Diu (), also known as Diu Town, is a medieval fortified town in Diu district in the 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 th ...

, India. Diu district is the tenth least populated district of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The town of Diu lies at the eastern end of Diu Island and is known for its

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

and old Portuguese

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. It is a fishing town. The city is one of the hundred Indian cities competing in a national-level competition to get funds under

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

's flagship

Smart Cities Mission Smart Cities Mission was an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development ...

. Diu will be competing for one of the last 10 spots against 20 cities from across India. In April 2018, it was reported that the Diu Smart City has already become India's first city to run on 100 percent renewable energy during the daytime.

History

The town and district were historically part of the Saurashtra region of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

state and an important port on trade routes of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

of the Indian Ocean. Due to its strategic importance, there was a Battle of Diu in 1509 between

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and a combined force of Mamluks, Venetians, the Ragusians, the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

, and the Sultan of Gujarat, Mahmud Begada. In 1513, the Portuguese tried to establish an outpost, but negotiations were unsuccessful. There were failed attempts by Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in 1521 and Nuno da Cunha in 1523. In 1531 the conquest attempted by Nuno da Cunha was unsuccessful. In 1535 Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, concluded a defensive alliance with the Portuguese against the Mughal emperor

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

and allowed the Portuguese to construct the Diu Fort and maintain a garrison on the island. The alliance quickly unravelled and attempts by the Sultans to oust the Portuguese from Diu between 1537 and 1546 failed. Bahadur Shah sought to recover Diu but was defeated and killed by the Portuguese, followed by a period of war between them and the people of Gujarat. In 1538, Coja Sofar, Lord of

Cambay Khambhat state or Cambay state was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The city of Khambhat in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district (Kheda district, Kheda) and in the sout ...

, together with the Ottoman Suleiman Pasha, came to lay siege to Diu and were defeated by Portuguese resistance led by Anthony Silveira. A second siege was imposed by the same Coja Sofar in 1546. It was repelled by the Portuguese conquerors, led on land by João Mascarenhas and at sea by João de Castro. Coja Sofar and Fernando de Castro, son of the Portuguese viceroy, perished in the struggle. The fortress, completed by Dom João de Castro after the siege of 1545, still stands. After this second siege, Diu was so fortified that it could withstand later attacks of the Arabs of Muscat and the Dutch in the late 17th century. From the 18th century, Diu declined in strategic importance (due to the development of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

) and was reduced to a museum or historical landmark as a commercial and strategic bulwark in the struggle between the forces of the Islamic East and Christian West. Diu remained a possession of the Portuguese from 1535 until 1961, when it fell to troops of the Indian Union, who conquered all of former Portuguese India under Operation Vijay. The island was occupied by the Indian military on 19 December 1961. The Battle of Diu involved overwhelming land, sea and air strikes on the enclave for 48 hours until the Portuguese garrison there surrendered. It was declared a

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

of India, Goa, Daman, and Diu. Goa separated as a state in 1987; the remainder became union territory of

Daman and Diu Daman and Diu (; ) was a union territory in northwestern India. With an area of , it was the smallest administrative subdivision of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two districts, Daman and Diu Island, geographically separated ...

. On 26 January 2020, the union territory of Daman and Diu was merged with Dadra and Nagar Haveli to form the union territory of

Population

Languages

The languages spoken in Diu include Gujarati, English,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and Diu Indo-Portuguese Creole.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Census of India, Diu had a population of spread over households. Males constituted 48.4% of the population and females 51.6%. Diu had an average literacy rate of 92%, In Diu, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Geography and climate

Diu is at . The island is at sea level and covers an area of . Diu has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSh''), with an average annual rainfall of , of which all but falls between June and September.

Education

* Diu College

Landmarks

With no tall buildings except the fort, the town of Diu has a characteristically low skyline and is known for its Portuguese architecture. Diu has a white sand beach to the north.

Forts

Diu Fort was built in 1535 and maintained an active garrison until 1960. The Diu fort is the most visited landmark in the district. The fort and the

Basilica of Bom Jesus The Basilica of Bom Jesus (; Konkani language, Konkani: ''Borea Jezuchi Bajilika'') is a Catholic Church, Catholic basilica located in Goa, in the Konkan region of India. The iconic church is a pilgrimage centre and recognised by UNESCO as ...

in Old Goa were chosen as the two wonders from India, among the seven from across the world, out of a list of 27 monuments built in 16 countries during the Portuguese rule. The fort is built on a hillock next to the sea. Fortim do Mar is a sea fort in the Diu channel between the island of Diu and the Gogolá peninsula. It has an iconic ship-shaped structure.

Churches

There are three surviving Portuguese Baroque church buildings, with St. Paul’s Church, completed in 1610, being the only one still in use for its intended purpose. The Church of St. Francis of Assisi (the first church built in Diu, in 1593) is now used as a hospital. St. Thomas' Church is used as a museum.

Chapels

There are several Chapels scattered in various parts of the town. Some of the prominent ones are: Mother of God Chapel, Our Lady of Rosary Chapel and the Bastion Chapels of the city wall and fort.

Transport

Diu is linked to the mainland by a bridge. Local transport is available by road from Una, Gujarat and Rajula and Mahuva. Alliance Air, an Air India subsidiary, flies from Mumbai, landing at Diu Airport. Jet Airways, also used to have services here until it was bankrupted in 2019.

References

External links

WorldStatesmen, including list of Portuguese governors
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Diu Win
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