Velim (; formerly known as Velliapura – the official name until 1310 CE) is a large village situated in

Salcete Salcete or Salcette (Konkani: ''Saxtti''/''Xaxtti'') is a subdivision of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal River and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. Historically, ...

, neighbouring

Quepem Quepem (''Kepem'') is a town with a municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The town is the administrative headquarters of the Quepem taluka (sub-district). History The town was established by a Portuguese noble ...

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

, and falls under

South Goa district South Goa district is one of two districts that together constitute the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. It ranks among th ...

, in the coastal state of

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 bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. It has access to 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 ...

via the Sal river that flows through it and shares its borders with neighbouring villages and towns of

Assolna Assolna (''Osollnnem'') is a village in the Salcete Tehsils of India, ''taluka'' of South Goa district, in the state of Goa, India. It is known for restaurants, the small traditional market, and local institutions. The Sal (Goa), Sal river flow ...

, Ambelim, Betul, and

Cuncolim Cuncolim is a town in South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. Geography Cuncolim is located at . It has an average elevation of . History It is a former village, now with a municipal council of its own, in the south Goa sub-district ...

. The village consists of 22

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

which have been organized into 9 wards. As of 2020, the village has a total population of about 8,600 residents residing in 2568 households. It is a part of the

Velim Assembly constituency Velim Assembly constituency is one of the 40 Goa Legislative Assembly constituencies of the state of Goa in southern India. Itlso one of the 20 constituencies falling under South Goa Lok Sabha constituency and includes villages and towns like ...

Etymology

The word "Velim" derives from two words, ''"Vell"'' which translates to "shore" and ''"halli"'' which means "village", put together to form Velim, also known as village with a seashore.

History

Early history

Historian

George M. Moraes George Mark Moraes (11 May 1905 – 16 April 1994), known by his pen name George M. Moraes, was an Indian historian, writer, and professor. He has over 29 historical and research works to his name which were published in 74 publications and 542 ...

wrote about the Velliapura (present-day Velim) family, in his book "''Kadamba Kula, A'' History of Ancient and Mediaeval Karnataka". Jayakesi, the son of Shashtha-Deva, was a very powerful ruler mentioned in a stone inscription of Kadamba King Jayakesi I, dated 1054 CE as ''Panajnakhani'' (present-day

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 ...

), giving him the epithet of ''Padavalendra'' which is

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

for lord of the western ocean. Twelfth century copper carvings reveal that princes and lords from neighbouring kingdoms traveled to ''Chandrapura'' (present-day

Chandor Chandor is a village in Salcete sub-district of South Goa, in the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the southern bank of the Zuari River and western bank of the Kushavati River. History The ancient city of Chandrapura, where Chandor now stands, ...

), to pay homage to Kadamba Jayakesi, who was the sovereign of Konkan. " Velliapura Viragal " at 'Xavierian Research Centre tell that Jayakesi himself was in a battle with his rival to retain this place Velliapura won a decisive victory, which was his southern capital. According to their resource after the 1266/1345, 16 October massacre the surviving Queen, Vinomaih devi, moved away from the furious Mohammedans in Chandrapura, and was taken into hiding in the Velliapura royal compound by the foothills of Velim. The inscription stones in Kannada found at Velim site tell that Suriya-Deva 1345CE slain-ed sovereign of Chandrapura, his Queen Vinomaih-devi died and was cremated in Velliapura by her nephew Jayeshi, son of ShankaraDeva, grandson of Purandara Deva.

Portuguese period

The

Catholic missionary Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

is documented to have made landfall at the Port of

Cabo de Rama Praça do Cabo de Rama, also known as Cabo de Rama Fort, is a medieval hillfort located in Khola village, on the coast of Canacona, Goa in India. History In the 1760s, the Portuguese gained control of Cabo de Rama after the Raja of Soonda su ...

at some point during the 16th century. From this coastal entry point, Xavier is believed to have traveled the approximately distance to the inland village of Velim, likely using pedestrian means of transportation common to the era. During his time in Velim, the historical record indicates that Xavier engaged in efforts to convert local residents to the

Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

. However, the

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

community in Velim was unreceptive to Xavier's evangelical activities and ultimately compelled him to depart the village. As a result of this episode, St. Francis Xavier has since been designated and venerated as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Velim.

