Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Dadra & Nagar Haveli endowed with nature's munificence, it's a land of spell-binding beauty... green forests, winding rivers, unimaginable waterfronts, gentle gurgle of streams, distant dotting mountain ranges, a gorgeous kaleidoscope of flora and fauna... Owing to its serenity and quaint sylvan surroundings, this territory is a heaven for those who hunt around for a tranquil holiday.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Portuguese: (Dadrá e Nagar Aveli) is a Union Territory in western India. Nagar Haveli is wedged between Maharashtra and Gujarat, whereas Dadra is an enclave lying a few kilometers north of Nagar Haveli in Gujarat. Its capital is Silvassa. The territory lies some ten to thirty kilometers up-river from the city of Daman.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli are in the watershed of the Daman Ganga River, which flows through the territory. The towns of Dadra and Silvassa both lie on the north bank of the river. The Western Ghats range rises to the east, and the foothills of the range occupy the eastern portion of the district. The territory is landlocked, although the Arabian Sea coast lies just to the west in Gujarat. The major spoken languages in the territory are Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi.

History of Dadra & Nagar Haveli

In order to keep the English at bay and to enlist their support against the Moghals, the Marathas made friends with the Portuguese and signed with them a treaty in 1779. According to this historic treaty of friendship, the Maratha-Peshwa agreed that the Portuguese will be allowed to collect revenues from Dadra and Nagar Haveli which consisted of 72 villages, then known as parganas (now referred to as district places). These territories were earlier ruled by the Koli chiefs who were defeated by the Hindu kings of Jawhar and Ramnagar. The Marathas conquered and annexed these territories to their kingdom.

After India attained Independence in 1947, the residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with the help of volunteers of organizations like the United Front of Goans (UFG), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the National Movement Liberation Organization (NMLO) and the Azad Gomantak Dal liberated the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule in 1954.

The area of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is spread over 491 km2  landlocked between Gujarat to the north and Maharashtra to the south. It was liberated from its Portuguese rulers on 2 August 1954. The people of the territory established free administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which was finally merged into the Union of India in 1961.

From 1954 to 1961, the territory was administered by a body called the Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

In 1961 when Indian forces took over Goa, Daman, and Diu, Mr. Badlani was, for one day, designated the Prime Minister of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, so that, as Head of State, he could sign an agreement with the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and formally merge Dadra and Nagar Haveli with the Republic of India.

Geography of Dadra & Nagar Haveli

The stretch of the geographical area is hilly terrain especially towards the north east and east where it is surrounded by ranges of Sahyadri Mountains (Western Ghats). The central region of the land is almost plain and the soil is fertile and rich. The river Damanganga rises in the Ghat 64 km from the western coast and discharges itself in the Arabian Sea at the port of Daman. Its three tributaries viz. Varna, Pipri and Sakartond also intersect the land. About 53% of the land is under forest cover. However the reserved forest cover is about 20,359 hectares (50,310 acres) in this territory constitutes about 40% of the total geographical area. The rich bio-diversity makes it an ideal habitat for a variety of birds and animals. This makes it a perfect spot for eco-tourism. Silvassa is an incredible eco-tourism spot for wildlife enthusiasts.

A Lieutenant Governor administers the territory, which covers an area of 188 sq mi or 487 km² and consists of two talukas:-

• ·     Dadra
• ·     Nagar Haveli

Dadra is the headquarters of Dadra taluka, comprising Dadra town and two other villages. Silvassa is the headquarters of Nagar Haveli taluka, comprising Silvassa town and 68 other villages. According to the 2011 census Dadra and Nagar Haveli has a population of 342,853.Dadra and Nagar Haveli have a sex ratio of 775 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 77.65 %.

Tribal’s make up a large part of the population - 62%. The most prominent are Dhodia (16.90%), Kokna (16.85%) and Varli (62.94%), with small groups of Koli, Kathodi, Naika and Dubla scattered across the territory, collectively representing 3.31% of the population. Dhodias and Dubles mainly populate the Northern part, whereas Koknas and Varlis are found all over the Union Territory. They worship the primary deities of Dis (Sun) and Chand (Moon), and Narandev, Kanasari, Himai, Hirva, Veer, Rangtai and Vagdev.