals, forming the base of early Goan culture.
Early history
In the 3rd century BC, Goa was part of the Maurya Empire, ruled by the Buddhist emperor, Ashoka of Magadha. Buddhist monks laid the foundation of Buddhism in Goa. Between the 2nd century BC and the 6th century AD, Goa was ruled by the Bhojas of Goa. The Chutus of Karwar also ruled some parts as feudatories of the Satavahanas of Kolhapur, Western Kshatrapas, the Abhiras of Western Maharashtra, Bhojas of Goa, and the Konkan Mauryas as feudatories of the Kalachuris. The rule later passed to the Chalukyas of Badami, who controlled it between 578 and 753, and later the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed from 753 to 963. From 765 to 1015, the Southern Silharas of Konkan ruled Goa as the feudatories of the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas. Over the next few centuries, Goa was successively ruled by the Kadambas as the feudatories of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. They patronised Jainism in Goa.In 1312, Goa came under the governance of the Delhi Sultanate. The kingdom's grip on the region was weak, and by 1370, it was forced to surrender it to Harihara I of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Vijayanagara monarchs held on to the territory until 1469, when it was appropriated by the Bahmani Sultanate. After that dynasty crumbled, the area fell into the hands of the Sultanate of Bijapur, who established as their auxiliary capital the city known under the Portuguese as Velha Goa.
Portuguese period
In 1510, the Portuguese defeated the ruling Bijapur sultan Yusuf Adil Shah with the help of a local ally, Thimmayya or Timoji, a privateer. They set up a permanent settlement in Velha Goa. This was the beginning of Portuguese colonial rule in Goa that would last for four and a half centuries, until its annexation by India in 1961. The Goa Inquisition, a formal tribunal, was established in 1560, and was finally abolished in 1812. Alongside the Portuguese, the Croatian Republic of Ragusa maintained a small colonial settlement – Sao Braz – in the Goan village of Gandaulim during this time.From the latter decades of the eighteenth century, the territory of Goa was composed of two segments: the central nucleus of the Velhas Conquistas —Bardes, Ilhas de Goa, and Salcette—which territories had been under Portuguese administration since the sixteenth century; and the Novas Conquistas —Bicholim, Canacona, Pernem, Quepem, Sattari, and Sanguem—territories which had been successively added through the eighteenth century.
In 1787, Goa experienced its first revolt from its Catholic elite, with the Pinto Revolt led by a Goan noble family who revolted against the Portuguese due to racial discrimination in administration and clergy. They were betrayed by a member of the revolt. The Portuguese government executed some of the family members, while others, such as Abbe Faria, went on to join the French Revolution. This remains legend in Goa today.
In 1843, the Portuguese moved the capital to the Cidade da Nova Goa, today known as Panaji, from Velha Goa. By the mid-18th century, Portuguese expansions lost other possessions in India until their borders stabilised and formed the Goa, Daman and Diu, which included Silvassa prior to the Annexation, it was known as Estado da Índia in Portuguese.
Some wealthy Goan zamindars such as Baron Dempo and Viscount Deshprabhu were included in the Portuguese nobility, and were among the richest men in Independent India due to the mineral wealth of Goa.
Contemporary period
After India gained independence from British rule in 1947, India requested that Portuguese territories on the Indian subcontinent be ceded to India. Portugal refused to negotiate on the sovereignty of its Indian enclaves. On 19 December 1961, the Indian Army invaded with Operation Vijay resulting in the annexation of Goa, and of Daman and Diu islands into the Indian union. Goa, Daman and Diu, were organised as a single centrally administered union territory of India. On 16 January 1967 a referendum was held in Goa, to decide the future of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. It was the only referendum to have been held in independent India. The referendum offered the people of Goa a choice between continuing as a union territory or merging with the state of Maharashtra and the majority chose the former. On 30 May 1987, the union territory was split, and Goa was made India's twenty-fifth state, with Daman and Diu remaining a union territory.Geography
Goa encompasses an area of. It lies between the latitudes 14°53′54″ N and 15°40′00″ N and longitudes 73°40′33″ E and 74°20′13″ E.Goa is a part of the coastal country known as the Konkan, which is an escarpment rising up to the Western Ghats range of mountains, which separate it from the Deccan Plateau. The highest point is the Sonsogor Peak, with an altitude of. Goa has a coastline of.
Goa's seven major rivers are the Mandovi, Zuari, Terekhol, Chapora, Galgibag, Cumbarjua canal, Talpona, and the Sal. The Zuari and the Mandovi are the most important rivers, interspaced by the Cumbarjua canal, forming a major estuarine complex. These rivers are fed by the Southwest monsoon rain and their basin covers 69% of the state's geographical area. These rivers are some of the busiest in India. Goa has more than 40 estuarine, eight marine, and about 90 riverine islands. The total navigable length of Goa's rivers is. Goa has more than 300 ancient water tanks built during the rule of the Kadamba dynasty and over 100 medicinal springs.
Mormugao Harbour, at the mouth of the Zuari River, is considered one of the best natural harbours in South Asia.
Most of Goa's soil cover is made up of laterites rich in ferric-aluminium oxides and reddish in colour. Further inland and along the riverbanks, the soil is mostly alluvial and loamy. The soil is rich in minerals and humus, thus conducive to agriculture. Some of the oldest rocks in the Indian subcontinent are found in Goa between Molem and Anmod on Goa's border with Karnataka. The rocks are classified as Trondjemeitic Gneiss estimated to be 3,600 million years old, dated by rubidium isotope dating. A specimen of the rock is exhibited at Goa University.