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Coordinates: 20°25′N 72°50′E / 20.42, 72.83
Daman and Diu (Official languages [1], [2]: Gujarati: દમણ અને દિવ, Marathi: दमण आणि दीव, English): Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. For over 450 years, these coastal enclaves on the Arabian Sea coast were part of Portuguese India, along with Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Goa, Daman, and Diu were incorporated into the Republic of India on December 19, 1961 by military conquest; Portugal did not recognize the Indian annexation of these territories until 1974. Goa, Daman, and Diu were administered as part of a single union territory until 1987, when Goa was granted statehood, leaving Daman and Diu as a separate union territory; each enclave constitutes one of the union territory's two districts.
Gujarati and, to a much lesser extent, Marathi are the main languages [3] [4], and the use of Portuguese goes on declining because it is no longer official nor taught at school, though a number of elder people can still understand it, some even preferring it for discourse at home. In addition to standard Portuguese language, there are two also shrinking Portuguese-based creole languages in Daman (known as Língua da Casa, "Home Language") and Diu (Língua dos Velhos, "Elders' Language"). English is increasingly accepted for official purposes.
[edit] Districts
It should be noted that Daman refers only to the city, which lies in the larger Daman District.
[edit] Economy
Daman and Diu's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $156 million in current prices.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
