 Goa is one of the places that abound with natural beauty. It is renowned for its beaches. It is one of the popular holiday destinations visited by both foreign and domestic tourists. Besides beaches, Goa is also known for its world heritage architecture. The Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa is one of the biggest Christian pilgrimage sites in Asia. Goa can be described as a Heaven on Earth. The beauty of the place intoxicates you and you will surely fall in love with her exquisite charm.
Origin of Name of Goa
In the Mahabharata there is referance to the places as `Goparashtra` or `Govarashtra`, which means a nation of cowherds. This place is actually the early nameof Goa. Some Sanskrit texts uses the words as `Gopakapuri` or `Gapakapattana` for Goa. These names find reference in sacred hindu texts as Harivansa and the Skanda Purana. In the Skanda Purana Goa is mentioned as Gomanchala. In the Puranas, Goa is mentioned as Gove, Govapuri, Gopakpattan, and Gomant.
History of Goa
Goa was part of Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century. Later Goa was ruled by the Satavahanas of Kolhapur. Then from them it was passed to the Chalukyas of Badami. They ruled Goa between 580 to 750. For the next few centuries Goa was successively ruled by the Silharas, Kadambas, Chalukyans. It was the Kadambas that laid an indelible mark on the course of Goa`s pre-colonial history and culture. Goa came under the governance of the Sultanate of Delhi in 1312 and in 1370 they had to surrender it to Harihara I of Vijayanagara.In 1498, Vasco da Gama was the first European to set foot in India through a sea route, landing in Calicut followed by his arrival at Goa. At that time Goa the largest trading centre on India`s western coast. The Portuguese arrived at Goa with the target of setting up a colony and claiming control of the spice trade from the European powers after the traditional land routes to India were closed by the Ottoman Turks. In 1947,after India gained Independence, Portugal refused to accede to India`s demand to relinquish their control. On 12 December 1961 the Indian army with 40,000 troops moved in as part of Operation Vijay. The fighting lasted for 26 hours and finally the Portuguese garrison surrendered. Goa along with Daman and Diu was made into a centrally administered Union Territory. On the 19th of December, India took over Goa. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, India`s action was recognized by Portugal and other nations. On May 30, 1987 , Goa was declared as India`s twenty-fifth state.
Geography of Goa
Goa is situated on the west coast of India in the region of the Konkan, which is an escarpment rising up to the Western Ghats that separates it from the Deccan Plateau.Goa is surrounded on the north by Maharashtra, to the east and south by Karnataka and at the western coast by Arabian Sea. Goa is one of India`s smallest states with an area of 3,702 sq km is and is enclosed in the Sahayadri range in the Western Ghats. Goa lies between the latitudes 14°53`54" N and 15°40`00" N and longitudes 73°40`33" E and 74°20`13" E. Goa has a coastline of 63 miles. Goa is a part of Konkan area. Goa has hills, low and highland areas.
Economy of Goa
One of the important economic activities of Goa is agriculture. Rice is the major agricultural crop. The other important crops are paddy, ragi, maize, jowar, bajra and pulses. Animal husbandry and the veterinary services form an important sector of rural economy. Goa is abounded with varieties of fish like prawns, mackerels and sardines. Mining is an important industry in Goa. There are mineral resources like iron ore, manganese ore, ferro-manganese ore. There are units manufacturing pesticides, fertilizers, tyre, tubes, iron ore pellets, foot wear, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, sugar, wheat products, steel rolling, fruits and fish canning, cashew nuts, textiles, brewery products etc.
Government and politics of Goa
The legislative capital of Goa is Porvorim, which the seat of the Goa assembly. The judicial capital of the statae is Mumbai and the state comes under Bombay High Court. At Panaji, there is a bench of the High Court. In the bicameral parliament of India, Goa contributes one seat to the Rajya Sabha and two seats to the Lok Sabha.
The legislature of Goa is unicameral. It has a Legislative Assembly consisting of forty members. The Legislative Assembly is headed by the Chief Minister. He wields the executive power. The governor of the state is appointed by the President of India. He appears to be the titular head of the state but plays a very crucial rule when it is to be decided who should form the next government. Goa had a stable governance for nearly thirty years up to 1990. The yaers between 1990 to 2005 was a period of political instability in Goa. In the span of fifteen years, Goa saw fourteen governments. In 2005 March, President`s Rule was declared after dissolving the assembly. The major political parties of Goa are Congress, BJP, United Goans Democratic Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party is the oldest party of the state. The Congress party and the BJP are the two largest parties in the state.
Transport of Goa
Goa is connected to other parts of the state by means of air, rail, ferry and road.
By Road : The main public transport of Goa consists of the bus. The Government buses are maintained by a service called the Kadamba Transport Corporation. The people usually depend on two-wheelers. Goa has two National Highways- the NH-17 and NH-4A.
