Goa was the largest of three districts that made up the Portuguese Province of Portuguese India for 451 years.
India took control of the tiny district in December, 1961, naturally claiming it to be part of the subcontinent of India. Portugal did not take kindly to this action on the part of India but within a few years realizing the realities of the situation and past history, the old adversaries became the best of friends and today enjoy unparalleled respect for each other and cooperation with each other.
Goa lies on the West Coast of India and covers 1403 square miles. It has a coastline of about 105 km and has a population of a little over one million inhabitants only, not including the thousands who have emigrated to other parts of the world where they have settled on permanent basis.
Goa is replete with history. It is a land of swaying palms, lush greenery, miles of golden beaches and incredible heritage, magnificent churches, temples and monuments and a unique cultural synthesis of East and West.
Written before Christ, in the Mahabharata reference is made to “Gomantuk”, which is the ancient name of Goa. Goans are generally considered to be of Aryan descent. From the second century A.D. To 1312 the Kadambas ruled Goa from their seat in Chandor between 1313 and 1368, King Mohamed of the Deccan ruled Goa. In 1370 the Vijaynagar Hindu dynasty conquered Goa; the Bahamani muslims took over in 1470 and the Sultan of Bijapur in 1482. The Portuguese took over Goa in November, 1510. This was the first conquest in India by a European power.
For Goans born and brought up in other parts of the world. Goa is not some remote spot on the map from where their parents and grandparents had once come, but a region which is also likely to have some connotations of “Home”. This is the reason why younger generations of Goans always yearn to make trips there in search of their roots. They return to their countries of adoption full of nostalgia and hopes of revisiting Goa.
India took control of the tiny district in December, 1961, naturally claiming it to be part of the subcontinent of India. Portugal did not take kindly to this action on the part of India but within a few years realizing the realities of the situation and past history, the old adversaries became the best of friends and today enjoy unparalleled respect for each other and cooperation with each other.
Goa lies on the West Coast of India and covers 1403 square miles. It has a coastline of about 105 km and has a population of a little over one million inhabitants only, not including the thousands who have emigrated to other parts of the world where they have settled on permanent basis.
Goa is replete with history. It is a land of swaying palms, lush greenery, miles of golden beaches and incredible heritage, magnificent churches, temples and monuments and a unique cultural synthesis of East and West.
Written before Christ, in the Mahabharata reference is made to “Gomantuk”, which is the ancient name of Goa. Goans are generally considered to be of Aryan descent. From the second century A.D. To 1312 the Kadambas ruled Goa from their seat in Chandor between 1313 and 1368, King Mohamed of the Deccan ruled Goa. In 1370 the Vijaynagar Hindu dynasty conquered Goa; the Bahamani muslims took over in 1470 and the Sultan of Bijapur in 1482. The Portuguese took over Goa in November, 1510. This was the first conquest in India by a European power.
For Goans born and brought up in other parts of the world. Goa is not some remote spot on the map from where their parents and grandparents had once come, but a region which is also likely to have some connotations of “Home”. This is the reason why younger generations of Goans always yearn to make trips there in search of their roots. They return to their countries of adoption full of nostalgia and hopes of revisiting Goa.