- published: 28 Jul 2013
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Goa i/ˈɡoʊ.ə/ is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. It was ranked the best placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.
Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter. Goa is a former Portuguese colony, the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.
Coordinates: 15°30′09″N 73°54′42″E / 15.50238°N 73.911746°E / 15.50238; 73.911746
Old Goa (Konkani:पोरणें गोंय – Pornnem Goem; Hindi ओल्ड गोवा – Old Gova, पुराणा गोवा – Purana Gova) or Velha Goa (Velha means "old" in Portuguese) is a historical city in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The city was constructed by the Bijapur Sultanate in the 15th century, and served as capital of Portuguese India from the 16th century until its abandonment in the 18th century due to a plague. It is said to have once been a city of nearly 2,00,000 where from, before the plague, the Portuguese traded across continents. The remains of the city are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. old Goa is barely 10 kilometers from the state capital of Panaji.
The name Old Goa was first used in the 1960s in the address of the Konkani monthly magazine, dedicated to spread the devotion of the Sacred Heart, Dor Mhoineachi Rotti which was shifted to the Basilica de Bom Jesus in 1964. Postal letters were returned to the sender, as the name "Old Goa" was unknown then, according to then and long time editor of the monthly, the great Goan historian late Padre Moreno de Souza, SJ.