union territory of India, located in the western part of the country between the states of Gujarāt and Mahārāshtra, some 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the Arabian Sea and 80 miles north of Bombay. It consists of two sections: Dādra, with three villages, and Nagar Haveli, with 69 villages. Occupying 190 square miles (491 square kilometres), it is administered by the governor of Goa. The capital is Silvassa.

The terrain of Dādra and Nagar Haveli is undulating and hilly, reaching elevations of 1,000 feet in the northeast and east near the Western Ghāts. Lowland areas are limited to the central plains, which are crossed by the Damānganga River and its tributaries. The only navigable river in Dādra and Nagar Haveli, the Damānganga rises in Mahārāshtra and flows northwestward through the territory toward Damān, a port once famous for its docks.

The climate is typical of the region—extremely hot in summer (the mean maximum temperature in May approaches 93° F 【34° C】), with annual rainfall averaging about 120 inches (3,050 millimetres), most of it falling between June and September. Forests cover some 40 percent of the territory.

About four-fifths of the population consists of Ādivāsi tribal peoples, the most numerous being the Varli, Dhodia, and Koṅkaṇ, speaking a variety of tribal dialects. Gujarātī and Marāṭhī also are spoken in the region. The population is predominantly Hindu, with small Christian and Muslim minorities. Farming is the chief occupation, much of it done on terraced land. Rice and ragi (also called finger millet) are the major food crops. Wheat and sugarcane also are grown. Completion of the Damānganga Reservoir Project in neighbouring Gujarāt was expected to extend irrigation in the territory significantly.

Timber production is mainly centred on the valuable native teak. There is very little large-scale industry; industrial estates have been set up in Piparia, Massate, Khadoli, and elsewhere for producing such items as engineering goods, plastics, chemicals, and fertilizers. Industrial growth has resulted in an influx of labour rather than benefiting the local population.

A district collector, aided by the secretary to the governor of Goa, oversees day-to-day affairs. The elected 26-member council serves as an advisory body.

The history of Dādra and Nagar Haveli before the medieval period remains obscure. In AD 1262, a Rājpūt invader defeated the local Koli chieftains of the area and became the ruler of Rāmnagar, a small state that included Nagar Haveli in its territory. The region remained under Rājpūt rule until the mid-18th century, when the Marāṭhās acquired Nagar Haveli.

Dādra and Nagar Haveli came under Portuguese rule in the late 18th century. The Marāṭhās ceded Nagar Haveli in 1783 as compensation for a Portuguese vessel that their navy had destroyed. Two years later Dādra was acquired, becoming a kind of fief. After India achieved independence in 1947, Goan nationalists sought to break away from Portugal; and their first successes were the seizure of Dādra on the night of July 21, 1954, and their capture of Nagar Haveli two weeks later. A pro-Indian administration was formed in these enclaves, and on June 1, 1961, it requested accession to the Indian Union. The Indian government had already acknowledged their incorporation into the union from the day of liberation but made it official on Aug. 11, 1961.