One of the 29 states of India, Goa is located in the south-west of the country. It is the smallest in the area and one of the smallest by population. In contrast to rest of India, since 1510 Goa was a colony of Portugal. In 1961, India established control over Goa as well as other Portuguese colonies Daman and Diu in a military operation. The acquired lands were given the status of Union territories. Concerning the future of Goa there were different plans, as a result, in 1987 Goa received the official status of the state of India.
The essential element of the ethnicity of the titular group for the region is the Konkani language which is spoken by 56.5% of the population of the state. Across the country, 2.5 million people speak Konkani; about one-third of them reside in Goa. The Portuguese heritage has a significant impact on regional identity. Goa is the state with the highest proportion of the Catholic population in India, the share of Catholics in the region is 25.1%.
Due to the high level of economic development (Goa is famous for its tourism industry), relations between Goa and the central government are of exceptional character. Economic fortunes also determine the presence of movements for ensuring the economic rights of the Goans to own land in the province.