Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a single Union Territory formed in 2020 by merging two separate ones. It consists of an inland enclave between Gujarat and Maharashtra, and two coastal districts on the Arabian Sea. The administration sits at Daman. The total area is only about 600 sq km.

The territory was Portuguese until 1954, when Dadra and Nagar Haveli was taken by local forces, and 1961, when India annexed Goa, Daman and Diu. The Portuguese civil code, which governs marriage, succession and property differently from the rest of India, still applies in Daman and Diu.

The population is largely Gujarati- and Marathi-speaking, and the economy depends on manufacturing — textiles, plastics, packaging and engineering — drawn by light taxation and proximity to the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor. Daman’s coastline and the union territory’s low excise regime also support a substantial liquor trade that serves visitors from Gujarat, where alcohol is prohibited.