Goa - Independence to liberation
The suppression of liberties in Goa under the Salazar dictatorship brought the socialist leader Dr. Rammanohar Lohia from India to Goa. At a public meeting in Margao on 18th June 1946, he launched a movement for civil liberties which set in motion a mass movement for freedom from the Portuguese rule. The satyagraha movement in Goa subsequently continued up to November 1946 during which period a number of leaders were arrested for defying the ban on civil liberties. However by the end of 1946, the satyagraha movement had died down. The Portuguese government then began adopting repressive measures to root out the movement from Goa.
In 1949 Nehru’s government sent a mission to Lisbon to negotiate with the Portuguese government about the withdrawal from Goa. To Nehru’s surprise, the Portuguese government refused to even discuss the matter, let alone the issue. By 1953, the Indian mission was closed and diplomatic relations between the governments were conducted through intermediaries.
The Portuguese dictator Salazar defended his position in a speech presented to the Portuguese National Assembly on November, 30 1954. He said,” The extension of Indian sovereignty to include Goa is not a prospect opened up by, or an anticipation of, the evolution of history; it is a political goal which India’s present leaders suppose it their duty to achieve in order to fulfill their mission…It is always historical facts, and not geographical outline, that fix frontiers, institute rights and impose sovereignties….For the Indian Union to claim to turn the clock of history back to the 15Ith century, to come forward now and make out that she already existed potentially at that time, or to set herself up as the rightful heir of those whom we found holding sway there, is a fancy of static dreamers; it is not for the dynamic shapers of history that the men who received an empire from England want to be”.
India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on July 26, 1955 in an address to the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, said ” Although it does not require that anything should be said in justification of our claim to Goa, I shall, nevertheless, venture to mention a few facts…There is of course the geographical argument. The Portuguese Government claims that Goa is a part of Portugal. That remark is so illogical and absurd that it is rather difficult to deal with….It has no relation to facts…I am not going into the old history of the Portuguese possession of Goa; but I think many members will remember that this history is a very dark chapter of India’s history”.
A few weeks later, on September 17 1955 , Nehru said “In Goa, we have a remarkable picture of the sixteenth century facing the twentieth century, of a decadent colonialism facing a resurgent Asia, of a free independent India being affronted and insulted by the Portuguese authorities, of, in fact, Portugal functioning in a way which, to any thinking person, is so amazing in its incongruity in the modern world that he is a little taken aback”.
The National Congress (Goa) which was already functioning in Goa began its operations in Bombay; the other parties formed were the Azad Gomantak Dal, the United Front of Goans, the Goa Liberation Council, the Goan People’s Party, the Quit Goa Organization, etc. The National Congress as well as the Liberation Council believed in non-violence while the Azad Gomantak Dal committed itself to fight the regime by whatever means, including the use of arms . It began attacking the Portuguese troops guarding the frontiers, blowing up ammunition dumps and police stations. The Portuguese Government in the meantime began arming, with troop concentrations in Goa and appeared to be ready to declare war on India. The Portuguese Dictator Salazar refused to negotiate with India.
The Government of India maintained a low profile until 1961. In October 1961, a seminar was held in New Delhi on “Portuguese Colonialism”. It was well attended by representatives from around the world and also from the existing Portuguese colonies around the world. This has been reported to have brought a change in Jawaharlal Nehru’s thinking about the issue which until then was “through peaceful negotiation”. Following the conclusion of the seminar he is reported to have publicly made a statement at Bombay, he said ” We have to think afresh now because of the happenings in Goa, particularly in the last few months, cases of torture have come to our notice and the terror that is spread there by the Portuguese. When I say afresh, I mean that we have been forced in to thinking afresh by the Portuguese to adopt other means to solve this problem. When and how we do it cannot be forecast now. But I have no doubt that Goa will soon be free”. This warning was ignored by the Portuguese and Salazar and the subsequent events changed Goan history forever.
Finally after 450 years – On December 17, 1961 India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered the military invasion and liberation of Goa. A Portuguese army of 3,000 ill-equipped troops was outnumbered by 30,000 Indian troops, supported by the Indian air force and navy. The Portuguese Governor general Vassalo da Silva surrendered.
Within three days Goa was integrated into India in a near bloodless operation-“Operation Vijay ” on December 19th 1961. The other Portuguese territories of Daman and Diu were also taken over at around the same time and thus was formed the “Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu”. December 19th is celebrated as Goa Liberation Day.
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