From Portuguese occupation to Union Territory -- a brief history of Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Both territories were under Portuguese rule for centuries. However, Daman and Diu were liberated in 1961 during Operation Vijay, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli were reclaimed by India in 1954.
Portuguese Fort at Diu (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Key Highlights
- Prior to the Portuguese conquest in the 15th and 16th century, Daman and Diu were under the rule of the Muslim Gujarat and Bhamani sultanate
- In the 13th century, Dadra and Nagar Haveli came under Rajput rule, after the Rajputs ousted the Koli chieftains in the area
- On November 27, the Lok Sabha passed the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill 2019 that seeks the merger of the two Union Territories into one
On November 27, the Lok Sabha passed the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill 2019 that seeks the merger of the two Union Territories into one. The act, which will now require the Bill to pass in the Rajya Sabha before becoming enshrined in law, comes months after Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Home Affairs Minister G Kishen Reddy stated that the decision to merge the two UTs was made in light of the small populations and geographical areas of the regions, and the need to standardise and optimise administrative operations. Both territories will still maintain individual secretariats and budgets.
But how did the two territories come to become Union Territories in the first place? Here, we provide a quick glance into the history of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Daman and Diu
Prior to the Portuguese conquest in the 15th and 16th centuries, Daman and Diu were under the rule of the Muslim Gujarat and Bhamani sultanate. Under the threat of attack from the Mughal emperor Humayun in the 16th century, Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, entered into an alliance with the Portuguese, who were permitted to build a large fortress on the island and maintain a military presence there. However, despite efforts to reclaim the territory, the Shah ultimate ceded the territories over to the Portuguese when he signed the Treaty of Bassein in 1534. The territories remained under Portuguese rule until December 1961, when the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force collaborated in Operation Vijay to liberate the territory.
Shortly after Operation Vijay in 1961, Daman and Diu, along with Goa were consolidated into a single UT. A referendum held in Goa in 1967 showed that the population of Goa were against a proposed merger of the region with the state of Maharashtra, and with Goa achieving statehood in 1987, Daman and Diu became a separate UT.
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Dadra and Nagar Haveli
In the 13th century, Dadra and Nagar Haveli came under Rajput rule after the Rajputs ousted the Koli chieftains in the area. The Rajputs governed over the territories for centuries until they were defeated by the Marathas, under the command of Shivaji. The Rajputs reclaimed the territory in 1690 but after the Treaty of Vasai was signed in 1739, Dadra and Nagar Haveli were once again ceded to the Marathas.
In 1772, Janoji Dhulap, a commander in the Maratha Navy, confiscated Santana, a Portuguese warship before sinking it. This enraged the Portuguese colonialists who demanded compensation for the ship. In 1783, an allegedly improper arrangement was agreed upon whereby all the revenue from Nagar Haveli would be transferred to the Portuguese. Two years later, the revenue from Dadra was also included in the deal. The purpose of the treaty was to repay the Portuguese to the tune of the cost of the ship, and then reclaim the territories. However, according to some accounts, internal squabbles within the Maratha camp led to the agreement being forgotten, with the Maratha empire finally collapsing in 1818. Dadra and Nagar Haveli remained with the Portuguese until 1954.
Unlike in the case of Daman and Diu, the liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was a more low-key affair. In 1954, Francis Mascarenhas and Waman Desai led a small group of freedom fighters to commandeer the Dadra police station which, reportedly, had only three personnel. Shortly after, other villages were reclaimed in a similar fashion, until the UT’s current capital, Silvassa, was finally liberated as well.
From 1954 to 1961, a citizen’s council known as Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli governed over the region. The territory was made into a UT in 1961.
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