Geography

Velim is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Demographics

The village had a population of 5,955 residents of which 2,805 were males and 3,150 are females, making up to 1,536 families as per the 2011 census of India. The population is predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s, with a small number of

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The people of Velim often refer to themselves as ''Vellikar'' or ''Velimcar''.

Village subdivisions/wards

The village wards include, Naik-Caiero, Silvas, Ubdando, Mascarenhas/Goleaband, Cumbeabhat/Paxel, Gorcomorod/Gorka-Moroda, Caroi, Sibrete, Tollecanto,

Baradi Baradi () is a rāga belonging to the tradition of Odissi music. Falling under the ''meḷa'' Barādi, the raga uses ''komala rusabha, komala dhaibata'' and ''tibra madhyama'' swaras and is traditionally associated with the ''karuṇa rasa.'' The ...

/Bapsoro, Muxer, Pocklivoll/Khoroit, Rangalim/Zuem, Carxeta, Cutbona, Zaino/Olli-Zaino/Fondop.

Ward I

Ward I is a well developed

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, containing the village subdivisions, Naik-Caiero, Silvas and Ubdando; it shares its borders with neighbouring subdivisions, Cumbeabhat (part), Mascarenhas/Goleaband and Cumbeabhat/Paxel. It is part of the

and is about away from the

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 ...

city. It has an urban appearance and is home to the Velim village panchayat. Apart from residential areas, it includes a small

housing complex A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throug ...

, general market, stores, and a

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

, on a small scale. The manufacturing and telecommunications hallmark in the ward can also be seen in the steel cupboard fabricating factory and the

BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (commonly known as BSNL) () is an Indian central public sector undertaking, under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, which is part of the Ministry of Communications, Government of India with its he ...

tower that's located at Naik-Caiero. One of the two

catholic churches In the Catholic Church, a parish () is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecc ...

of the village, the

Church is located in the vicinity of the velim ''panchayat''. It is also close to the

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

affiliated high school bearing the same name and caters to students from

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

tenth grade Tenth grade (also 10th Grade or Grade 10) is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 to 16 years of age. Australia In ...

. The interspersed in the architectural framework of this ward are a significant number of

coconut palms The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

Ward II

Ward II is a hilly area, including village subdivisions Mascarenhas/Goleaband, Cumbeabhat (part), Cumbeabhat/Paxel; the ward consists of large

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...

and paddy fields that are interspersed with a number of houses. A consequential proportion of the tribal community of the Velim village are located in this ward.

Cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

, and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

are the prominent large vegetation species to be found here. The appearance of wild seasonal mushrooms is also considerable. Domesticated animals are kept as

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

and also used as

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

. Some of the

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...

that can be found here are ''thigur'', ''chikole'', and ''valaye''. A large variety of wild fauna are found here, including various types of snakes, leopards, rabbits, foxes, and monkeys, as well as birds such as bulbuls, parrots, karate, cuckoos, etc.

Ward III

Ward III has a very noteworthy proportion of the tribal community of the village, which comprises 80% of the total population in the ward. The ward includes hilly areas with forest cover, as well as cultivated agricultural fields that are interspersed with houses. The agricultural fields are used for the cultivation of

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *A nickname or slur for an Irish person Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black ...

and vegetables. A notable number of coconut and banana plants can be spotted, and cashew is the most commonly occurring species within the forest cover. There are two freshwater springs that can be found in this ward. The occurrence of wild mushrooms and a variety of

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

are substantial. The fresh water fish includes ''tigur'' and ''goromb''. Wild fauna like leopards, rabbits, foxes, monkeys; snakes such as cobra, python, rattle snake, russel's viper, and mandulpeshe; and birds like bulbul, parrot, karate, cuckoo, and peafowl are found here. There's also a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

that runs through this ward, which was constructed for the supply of water for irrigation purposes from the

Salaulim Dam The Salaulim Dam is located on the Guleli River, a tributary of the Zuari River in Goa, India. It is an integral component of the Salaulim Irrigation Project which envisages benefits of irrigation and drinking water supply. The dam is a composite ...

