state of India, with an area of 3,702 sq km, comprising a mainland area, with an offshore island, located 400 km south of Mumbai. Bounded in the north by Maharashtra, in the east and south by Karnataka, and by the Arabian Sea in the west. The capital is Panaji. Formerly a Portuguese possession, it became a part of India in 1962 and attained statehood in 1987.Physical and human geography--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a coast of 105 km, Goa has sandy beaches, estuaries, and headlands. Low plateaus and a portion of the Western Ghats (Sahyadris) rise to nearly 1,220 m in the interior. Between the mouths of Goa's two major rivers, the Mandovi and the Zuari, lies the island of Goa (Ilhas). The Cape (Cabo) apex of this triangular island is a rocky headland that provides two anchorages. There are three cities; Marmagao, or Marmugoa (including Vasco da Gama), Madgaon, and Panaji (Navagoa). Old Goa is, for the most part, a city in ruins but has been well cared for since Goa joined the rest of India. Panaji, originally a suburb of old Goa, is also Situated on the left bank of the Mandovi: it is a well planned city, with splendid churches, the Archbishop's palace, the Secretariat, markets, and a large bus terminal, adjoining which is the railway station laid on the Konkan railway. The Basilica of Bom Jesus (built sixteenth century), a World Heritage monument that enshrines the remains of St. Francis Xavier, is located at Old Goa. There is also the Se Cathedral (sixteenth century).Educational and training institutes range from schools to technical and collegiate institutions. The University of Goa is situated near Panaji. Wharves and jetties teem with activity, and beyond the Miramar beach is located the Institute of Oceanography, which is famous for its research and expeditions to Antarctica. The Cabo headland has the imposing Government House. Asia's largest oceanorium is being planned here. Urban growth now extends, across the Mandovi, to cover Porvorim. Marmagao, sheltered by a promontory and outfitted with a modern breakwater and quay, is the best port between Mumbai and Kozhikode (formerly Calicut, Kerala), specializing in the export of iron ore and manganese. Though efforts are being made to regenerate them, open cast mines of iron ore and manganese constitute a great threat to the environment.A railway line via Vasco da Gama urban area and Madgaon connects it with the main southern railway line via Londa in Karnataka. The new Konkan railway running from north to south promises further economic development of Goa.Goa's climate is equable, with rains received from the southwest monsoon between June and September.Goa's agricultural production consists of rice, pulses, (legumes), coconut, cashews, and mango and teak, bamboo, and cashew are important economic products. Forests cover low plateaus and the slopes of the Western Ghats.Fisheries are important; government policy and concessions have promoted Goa's rapid industrialization, through its industrial estates. Fertilizer, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron, and sugar are the leading large scale industries. There are also medium- and small scale industries including traditional handicrafts. Industrial products find a good market in India and abroad.The peopleHindus and Christians are the main components of the Goan population. Portuguese was the language of administration and the elite. Portuguese rule and economic conditions caused emigration of Goans not only to the former Portuguese African colonies, but also to the rest of India. The impact of Portuguese culture is seen in their personal names and surnames, and the style of churches and villas. The cultural landscape of Goa shows interesting contrasts: the western coastland and estuaries are dotted with wayside crosses, churches, and marked by a predominant Roman Catholic Christian style of living; and the hummocky and hilly east with Hindu temples and shrines, and a population that is mainly Hindu, with some tribals. Yet, unmistakably, there is a cultural blend that is "Goan", and which expresses itself in the resurgent and effulgent Konkani language.Tourism--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tourism in Goa is a flourishing enterprise; long sandy beaches, fringed with coastal vegetation and coconut palms, heritage hotels, and the Dabolim airport attract foreigners in large numbers, and now, Indian tourists also. This growth, however, threatens Goa's natural environment.Administration--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The governor of Goa appointed by the president for five years, also administers the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Legislative Assembly comprises 40 seats. Through electoral processes, Goa's popular ministry is committed to democratic values and the welfare of the people.History--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ancient Hindu city of Goa, of which hardly a fragment survives, was built at the southernmost point of the island, and was famous in early Hindu legend and history. Appearing as Gove, Govapuri, and Gomant in the Puranas and certain inscriptions, the medieval Arabian geographers knew it as Sindabur, or Sandabur, and the Portuguese as Velha Goa. Ruled by the Kadamba dynasty from the second century AD to 1312 and by Muslim invaders of the Deccan from 1312 to 1367, the city was then annexed by the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar and later conquered by the Bahmani dynasty, which founded Old Goa in 1440.With the subdivision of the Bahmani kingdom after 1482, Goa passed into the control of Yusuf Adil Khan, the Muslim king of Bijapur, who was its ruler when the Portuguese first reached India. The Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque attacked the city in March 1510. The city surrendered without a struggle, and Albuquerque entered it in triumph.Three months later Yusuf Adil Khan returned with 60,000 troops, forced the passage of the fort, and blockaded the Portuguese in their ships from May to August, when the cessation of the monsoon enabled them to put to sea. In November, Albuquerque returned with a larger force and, after overcoming a desperate resistance, recaptured the city, massacred all the Muslims, and appointed a Hindu, Timoja, as the governor of Goa.Goa was the first territorial possession of the Portuguese in Asia. Albuquerque and his successors left almost untouched the customs and constitutions of the 30 village communities on the island, abolishing only the rite of suttee (sati, the immolation of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands).Becoming the capital of the whole eastern Portuguese empire, Goa was granted the same civic privileges as Lisbon, reaching the climax of its prosperity between 1575 and 1600. The appearance of the Dutch in Indian waters precipitated the decline of Goa. In 1603 and 1639 Dutch fleets blockaded the city, though never captured, and in 1635 it was ravaged by an epidemic. In 1683 a Mughal army saved it from capture by Maratha raiders, and in 1739 the whole territory was attacked by the same enemies and saved only by the unexpected arrival of a new viceroy with a fleet. The seat of the government was moved to Mormugao (now Marmagao) and in 1759 to Punjim (now Panaji). Cholera epidemics were one of the chief reasons for the migration of the inhabitants from Old Goa to New Goa. Between 1695 and 1775 the population of Old Goa dwindled from 20,000 to 1,600, and in 1835 only only a few priests, monks, and nuns inhabited the city.During the nineteenth century, events of importance affecting the settlement included its temporary occupation by the British in 1809 as a result of Napoleon's invasion of Portugal; the governorship (1855-64) of the conde de Torres Novas, who inaugurated a great number of improvements; and the military revolts of the second half of the century. The most notable of these was the revolt of September 3, 1895, which necessitated the dispatch of an expeditionary force from Portugal. The infante Affonso Henriques, duque de Oporto, accompanied this expedition and exercised governor's powers from March to May 1896. After Indian claims on Goa in 1948 and 1949, Portugal came under increasing pressure to cede Goa, with its other possessions on the subcontinent, to India. In mid-1954, Goan nationalists seized the Portuguese enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and established a pro Indian administration. Another crisis occurred in 1955 when satyagrahis (non-violent resisters) from India attempted to penetrate the territory of Goa. At first the satyagrahis were deported; but later, when large numbers attempted to cross the borders, the Portuguese authorities resorted to force, and many casualties were inflicted. This led to the severance of diplomatic relations between Portugal and India on August 18, 1955. Tension between India and Portugal came to a head when on December 18, 1961, Indian troops supported by naval and air forces invaded and occupied Goa, Daman, and Diu. Portuguese India was, by constitutional amendment, incorporated into the Indian Union in 1962. Population (2001) Total 1,347,668; Rural 677,091; Urban 670,577.