New Delhi: Just forward of the Goa Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raked up the problem of the liberation of the coastal state from the Portuguese in 1961 to nook the Congress.
Twice in a span of 1 week, PM Modi asserted that if Jawaharlal Nehru needed, Goa may have been liberated “within hours” in 1947, however it took 15 years for the state to be free of Portuguese rule. He stated Nehru was “more worried about his international image” and therefore most popular dialogue over sending navy.
Responding to the criticism, Congress leaders have stated the PM didn’t perceive the historical past of these occasions, what was happening post-World War II interval, and was raking up the Goa liberation subject now to “distract people from the real issues”.Â
For the uninitiated, whereas most Indian territories gained independence from colonial powers on August 15, 1947, Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule about 14 years in a while December 19, 1961.
How The Portuguese Took Over Goa
The Portuguese had been among the many very first to colonise elements of India, and their enclaves constituted Goa, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
In 1503, the Portuguese first colonised Cochin and it was made the executive capital of the “Estado da India”, the collective title given to Portuguese enclaves in India.
Colonisation gathered tempo underneath viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque and Portuguese Goa was established in 1510. It quickly changed Cochin as capital of the Estado da India.
The motion for independence of Goa, dominated by the Portuguese for greater than 450 years, gained steam solely after 1947, when a number of negotiations with the Portuguese authorities failed, based on information.
With Portugal being a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Indian authorities was additionally stated to be hesitant in taking up Goa utilizing navy energy. Moreover, Nehru was in favour of utilizing diplomatic channels to realize assist from allies and pressurise the Portuguese.
On the opposite hand, the Portuguese facet argued that India had no rights to the territory for the reason that Republic of India didn’t exist when Goa got here underneath Portuguese rule.
Quest For Goa’s Freedom
While there have been a number of small revolts in between, the Portuguese confronted the primary formidable problem on June 18, 1946, when socialist Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, with many younger Goans, led the primary Civil Disobedience Movement in opposition to the federal government. The day is now noticed as Goa (*14*) Day.
The technique for the motion was shaped when Lohia visited Goan academician and author Dr Juliao Menezes for a medical examination in Bombay. The duo determined to defy a ban on conferences and protests in opposition to the Portuguese authorities, and launched the motion for Goa’s liberation.
The motion was shortlived after Lohia was arrested, however it impressed a number of Goans and personalities they usually started to fulfill and strategise by protecting away from the gaze of the Portuguese authorities.
Among the revolutionaries had been Nana Kaajrekar, a wrestler from Pune, Sudhir Phadke, a music director, and lots of others. All of them collaborated with the Azad Gomantak Dal (AGD) and got here underneath the banner of the United Front of Liberation.
While many might not know, well-known singer Lata Mangeshkar additionally performed an element within the liberation of Goa. Mangeshkar carried out at a live performance in Pune to assist the revolutionaries elevate cash of their wrestle to free Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
After the arrest of a number of leaders of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the wrestle tapered off solely to reignite in 1954 with the liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
In 1955, a mass satyagraha motion was launched by the Communist and socialist events for Goa’s freedom. However, when the protesters entered Goa, the Portuguese opened fireplace, killing about 20 folks.
In response to the brutality, Nehru determined to impose an financial blockade and closed its Consulate-General in Panaji, thereby breaking off diplomatic relations with Portugal.
Due to the financial blockade, the Goans had no entry to outdoors information. It was then that Vaman Sardesai and his spouse Libia Lobo Sardesai began an underground radio station, named The Voice of Freedom Station, to disseminate information to the revolutionaries and expose Portuguese propaganda, based on a BBC report.
The station was run between November 1955 and December 1961, from forests bordering Goa, the report stated.
Annexation Of GoaÂ
With the Portuguese not yielding to the diplomatic strain, India ultimately determined to make use of its navy to free Goa, underneath what it referred to as ‘Operation Vijay’. Several reviews stated it was India’s then Defence Minister Krishna Menon who satisfied Nehru that it was excessive time the federal government used drive to liberate Goa from the Portuguese.
In maybe the primary tri-service operation of the Indian Army, greater than 30,000 troops had been despatched for the battle that lasted simply 36 hours.
In a pincer assault that took the Portuguese without warning, the Army superior in direction of Goa from the north and east, whereas the Indian Air Force bombed the Dabolim airbase. The Navy was tasked with protecting the Portuguese warships in examine and secured entry to the Mormugao harbour. On December 19, 1961, the Army entered Goa from the south and shortly the Portuguese discovered themselves outnumbered, forcing Governor General Vassalo De Silva to signal a doc of unconditional give up. Goa, thus, got here underneath the management of the Indian authorities.
Goa remained a Union Territory until 1987 after a majority of the folks voted in opposition to its merger with Maharashtra. In 1987, Goa turned India’s twenty fifth state. However, Daman and Diu continues to be a UT.
