Aghanashini / Agaçaim (pronounced ''Aagshi'') or Agassaim, is a village on the northern banks of the

Zuari River The Zuari River ''Zuvari,'' pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It flo ...

Tiswadi Tiswadi ( pt, Ilhas de Goa, lit=Islands of Goa, or simply ''Ilhas'') is a sub-district in the district of North Goa, situated in the Indian coastal state of Goa. It is the largest and populous island of Goa situated in the basin of the Zua ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, surrounded by

Panjim Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

to the north,

Margão Margao or Madgaon is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on banks of the Sal river and is the administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district and South Goa district. It is Goa's second largest city by population aft ...

to the south,

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

to the west and Ponda to the east, thus making it a main connection between

North Goa North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka t ...

and

South Goa South Goa district is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, while ...

via the

Zuari Bridge The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The br ...

. Agaçaim is famous for its

Goan chouriço Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

History

Agaçaim was a bazaar/mercado/market or mercantile-cum-migrating Christian community on the fringes of the Indian Ocean and is attested by the discovery of stone crosses with Pahlavi (archaic Persian) inscription in several places along the west coast of India. The 2001 discovery of a granite stone cross by Father Cosme Costa, sfx, has been dated to the seventh century with a Pahlavi inscription. Agassaim near Agaçaim has played a significant role in the political scene of Goa, be it the ''Save Goa Campaign'' or the

Konkani language agitation The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests and demonstrations in India, concerning the uncertain future and the Languages with official status in India, official status of the Konkani language. They were held by Goans in the then ...

in 1986. During these events, 7 martyrs died for the

Konkani language Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of ...

References

Cities and towns in North Goa district {{Goa-geo-stub