By Rail : Goa has two rail lines - one run by the South Western Railway and the other by the Konkan Railway . They are situated at Margao and Vasco da Gama. These places are connected by train with Bangalore, Belgaum, Hospet and Hyderabad and via Miraj to Bombay, Delhi and Agra.
By Air: Dabolim Airport is the only airport of Goa. This is a military airport. In addition to regular flights, the airport handles a large number of chartered flights.It is 29 km from the capital Panaji. From Goa there are daily flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai etc
By Ferry: Flat-bottomed ferries are Goa`s common means of transport. They are cheap and run from early dawn till late in the evening.
Districts of Goa
There are two districts in Goa and a district collector governs each district. The districts are further divided into eleven talukas.The two districts of Goa are:
1.North Goa- The headquarters of North Goa is at Panaji. North Goa district to the North of the Arabian Sea. The North Goa District has an area of 1736 sq. kms. Its geographical position is marked by 15o 48` 00" N to 14o 53` 54" N latitudes and 73o E to 75o E longitudes. North Goa shares its boundaries with the Sawantwadi & Dodamarg, of Ratnagiri District and Kolhapur District of Maharastra state and with South Goa District shares the southern boundary. Talukas of North Goa are Bardez, Bicholim , Pernem , Ponda , Satari, Tiswadi
2. South Goa- the headquarters of South Goa is at Margao. The South Goa District covers the entire southern part of Goa state. Arabian Sea is at the West of the South district. South Goa is situated between the latitudinal paralles of 15 degree 29` 32" N and 14 degree 53` 57" N and longitudinal parallels of 73degree 46` 21" E and 74 degree 20` 11" E. The total geographical area of the district is 1966 sq kms. Talukas of South Goa are Canacona, Mormugao , Quepem , Salcete ,Sanguem.
Demographics of Goa
Goa has a population of 1.344 million residents. There are 363 people for each square kilometre of the land. About 49.77% of the population lives in urban areas. The sex ratioo of Goa is 960 females to 1000 males. The literacy rate of Goa is 82.32%. The three main religions in Goa are Catholicism, Hinduism and Islam. Roman Catholicism established its roots in Goa in 1498 when Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived on the Malabar coast. The major cities of Goa are Vasco, Margao, Marmagao, Panjim and Mapusa. The official language of Goa is Konkani. The other languages used in the state are English,
Marathi, Portuguese, Kannada and Hindi. Hindi is considered as the second language of the state.
Education of Goa
 The schools in each taluka is run by the government. Parents prefer to sent their children to private schools as these schools offer better facilities. All schools come under the state SSC, where the syllabus is prescribed by the state Education department. There are also a few private schools run by the ICSE board. English is the medium of instruction in primary schools but in the government-aided schools the medium of instruction is Konkani. In the Junior College, courses offered in popular streams are Science, Arts, Law and Commerce. Two years of college is followed by a professional degree. All the Goan colleges of the state are affiliated to the Goa University.
There are four engineering colleges and one medical college in the state. These medical college is run by the state whereas the other three engineering colleges are run by private organisations. There are also colleges offering pharmacy, architecture and dentistry along with private colleges offering law, arts, commerce and science.
Media in Goa
The major newspapers are: Herald( English), oHeraldo( Portugese), Gomantak Times, Navhind Times, Tarun Bharat, Navprabha, Pudhari, Goa Times, Sanatan Prabhat, Govadoot , The Times of India and the Indian Express.
In Goa, the All India Radio is broadcasting radio channel in both FM and AM bands. The FM broadcast is from 4.30 am to 12 midnight. The programs include mainly English, Konkani and Hindi music. Three private FM radio players- ENIL, Indigo (BPL) and Adlabs (Reliance - Anil Ambani group) - won bids to set up private FM radio stations in Goa. Big FM at 92.7 MHz and Radio Mirchi at 98.3 MHz were also launched here.
The television channels available here are : MTV, ESPN, Fox, Zee TV, ZEE Marathi, HBO, Star Plus, Star Movies, BBC, CNN, Tensports, AXN, Star World, Star News, Fashion TV, Sony, Set Max, SAB, Sahara One, Sahara News, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Channel X5 etc. Electronic media with staff stationed in Goa include ETC, ANI, Sahara, NDTV. Local cable-TV based news operations include Goa 365 , Goa Newsline and Goa Plus. Dordarshan, the national television broadcaster, has two free terrestrial channels on air.
Major cellular services available here are include Reliance, Tata Indicom, BSNL, Hutch, Airtel and Idea.
Sports of Goa
The major sports of Goa is Football. Recently cricket has also become a major sport of the Goans. The third most popular sport is Field Hockey. The state`s sole stadium is the Fatorda stadium, located near Margao. The stadium hosts both international football as well as cricket matches.
More on Goa
Churches and Convents of Goa
Cities of Goa
Festivals of Goa
Folk Dances of Goa
Goa Cuisine
Goa Museums
Temples of Goa
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