The Basics
The Territory at a Glance
A Union Territory directly run by the central government, made of three small, separate areas along and off the Gujarat coast. It was formed by merging two earlier territories in 2020.
- Daman Administrative capital (Silvassa is the largest city)
- 26 Jan 2020 The two UTs merged into one — under the Merger of Union Territories Act, 2019
- 603 km² Area (DNH ~491 + Daman ~72 + Diu ~40) — among India's smallest UTs
- 3 districts Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu
- Hindi & Gujarati Main official languages; Marathi, Konkani & a Portuguese echo are also heard
- No assembly A Union Territory run by a centrally appointed Administrator — it has no legislature
- 2 Lok Sabha seats Dadra & Nagar Haveli (ST) and Daman & Diu; under the Bombay High Court
- Three enclaves DNH is inland on the Gujarat–Maharashtra border; Daman is coastal; Diu is an island off Gujarat
- Daman Ganga The main river — it splits Daman into Nani & Moti Daman; the Madhuban dam lies upstream
- Borders Gujarat wraps around all three; Maharashtra touches Nagar Haveli; the Arabian Sea at Daman & Diu
People
Population & Society
Census 2011 predates the 2020 merger, so the figures below come from the two former territories — added together where shown. A wave of migrant factory workers left a striking gender imbalance.
- ~5.87 lakh Population, 2011 — Dadra & Nagar Haveli (3.44 lakh) + Daman & Diu (2.43 lakh), summed
- ~55% Decadal growth, 2001–2011 — among India's fastest, driven by industrial migration
- 618 Sex ratio in former Daman & Diu (2011) — the lowest of any UT, from a male migrant workforce
- 534 vs 1,031 Daman district had among India's lowest sex ratios — yet Diu's was female-majority (1,031)
- ~52% of Dadra & Nagar Haveli are Scheduled Tribes — the Warli, Dhodia & Kokna peoples
- 76–87% Literacy — about 76% in DNH, 87% in Daman & Diu (2011)
- Hindu majority With a small Christian community in Daman & Diu — a Portuguese legacy
- Urban split Daman & Diu are ~75% urban; Dadra & Nagar Haveli is more rural and tribal
Economy
A Small but Busy Industrial Belt
For its size, this is one of India's denser factory belts. Decades of tax incentives drew thousands of industrial units to Silvassa and Daman, beside the Vapi corridor. Official income data, though, is sparse — these territories have not published their own GSDP.
- Industrial hub Thousands of units around Silvassa & Daman — yarn & textiles, plastics, chemicals, engineering & pharma
- Tax magnet Long tax holidays and an excise edge once pulled industry here; GST (2017) largely ended that advantage
- By the Vapi belt Sited on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad industrial corridor, which powered its rapid growth
- Coast & tourism Daman & Diu live on fishing and beach tourism — cheap liquor draws weekenders from dry Gujarat
- A data gap: unlike states, these UTs have not compiled their own GSDP or per-capita income, so hard economic figures are limited. Manufacturing made up the bulk of the former Dadra & Nagar Haveli economy.
- Fishing is a mainstay of the coast — Vanakbara in Diu is a busy fishing harbour; there is no major cargo port.
Administrative
The Three Districts
The territory is made of three non-contiguous districts, scattered along and off the Gujarat coast: Dadra & Nagar Haveli (inland, around Silvassa), Daman (on the coast) and Diu (an island). Select one to highlight it on the map above — note how far apart they lie.
The map and this list share the same data. Clicking a district highlights it on the interactive map in the hero; soon each will open its own page.
What Makes It Unique
Strengths, Industry & Heritage
Two worlds meet here: the Portuguese forts and churches of Daman and Diu, and the tribal forests of Dadra & Nagar Haveli — wrapped around one of India's denser industrial belts.
