Vasco da Gama (), often shortened to Vasco, is a city in the state of
Goa on the west coast of India. It is named after the
Portuguese explorer
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
. It is sometimes also referred to as Sambhaji Nagar after
Sambhaji. It is the headquarters of the
Mormugão taluka (subdistrict). The city lies on the western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, at the mouth of the
Zuari River, about from
Panaji
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 est ...
, Goa's capital, from
Margao
Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...
, the district headquarters and about from
Dabolim Airport.
The city was developed along with the nearby
Mormugao Port in 1886 and remained with the
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
until the
1961 Indian military operation that annexed Goa. The 1888-constructed Mormugao Port remains a busy shipping route in Asia. This port is built by the Portuguese king in alliance with Gali Sidhayya who is the then zamindar of the Goa region. It is one of the major ports of
independent India. The shipbuilding area of
Goa Shipyard Limited that builds
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
and
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
vessels was also built there in 1957 (during the Portuguese era). Initially built around the city's harbour as the 'Estaleiros Navais de Goa', the area has, since the end of
Portuguese presence, expanded into construction for several other branches of maritime patrol and security. The Indian Navy has an obvious presence here, with its vast campuses and ports, which include the naval base
INS Hansa.
History

Toponomy
The city, in the former
Portuguese territory of Goa, is named after the famous
Portuguese explorer and navigator
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
, who held the title of
Governor of Portuguese India. The city was named so by then Governor Ferreira de Amaral in 1886 when the
Mormugao Port was being developed.
Vasco da Gama, 1st
Count of Vidigueira
Count of Vidigueira (in Portuguese ''Conde da Vidigueira'') was a Portuguese comital title of nobility awarded by King Manuel I of Portugal to Don (honorific), Dom Vasco da Gama, who discovered the maritime route from Europe to India. The title wa ...
was the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
and the
Indian oceans and, in this way, the
West
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
and the
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
. He reached Goa on 11 September 1524 but died at
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
three months later. His remains were eventually returned to Portugal and interred at
St Jeronimos monastery.
Alternate name: Sambhaji Nagar
Various sources after the
Liberation of Goa in 1961 cite that the city has been renamed to Sambhaji Nagar, after
Sambhaji, and this is reflected in a few government records. This has long been cited as a political move by right-wing parties such as the
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party in the 1960s and the other members of the
Sangh Parivar, in 1997 and the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
in 2015. Some sources also claim Sambhaji as the original name of the city, before the Portuguese.
Renovation of Clock Tower

In 2015, after a campaign by the Goa Heritage Action Group and the History Lovers Group, the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) decided to renovate the clock tower of the municipal market in the heart of the city. Built in 1921, the complex is an example of
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style of architecture. The renovation work was completed in 2017 with funding provided by the Rajaram and Tarabai Bandekar Charitable Trust, and the clock was brought in from
Nashik.
Climate
The city has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
(Koppen: Am)
Transport
Vasco is connected by road by the
National Highway 17A and
National Highway 17B, by rail by the
Vasco da Gama railway station, by the sea through the
Mormugao Port and by air through
Dabolim Airport, thus serving as the main hub for most tourists visiting the state of Goa.
Sports
As in the rest of Goa,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
is the most popular sport in Vasco. Two teams from the town have participated in the
I-League
The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...
–
Vasco Sports Club
Clube de Desportos Vasco da Gama (simply known as both Vasco Sports Club, and Vasco SC) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Vasco da Gama, Goa, Vasco da Gama, Goa, part of the same named multi-sports club. In ...
and
Salgaocar Sports Club. Salgaocar SC were Champions of the 1998–99 season of the erstwhile
NFL.
Tilak Maidan is a 6,000-seater football ground located in the city, hosts
Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...
matches. The stadium sporting a magnificent turf hosted I-league matches during April 2013, as the home ground for the four teams from Goa in the league, when Fatorda Stadium was closed down for renovation.
Although cricket is not as popular as football, a Vasco resident
Shadab Jakati plays for
Goa in the
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
first-class competition and has also been selected to play for the
Chennai Super Kings
The Chennai Super Kings, also known as CSK, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of the eight debut franchises when the league was establ ...
IPL franchise.
Railway Stadium is a
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
ground in Vasco da Gama. The only recorded match held on the ground was a
first-class match between
Goa and
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
in the 1986/87
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
, which Kerala won by 6 wickets.
Politics
The city of Vasco falls under the boundaries of the
South Goa (Lok Sabha constituency) previously Mormugao Lok Sabha constituency in the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
. The current Member of Parliament is
Viriato Fernandes of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
.
The extended city of Vasco / Mormugao elects three representatives to the
Goa Legislative Assembly:
*
Mormugao: The current MLA is
Sankalp Amonkar of the BJP.
*
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
: The current MLA is
Krishna Salkar of the BJP.
*
Dabolim: The current MLA is
Mauvin Godinho of the BJP.
Research
The
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) located at Headland Sada is a research and development institution administered by the
Ministry of Earth Sciences
The Ministry of Earth Sciences is an executive ministry of the Government of India, established on 29 January, 2006. It was formed through the reorganisation of the Department of Ocean Development and the assumption of administrative control ov ...
. It is responsible for administering the Indian Antarctic Program and maintains the Indian government's Antarctic research station,
Maitri. In addition to laboratories for marine sample processing/analyses, it hosts a special low-temperature ice core sample storage facility. It is also the nodal agency for Indian scientific participation in the deep sea drilling research under the aegis of International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).
Education
* The Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani started its second campus
BITS Pilani Goa Campus at Zuarinagar in Vasco da Gama. The campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in engineering and science.
* The
Navy Children School, established in 1987 under the aegis of Naval Education Society, is located in Vasco-da-Gama. It is one of eight similar institutions in India.
* The city has two
Kendriya Vidyalaya
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of Government of India, central government schools in India. Governed by the Ministry of Education (India), Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,257 schools in India, ...
s, established under the aegis of the Indian Navy. Both are located at Mangor Hill in the Varunapuri compound.
* Mormugao Educational Society's College of Arts and Commerce, locally known as
MES College, is an institution in Zuarinagar, Vasco-da-Gama which provides training in commerce and the arts.
* Mormugao Port Trust also runs three schools at the Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels named Deepvihar.
* New Dawn Ashadeep School is a special school for the physically disabled.
Gallery
File:Vasco 1.jpg, Old Bus station
File:Vasco Motorcycle Taxi Stand and Municipal School.jpg, Motorcycle Taxi Stand and Municipal School
File:Vasco Martyrs Memorial.jpg, Martyrs Memorial (''Hutatma Chowk'')
File:Vasco Old Municipal Market.jpg, Old Municipal Market
File:Vasco Post Office.jpg, Post Office
File:St. Andrew's Church, Vasco.jpg, St. Andrew's Church
File:Vasco's Fish and Produce Market 2.jpg, Main fish and produce market
File:Goa-Vasco 03-2016 01 railway station.jpg, Vasco da Gama Railway Station
File:Bat's Island seen from Biana Beach2.jpg, Bat's Island (Pequeno) seen from Baina Beach
File:INS Viraat Replica.jpg, Replica of the INS Viraat at the Naval Aviation Museum
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasco da Gama, Goa
Cities and towns in South Goa district
Populated places established in 1543
1543 establishments in the Portuguese Empire
Mormugao