Daman (;

Indo-Portuguese Indo-Portuguese creoles are the several Portuguese creoles spoken in the erstwhile Portuguese Indian settlements, Cochin Portuguese Creole, Fort Bassein, Goa and Damaon, Portuguese Ceylon etc, in present-day India and Sri Lanka. These creoles a ...

; ''Damao'') is the capital city of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n union territory of

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 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 ...

. It is a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

situated in the Daman district of the union territory.

Daman Ganga River The Daman Ganga also called Dawan River is a river in western India. The river's headwaters are on the western slope of the Western Ghats range, and it flows west into the Arabian Sea. The river flows through Maharashtra and Gujarat states, as w ...

divides Daman into two parts — Nani-Daman (Nani meaning "small") and Moti-Daman (Moti meaning "big"). Despite its name, Nani-Daman is the larger of the two parts, while the old city is mainly in Moti-Daman. This holds most of the important entities like the major hospitals, supermarkets, and major residential areas. Vapi, Gujarat is the nearest city to Daman.

History

The Portuguese Captain-Major

Diogo de Melo Diogo de Melo was the 9th Captain-major of Portuguese Ceylon. Melo was appointed in 1565 under Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 a ...

arrived at the Daman shore by chance in 1523 while sailing towards

Ormuz The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a depe ...

. He was caught in a violent storm and had his boat blown towards the coast of Daman. Shortly after, it was acquired as a

Portuguese colony The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

for over 400 years. A larger fort was built in Moti Daman in the 16th century to guard against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, who ruled the area until the Portuguese arrived. It stands today, most of it preserved in its original form. Today the majority of the municipal government offices are inside the fort. Daman was incorporated into the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

December 1961 The following events occurred in December 1961: December 1, 1961 (Friday) *The Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea raised the new Morning Star flag next to the Dutch tri-color, and was made the autonomous territory of West Papua, with ...

after an attack and invasion by the Indian Army. A battle ensued with the hopelessly outnumbered (10:1) Portuguese garrison, who were forced to surrender. The battle left four Indians dead and 14 wounded; Portuguese casualties were 10 dead and two wounded.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Daman District, India has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 191,173. This gives it a ranking of 592nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 69.256%. Daman has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 533

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

for every 1,000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 88.06%.

Climate

Daman has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Aw'') with two distinct seasons: a long, sunny dry season from October to May and a hot, very humid, and extremely wet monsoon season from June to September. Almost no rain falls during the dry season. With milder mornings and lower humidity especially up to the middle of March, this is by far the most comfortable time of the year. The monsoon season, though relatively short, is extremely wet. Along with the very high humidity and heavy rain every afternoon, travel is difficult and uncomfortable.

Places of interest

*Nani Daman Fort (Jeronimo fort) *Jain Temple: This 18th-century Jain temple is in the northern region of Nina Damon Fort and is dedicated to Mahavira Swami. It is built with white marble. The walls have glass covers with 18th-century murals that represent the life of Mahavira Swami. *Fort of Moti Daman *Jampore Beach *Devka Beach *Church of Bom Jesus *Daman Freedom Memorial *Moti Daman Fort Daman NaniDaman Fort Entrance.JPG, Nani Daman Fort Entrance Jain Temple, Daman (2012).jpg, Jain Temple, Daman Harbour View from Moti Daman Fort.jpg, Harbour View from Moti Daman Fort Jampore Beach Daman India 2.jpg, Jampore Beach in Daman Daman 01012012 217.JPG, Jampore Beach in Daman Sunset at Devka beach, daman.jpg, Sunset at Devka beach, Damao Church in Nani Daman Fort.jpg, Church in Nani Daman Fort Church of Bom Jesus in Daman.jpg, Church of Bom Jesus, Daman Daman Freedom Memorial.JPG, Daman Freedom Memorial Daman2.jpg, alt=Moti Daman Fort, The Fort of Moti Daman

Indian Coast Guard

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...

Air Station, Daman is the premier air station of the Coast Guard with all the airfield facilities, air traffic control and other allied air traffic services. It is equipped with state-of-the-art airport surveillance radar (ASR), precision approach path indicator (PAPI), Doppler very high frequency omnidirectional radio range (DVOR) – distance measuring equipment (DME) and nondirectional beacon (NDB), as navigational aids. This air station provides ATC and parking facilities to defence as well as civil aircraft.

Schools and colleges

*Coast Guard Public School, Nani Daman *Swami vivekanad English & Hindi medium school, dalwada, daman *Institute of our lady of Fatima, Convent, Moti Daman * Podar Jumbo Kids, Daman (preschool) *Sunrise Champs school, Mashal Chowk, Nani Daman *Vaidik Dental college campus, Salwaar, Nani Daman *Shrinathji School, Varkund, Nani Daman *Divya Jyoti English High & Higher Secondary School, Dabhel, Daman *Divya Jyoti Hindi Medium School, Dabhel, Daman *MGM High School, Nani-Daman (Sarvajanik High School) *Government Higher Secondary School, Nani Daman *Government Higher Secondary School, Moti Daman *Government Polytechnic Daman *Shree Machchi Mahajan English Medium School, Nani Daman *Stella Maris English Medium High School, Daman *AIM English School, Moti Daman *Government College, Nani Daman *Government Primary School, Devka Mangelwad, Nani Daman *Holy Trinity English medium high school, Dunetha, Daman * Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Daman

References

External links

Official WebsiteDaman Tourism Website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Daman district, India Indian union territory capitals