Government and politics

Velim is part of

and

South Goa Lok Sabha constituency South Goa Lok Sabha constituency (Mormugao prior to 2008) is one of two Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Goa in western India along with North Goa. Assembly segments Presently, South Goa Lok Sabha constituency comprises 20 Vidhan ...

Sports

The village has a playground located opposite to the St. Francis Xavier Church. It also has a sports complex, constructed by then Velim constituency MLA,

Benjamin Silva Benjamin Silva is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly from Velim in the 2012 Goa Legislative Assembly election The Goa legislative assembly election was held on 3 March 2012, to select the 40 members of the S ...

, situated in Tollecanto, known as the Velim sports complex that shut its construction since 2017. On 26 March 2022, The Director of Sports Authority of Goa, Vandana Rao assured to take appropriate actions on the ambitious project. The initiative was led by the current MLA of Velim constituency,

Cruz Silva Cruz Silva (born 28 December 1969) is an Indian politician and civil engineer who serves as a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly; representing the Velim Assembly constituency since 2022. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Silva ...

who sent letters to the SAG director and other sports officials to direct the examination of the project, further ensuring that the infrastructure is put to use for the benefit of the local youth. He also suggested a possibility of having the sports complex host the FIFA U-17 Girls World cup. The inspection revealed that the infrastructure was ready in all aspects with only the football ground pitches that were left incomplete. The director promised to place the proposal of the sports complex as a venue to host the

2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the multinational–international women's youth football championship, contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, si ...

. Fr. Allan Travasso, the priest in charge of St. Rock Church, Tollecanto, stated that the director was thrilled to notice the sports complex with so many facilities and infrastructure. He also appreciated the work done by Benjamin Silva towards the sports complex and further stated that the complex should also become a

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

Notable people

Antonio Piedade da Cruz Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

(1895–1982), Indian painter and sculptor * Ben Antao, Canadian writer and journalist *

Comedian Selvy Matheus Correia (14 February 1974 – 25 July 2022), known professionally as Comedian Selvy, was an Indian comedian, actor, playwright, singer, director, and producer known for his work in Konkani cinema, Konkani films and ''tiatr'' production ...

(1974–2022), Indian comedian and actor * Dr. Sebastiao Mazarelo, first MLA of

Cuncolim Assembly constituency Cuncolim Assembly constituency is one of the 40 Goa Legislative Assembly constituencies of the state of Goa in southern India. Cuncolim is also one of the 20 constituencies falling under South Goa Lok Sabha constituency. Members of Goa Legisla ...

and medical practitioner * Fr. Nevel Gracias (1964 – 2022), popular

tiatrist ''Tiatr'' (; ) is a type of musical theatre that is popular in the state of Goa on the west coast of India, as well as in Mumbai and among the Goan expatriate communities in the Middle East, United Kingdom, and other cities with a significant pre ...

known for

lenten Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthe ...

tiatrs. * Jose Vaz, former headmaster of St. Xavier's High School * Luis Mendes,

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

and Goan

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Roque Santana Fernandes Roque Santana Joao Fernandes (15 March 1927 – 12 January 2007) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter who was a former member of the Goa, Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1977, representing the Cuncolim Assembly constitue ...

, freedom fighter and former MLA of Cuncolim Assembly constituency *

Jr. Selvy Myron Shawn Correia (born 24 January 2002), known professionally as Comedian Myron or Jr. Selvy, is an Indian comedian, actor, singer, playwright, theatre director, and former amateur footballer known for his work in ''tiatr'' productions. The so ...

, Indian comedian and actor *

Savio Rodrigues Savio Oliver Ignatius Rodrigues (born 31 July 1976) is an Indian journalist and politician based in Velim, Goa. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Goa Chronicle'', a news portal. Rodrigues is also a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, ...

, writer, journalist, environmentalist and politician * Sushila Sawant Mendes, associate history

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at Goa Government College of Arts, Science,

Vece Paes Vece Paes (born 30 April 1945) is an Indian former hockey midfielder, representing the Indian team in the 1972 Munich Olympics, that won the bronze medal. He is the husband of former basketball player Jennifer Paes and father of tennis ...

, retired Indian field hockey player

References

External links

* *
St. Francis Xavier Church, Velim
{{Localities in and around Margao Comunidades of Goa Villages in South Goa district