GOA LIBERATION DAY by Paulo Colaco Dias

The real Goan freedom fighters are still waiting for a liberation day: A true Goan Liberation Day. What some of us call liberation cannot be considered liberation in the eyes of international law.
Both India and Portugal were members of the UN. The Republic of India had recognized the Portuguese State in the Indian subcontinent as a neighboring country administered by Portugal and even held a general consulate of India there up to early 1955. So there is no doubt that the Portuguese presence in the Indian subcontinent was accepted and recognized by the Republic of India.
 The Portuguese state (Goa, Damao, Diu, Dadra and Nagar-Aveli) in the Indian subcontinent was not a colony in 1961 but a province of Portugal and an integral part of Portugal and was listed in the official UN list of internationally recognized provinces that both Portugal and India were signatories.
The events of 19th December 1961 will always be recorded in the history books as an illegal invasion, an act of aggression, a clear violation of UN resolutions and International Law. No doubt, a very dark episode in Nehru's life which damaged his reputation and his international image forever, for which Nehru still receives criticism from some of his fellow Indian colleagues that worked under him even today.
Those who know and understand the truth do not hesitate in criticizing Nehru for his illegal actions even today.
The Republic of India calls it: an act of conquest. This is what the Supreme Court of India determined. Yes, the Supreme Court of India has determined that Goa was conquered from the Portuguese on the 19th Dec 1961.
So you see, what really happened according to the Republic of India was a conquest. Not a liberation. Liberation is the term used (*wrongly!*) by some of us Goans because we would really like to think we have been liberated. But anyone who would care to do some research on this subject would easily find out that the reality is far from that.
Conquest was the only way to make it legal from the Indian Union point of view. And they did it through a Supreme Court of India determination.
Of course they forgot that we were already in the XX century and conquests just do not make any sense anymore.
So, you see, we Goans have been conquered by the Portuguese centuries ago and remain today conquered! The only difference is that we changed masters and our new conquerors are the Republic of India - a country that is in existence for little more than 60 years or so. A country that may perhaps only have ethnicity in common with us Goans.
Yes it could have been liberation. It could have! But it was not!
Kuwait was liberated from Iraq in the 1990s. But we were not liberated.
In my opinion, 19th Dec 1961 could have been a liberation only and only if Nehru had allowed the Goans to hold a plebiscite to decide the future of Goa and if Goans had chosen to allow accession to India via that democratic plebiscite. But Nehru did not allow us to hold a plebiscite and we will never know if the majority of us Goans wanted to go down the route of accession or not. True, Goa is today a state of India and has some degree of independence but it remains one of the only states of India that did not officially agree to accession to India. There was no instrument of accession signed and there was no instrument of merger signed. Annexation was imposed on us Goans. Goa * did not * sign any instrument of accession. But every other state did in 1947 or in the years after 1947.
Of course any discussion about this today will always be purely academic. But it is sad that some of us Goans cannot recognize the truth.
Just to finish, in response to your question, there was no instrument of accession to India.
There was no plebiscite on that matter despite several requests to hold one and there were no options given to Goans. We were conquered by India on the 19th Dec 1961.
I know, the truth hurts but how anyone can call it "liberation" is beyond my understanding.
Many are now calling it conquest, which is quite correct. That is what the Republic of India says it happened on the 19th Dec 1961 and only some of the stubborn ones amongst us continue to believe we have been liberated!
The real freedom fighters were betrayed by both India and Portugal. By India because it refused to hold a plebiscite and by Portugal because it closed the issue in 1975 by recognizing the illegal annexation of Goa by the Republic of India despite several complaints from Goans and requests to continue the de facto administrative power in Goa until a resolution could be achieved in the UN for the future of Goa (as it happened few years ago in East Timor where Portugal did not recognize the illegal annexation by Indonesia).
On the 14 Dec 1960, the UN passed a resolution that all self-governing territories should be given the right of self-determination. Everyone knows that in 1961, the administration of Goa was already 99% Goan. The Judiciary was 100% Goan and Goa was even going to have a Goan governor appointed - Dr. Armando Goncalves Pereira. One possible theory is that Nehru wanted to stop Goa from becoming independent from Portugal as Goa was becoming eligible for it under the UN resolution of 14 Dec 1960. That fact, according to some historians, speeded up the process for the invasion and annexation of Goa by the Republic of India and ended once and for all the dream of independence that the real freedom fighters always had for Goa.
From the top of my head, two of these real freedom fighters were Prof. Froilano de Mello and Dr. Bruto da Costa (lawyer).  No doubt they were betrayed and let down by both India and Portugal whilst all of us other sossegado Goans watched and did nothing about it. Best regards – Paulo Dias.



8 comments:

Rodrigo said...

Give us liberty. Or give us Death.

Viva Goa e Portugal!

Gurudas Lotlikar Margao said...

What liberation have we Got? Before the liberation Goa was a peaceful place, clean and people very friendly. With the Indian invasion came the Ghantis who roamed our villages by day and robbed us by night. Our doors used to be kept open during the Portuguese time we could be out all day and come home late night and no one would enter. As the law was strict and was feared, today we have to fear the law not knowing what will happen if you go to report a crime, the police could put you in and have a death in custody. The politicians too are the scum of the earth they have robbed properties of the poor Goans also deal in drugs and have gangs for hire. Can we have A Niz Goenkar backed NEW HONEST third party to change Goa?

diogofichardo said...

The so called liberation is handed down by the Indians to Goa's corrupt politicians to commit their criminal activities.

Unknown said...

Good to see you on this forum cousin. Hope the rest in Goa also read this blog and lets make a difference so our children can have a better future in Goa.

T.Fu

Raj said...

What you people need is a strong and rooted regional party like what is there in Tamilnadu, where the congress lost power in 1960s and hasnt returned yet.The regional party may be inefficient or corrupt or it may not be democratic, however its a lot better than any congress governance.

ex-DGEMN said...

Achámos muito Interessante o vosso blogue.
Saudações de Lisboa.

http://ex-dgemn.blogspot.com

Lallu said...

Very informative article. Is it too late to ask for independence from India and declare Goa a 'country'.?

Sspms Cedric said...

its never too late, as world war 1 & 2 criminals are still being searched, arrested and prosecuted

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