Industry & coast
- Silvassa & Daman A dense manufacturing belt — yarn, plastics, chemicals & engineering
- Diu fishing Vanakbara is one of the coast's busiest fishing harbours
- Beach getaways Daman & Diu are popular weekend escapes, with cheap liquor a famous draw
Portuguese & tribal heritage
- Diu Fort A Portuguese sea fortress of 1535, with a moat, bastions and an old lighthouse
- Daman's forts Moti Daman Fort (1559) and the smaller St Jerome's (São Jerónimo) Fort
- Baroque churches The Bom Jesus Church in Daman and St Paul's in Diu — Indo-Portuguese baroque
- Warli country Dadra & Nagar Haveli's tribal heart — Warli mural art and the Warli, Dhodia & Kokna peoples
Culture & Traditions
Festivals, Food & Crafts
Culture here runs in two streams — the tribal traditions of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and the Indo-Portuguese life of Daman and Diu.
- Tarpa dance The tribal harvest dance of DNH, danced to the reed tarpa
- Warli painting The white-on-earth tribal mural art of the Warli people
- Feasts & folk dance Portuguese-Catholic feasts and folk dances (Mando, Vira) in Daman & Diu
- Nariyal Purnima The coconut festival that opens the coastal fishing season
- Fusion food A Portuguese–Gujarati blend — coastal seafood alongside Gujarati vegetarian fare
- Many tongues Bhili & Hindi inland; Gujarati, Konkani and a Portuguese echo on the coast
Places to Visit
Beaches, Forts & Getaways
From the island beaches of Diu to the forts of Daman and the lakes of Silvassa, the territory packs a lot into a small space.
- Diu Fort The 1535 Portuguese fortress on the island's edge, sea on three sides
- Nagoa Beach Diu's famous horseshoe bay, fringed with rare hoka palms
- Ghoghla Beach Diu's largest beach — golden sand and water sports
- Diu's churches St Paul's (1610) still holds services; the St Thomas church is now the Diu Museum
- INS Khukri A hilltop memorial to the navy frigate sunk off Diu in the 1971 war
- Moti Daman Daman's great fort (1559), with the Bom Jesus Church inside its walls
- Daman beaches Devka & Jampore, on either side of the Daman Ganga
- Silvassa The Tribal Museum and the Vanganga Lake & Garden
- Dudhni A Madhuban-dam backwater for boating, in the DNH hills
Air, Rail & Road
Getting There & Around
The three parts connect differently. Diu has the territory's only airport; Daman and Silvassa lean on the Vapi railhead on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad line.
- Diu Airport The territory's only commercial airport (AAI) — flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad & Surat
- No airport inland Daman & Silvassa have none; the nearest are Surat and Mumbai
- Vapi railhead The Mumbai–Ahmedabad main line at Vapi (Gujarat) is the gateway for Daman (~12 km) & Silvassa (~18 km)
- Diu's railhead The nearest station is Delwada, near Una in Gujarat
- Road links All three sit just off the NH-48 Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor
- By sea Fishing harbours at Vanakbara & Ghoghla (Diu) and jetties at Daman — coastal, not major ports
Through the Ages
A Short History
Three Portuguese pockets that took very different routes into India — and finally became one territory in 2020.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1535 | The Portuguese build Diu Fort under a treaty with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat |
| 1538 & 1546 | Two sieges of Diu by the Gujarat Sultanate are repelled |
| 1559 | The Portuguese take Daman from the Sultanate of Gujarat |
| 1779–1783 | The Marathas cede Dadra & Nagar Haveli to Portugal (Dadra added 1785) |
| 1947 | India wins independence, but these remain Portuguese enclaves |
| 1954 | Volunteers liberate Dadra & Nagar Haveli, which self-governs as "Free Dadra & Nagar Haveli" |
| 11 Aug 1961 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli joins India as a Union Territory — its administrator briefly signed as its "Prime Minister" |
| 19 Dec 1961 | Operation Vijay ends Portuguese rule in Goa, Daman & Diu |
| 30 May 1987 | When Goa becomes a state, Daman & Diu becomes its own UT |
| 26 Jan 2020 | The two UTs merge into Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |